The Importance of Scapegoats in our daily lives.

When growing up, our mothers (maybe just mine) always used two proverbs a lot. The first, spare the rod and spoil the child - was used when unleashing serious lashing unto us. The second, the stubborn fly follows the corpse to the grave - was used when giving us advice or when telling us that "I warned you." The latter could also be likened to the famous adage - a word to the wise is sufficient. There's this popular joke that's been circulating on the World Wide Web and it goes thus - No matter how bad you are, you can always be used as a bad example. Showing how one's infamous nature can help fashion the lives of tens or hundreds or thousands of others. What therefore is the importance of a scapegoat in our daily lives?

A scapegoat can be defined as
1- a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.

2- (in the Bible) a goat sent into the wilderness after the Jewish chief priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it (Lev. 16).
The first known usage of this word in the English language dates back to about 1530.

I'm sure we've all at least once, had this friend who was blamed for our misdemeanors and took the fall for the gang. Sometimes, it would've been us. In school, at home, in the quarters and wherever, we've all been in the situations of either being the scapegoats, designing one or seeing one design himself to salvage the rest of the group. It's not always been easy though. Because the scapegoat gets the punishment of the whole crew - the members he refuses to point out. Such bravery. Such loyalty. But would true loyalty not require the group to turn themselves in, in order to reduce the punishment of their friend? All for one and one for all.

The scapegoat is used as an example of what will happen to you if you don't play by the rules, if you're not wise enough, if you're not sharp. Because like Lapiro would say: "Erreur for mbutuku na dameh for ndoss" - Literally saying If you're stupid, you'll fall into the hands of conmen.
So when your mother gives your brother the beating of his life, it's in admonition. She's saying "If you don't behave, you'll end up like him"
When a neighbour is robbed of millions through an online fraud or some pyramid scheme of any sort, that's the universe telling you to be wary - you might be the next if you don't level up. You need to be smart.

The scapegoats come in to tell us what our mothers always said - The stubborn fly follows the corpse to the grave... A word to the wise is sufficient.

And as they're used as bad examples of what you shouldn't do, of how shouldn't behave, of what you shouldn't be, and of who you shouldn't acquaint, scapegoats are a necessity in our daily lives.

We always need one person to get caught, beat, duped or even killed to understand the gravity of the situation.

Thanks to scapegoats. We learn from you.
Hopefully we don't get to be the scapegoats. But someone has to be.

Who therefore will be the scapegoat and save us all?