Pandemics and scapegoats

Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Human beings have an irresistible tendency to blame others for our misfortunes and our mistakes. In fact, this is a symptom of low maturity, very clear in children, who when they are caught red-handed doing something they shouldn’t, they always try to justify themselves by blaming someone else. But the trend is so widespread that it applies not just to children, but to most human beings.

In the particular case of pandemics, this is seen quite clearly. Epidemic diseases were almost unknown before the invention of cities, which took place some 10,000 years ago. But for a pandemic to be possible (an epidemic affecting a considerable part of the world), the world had to wait until there were great empires, with many internal and external commercial relations.

It is often said that the first pandemic in history took place in the Roman Empire, during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is not known whether it was smallpox or measles. What is known is how it began: in the year 161, the war of the Roman Empire against the Parthian Empire intensified. Five years later, the war ended with a complete success for the Roman army, which even took Ctesiphon, the capital of the Parthians. But the victory was very expensive: during the siege of Ctesiphon the plague arose in the besieging Roman camp, due to overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions. When the Roman army returned to their bases, they spread the plague in all the cities through which they passed: first in Syria; then in Asia Minor; Greece; Italy; and even the most remote regions of the Empire: the British Isles, Hispania and Mauritania Tingitana (Morocco). There is no agreement on the number of deaths; according to some, millions; according to others, that figure is exaggerated. In any case, less than 10% of the population of the Empire.

What there is no doubt about, is who bore the responsibility for the pandemic; who became the scapegoat; who was accused of being guilty of all those deaths: Christians. This is explained by one of the characters in the last chapter of my historical novel The Seal of Aeolus:

“Didn’t our brethren, the Christians, help you?”

“There are very few left in Palmyra. There has been a persecution. When the legions brought the plague, they blamed us Christians. You know, whenever there is a catastrophe, we are the culprits. It was like this from the beginning, since the fire of Rome, in Nero’s time.”

“It’s the same in all of Syria. Everywhere there is persecution. But how could you escape?”

“You know that Trajan ordered that Christians should be persecuted only if someone reported us. No one has reported me. No one knew that I am a Christian, except the brethren. But the persecution has been terrible: Faustina, my friend; Aeneas, the presbyter, my teacher; and many others, were tortured. A few have apostatized, worshiped the statue of the emperor, lost courage at the time of trial. But even they haven’t betrayed me.”

This is how the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic philosopher, a follower of Epictetus, and famous for the tolerance of his Meditations, became one of the great persecutions against Christians, mentioned in all texts of Church history.

Are we in danger of the situation repeating itself during the current pandemic, of someone, whoever it is, being charged with the responsibility for what is happening, so that others can avoid their own? I think the answer must be affirmative, because as I said in another post, we live in a time when everyone tries to escape from the responsibilities of their actions. Who is the scapegoat today? There are several:

• On the one hand, Christians, as usually. A Protestant Pentecostal Church in the state of Mississippi, which went to court to appeal the order forcing it to suspend worship, was destroyed by arson on May 20 (see attached photo).
• On the other hand, the victims, another favorite scapegoat. In this case, those most affected by the pandemic: the elderly. It seems incredible, but in an exhibition of selfishness, some young people accuse the elderly of being the reason why they have been forced to seclude themselves. If you weren’t in danger, we could have lived in peace. A term has even been invented to express the situation: gerontophobia, the hatred of the elderly.
• And finally, the government of Spain is also looking for scapegoats. After failing clamorously, when they allowed the radical feminist demonstrations on March 8, despite numerous warnings of danger; after seizing unique command of the fight against the pandemic, they made mistake after mistake: hiding the real number of deaths; taking shots in the dark about the measures to be adopted; leaving health and safety personnel without means of protection; contracting protection materials and help for the sick through unaccredited intermediaries; buying useless equipment at exorbitant prices; et cetera. And they have the audacity of blaming their own mistakes on the opposition. The worst thing is that there are quite a few Spaniards who believe them.

The same post in Spanish

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Manuel Alfonseca