Fall guy
Encyclopedia
A fall guy is a person used as a scapegoat
to take the blame
for someone else's actions, or someone at the butt of joke
s. One placed in the position of fall guy is often referred to as "taking the fall". In the film industry
, a fall guy is a form of stock character
.
promoted a search to properly unearth its origins.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01wwln-safire.t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin His follow-up article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/magazine/29wwlnsafire.t.html?ref=magazine.
Four slightly different usages for "fall guy" arise. The origins of all four are probably different. The usages are:
The phrase may have originated separately more than once, or the term may have cross-pollinated to different industries and thereby gained additional meanings. In any case, if the origin of "fall guy" was as the criminal scapegoat, then whenever its written origins were, they are apt to be much later than its first verbalized use, since putting criminal conspiracies into print leads to shorter careers for crooks. Another subtle point is that the criminal usage gets back to the original sense of 'felon' (derived from fallen, morally).
Other alternatives and citations:
. This has been largely discredited .
(1921–1923). The term is allegedly named for Albert B. Fall
, a U.S. Senator from New Mexico
who served as Secretary of the Interior
during Harding's years in office and became notorious for his involvement in the infamous Teapot Dome Scandal
. Though a popular story, this was not the case - although this event may have popularized a phrase (via post-hoc eponymy) that may have otherwise died an inglorious death. Still, the Albert Fall story might be the crucial connection that elevated the term to apply, not merely to everyday crime, but to political debacles.
The legitimization of the phrase seems to have occurred in the 1940s, primarily with the meaning of "take on work/responsibility". A paper on "Isolationism is not dead" (Jstor.org) quotes an anonymous editorial from a paper in the Pacific Northwest on the topic of the Bretton Woods and the Food Conferences upon which the US became the "'fall guy', the one to carry the load". This seems to complete both requirements at once, yet the meaning is clearly not that of the scapegoat. By 1950, fall guy, in the context of unions and industrial society, meant the low man on the totem poll, to whom the unimportant tasks would be assigned, specifically that of filling out questionnaires (Research in Labor Unions; see Jstor.org as well) .
By the 1950s and 1960s, 'fall guy' came to mean public "whipping boy", albeit in the abstract, metaphorical sense. Advertising firms were the 'fall guy' yet no specific adman was to blame. In a 1960 paper on the 'Politics of Pollution,' public officials, to deflect criticism over landfills, found a 'fall guy' but they picked no low-ranking worker to be sacrificed, they blamed instead abstract, faceless bodies: "the federal government, state governments and private disposal companies". http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8906(198631)47%3A1%3C71%3ATPOPIF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3 The fall man still lacked a name and face. Other abstract 'fall guys' included the railroad and bank capital.
The rise of the political 'fall guy' seems to come from one of three events:
1. JFK assassination: Oswald claimed himself a patsy, but he was not officially labelled a 'fall guy' until 1964, by Joachim Joesten, in his book 'Oswald, Assassin or Fall Guy?' Oswald “was ‘a fall guy’ to use the parlance of the kind of men who must have planned the details of the assassination”.http://karws.gso.uri.edu/jfk/The_critics/Joesten/Joestenbio.html http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OLD29G/
Oswald himself was never a political figure (although few fall guys really are political figures until their fall).
2. Watergate: Former Attorney General John Mitchell claimed he was being set up as a 'fall guy' http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F17F73E59137A93C2AB178ED85F478785F9.
Besides Mitchell, other fall guys were in the works. In "Public Doublespeak: On Mistakes and Misjudgments", Terence Moran cites the fall guy, but also specifically highlights the parallels between a transcript of both Nixon and Dean and a scene from The Maltese Falcon, specifically the one where Wilmer the gunman is sold out; pulp fiction meets pulp politics. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-0994(197503)36%3A7%3C837%3APDOMAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N Also cited were the classical signs of the complicitous fall guy: defense funds, care of family and the duplicitous language of conspiracy itself.
(It is only of minor curiosity that Safire, the instigator of this inquiry, is himself quoted in the above article).
Other retrospective articles on the era which use the phrase include: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED91639F930A35754C0A965948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all .
Still, widespread use of the phrase does not seem to follow specifically from this event. We saw an increased rise later in the 1980s (see numbers below).
3. Iran Contra: While clearly not the first case, it was the first case in which the term clearly exploded into public consciousness, if not quite into everyday parlance. (Pre-contra, Safire seems to have kept the phrase alive in the mid-1980s (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B14F63B5C0C758DDDAC0894DB484D81 and http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13FD385C0C7A8EDDAE0894DD484D81).
Two reasons why use of the phrase 'fall guy' may have exploded after Iran-Contra in 1987:
Articles from the times (and incidentally also the NY Times):
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DF1F38F933A25754C0A961948260
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D71E38F934A25754C0A961948260.
Articles from the Washington Post: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/8395346.html?dids=8395346&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=May+7%2C+1989&author=McGrory%2C+Mary&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=B1&desc=Ollie%3A++Felon+and+Fall+Guy
The political crossover might be complete, as well as the functional vibrancy of the word itself, after the Libby trial (2007), given that a mere citizen-juror used the phrase as he left the courthouse .
In corporate managerial classes, by 1988 the 'fall guy' was fully institutionalized as a principle, a component of what every good manager needs (R. Jackall, The World of Corporate Management, 1988).
A few examples http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602676.html?nav=rss_print/outlook
of fall guys:
For the political appointees, it seems that resignation and public shaming is enough punishment. Most political appointees can readily find jobs as lobbyists or elsewhere in the public sector, so no financial consequence really follows. Yet, perhaps the political fall guy must suffer some 'political death' (this topic is left for others to expand or contest). For the military officers, a punishment of demotion or reassignment is real enough.
With criminal groups, the fall guy would often be the lowest 'ranking' member, who would take the fall (face arrest and criminal charges) so that the rest could go free. Whether or not the lowest member could rely on the rest for support once out of prison is debatable; in the political arena, the fall guy seems to function much the same:
In politics, scandals can sometimes be resolved with simple statements of responsibility and atonement. When they cannot, "heads must roll" - in other words, parties must pay a price; often this comes with the resignation of a fall guy. If an advertising jingle were to sum it up, perhaps it would be "say it with resignations".
The fall guy also functions on the level of political consciousness. When a scandal erupts, it is not only the accused that suffer, but the whole of government. The scandal saturates media attention and grinds the machinery of government to a halt. So when the fall guy suffers his fate, its purpose is not only to protect his political bosses, but also to help the country 'move forward' with its business. Whether the advent of the 24 hour news cycle has increased the use of fall guys or not is an open question.
With political consciousness, the fall guy and his demise also maintain the framework that consequences exist and that justice shall be meted out. But if a single fall guy can absorb the punishment of many other guilty parties, the justice is mostly symbolic. So perhaps a little justice is better than no justice at all.
This book, Scapegoats: Transferring Blame, by Tom Douglas, attempts to deal with the actual process of scapegoating and public life, the ritualisation of scapegoating, and related topics in an academic sense.http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN041511019X&id=5bZRz31x3IcC
Another book deals primarily with Iran-contra, but also with the public exorcising of the fall guy.http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0822317389&id=NAEUpH2p9GQC&
A curious example of the fall guy is Oliver North, who perhaps more appropriately 'fell on his sword', and takes pride in that loyal act (Washington Post article above). In his case, the act may have functioned more as a ritual (symbolic) suicide than merely taking the rap. The actual phrases 'fall guy' and 'fall on [your] sword' are used in this article, quite close to each other, and yet seem not to interact at all, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D71E38F934A25754C0A961948260.
or here (reprint): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/OPINION03/703210358/1110/OPINION
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283(199022)65%3A2%3C193%3AOTOOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
For something on Teapot Dome:
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
to take the blame
Blame
Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, making negative statements about an individual or group that their action or actions are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for doing something wrong their action is blameworthy...
for someone else's actions, or someone at the butt of joke
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
s. One placed in the position of fall guy is often referred to as "taking the fall". In the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
, a fall guy is a form of stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
.
Origin
The origin of "fall guy" is currently unknown. Many sources (see below) place the origin at the early 20th century, and some claim it is of even earlier origin. As such, the origin of the term is a source of open contention. In April 2007, William SafireWilliam Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
promoted a search to properly unearth its origins.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01wwln-safire.t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin His follow-up article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/magazine/29wwlnsafire.t.html?ref=magazine.
- The most likely origin of "fall guy" is a derivation of the slang 'fall' which means to be arrested, so the fall guy is, generally, one who is arrested. http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Fall As yet, no citation of 'fall' in this context has been placed prior to the 1904/1906 origin dates claimed by HDAS and OED, respectively.
Four slightly different usages for "fall guy" arise. The origins of all four are probably different. The usages are:
- Scapegoat (innocent). [implies the same as 3]
- "Betrayed confederate" (guilty scapegoat); here one criminal (willingly or unwillingly) is arrested and sacrificed, while the rest of the criminals go free. [implies the same as 4, sometimes 3]
- Dupe, the fool; the butt of jokes.
- 'One who takes on the responsibilities or workload of others' (see Gary Martin, below). Possibly used in the worker-bee, gruntwork sense. No foul play implied.
The phrase may have originated separately more than once, or the term may have cross-pollinated to different industries and thereby gained additional meanings. In any case, if the origin of "fall guy" was as the criminal scapegoat, then whenever its written origins were, they are apt to be much later than its first verbalized use, since putting criminal conspiracies into print leads to shorter careers for crooks. Another subtle point is that the criminal usage gets back to the original sense of 'felon' (derived from fallen, morally).
Other alternatives and citations:
- The term "fall guy" appears in a April 26, 1903 Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
article "PLOT TO DEFEAT MUELLER BILL"
- According to a source, Lighter's Historical Dictionary of American Slang (HDAS) places the origin in 1904 (although it is apparently missing citations for 1906). The usage here may have a flavor relating more to the 'straight scapegoat' and less of the 'betrayed confederate'. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/browse_thread/thread/01f4571ca01a5354/c7794bc822a3d42c?lnk=raot&&_done=%2Fgroup%2Falt.usage.english%2Fbrowse_thread%2Fthread%2F01f4571ca01a5354%2Fc7794bc822a3d42c%3Flnk%3Draot%26
- According to the same source the Oxford English Dictionary places the origin in 1906 (Green At Actors' Boarding House 226). The usage here conforms to that of the 'betrayed confederate'. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/browse_thread/thread/01f4571ca01a5354/c7794bc822a3d42c?lnk=raot&&_done=%2Fgroup%2Falt.usage.english%2Fbrowse_thread%2Fthread%2F01f4571ca01a5354%2Fc7794bc822a3d42c%3Flnk%3Draot%26
- "Who Planned the Steunenberg Murder?; Forthcoming Trial of the Men Charged With Conspiracy in the Assassination of Idaho's Ex-Governor. Most Sensational Case of Its Kind Since the Trial of Guiteau, the Murderer of Garfield---Will the Extraordinary Confession of Orchard, Who Turned State's Evidence, Be Corroborated? Who Planned the Assassination of Ex-Governor Steunenberg of Idaho?" (NY Times, April 29, 1906, Sunday). This article is different to but concurrent with the OED citation (no within year dates for OED citation yet found). Available only to in NY Times Archive (unless the NYTimes decides to open up this particular article) http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0C1FF83A5A12738DDDA00A94DC405B868CF1D3
- In the article, a minor criminal (named Adams) is not sent a defense attorney, while many other of his colleagues are. Out of pique, he calls the police and confesses; his quote: "They can't make me the 'fall guy'".
- The quote leaves open the three various flavors of meaning: one who takes the workload/responsibility, one who is duped, and one who is sacrificed (by a guilty group). Other 1906 citation possibly/probably relate to this source.
- Online Etymological Dictionary places the origin at 1906. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Fall&searchmode=none The actual passage they cite is unstated, although probably citing the OED.
- Gary Martin places the origin to at least 1904 (Oakland Tribune, Dec 1904) although possibly earlier. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/fall-guy.html Although the citation Martin provides shades meaning more closely to "one who takes on the responsibilities or workload of others" (this sense seems analogous to the modern phrase 'delegate down') than to the more criminal connotation. He also makes a connection to the phrase 'fall money' which existed in late 19th century American idiom. If fall guy derives from 'fall money,' then it may be the earliest possibility. (Seems to be a quote different from, yet concurrent with, JE Lighter's.)
- "POOLROOM SHARPS SWOOP ON BASEBALL; Crippled Badly by Race Track Legislation, Gamblers Turn to National Game." NY Times, February 28, 1911, Tuesday; the phrase 'fall guy' here refers, apparently, to a sucker who makes bets at bad odds (confirmation?). There is a reference to being unable (or with difficulty) to hedge bets against a "'Dutch' book -- with reverse English." No guilt is associated with the fall guy, only gullibility. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30910F9385517738DDDA10A94DA405B818DF1D3
- This old story, a run-down of plays by Time magazine from March 23, 1925, clearly puts this usage during a time during which, if Teapot Dome really related to this phrase, such references to that scandal might be found. No references to Teapot Dome are found. Usage: innocent scapegoat duped into criminal activity and attracting the attention of police. Usage of the phrase is almost decadent, as in 'unrestrained gratification; self-indulgent' (free online dictionary), but also as in the period just past its historical high-watermark; many plays of the era seem to have focused on the plight of the fall guy and the rise of crime that came with the Prohibition; the play cited in the article already seems a re-hash of various plays that came before it). The article more clearly conveys the full sweep, and as such, is suggested reading (scroll to middle of page). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881458,00.html
- Was at least in prominent usage by 1930 when Hammett published The Maltese Falcon. Hammett's usage differs somewhat from some of the earlier definitions in that the "fall guy" was not just an innocent scapegoat blamed for the wrongdoing belonging in whole to other parties, but rather the part of a criminal group (in which blame/guilt should be shared) which is then jettisoned and sacrificed to get the heat off of the rest of the group. Thus, the scapegoat is guilty anyway and it is with this sense that the word is commonly used today.
- Various compiled glossaries:
- "WORDS NOT WHAT THEY SEEM; In Underworld Argot They Have Different Meanings From Those Found in Dictionaries", NYTimes July 19, 1931, Sunday; article about John Wilstach compiled jargon dictionary has both 'fall guy' and 'fall money'. So both phrases were well known and out in public by then. Available in NY Times Archive. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0A16FC3C5F1B728DDDA00994DF405B818FF1D3
- Possibly arose from Hobo lingo, given that Hobo origins predate the turn of the 20th century, the origin might lie here. Or they may have just picked it up from the criminal classes (academic citation, 1926) http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283(192609)1%3A12%3C650%3AHL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O (A similar meaning is found in 'Vocabulary of Bums').
-
-
- fall guy, n. easy victim
-
- Criminal lingo (undated). (academic citation) http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283%28193502%2910%3A1%3C10%3ATLOTG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5&size=LARGE
-
-
- to fall, n. to get in trouble with the law
-
- Prison Parlance (see Jstor.org)
-
-
- fall, v. go to prison; n. a term in prison (see also 'get up')
-
- Lingo of the Good People (see Jstor.org)
-
-
- fall money, n. defense fund
- fall guy - clumsy thief (who gets caught)
-
- - one who involuntarily takes rap
-
- Definition from American Underworld Dictionary gives slightly different meanings: 1. Any person, guilty or innocent (emphasis added), who takes full blame to shield others. 2. A fool; a bungling criminal; a stupid tool of crafty criminals. "These stirs (prisons) are full of fall guys and squares (accidental criminals). All the hip (smart) ghees (fellows) hit the counties (country jails) or the street (win acquittals or bribe their way out)". http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Fall%20guy (see also their usage of 'fall dough'http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=bite)
- "CIRCUS FANS INDUCT ADMIRAL WOODWARD; He Becomes the 'Fall Guy' for Saints and Sinners" NYTimes February 27, 1941, Thursday; usage referring plainly to 'butt of jokes' with no criminal connotation. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10614FD3859167B93C5AB1789D85F458485F9
- Other sources assert origin to 1906, although without attribution. http://www.northvegr.org/holy/f.php
- Origin in 19th century professional wrestling http://www.mindlesscrap.com/origins/more-a.htm#F (this site does not provide citation). Significantly predates other origins, so claims must be met with scrutiny and skepticism, demanding a citation.
- This Voice of America radio broadcast transcript also supports this position, but proper supporting citations are not yet found. http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2007-03-19-voa2.cfm
- One hypothesis puts its origins with the rising film industry; thus, the "fall guy" was a stock character. Considering early film may have relied on much slapstick/physical comedy, this hypothesis might have some merit. Additionally, the film industry's beginnings were in the early 1900s, which is consistent with some other speculation.
- The Washington Post may have a few citations from as early as 1905 and 1906, but this has not been confirmed (they are in the WaPo archive, access limited) http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/results.html?st=advanced&uid=&MAC=50a23aa1f3f5c6104e90e36051420d61&QryTxt=%22fall+guy%22&x=12&y=10&sortby=CHRON&datetype=0&frommonth=01&fromday=01&fromyear=1877&tomonth=12&today=31&toyear=1986&By=&Title=&restrict=articles.
- (A search on www.jstor.org for 'fall guy' brings up many more historical cases.)
Discredited origins
Various sources attribute the origin of fall guy to 'Guy Fawkes' and the Gunpowder PlotGunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
. This has been largely discredited .
Teapot connection
One popular myth is that the word's origin dates back to the 1920s, during the administration of U.S. President Warren G. HardingWarren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
(1921–1923). The term is allegedly named for Albert B. Fall
Albert B. Fall
Albert Bacon Fall was a United States Senator from New Mexico and the Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, infamous for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal.-Early life and family:...
, a U.S. Senator from New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
who served as Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
during Harding's years in office and became notorious for his involvement in the infamous Teapot Dome Scandal
Teapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States in 1922–23, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low...
. Though a popular story, this was not the case - although this event may have popularized a phrase (via post-hoc eponymy) that may have otherwise died an inglorious death. Still, the Albert Fall story might be the crucial connection that elevated the term to apply, not merely to everyday crime, but to political debacles.
Weaknesses
References to 'fall guy' and Albert Fall seem conspicuously nonexistent. The book, The Tempest Over Teapot Dome, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806130784/ contains no references to 'fall guy' (as checked by Amazon text search). A Time article from the period makes no reference to 'fall guys,' although the scandal may have had yet to fully play out. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,928930-1,00.htmlPolitical crossover
Given that 'fall guy' originated from lower elements of society, one can ask how the phrase came into the political arena. (Mark Twain quips on Congress aside). Teapot Dome seems not to provide the link. To successfully enter politics, two things must occur: the phrase must be legitimized (cleansed) and the phrase must be tied to a political event.The legitimization of the phrase seems to have occurred in the 1940s, primarily with the meaning of "take on work/responsibility". A paper on "Isolationism is not dead" (Jstor.org) quotes an anonymous editorial from a paper in the Pacific Northwest on the topic of the Bretton Woods and the Food Conferences upon which the US became the "'fall guy', the one to carry the load". This seems to complete both requirements at once, yet the meaning is clearly not that of the scapegoat. By 1950, fall guy, in the context of unions and industrial society, meant the low man on the totem poll, to whom the unimportant tasks would be assigned, specifically that of filling out questionnaires (Research in Labor Unions; see Jstor.org as well) .
By the 1950s and 1960s, 'fall guy' came to mean public "whipping boy", albeit in the abstract, metaphorical sense. Advertising firms were the 'fall guy' yet no specific adman was to blame. In a 1960 paper on the 'Politics of Pollution,' public officials, to deflect criticism over landfills, found a 'fall guy' but they picked no low-ranking worker to be sacrificed, they blamed instead abstract, faceless bodies: "the federal government, state governments and private disposal companies". http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8906(198631)47%3A1%3C71%3ATPOPIF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3 The fall man still lacked a name and face. Other abstract 'fall guys' included the railroad and bank capital.
The rise of the political 'fall guy' seems to come from one of three events:
1. JFK assassination: Oswald claimed himself a patsy, but he was not officially labelled a 'fall guy' until 1964, by Joachim Joesten, in his book 'Oswald, Assassin or Fall Guy?' Oswald “was ‘a fall guy’ to use the parlance of the kind of men who must have planned the details of the assassination”.http://karws.gso.uri.edu/jfk/The_critics/Joesten/Joestenbio.html http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OLD29G/
Oswald himself was never a political figure (although few fall guys really are political figures until their fall).
2. Watergate: Former Attorney General John Mitchell claimed he was being set up as a 'fall guy' http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F17F73E59137A93C2AB178ED85F478785F9.
Besides Mitchell, other fall guys were in the works. In "Public Doublespeak: On Mistakes and Misjudgments", Terence Moran cites the fall guy, but also specifically highlights the parallels between a transcript of both Nixon and Dean and a scene from The Maltese Falcon, specifically the one where Wilmer the gunman is sold out; pulp fiction meets pulp politics. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-0994(197503)36%3A7%3C837%3APDOMAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N Also cited were the classical signs of the complicitous fall guy: defense funds, care of family and the duplicitous language of conspiracy itself.
(It is only of minor curiosity that Safire, the instigator of this inquiry, is himself quoted in the above article).
Other retrospective articles on the era which use the phrase include: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED91639F930A35754C0A965948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all .
Still, widespread use of the phrase does not seem to follow specifically from this event. We saw an increased rise later in the 1980s (see numbers below).
3. Iran Contra: While clearly not the first case, it was the first case in which the term clearly exploded into public consciousness, if not quite into everyday parlance. (Pre-contra, Safire seems to have kept the phrase alive in the mid-1980s (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B14F63B5C0C758DDDAC0894DB484D81 and http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13FD385C0C7A8EDDAE0894DD484D81).
Two reasons why use of the phrase 'fall guy' may have exploded after Iran-Contra in 1987:
- the steadfastness and loyalty that Oliver North evinced during the hearings.
- Representative Stokes used the phrase during a session of Congress, as entered into the official transcripts (see official transcript, but also "The discourse of American civil society: A new proposal for cultural studies". Jeffrey C. Alexander1 and Philip Smith. Theory & Society: Vol 22, No 2, p 189. See also http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0671659383).
Articles from the times (and incidentally also the NY Times):
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DF1F38F933A25754C0A961948260
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D71E38F934A25754C0A961948260.
Articles from the Washington Post: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/8395346.html?dids=8395346&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=May+7%2C+1989&author=McGrory%2C+Mary&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=B1&desc=Ollie%3A++Felon+and+Fall+Guy
The political crossover might be complete, as well as the functional vibrancy of the word itself, after the Libby trial (2007), given that a mere citizen-juror used the phrase as he left the courthouse .
Other uses
In academic circles, the 'fall guy' was also the 'straw man', the one picked to lose an argument (British Journal of Sociology, a reviewer of the book 'Legitimation of Power').In corporate managerial classes, by 1988 the 'fall guy' was fully institutionalized as a principle, a component of what every good manager needs (R. Jackall, The World of Corporate Management, 1988).
Politics
Recently (1990s), 'fall guy' became a phrase popular among the commentariat . But it seems that, while originally the fall guy had to deal with the authorities (the police), currently the fall guy must deal with public shame and disgrace (a notable exception here is Scooter Libby).A few examples http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602676.html?nav=rss_print/outlook
of fall guys:
- George TenetGeorge TenetGeorge John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
; Iraq WMD false intelligence; resigned. - Scooter Libby; Valerie Plame affair; indicted and convicted, the sentence was later commuted.
- Michael D. BrownMichael D. BrownMichael DeWayne Brown was the first Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response , a division of the Department of Homeland Security . This position is generally referred to as the director or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency . He was appointed in January 2003 by...
; Katrina (relief of); unindicted, resigned. - Col. Janis KarpinskiJanis KarpinskiJanis Leigh Karpinski is a central figure in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal.Karpinski retired as a colonel in the US Army Reserve. She was demoted from Brigadier General in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib scandal for dereliction of duty, making a material misrepresentation to...
; Abu Ghraib scandal; demoted. - Maj. Gen. George W. WeightmanGeorge W. WeightmanMajor General George W. Weightman was a U.S. Army Family Medicine physician who was commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center . He was relieved of his WRAMC command on March 1, 2007, in the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect...
; Walter Reed scandal; status unknown.
For the political appointees, it seems that resignation and public shaming is enough punishment. Most political appointees can readily find jobs as lobbyists or elsewhere in the public sector, so no financial consequence really follows. Yet, perhaps the political fall guy must suffer some 'political death' (this topic is left for others to expand or contest). For the military officers, a punishment of demotion or reassignment is real enough.
With criminal groups, the fall guy would often be the lowest 'ranking' member, who would take the fall (face arrest and criminal charges) so that the rest could go free. Whether or not the lowest member could rely on the rest for support once out of prison is debatable; in the political arena, the fall guy seems to function much the same:
- The fall guy is as low-ranking a politico as possible.
- Political rank should be high enough to ensure outraged partisans that 'justice' has been done, that a sufficient price had been paid.
- Furthermore, the politico that falls must have been in a position of authority related to the scandal (Mike Brown was head of FEMA during the Katrina relief efforts (or lack thereof)).
- Most importantly, the key purpose of a fall guy (i.e. to protect the group from further inquiry), remains.
In politics, scandals can sometimes be resolved with simple statements of responsibility and atonement. When they cannot, "heads must roll" - in other words, parties must pay a price; often this comes with the resignation of a fall guy. If an advertising jingle were to sum it up, perhaps it would be "say it with resignations".
The fall guy also functions on the level of political consciousness. When a scandal erupts, it is not only the accused that suffer, but the whole of government. The scandal saturates media attention and grinds the machinery of government to a halt. So when the fall guy suffers his fate, its purpose is not only to protect his political bosses, but also to help the country 'move forward' with its business. Whether the advent of the 24 hour news cycle has increased the use of fall guys or not is an open question.
With political consciousness, the fall guy and his demise also maintain the framework that consequences exist and that justice shall be meted out. But if a single fall guy can absorb the punishment of many other guilty parties, the justice is mostly symbolic. So perhaps a little justice is better than no justice at all.
This book, Scapegoats: Transferring Blame, by Tom Douglas, attempts to deal with the actual process of scapegoating and public life, the ritualisation of scapegoating, and related topics in an academic sense.http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN041511019X&id=5bZRz31x3IcC
Another book deals primarily with Iran-contra, but also with the public exorcising of the fall guy.http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0822317389&id=NAEUpH2p9GQC&
A curious example of the fall guy is Oliver North, who perhaps more appropriately 'fell on his sword', and takes pride in that loyal act (Washington Post article above). In his case, the act may have functioned more as a ritual (symbolic) suicide than merely taking the rap. The actual phrases 'fall guy' and 'fall on [your] sword' are used in this article, quite close to each other, and yet seem not to interact at all, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D71E38F934A25754C0A961948260.
See also
- PatsyPatsyPatsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" .-Historical usage:...
- The Fall GuyThe Fall GuyThe Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
- The First YearThe First YearThe First Year is a film starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. The movie was written by Lynn Starling from Frank Craven's play and directed by William K. Howard.-Cast:* Janet Gaynor as Grace Livingston* Charles Farrell as Tommy Tucker...
- RedshirtRedshirt (character)A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates with fans of Star Trek , from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers who frequently die during episodes.-Star Trek:...
a type of theatrical fall guy in the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe - For a list of famous fall guys in American politics, from North, to Libby, to Fall, see this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602676.html?nav=rss_print/outlook
or here (reprint): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/OPINION03/703210358/1110/OPINION
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283(199022)65%3A2%3C193%3AOTOOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
For something on Teapot Dome:
- Teapot Dome