Penn State Scandal

[Easy Bakes 253]

number of Victims rises to 40. involving a charitable organization to help troubled youth.

The cover up

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

number of Victims rises to 40. involving a charitable organization to help troubled youth.

The cover up

Grrrr! This kind of thing makes my blood boil.

[Meg 368]

Again, the image of an institution was deemed to be more important than the welfare of children.

What is wrong with people?

[Easy Bakes 253]

What wrong with those people who are protesting in support of paterno?

[Zelgadis 638]

So, thousands of PSU students riot in support of a man who enabled a pedophile.

Trying to figure this out here... Hmmm... Still thinking...

Oh! He won football games! Well, that makes him a good guy then. I guess...

ISF

[Meg 368]

What wrong with those people who are protesting in support of paterno?

I'm guessing they are figuring that he didn't do it and he didn't really know what was going on since he only had second and third hand stories. No excuse in my book. and, oh yeah, he wins football games.

Meanwhile what is wrong the 28 year old who actually witnessed this first hand? link link

He is being touted as the good guy because he reported it and he is cooperating with the grand jury.

But he did not report it to the police; he reported to his chain of command, who covered it up.

[Easy Bakes 253]

I would like to ask that McQueary guy why he didnt break sandusky in to 6 pieces right there.

any one with any sliver of a moral code would beat the sorry sob to death.

I do wonder why McQueary still has a job.

the NCAA is now involved,this may be the end of the thier football program for a few years.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/11/ncaa-mark-emmert-penn-state-investigation-/1

you would think covering up this sort of thing for 13 years would

be some kind of NCAA violtion.

wonder how you would get rid of the trustees too.

  Edited November 10, 2011 by Easy Bakes  

[Duke87 1,070]

The problem stems from pedophilia basically being the ultimate stigma in our society. That tends to complicate things whenever it comes up. For many offenses, it's easy to report... but when someone close to you is molesting kids, there is an understandable tendency to want to hush it up out of desire to avoid the ruckus that making an issue out of it will cause.

It's easy to say he should have done something, but put yourself in his shoes. If it was your friend, would you have done something? I can't fathom actually handling this situation but I can honestly say that were it my friend... I would certainly distance myself from him, but my response to the offense itself would probably be to do everything possible to ignore it and not think about it. I don't want to know about it, I don't want to hear about it, I don't want to be involved in anything to do with it.

Joe Paterno may not have done the "right" thing, but his actions are completely understandable and I hold no ill will against him for it. And no, that isn't because "he wins football games". I don't give a damn about college sports... I would say the same about anyone.

As for the offending coach himself... I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel sympathy for him. He has been cursed with having desires that he cannot act on without causing severe emotional harm to others. He didn't choose to be a pedophile, he was just born that way. And he's stuck having to live with it. And having everyone hate him for it. He may be a criminal, but he is also himself a victim in several ways. Look at what the article quotes him as saying:

"He asked her for forgiveness. He said 'I probably won't get it from you,' and then he said 'I wish I were dead.'"

This man is not a bad person. He understands full well that what he did was horrible and feels very guilty about it. He has permanently scarred quite a few lives, and there is no way to fix or atone for that... but he didn't do it in cold blood. He did it because he has urges that everyone has. He just unfortunately happens to have them for children and thus can never legitimately fulfill them with consent. Think about it. How would you feel if you had to go through life without ever being able to engage in sexual activity with the people you desire to engage in it with?

[Easy Bakes 253]

The problem stems from pedophilia basically being the ultimate stigma in our society. That tends to complicate things whenever it comes up. For many offenses, it's easy to report... but when someone close to you is molesting kids, there is an understandable tendency to want to hush it up out of desire to avoid the ruckus that making an issue out of it will cause.

It's easy to say he should have done something, but put yourself in his shoes. If it was your friend, would you have done something? I can't fathom actually handling this situation but I can honestly say that were it my friend... I would certainly distance myself from him, but my response to the offense itself would probably be to do everything possible to ignore it and not think about it. I don't want to know about it, I don't want to hear about it, I don't want to be involved in anything to do with it.

Joe Paterno may not have done the "right" thing, but his actions are completely understandable and I hold no ill will against him for it. And no, that isn't because "he wins football games". I don't give a damn about college sports... I would say the same about anyone.

As for the offending coach himself... I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel sympathy for him. He has been cursed with having desires that he cannot act on without causing severe emotional harm to others. He didn't choose to be a pedophile, he was just born that way. And he's stuck having to live with it. And having everyone hate him for it. He may be a criminal, but he is also himself a victim in several ways. Look at what the article quotes him as saying:

"He asked her for forgiveness. He said 'I probably won't get it from you,' and then he said 'I wish I were dead.'"

This man is not a bad person. He understands full well that what he did was horrible and feels very guilty about it. He has permanently scarred quite a few lives, and there is no way to fix or atone for that... but he didn't do it in cold blood. He did it because he has urges that everyone has. He just unfortunately happens to have them for children and thus can never legitimately fulfill them with consent. Think about it. How would you feel if you had to go through life without ever being able to engage in sexual activity with the people you desire to engage in it with?

So far it looks like he didnt go thru life with out that activity.

So if it was your friend you say you would distance yourself from him, but what if, like in this case,

nothing happened to your friend for what he did? even after you reported it?

could you hold your outrage for 13 years? knowing hes proabaly still doing it?

  Edited November 10, 2011 by Easy Bakes  

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Kifflom112 355]

I have to say, this is stupid to fire someone of over half a century, because he could have done more, just my opinion.

[bluemoose 223]

I live in North Central PA, so naturally everyone around here acts like the are PSU alumni and are personal friends with Joe Paterno. When the chain of command above him did nothing, I think He or the actual witness of the crimes should have gone to the cops. When authority fails, the individual must take responsibility. What annoys me most, however, is that Paterno is getting the worst rap in the whole thing.

Also, If this had been taken care of when it first happened, we wouldn't be here, the Uni wouldn't have a tarnished rep and their "precious" coach wouldn't have to step down.

In any case, my thought and prayers go out to the victims and families. We should not be so concerned about a football program.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Up to now, I've stayed silent on this particular issue as it is only one of the hot pedophilia issues around at the moment. Hotter than this one is the Boy Scouts organizations in both of our countries who have engaged in a massive cover up of several internally reported pedophiles for years.

All this ruckus over one guy is just not worth all the gum beating by comparison.

Wake up, people, pedophilia is endemic in our society whenever the opportunity for men to oversee groups of boys occurs. How you weed these guys out is a very good question.

[Duke87 1,070]

Wake up, people, pedophilia is endemic in our society whenever the opportunity for men to oversee groups of boys occurs. How you weed these guys out is a very good question.

Always have multiple adults around. Eliminate the opportunities.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The student reaction at a respected university over the removal of a superannuated football coach brings into question the purpose of the students presence in the university. This character should have been retired when he reached 65, and not allowed to dodder on, notwithstanding emotional attachments.

[Meg 368]

The student reaction at a respected university over the removal of a superannuated football coach brings into question the purpose of the students presence in the university.

Good point. Paterno is revered in that area. Many sports figures are. and, imho, should not be.

This character should have been retired when he reached 65, and not allowed to dodder on, notwithstanding emotional attachments.

An interesting idea, especially coming from you. Mandatory retirement is controversial for several reasons. In many jobs, a person over 65 can perform quite competently. and, these days, many people need to work past 65.

To me, it depends on the job. I would not be comfortable with a 75 year old airline pilot. But a "doddering" football coach? As long as he can still call plays, rally the team, and whatever, where is the harm?

The harm here is not a result of Joe Paterno's age. It is a result of people deciding that protecting the institution is more important than protecting individuals; something we have seen in the catholic church and the boy scouts.

On a somewhat different subject . . .

Back in 2005, a district attorney in Pennsylvania went missing. To quote the wiki article:

Ray Frank Gricar (pronounced /ˈɡriːkɑr/; born October 9, 1945, missing April 15, 2005, declared legally dead July 25, 2011) was an American attorney who served as the district attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania, from 1985–2005. On April 15, 2005, Gricar went missing under mysterious circumstances and has not been heard from since.

. . .

Gricar was reported missing to authorities after failing to return home from a road trip. His car was found in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, with his cell phone inside, and his laptop computer was found in the adjacent Susquehanna River; other than that, very little trace of Gricar has been found. After being missing for over six years with no trace of his whereabouts, Centre County authorities declared Gricar legally dead on July 25, 2011.

It turns out that Gricar was the DA who investigated the Sandusky case in 1998. [link]

As Duke likes to say: correlation does not imply causation. But that is weird.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Mc Queary put on administrative leave.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57323403/penn-states-mcqueary-put-on-administrative-leave/

I sense a big time house cleaning soon.

Who knows who sandusky will take down with him.

[k50 427]

Just an update, Joe Paterno died today

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

I think a lot of people are judging Joe Paterno based on this scandal. You really have to read about his life before you can decide what kind of a person he was. There is no forgiving his mistake. But basing your beliefs of him off of internet articles about the scandal is a poor decision.

It's not about sports. It's not about his coaching. It's not about his mistakes. The amount of work he put into benefiting that university and the tens of thousands of people who attended it is legendary. Both of my parents are alumni. He was like a father to everyone there.

Also, judging him based on the actions of his coworker is also an uneducated choice. Jerry Sandusky is the one who needs to die.

I don't forgive Joe Paterno for his mistake. But it's not representative of his character. His passing is still a tragedy.

Please don't rush to conclusions. In a day and age where everything is instant and everyone judges so easily, please don't become another uneducated bestower of hate.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I suspect the died of a broken heart. What he did with respect to the assistant coach's crime was, in his view I am sure, protecting the reputation of the university to which he had given most of his life. Let us overlook this single transgression and give thanks for the life of a good man.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

I don't even believe he viewed it that way. Of course he knew what was going on. I don't really think he understood it though.

Joe was very, very old. Older than even you, Señor Moose. (Sorry! I don't mean to make you feel old ) Back in that day and age, you didn't exactly hear about sex scandals on the front page of the paper, did you? It was a much more taboo topic; a very behind the curtain occurrence. I don't think Paterno really knew how to handle such a situation.

It's easy to say I would have acted differently, being more youthful and modernized. But there's not doubt Joe was a very traditional, conservative person. It even showed up in his football coaching. His team relied on brute force, not trickery, to move the ball. Perhaps he just didn't know how to handle such an awkward situation. It would have been easy to panic when McQueary came to him, describing a kind of situation that Joe could never have imagined.

I imagine him telling his supervisors, and going to bed with an awful headache, wishing the whole thing would just go away. And it did; he was happy to never hear about it again.

Until recently, that is. His terrible mistake caught up with him, and he knew it was a mistake. The pressure and guilt was too much for him.

R.I.P. Joe Pa

  Edited January 22, 2012 by Indiana Joe  

[Larks2242 251]

Joe was a football legend, It is sad that he will never get the chance to clean his image.

[Meg 368]

It would have been easy to panic when McQueary came to him, describing a kind of situation that Joe could never have imagined.

As difficult as it is to imagine these days, it is possible that he was not aware of such situations. My parents are in his generation (a few years older) and they seemed ignorant of such things. As children, my brother was allowed freedoms that my sister and I did not have because he was seen as immune from sexual predators. Girls were warned about the stranger lurking in the bushes; boys were not.

It was just this month that the FBI changed its definition of rape to include males.

I suspect the died of a broken heart.

He was 85, fighting cancer and a broken pelvis. Many 85 year olds do not have the physical wherewithal to combat these conditions.

But, yes, I suspect that a broken heart was a key factor.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

With all his physical problems, I feel that this was probably the last straw and he just gave up.

[Meg 368]

With all his physical problems, I feel that this was probably the last straw and he just gave up.

He just didn't have the heart to continue. A surprising percentage of men die shortly after retiring and this was so much worse than simply retiring.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Jury in deliberations in the Sandusky trial.

I the Jury

[Easy Bakes 253]

Guilty

he wont last long in prison.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

No. The gen pop doesn't tolerate short-eyes.