Post #1935829

I don’t initially agree with this. In scapegoating, most people are aware of some initial problem, eg “The town’s funds are gone!” Scapegoating might pick out an easily accessible, identified cause, like “We spent too much on fixing Dave’s farm! Get our money back from him!” even if there’s a less visible cause like mayoral embezzlement. But in the OP example, many of the participants are unaware of some foundational problem like the robbery or missing funds. They see the reaction in its sole context, and judge it through that alone.