The Three Forms of Racism or of Abuse

Europe's scapegoat: everybody gets to blame the Jews.

There are three kinds of children in a dysfunctional family. All three are abused, but in different ways.

First, there is the scapegoat. He or she is abused because the parent, and perhaps also the siblings, envy them. This will be the smartest, most moral, or most attractive child—like Cinderella. And hated for it, as Cain hated Abel.

Second, there is the black sheep. He or she is not hated, but looked down on. He is pushed around on the probably false premise that he is irresponsible, not capable of looking after himself—like Jack of Jack in the Beanstalk. He may be neglected, but not actively abused. He may even be cared for, but contemptuously.

Third, there is the golden child. He or she is actually pampered and favoured. But this too is a sort of abuse. He or she is “taken care of” like a pet, but is not allowed to manage his or her own affairs—like Sleeping Beauty. Not a hard life, but lacking in human dignity.

These roles should sound familiar. We see the same triage among groups in a sick society. One minority group will get picked on for being too successful; another gets picked on for being shiftless and lazy, the black sheep. A third gets pampered, but controlled.

The Jews are an example of the first, and blacks in America of the second. It is important to notice, and nobody seems to notice, that they are discriminated against in more or less opposite ways. Nobody talks about the blacks secretly controlling everything. Quotas at universities or in employment never work against blacks. And, most importantly, nobody wants to kill all the blacks. That level of hatred is reserved for the scapegoat.

The Jews still get this attitude, as they always have, but the scapegoat role has more recently been shifting to “straight while males.” Everybody gets in a free kick at them. They are in a very dangerous situation.

Women are an example of the third form of abuse, the “golden child.” Traditionally, they have been given favoured treatment in all kinds of ways. Everything they do is wonderful; they can do no wrong. They are much less likely to be charged or convicted of a crime; if convicted, they will get a lighter punishment. In some traditional societies, they are immune from prosecution. They are exempt from military service; in many societies, they are not obliged to earn a living, but can always demand to be supported by the nearest male relative.

They were, however, not allowed to make their own decisions. They are treated like pets.

Not all forms of abuse are equal; surely the scapegoat has a far greater grievance than the black sheep, who has a far greater grievance than the golden child.

Given human nature, however, it is the golden child who will complain most loudly, and be the hardest to satisfy. They are, after all, used to getting whatever they want. They expect to be taken care of, and so feel it is incumbent on the rest of us to make them feel better. Think of The Princess and the Pea.

Accordingly, feminism demands far more changes from the rest of society than the Jews or the blacks do or ever did.

In a way, this is the hardest form of abuse to ever overcome. For the abused, or for those around them. It is more than likely that, no matter what is done, reconciliation will never come. They will naturally want more responsibility, but at the same time will object to the withdrawal of any privileges, and will refuse to accept responsibility when things go wrong.

Canada’s “First Nations” have sometimes been seen as black sheep, but more often, they have been Canada’s “golden children,” “noble savages,” kept on their reserves, as Buffy Ste. Marie has observed, like wildlife on a game preserve. Or like huggable pets.