People or things unfairly blamed or punished for the mistakes or problems of others.
From the Biblical practice in Leviticus where a goat was symbolically laden with the sins of the people and sent into the wilderness; the term evolved to mean any person bearing blame for collective guilt.
The original scapegoat ritual was a genius psychological technology—by literally pushing one animal away carrying everyone's sins, the community could reset emotionally, which is why the pattern of finding a scapegoat is so universal and dangerous in human groups.
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