Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

JayMerill

wrong in the house, like if the washing machine got blocked or the window in the hallway wouldn’t open, I was the one who was blamed. And this is what happens when you get a bunch of people in a house together I realised, though I hadn’t understood itat first. There is like, a group situation. And every group needs to have a victim all of its own who can function as a scapegoat for all the ills and terrors that life can throw. And guess what, I was selected to play that role, and guess what again, I wasn’t having it. No way. Before I had a plan I had the smile. Almost unconsciously I made it brighter and more heart- warming than it had ever

been before, in order to disarm them. But for some reason the house got increasingly harder to please. The brighter the smile the greater the level of mistrust, it seemed. Were their instincts spot on after all? I’d have said they knew nothing, that they were brain-dead tv consumers. Music zombies. So it just went to show. Anyway, I had to be on my guard even more thoroughly, and that included not making the assumption that my co- sharers were so out of it they wouldn’t see a thing. I think now, yes, people do have their instincts. And in fact instinct is drawn upon very strongly when it comes to the setting up of a scapegoat figure. For I’ve become convinced the scapegoat

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