Howell (2012) uses Burke's concept of "scapegoating" to examine the recent "birther" movement. Paranoid style is usually limited in longevity. Howell (2012) argues that the Birther's paranoid style persisted because it employed steps of the scapegoating process.
Scapegoating is about purging impurity from the self. It is framed in terms of both a sacrifice and a killing, though one of these frames will be more prominent. The scapegoating process has four steps.
1. Hierarchy
Humans crave order. The process of ordering creates hierarchies. Those at the bottom of the hierarchies are labelled as inferior or Other.
2. Alienation
The second stage of scapegoating is profound disorder. People feel confused about the hierarchy, and therefore turn away from it altogether. This creates instability, which distances people from the order that had formerly organized their worldview.
3. Guilt
Alienated people turn inward. They feel guilt that the world around them is disordered.
4. Victimage
People transfer guilt onto a scapegoat. They must identify with this scapegoat and invest the scapegoat
No comments:
Post a Comment