Hate Penn. State

I'm sorry but I'm really having a hard time with all this Penn State cover up! What the heck is wrong with our society that we encourage or don't understand why not TELLING what happened is sooooo morally wrong!!!! Why do we continually fail to protect children?

I'm bothered by this too. People knew this was happening and some lied to the grand jury. Apparently he was even seen committing the act and the person kept walking. Why they don't act, IDK - protecting the good ol boys, maybe its too horrible to comprehend so they do nothing etc. The man who did this made himself look like a godsend to help young boys, when in reality he was a sexual predator. Very often people who do this make sure they're around children - which is why parents should pay attention to that great person - sure there may be some.

Another thing which really bugs me is how the citizens are protesting the firing of these individuals and turning over cars.....but when these boys were being raped no one came to their rescue or protested.

Thanks, for responding, lynnp!
I guess my resentment starts with Paterno. I love the guy! He has been the most winning college coach ever! Who hates that? Not me. ... but when people riot because he's fired/let go because he didn't push the issue of what he saw or what was reported to him as happening, then I want to say, "You need to go. You forgot that the protection of children was more important than winning a game!". . .. Gee, is that America's problem or what????? We've forgotten what is important and precious. How do we get that back?

I think that 1) people are so massively uncomfortable with the very idea of the reality of child sexual abuse that when confronted with it, it's just emotionally easier for them to turn away and try not to think about it, and 2) important men are valued more than children by many people.

That #2 is a harsh thing to say but I've come to the conclusion that it is true. It's hard for me to conclude there isn't at least SOME of that in this. When a woman is the perp they usually flay her alive before sending her to prison for forever and ever. When a powerful man does it, meh.

On the upside, people now talk about sex abuse openly and become outraged and horrified. That didn't happen when I was a kid. There wasn't even a word for it, and when people knew it happened, it was impolite to say so or draw attention. So this is better than that.

i fear for the victims in this case...because of the celebrity & power of "joe pa" these kids will always be somewhat vilified as the ones who took down paterno...when in reality they did nothing wrong.

i understand that college athletics is not as pure as it seems..even at penn state which prided itself on a pure game. i get that..a little cheating, bending the rules etc. but this was an act bigger than just ncaa crap. this was life & death...real life stuff.

yeah maybe joe pa did what he was supposed to do by following the chain of command & reporting it...BUT there is a point where you say...no more. i don't want you in our program. you are not worthy. i am calling the police. a man of character would do that..football program be damned.

the students rioting...well they are ignorant caught up in the momentum of it all...once they are calmer & if you ask them about it on a personal nature i am sure you would get a more responsible response. i get that..i was 19 & caught up in a crowd once...

but like i said. i feel for those victims...for now they must live in the shadows all over again. ain't right.

You would think most people would have that kind of character, but it's not strong enough to resist money and prestige. If it means a personal sacrifice (loss of job, reputation, possible fines, etc.) - they will do everything in their power to hide the body of evidence and make the story go away. Even if the story is particularly brutal - especially if the story is particularly brutal. They will do everything in their power to make it go away....because it's all about a winning record - they can't afford the loss.

I've been confronting these organizational issues (sports teams/mascots, Boy Scouts, churches, independent charities) for years now because the MO of pedophiles/bullies is well known. They can get a free pass and impressive income/benefits if they make it look like they are doing a service to at-risk or bored kids to boost them up in life - especially when they call it "charity." Parents gladly hand over their children AND money because they think these organizations will give their kids more power - and themselves more free time/bragging rights. The community (even nation) hails and honors the organization. And the beat goes on.

People will continue to honor these organizations and pretend the sacrifice of children is worth all the power and prestige of the organization - because it's FUN and brings in more money and customers. Disgusting.

I've heard some of the most horrendous stories of abuse. When I confronted the leaders of these various organizations about this, the responses were vicious and vulgar attacks against ME. I was threatened with death if I kept it up - I kept it up. They thought they could scare me off by recruiting some KKK (type) members, but they DO NOT scare me anymore.

When I spoke with people around the community, they REFUSED to believe an organization with such an impressive name would do such a thing - surely I must be crazy. Maybe I am crazy, maybe I'm not - it doesn't matter because I would STILL be disgusted by the abuse of children and I WILL NOT back down.

I intend to watch the game tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how many people will have the courage to support the victims in this case and who will side with the school.

Having graduated from Penn State in 2010, I am deeply troubled by all of this. I was involved in student government and the entire political system of the University and I can say one thing, thank God they got rid of that crook Graham Spanier. I have a lurking suspission that he was behind much of the cover up. He has also wanted Joe Paterno gone for many years.
In my opinion Spanier sacraficed his job to save his own hide and give the trustees their long awaited chance to get rid of Paterno.

You would not beleive how currupt and sinister politics in that university have been in the Spanier tenure. I was in a fraternity and in the College of Agriculture, two elements Spanier was trying to rid Penn State of enjoying. Now that he is gone, I hope that the Agricultural program can once again begin to prosper, it is a Land-Grant institution and things can begin to return to what they once were. No one sc

I am a firm beleiver that not bearly enough time in the media or in many people minds has been focused on the victims and how this entire scandal has/is/will effect their lives. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

What I don't understand is, who witnesses something that horrific and DOESN'T intervene, just tells his boss?

I don't understand that. The assistant coach is a big guy. Why didn't he stop the guy and then call the cops? What kind of person behaves that way?

I mean, I'm a small woman and I would have tried to stop the act in progress, even if it meant me getting hurt.

That's what gets me too Pgrundy. I would have immediately tried to stop it from going any further WHILE calling 911 or the police.

I don't understand why they say the graduate student did the right by contacting "the authorities" - his superiors are not "the authorities" when it comes to pedophilia. If the graduate student had been a small child, I would understand why the only choice would be to seek out an authority at the institution - but he was old enough to know how to speak with the police!

This particular incident happened in 2002. All those words of regret from Coach P and the staff are meaningless to me. They had PLENTY of time to address the issue, but their own reputations/careers were more important that the children they claim to serve.

I find it disgusting to think so many people knew about this and said NOTHING to ANYONE about him adopting 6 children and fostering who knows how many others.

I appreciated all those kids at the game who wore blue, but it really was just a color. It was sickening to see signs proclaiming their love for the coach, asking God to bless him, or saying "This One's For You." It was strange to see people gathering at his house, as if they were in mourning - like with the Caylee Anthony case. It made all those love notes to the coach look like kudos to Casey for killing her child.

I hope the kids at the school will be able to come to grips with what happened. I hope people will have the courage to step in/call the police if they witness a child (or anyone) getting raped.

Don't forget, a district attorney who was going to prosecute in the early 2000's "disappeared" - so there are some big guns behind this. Women and children come LAST, except when men can PLAY the hero (and they're gonna die anyway). Otherwise the little head rules. I should say, for people who think this way.

Jumping in where angels fear to tread:

I don't know (or care) much about Penn State or Joe Paterno; maybe if I had some inside knowledge my reaction would be different. But I see lots of jumping to righteous conclusions in the media; do these people have any more knowledge of the facts than I do? All I can see is maybe Paterno had gotten too big for his britches, but other than that... he did report what he had been told. Now everyone is jumping on other people for not doing more, but do we all know the actual, inside story about what happened? Is it really as black and white as almost everyone is portraying it now? Is condemning someone really an effective way of correcting a situation? Have you yourself ever done something you wish you hadn't; does the condemnation of the whole world help you? As for reporting -- are the police the last resort, the ones trained to cope in a beneficial way with this sort of situation? Do you trust them, or anyone else, to report this kind of story to; trust that if you do, it will all come out right in the end? I cannot say that I do.

OK, just another of my idiosyncratic posts -- maybe you can think of other adjectives. And yes, I have been abused, though not directly sexually, and no one did anything about it. But I would not have wanted everyone to have acted as though the sky were falling, or the world coming to an end, either. I could have used some calm assistance, but not this...

I'm only semi-watching the story. Not certain it was right to fire anyone before they had their day in court... Guess I still believe in "Judge not, lest ye be judged" and "innocent until proven guilty".

Just my humble opinion...

I don't know all the paticulars of this case myself. But what I can say is that from my own experience, I witness children that were being neglected and verbally abused and locked in a room unattended and these were extremely young children.

I was the only one that would stand up and say something and there were people that did see it and chose to ignore it, even a minister and psychologist. I honest could not believe it. So it doesn't surprise me that this happened.

We all must be thankful for those that stand up and speak, child abuse should not be ignored, ever. Yes, at least because people have been brave and stood up for children who were being abused there is more awareness about it, and the knowledge that it is wrong. People have to stand up and report it.

Open Eyes

This reeks of Catholicism and yes, it still makes me furious.

And who the hell came up with 1 in 6 anyway ? ?

I bet they're that many raped by middle aged grammar school teachers in public schools every day.

A new consideration of male dignity and integrity must take place if our culture is to survive............... Tom S. in Tn.

It's sad that his peers were more concerned for the "esteemed" coach! It's just shocking the police weren't called immediately!

No shame in phoning the authorities! Why is society programmed this way!

Phoning the "authorities" makes sense if you trust the authorities. But what if you don't know any authorities that you really trust? What do you do then?

My suggestion would be to go further outside of their jurisdiction, outside of their community, outside of their State. There have been national child abuse advocacies, hotline numbers and social services around since the 70s specifically addressing this issue. There have been awareness campaigns as well, but people STILL turn their heads and keep it to themselves when they see horrific child abuse.

The rape of the 10 y.o. boy in the shower occurred in 2002, and it was brought to court. I blame JP, Coach McQ, and anyone else who knew about this because they only cared about fulfilling their own legal obligations at the time - didn't care about the kids. Since then they've had NUMEROUS opportunities to stop this pedophile from having access to children - but that would mean having to step out of their own comfort zone. Well BOOHOO! Sandusky's status, expensive suit, and pretty smile should NOT give him a free pass to abuse children.

In the PennState case, I don't see where the assistant coach (whomever physically saw the coach with the 10yr old boy) would have been more 'afraid' of the police!


This is black and white to me! Many people failed those boys! All to save 'face' or pride! Shame on them all! I hope all involved have to put up funds for the counseling those boys will need!!!!

The latest in a series of actions by people supposed to be responsible, but who find it easier to put off possible bad consequences until some distant future time, rather than doing the painful work of dealing with them in the present. I think we see this in quite a few areas of our society. Maybe it is time to begin to analyze what in society lends itself to this kind of procrastination (instead of just condemning it). Personally, I feel that the threat of punishment actually promotes people avoiding dealing with hard choices. If help instead of punishment were anticipated for admitting mistakes, then admitting them might be more acceptable.

If he had attacked YOUR child or loved one you consider to be most precious in your life, how would YOU reach out to help the attacker? Should we rush to the aid of your loved one, or would you prefer we focus our attention on healing the pedophile, the institution, and their respective reputations? Whose life, welfare, and reputation would be more important to you?

Unfortunately there's isn't much in the way of helping a pedophile at this time. What does help in some cases is to, teach your children young, that they have full permission to say no to authority. This man had full reign over these boys, to the point of taking one boy out of school. As his mother said - no one said no or questioned this man. One thing parents can do is sadly, don't trust anyone with your child and look out for authority figures who seem to be very interested in your child beyond what's normal.

young assistant coach witnessed the rape in the showers & went to his father....his father didn't feel the need to call the police?

i understand coach felt maybe he would lose the job he wanted & maybe dreamed of & then his career but you stand up for what is right...so in this case let's not also forget this coach's dad failed him as well. kid should have known to go to PD...but obviously his daddy didn't lead him the right way.

i can see being unsure about what to do...young coach & stuff..i was a young college coach right after i graduated...but make no mistake if i saw a rape of a child i would have been facing my own assault charges after i was done. & i am a short woman..not a big ex football player.

this whole incident is just so triggering for me..& i think the iceberg is just poking out above sea level. i believe many knew what was going on in the football program. it was easy to keep it buried & quiet as long as the program was as incredibly successful as it was. penn state was always so holier than thou when it came to cheating, etc...& now this...cheating is piddly ..nothing comparing to ruining someone's life.

my heart breaks for those children, now young adults, because as i said before...raped once & then now having to always hear how it was "their fault the mighty joe pa fell from grace" wrong..so wrong.

& not for nothing i WAS a penn state fan.

I have been told in the past that there wasn't much help for me, either. I don't go for the conventional wisdom.

For those who are interested, and who can bear to read it, here is the grand jury report on the subject. It contains information that I did not know, and I think information is always good. More information sometimes makes me change my thinking:

I don't see that big red X for triggering, but I will put the link here for anyone who wants to read it nevertheless:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...t11052011.html

I have been told in the past that there wasn't much help for me, either. I don't go for the conventional wisdom.

For those who are interested, and who can bear to read it, here is the grand jury report on the subject. It contains information that I did not know, and I think information is always good. More information sometimes makes me change my thinking:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...t11052011.html

ALL of their lives.

In my view, healing, or trying to heal, a pedophile can include sequestering him or her from the public. In "jail", if you would describe it that way. But more punishment only continues the cycle of violence. Preventing someone from harming others can be done in a punishing way, and it can be done in a way that is not punishing -- not itself filled with hate. People can be sanctioned to make it clear that certain actions are not acceptable, but punishing does not always change minds in a way that I would like. It often drives things underground.

I note that the main offender in question is quoted as saying at one point that he wished he were dead. Like others, he may (I don't know for sure) have felt himself under a compulsion that he himself hated. Is punishment the answer? Or does it just make you feel less frightened -- temporarily?

My mother's answer to everything was punishment. Did it make me change my ways? Yes. At a great cost. Did it make for any healing? No.