The Art Of Blame Analysis

Blame: Forever Present

The art of blame has plagued all societies since humans have had the ability to process the rightness and wrongness of a situation. Even the most notable and praised philosophers of all time have taken notice to the illness known as blame and blame's companion, guilt. These two feelings occur in people and can be affected by any difficult circumstance a person may come across. As Plato gracefully informed society, “[i]n their misfortunes, people tend to blame fate, gods and everything else, but not themselves” (qtd. in “Status Minds” n.pag.). The acknowledgment Plato makes to blame and how people accuse others is important to the understanding of guilt; similarly, the understanding of how acting this way is a problem

in the past and now, in the present. From this, one can say that guilt lies within all people, although more often than not, the lower rank feels the misplaced blame, rather than those who bear the actual responsibility; therefore, society is doomed to a much darker fate.
In order to understand the issue of blaming, people must see that everyone is inherently guilty in some way whether it be consciously or unknowingly. By the Cambridge English dictionary, guilt is defined as the fact or state of having done something wrong or committed a crime. This is the idea of guilt humanity sees. A murderer or robber is clearly guilty for what they have done, they have negatively impacted their victim’s life, possibly changing the victim’s behavior for the rest of their lives. This is a problem all people take seriously. Guilt can not only be found in the wrongful acts committed or shameful behavior overheard, it can be something much less noticeable. The guilt acknowledged by the human race is put upon a certain class of people. Thieves. Rapists. Murderers. All are responsible for the crimes they have committed, but society fails to see the guilt in not doing something. The wise French philosopher Voltaire once said that “[e]very man is guilty of all good he did not do” (qtd. in Goodreads n.pag.). If every avoided good deed contributes to guilt, it changes the game for who is culpable and who is not. Now, not helping someone who has dropped something, or simply not holding the door for someone is a factor in a person's moral responsibility. With this idea, one can see that every person has some guilt, no matter the degree. In that case, then someone who did not hold the door open should feel accountability just as someone who has robbed a bank. Although people can clearly identify who is more guilty in the situation, what truly comes into the light is how a person deals with their burden.
The guilt that everyone carries is dealt most often through knowingly or unknowingly projection. The word ‘projection’ has a negative connotation amongst the general population because unwanted emotions are commonly projected. Those:
[I]ndividuals unconsciously ‘project’ onto others motivations, intentions or actions that
they actually harbor themselves, but which they would feel far too unnerved or guilty
about to acknowledge as their own. (Simon n.pag.)
This confirms that all individuals have guilt that they do not necessarily know how to deal with. The majority project, meaning to defend themselves against qualities they find undesirable. These projections end up on those seen as inferior; even though the person projecting feels the emotion. While most people project, the individuals who project consciously are fully aware of how their words and actions could be seen as dishonorable. As best said by Dr. George Simon, an internationally recognized expert on troubled individuals, “disordered characters know what they are doing. They are fully conscious about what they know others would see as the wrongfulness of their behavior” (n.pag.). The people who are guilty blame others in an attempt to make it appear as though the cause of their own shameful behavior is someone else’s fault. They are aware that what they are saying and doing is wrong, however, at this point the individual wants nothing more than for the dishonorable behavior to be completely pushed onto someone weaker than them. They frame the inferior at any cost to prove themselves to be more ideal. This action of blaming others for something they have not felt or done is a key factor in a person's progression of character. If a person is ‘projecting’, they are feeling the unwanted emotion in themselves. Be that as it is, their reaction speaks volumes because these people are unable to cope with their inner personalities. These people have problems speaking out and condemn those around them to a constant barrage of excuses, poor attitude and inability to behave responsibly. Nonetheless, the fallacious behavior continues without action towards a positive change. The blaming of others is a problem, yet the population blaming others knowingly is majorly impactful in ways that will forever harm progression. If the lower class is being projected upon with full awareness, it illustrates that people think this current way of acting is okay. This translates to the idea that change will not come. The social protocol is of negative words, and disgraceful actions. This can only change when people see the way awareness has become acceptance and tolerance to a horrible act. Therefore a person with such characteristics negatively impacts the societal norm and suggests a malignant future is impending.
Although most people project, the people they surround themselves with effect when they cast emotions away.

Most often a person will impose their opinion or feelings when in a group setting rather than speaking out alone, Leon F. Litwack, a history Professor at University of Berkeley, claims that the participants in the 1920 Duluth lynchings, “inflicted their terror as crowds and mobs, rarely as individuals” (5). Guilt can be found in every person, but the way individuals come together in a mob setting and project their guilt onto the victims of the situation points to a darker problem. If such people had been alone, mob mentality research points to the fact that they would not have acted in such an extreme way and caused so much harm. In the specific setting of the lynchings, the mob's superior power leads ordinary people to blame their own prejudice upon three innocent men who died for nothing but others inner problems. Although this outcome was severe, prejudiced thoughts and opinions impact those who are supposedly innocent all too often: the youth. In parts of Mississippi, the teenage population feels that they can be racist and judgemental because of the way they were raised (Prom Night n.pag.). They claim that their parents raised them to be as they are with similar ideas and that is why the teens behave like they do. The awareness seen in the teens is uplifting, and a source of light in the darkness of this world. However, with every positive, the infliction of

a negative is unavoidable. The youth acknowledges what they say and do is wrong, yet none of them make a strong push to change their erroneous behavior for the greater good. As a whole, the way society deals with oppressive behaviors is vital. If a large portion of our population feels intolerant towards one group of people or idea, the chance of retaliation greatly increases. In order to deal with a widespread problem, people must convene to discuss solutions, but then the introduction of mob mentality abolishes any chance of an unbiased evaluation of the situation. As Litwack has said, the creation of terror is imminent when groups are involved yet preventable when a person is alone. Nevertheless, the world attempts to come together and the problem only gets more complex. It cannot be solved together or alone. To fix this issue humanity must stop blaming others without looking where the problem's origin is. The young exhibit strong changes in mindset, however, the real swing in thinking can only occur when the problem is dealt with simultaneously alone and hand in hand with others.
The way people deal with guilt can vary, however, its impact on humanity almost always leads to a negative future.

The overall population can recognize that they are blaming others and not acknowledging their own emotions yet, society cannot accept the concept that most people want to blame others, even though their reasoning is poor. Omar H. Ali, a Professor at North Carolina Greensboro, stated that it “seems we want to blame or accuse others for whatever is happening” (n.pag.). This general statement encompasses everything humanity must seek to understand. All people can find something in themselves or around them that they find corrupt or shameful. As Ali has said people will want to find any reason to blame others if it means they are kept untainted to the eye by vile conduct. It is simply easier to blame others. Professors such as Ali have performed extensive research, but no chemical formula or chart can ever delve into human thought wholly. As humans think and process emotion, the expectation is that some form of average thinking will arise amongst people.The issue does not necessarily lie with the norm but in the people. Those who find their behavior shameful can accept that their thoughts are wrong and hurtful, however, they want to blame others and the person receiving blame is almost always someone weaker. It is the classic scenario of predator and prey. With this system, eventually, everyone will have to project to stay ‘superior’. As Martin Luther King Jr. once

said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that” (qtd. in “Famous Quotes on”n.pag.). Taking into account the connotation of darkness as evil or disgraceful, the concept of guilt can replace the word darkness. Those projecting negativity, cause only pain to the victim, which in return causes them to feel the darkness and shamefulness of actions they may or may not have done. The understanding that a failed solution repeated numerous times will not convey a different result is crucial to the progress of humanity everywhere. The achievement of equality and less blame is possible, but only through a changed mindset; the said changed mindset can be seen as metaphorical light. By using the adapted thought process, people can root out guilt once and for all. When people see the want to blame others as unacceptable, discrimination can be stopped. Only then will the light shine and change will happen for the better.
The understanding that guilt can be found in everyone and that it is often pushed upon inferiors is the telling sign of whether humanity's future remains bleak, or if it will illuminate a new possibility of less blaming and more acceptance. The acknowledgment of guilt in everyone and the comprehension of how people cope with guilt creates a hope for the future. Even so, one must look into the setbacks to make progress; individuals continue to be influenced by their peers and no current action is being taken which results in a lack of a positive fate. The act of casting emotions away and feeling guilty represents a plague for humanity to eradicate, yet the great philosopher Plato back in history could grasp the concept of blaming. He knew it was an issue, but all people have continued to evolve far from where they were in the past. The future needs to keep progressing, always improving.