Psychodynamics of Scapegoating, Persecution, Bullying Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty. Simone Weil. Gravity and Grace. 1947. Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness. Thomas Carlyle. When love and hate clash, either we feel guilt and make appeasment, or we are persecuted by guilt. Or we can pervert the truth.. Holman Hunt. The Scapegoat Scapegoating in group psychotherapy is scene as an example of projective identification. The seeking of a scapegoat in a group can be seen as a form of resistance, or defence against impulses, wishes or behaviour that needs to be repressed, denied, or in some way removed from consciousness as belonging to the self. The scapegoat is always reacted to because he demonstrates traits that other group members reject. The group-selected scapegoat may have been a scapegoat in his family of origin, and he may have displayed pr
