Post by Jersey on Nov 10, 2011 11:50:26 GMT -5
I waited a couple days before posting anything on here so that the story could develop and I could form a well-rounded opinion on it. I believe I've reached that point so here's the topic and my thoughts. I apologize for the lengthy post.
This is being written in the sense that these allegations are true. For now they remain allegations, and nobody has been convicted (yet). Innocent until proven guilty for all people involved still applies, even here.
The entire scandal itself is shocking, disturbing, and sickening to the point that it makes me want to vomit. This is more than one of those "run of the mill" sex scandals where it's he said she said or vice versa. This scandal exposes a dark and disturbing sub-culture on the underbelly of university politics, structure, and leadership. But for those who aren't familiar with the story, I'll give a recap.
Between the mid-90s up until 2009, it is alleged that assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of the Penn State Nittany Lions sexually abused, raped, fondled, etc. roughly eight boys between the ages of 8 through 12. Eight boys. Allegedly he gained access to them through a foundation he started with his wife to give a boost to underprivileged youth, young boys specifically. A noble foundation on the surface, but since this story broke a few days ago one can't help but wonder what Sandusky's true motives were in creating it.
It makes me physically ill to even consider that possibility...
Fast forward to 2002. Graduate Assistant John Mcquery, according to the official reports, happened across Sandusky committing a grievous sex act in a Penn State shower/locker room with a boy that was estimated to have been about 10 years old. Specifically, he was raping or sodomizing the child. It was at this point that the dark university mentality began to come into play.
Mcquery should have immediately done something at that point to stop Sandusky and rescue that child. While I won't say that every person who sees something like that would immediately beat Sandusky to the point where he can no longer hurt anyone again, I think most people would say that they would have done something to stop what was happening in front of them, and maybe save a piece of that child's soul which was literally being ripped apart in front of him.
But he didn't do either. He retreated and called his father, who told him to go home for the day. He did, and waited a full day before he said something to anyone. While I agree he at least did something about what he saw, he should have immediately acted to save the child or have Sandusky stopped. But he didn't. He went up the chain of command instead, in a situation where he should have called the police immediately. For his role, I believe Mcquery shares a large portion of the responsibility for Sandusky's behavior being swept under the rug, allowed to continue his foundation, and also allowed to continue raping young children. As for that, others are to blame even more, and I'm getting to them, but at the outset of this being exposed not enough was done. Since Sandusky is alleged to have raped young boys up until 2009, he got seven more years to continue this pattern of evil abuse towards those who are most vulnerable. For his role, Mcquery failed. Although he did try to do something about it, the fact that he didn't act immediately, waited a full day before saying anything (and therefore allowed it to continue and Sandusky to "finish"), did not call the police, and went up the chain of command instead of going to the law, means he failed that child and the children that were abused after him. The fact that Mcquery still has a job and hasn't been removed from the university along with others is very surprising to me.
I'll get to head coach Joe Paterno last since he's the one generating the most support and controversy at the same time, so now I'll turn to the administration. Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director, both resigned amid this scandal and turned themselves in to the proper authorities for covering up the rape of the 10 year old. Both deserve jail time. I feel the only thing comparable to an act of evil like the rape, is participating in the act itself or covering it up. That's what these two did. They deserve what they get. University President Graham Spanier deserves exactly the same punishment, since Schultz and Curley are both implicating him in the coverup of the abuse. He just hasn't admitted yet along with them. He was fired last night and there's no question that was the right decision.
Joe Paterno is one of the figures involved in this situation that is generating both support and criticism. He was the one Mcquery first called and then visited the day following the incident in the bathroom. To his credit, Paterno at least took some action in that he reported what he had been told to his superiors. But that is where any praise for Paterno ends with me. Although he did do something, once again not enough was done. If he decided against confronting Sandusky himself, I can understand that. But Paterno should have immediately called the police and had an investigation opened. No matter how close he may be to Sandusky, no matter how many years they worked together, he should have reported it to the proper authorities right away. As a man in a position of such power (some argue he held more power than the university president), he could have made sure that this was ended and Sandusky would have been punished. But he didn't. He stuck to reporting to the chain of command, again. He also never followed up on this incident, and was ultimately told that the investigation was completed and Sandusky's keys to that locker room had been taken from him.
What does that say to you? What it says to me is that the administration came to the conclusion that something happened, to the point where they took Sandusky's keys from him and banned him from the locker room. They concluded he acted inappropriately, therefore. At that point the investigation turned cold, and it was swept under the rug. While Paterno is not a bad guy, I still don't feel he bears as much of the blame as Mcquery does for his inaction, but he must be held accountable for his own. While he may not have witnessed it, he simply didn't do enough. The Board of Trustees certainly felt that way, and Paterno was fired last night along with the president, hours after announcing his retirement following the end of the season.
Many people out there are defending Paterno, saying he tried to do something. Many of my friends on Facebook are subscribing to this belief, calling his firing an outrage and the undeserved end of a legendary coaching career. I couldn't be more dismayed by that. To draw the right conclusion, one needs to only use two different perspectives.
Drop the fact that Paterno is a legendary coach with a 61 year career and 409 wins. Drop it. Look at him as a man, and only a man. As a human being, do you think he did enough to protect these children? I can't draw the conclusion that he did, after putting aside his professional record. Also, the other perspective. If you were the parent or parent of one of these molested children, would you be defending him? I leave that to you to decide.
People supporting Paterno are forgetting the human element involved here. Yes, he's a beloved, legendary football coach who has brought many wonderful things to the game. People will always respect him for that. But he failed to protect these children because Sandusky, if guilty, was allowed to get away with it. Multiple times. While Mcquery shares most of the blame for not doing enough, Paterno does as well because while both did something, it wasn't enough to stop the horror that this child and the ones that followed after 2002 endured at the hands of this alleged child rapist. If the police were contacted and it got covered up, I'd be furious with them. And heads would be rolling there too. But the inaction by Mcquery and Paterno, and the coverup by the administration, made for a horrible situation that makes me sick to think about.
As for those currently rioting in response to his firing, and those expressing their support on Facebook, twitter, and everywhere else, are blind. Blind in their follower mentality and unwavering support of people they like. It's this blindness that has hundreds of college students on Wall Street right now, defiling Zucotti Park. It's also this same blindness that led to the election of our current president and many members of congress.
So I feel that the firings of those involved are justified, Paterno included. If you ever see something that horrifying, call the police immediately. Don't waste time with the chain of command. More often than not, if the person is popular or respected, the first instinct of many organizations is clearly to protect them or make it go away. Not punish them.
Disgusting!
This is being written in the sense that these allegations are true. For now they remain allegations, and nobody has been convicted (yet). Innocent until proven guilty for all people involved still applies, even here.
The entire scandal itself is shocking, disturbing, and sickening to the point that it makes me want to vomit. This is more than one of those "run of the mill" sex scandals where it's he said she said or vice versa. This scandal exposes a dark and disturbing sub-culture on the underbelly of university politics, structure, and leadership. But for those who aren't familiar with the story, I'll give a recap.
Between the mid-90s up until 2009, it is alleged that assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of the Penn State Nittany Lions sexually abused, raped, fondled, etc. roughly eight boys between the ages of 8 through 12. Eight boys. Allegedly he gained access to them through a foundation he started with his wife to give a boost to underprivileged youth, young boys specifically. A noble foundation on the surface, but since this story broke a few days ago one can't help but wonder what Sandusky's true motives were in creating it.
It makes me physically ill to even consider that possibility...
Fast forward to 2002. Graduate Assistant John Mcquery, according to the official reports, happened across Sandusky committing a grievous sex act in a Penn State shower/locker room with a boy that was estimated to have been about 10 years old. Specifically, he was raping or sodomizing the child. It was at this point that the dark university mentality began to come into play.
Mcquery should have immediately done something at that point to stop Sandusky and rescue that child. While I won't say that every person who sees something like that would immediately beat Sandusky to the point where he can no longer hurt anyone again, I think most people would say that they would have done something to stop what was happening in front of them, and maybe save a piece of that child's soul which was literally being ripped apart in front of him.
But he didn't do either. He retreated and called his father, who told him to go home for the day. He did, and waited a full day before he said something to anyone. While I agree he at least did something about what he saw, he should have immediately acted to save the child or have Sandusky stopped. But he didn't. He went up the chain of command instead, in a situation where he should have called the police immediately. For his role, I believe Mcquery shares a large portion of the responsibility for Sandusky's behavior being swept under the rug, allowed to continue his foundation, and also allowed to continue raping young children. As for that, others are to blame even more, and I'm getting to them, but at the outset of this being exposed not enough was done. Since Sandusky is alleged to have raped young boys up until 2009, he got seven more years to continue this pattern of evil abuse towards those who are most vulnerable. For his role, Mcquery failed. Although he did try to do something about it, the fact that he didn't act immediately, waited a full day before saying anything (and therefore allowed it to continue and Sandusky to "finish"), did not call the police, and went up the chain of command instead of going to the law, means he failed that child and the children that were abused after him. The fact that Mcquery still has a job and hasn't been removed from the university along with others is very surprising to me.
I'll get to head coach Joe Paterno last since he's the one generating the most support and controversy at the same time, so now I'll turn to the administration. Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director, both resigned amid this scandal and turned themselves in to the proper authorities for covering up the rape of the 10 year old. Both deserve jail time. I feel the only thing comparable to an act of evil like the rape, is participating in the act itself or covering it up. That's what these two did. They deserve what they get. University President Graham Spanier deserves exactly the same punishment, since Schultz and Curley are both implicating him in the coverup of the abuse. He just hasn't admitted yet along with them. He was fired last night and there's no question that was the right decision.
Joe Paterno is one of the figures involved in this situation that is generating both support and criticism. He was the one Mcquery first called and then visited the day following the incident in the bathroom. To his credit, Paterno at least took some action in that he reported what he had been told to his superiors. But that is where any praise for Paterno ends with me. Although he did do something, once again not enough was done. If he decided against confronting Sandusky himself, I can understand that. But Paterno should have immediately called the police and had an investigation opened. No matter how close he may be to Sandusky, no matter how many years they worked together, he should have reported it to the proper authorities right away. As a man in a position of such power (some argue he held more power than the university president), he could have made sure that this was ended and Sandusky would have been punished. But he didn't. He stuck to reporting to the chain of command, again. He also never followed up on this incident, and was ultimately told that the investigation was completed and Sandusky's keys to that locker room had been taken from him.
What does that say to you? What it says to me is that the administration came to the conclusion that something happened, to the point where they took Sandusky's keys from him and banned him from the locker room. They concluded he acted inappropriately, therefore. At that point the investigation turned cold, and it was swept under the rug. While Paterno is not a bad guy, I still don't feel he bears as much of the blame as Mcquery does for his inaction, but he must be held accountable for his own. While he may not have witnessed it, he simply didn't do enough. The Board of Trustees certainly felt that way, and Paterno was fired last night along with the president, hours after announcing his retirement following the end of the season.
Many people out there are defending Paterno, saying he tried to do something. Many of my friends on Facebook are subscribing to this belief, calling his firing an outrage and the undeserved end of a legendary coaching career. I couldn't be more dismayed by that. To draw the right conclusion, one needs to only use two different perspectives.
Drop the fact that Paterno is a legendary coach with a 61 year career and 409 wins. Drop it. Look at him as a man, and only a man. As a human being, do you think he did enough to protect these children? I can't draw the conclusion that he did, after putting aside his professional record. Also, the other perspective. If you were the parent or parent of one of these molested children, would you be defending him? I leave that to you to decide.
People supporting Paterno are forgetting the human element involved here. Yes, he's a beloved, legendary football coach who has brought many wonderful things to the game. People will always respect him for that. But he failed to protect these children because Sandusky, if guilty, was allowed to get away with it. Multiple times. While Mcquery shares most of the blame for not doing enough, Paterno does as well because while both did something, it wasn't enough to stop the horror that this child and the ones that followed after 2002 endured at the hands of this alleged child rapist. If the police were contacted and it got covered up, I'd be furious with them. And heads would be rolling there too. But the inaction by Mcquery and Paterno, and the coverup by the administration, made for a horrible situation that makes me sick to think about.
As for those currently rioting in response to his firing, and those expressing their support on Facebook, twitter, and everywhere else, are blind. Blind in their follower mentality and unwavering support of people they like. It's this blindness that has hundreds of college students on Wall Street right now, defiling Zucotti Park. It's also this same blindness that led to the election of our current president and many members of congress.
So I feel that the firings of those involved are justified, Paterno included. If you ever see something that horrifying, call the police immediately. Don't waste time with the chain of command. More often than not, if the person is popular or respected, the first instinct of many organizations is clearly to protect them or make it go away. Not punish them.
Disgusting!
