Fear and guilt are incredibly potent emotions that cause people to do the unthinkable. A normally level-headed civil person can suddenly become a ruthless monster when trying to escape their inner turmoil. This Jekel and Hyde persona wreaks havoc on society when combined with human nature, that is, the willingness to sacrifice others in order to benefit themself. Whether it is salvation from the noose, projection of sin, or simply an attempt to gain land, power, or even safety, scapegoating is utilized with no regard for the consequences. Society has normalized if not encouraged the idea of scapegoating as a way of dealing with these unwanted emotions.
As seen in The Crucible, the selfishness, paranoia, and guilt of Salem citizens leads to the hangings of many- most likely innocent- human beings. In many cases, the fear of losing their lives drove confessions out of the accused. For instance, Judge Danforth says to Mary Warren, “You will confess yourself or you will hang!” and Mary, after more screaming and accusations from the other girls, breaks down and claims Proctor is “the Devil’s man! ... I’ll
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However, what these people fail to realize is just how willing people are to give away the very protections, the rights, that could save them from scapegoating. Source E is a cartoon from the Washington Post portraying how people’s rights were trampled over during the Red Scare, but that society justified it by saying they were hunting Communists, saving America (Source E). This isn’t unusual. When it comes to the illusion of safety, humanity is not opposed to letting every right be violated as long as their witch hunt to find scapegoats, can hide under the guise of patriotism. Despite what some would like to believe, the rights given to people do nothing to prevent scapegoating, especially when they are easily taken