- How do we know when someone is guilty?
- If we find that someone is guilty of some infraction or crime, can we extrapolate that guilt to other people connected to that person? To business associates? Friends? Family?
- Of what crimes or infractions do we accuse those people who are in relationship with the guilty one?
- How is the phenomenon of scapegoating related to assigning and determining guilt?
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On the one hand, exploring a network of relationships can be a way to investigate a situation more fully. It can help to understand who might be involved in a programme, plot, or plan. It can help to uncover links between events or more information about what was intended. Understanding a web of connections can be very useful.
An example of this might be the way that Dark Journalist is exploring different connections between the mystery schools and US political and deep state operations in his X series (
https://darkjournalist.com/xmaster.php)
On the other hand, when exploring a web of relationships, speculation and suspicion can get out of hand. This could lead to a situation where anyone who is any way connected to the person can be labelled “guilty by association”. This can lead to targeting of the innocent and the destruction of people’s lives and families.
An extreme example of this might be Reign of Terror, led by Robespierre and his committee of public safety, which occurred in the French revolutionary period (https://www.britannica.com/event/Reign-of-Terror). During this time, if someone was reported as having connection to an enemy of the Revolution, they might end up being imprisoned and guillotined.
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This thread is a place to consider different points of view about relationships & associations and assigning blame & guilt, including:
- the necessity of understanding relationship networks,
- the risks of too quickly assuming guilt by association, and
- the issues of scapegoating.
What separates an investigation of a relationship network from accusations of guilt by association?
How do we ensure we’re examining what’s really happening and not falling into scapegoating?