Penn State scandal

Karma

Karma

Heart Attack
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
7,430
Location
Outside of time and space
My initial reaction was utter disgust & contempt for Paterno & ALL who had knowledge of this. There are a handfull of VICTIMS whose lives are damaged possibly beyond repair! The university's internal policy for handling this was a MAJOR FAIL & Paterno shouldve gone to the police when he saw nothing was being done about this. He may not have had a LEGAL obligation like health care professionals but what about a human decency obligation!?

How about the way ppl were reaction to his firing? caring more about HIM & his "legacy" than the victims!? :eek: that made it even more bizarre & sick to me. A woman called into a radio station & reported that while @ a grocery store in the area where the protests (RIOTS) were taking place, she overheard someone say "who cares. it was 10 years ago that it happened & those were just underpriviledged kids anyway..." wow...REALLY!? :1900: what kind of WORLD are we living in!? I don't presume to be ANYBODY'S moral compass but DAMN...when it comes to kids, the weak & those who need HELP whatever happened to COMPASSION & DECENCY?

There's alot of disturbing, TELLING things that are being highlighted by all of this to me, but I'm wondering what anybody HERE thinks about this? Please share your thoughts & feelings on any aspect of this
 
It is VERY disturbing. No one hates Joe Paterno more than I do, but I can see how the ball got dropped. I personally put it more on the University (and I know there are two officials being prosecuted for a coverup) and the eye-witness who told Paterno but didn't go to the police.

McQueary should at the very least be FIRED if not arrested, and I don't see how they could fire Paterno and NOT him. I'm not saying Paterno SHOULDN'T have done more, cause yes he and the University should have. BUT I can see where if someone came to you and told you they saw a long time friend and colleague of yours abusing a child, when they were someone who always volunteered helping children...well, you probably wouldn't believe it was true. So you'd report it to your higher ups thinking they would get to the bottom of whether it was true or not and take appropriate action. So I can kind of see that he thought he'd done the right thing.

But all Penn State people are nuts and that riot bullshit was ridiculous. I'm glad they didn't allow them to have a pep rally and they shouldn't allow them for the rest of the year, among other student activities. People want to act like animals, they can live like animals.
 
and now...

Someone said it best this morning on the news radio program I was listening to- "college football[&/or basketball] is all these universities care about anymore. they've forgotten what their purpose is & that they are required to foster a safe environment for ALL on their premesis."

the way Paterno supporters behaved during that recent game (which they lost) was disgusting. This "outpouring" of support was a total slap in the face to the victims & a collective ignore of the REALITY of the situation! I agree w/ you about McQueary too.


latest update: Sandusky interview sheds light on mindset - College Football - Rivals.com
 
I'm going to play the devils advocate here.

While i'm not a Penn State fan, literally everyone I went to high school with either is, or has went to Penn State. So i've read every side of this, numerous times, to the point where I want to pull my eyeballs out. So this is how I see it.

I think it's ridiculous that JoePa's firing overshadowed the fact that 8+ kids were raped and/or molested by Sandusky. These children's lives were forever changed whether it was done 10 years ago or 10 minutes ago. Period.

However, JoePa HAS been a staple in Penn State history for the past 45 years. Did he do everything humanly possible to report these allegations? No. He did what was legally asked of him and reported it to his bosses. Does that make him a horrible person? I guess that's in the eyes of the beholder. But why was he the only one fired when everyone else, who helped cover this scandal up, not fired? The eyes went to him because he IS so well known and linked to the school. He became the scapegoat whether you like to believe it or not. That is why the majority of Penn State fans are showing this overwhelming support for JoePa.

After reading the grand jury reports, there were other parties involved that were a hell of a lot more guilty than JoePa. BUT, that doesn't mean that JoePa isn't in the wrong. EVERYONE involved worked at a teaching institution. Everyone involved is supposed to guide children [whether they're in college or not] and make sure that they are safe and educated. However these men failed because they allowed kids to consistently be abused after knowing that Sandusky had a history of touching children AND rape.

So regardless, this situation is fucked up either way you spin it. The riots certainly didn't help, and cast an even blacker shadow on the university, however the actions of few doesn't mean every Penn State student and alumni are in the wrong.
 
I agree. Paterno is hardly the root of the matter, but he was aware & ultimately complicit. There are others...in particular Sandusky that should BURN for what they've done & overall the University's internal "investigation" policy was a big collective FAIL.

Paterno should have erred on the side of caution & concern for those children & gone to the police. He may not have been legally obligated, but I still think there's a moral/decency/compassion issue here.

the way some students & "supporters" are behaving about this is appalling. sure they're entitled to their opinion but damn...I hope NONE of these ppl has children b/c if it had been THEIR child? you can believe they'd be singing a different tune & would want EVERYBODY involved, including the persons who KNEW something...ANYTHING but still did nothing to pay for it.

if there's anything I find more disturbing than the monster who did this & those who knowingly covered it up...its the way some students & others are reacting in SUPPORT. to ME that really shows the change in attitude towards [alleged]VICTIMS & it's gonna send a message to ppl who are being victimized even know & are terrified to tell somebody for help that maybe they shouldnt b/c THEY might be treated worse than the abuser!
 
Well I don't think ANYONE is saying Sandusky shouldn't be prosecuted, as well as anyone involved in a cover up. And if they find out that Paterno DID cover it up, then by all means, throw his old ass in jail. But for someone who is NOT facing criminal charges, who DID report it to the authorities he was directed to by the law...I think that is why people are protesting his firing,

Again I don't think anyone is protesting FOR Sandusky.
 
Agreed. I haven't seen or heard anyone who have been in support of Sandusky or have said anything positive about him. Everyone is disgusted, as they should be. He's a pig and should have his balls cut off.

Side note: I think it was the 3rd episode of Law and Order SVU this year, they had an episode with a basketball coach [Sandusky], who had a charity league [Second Mile], and would molest and rape the boys from his league when they were out at competitions or other events. It was the episode with Mechad Brooks.

Even though SVU takes a lot of their stories from the headlines, the parallels are a little creepy. Especially since this episode showed BEFORE the Sandusky scandal broke.
 
Yeah but there was the grand jury thing already - it was probably out there somewhere in the news it just hadn't broke as the "Penn State" scandal yet. I've met those Law & Order guys - they know their shit lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top