Are journalists complicit in the attack on Sir Fred?

As reported yesterday,  Sir Fred Goodwin’s Edinburgh house was attacked by a group called Bankers are Criminals. My first response, shamefully, was  to grin. Like everyone caught up in the economic downturn, my feelings towards bankers and the odious city-boy culture have hardened over the past few months.

But on reflection, I cannot help but wonder if journalists need to ask themselves whether they might be to blame. Goodwin has come to personify the evils of boom and bust, and that smug photo of him on the phone has been splashed across papers, TV and webistes for weeks. All of society’s frustration, anger, and sense of injustice have been poured into one figure and Goodwin has taken on all the attributes of a pantomime villain, except the confidence on our part that ultimately he will meet his comeuppance.

I wonder how much we have let the particularly precarious position of our own industry feed our Fred-frenzy? This week’s attack may prove that the anger we have stirred up is now out of control. Shame on any journalist who now piously condemns Bankers for Criminals (shame too on opposition politicians). Between us we have goaded the public to the point where an act like this became inevitable.

Study most revolutions and you will find journalists whipping up public anger to the point of no return. I am not saying we are heading for a revolution. But we must acknowledge we are playing with fire, and Sir Fred’s Mercedes may not be the most serious casualty.