Apologizing for a child rapist and a subsequent cover up
does nothing to repair the reputation of Joe Paterno or Penn State. Your effusive praise of Paterno and Penn
State is sickening to anyone who has read the letter of support and Grand Jury report. This is neither about Paterno’s legacy nor
the alma mater. This is about children,
dozens if not hundreds of children who were cruelly used and thrown aside like
old socks.
Sandusky’s crimes are writ large in the grand jury testimony
and Paterno’s culpability is there for all to see. He himself said he wished he had done
more. We know from testimony, that the
police weren’t called because Paterno did not want to disrupt the weekend. Read that again. No calls were made because it was the FUCKING
WEEKEND. For that alone he should burn
in hell.
Statistics show that 1 in 10 boys report sexual abuse but
probably 1 in 6 were abused. That means
of the 382 of you, chances are that 38-50 have been abused. In the open of the letter you expressed
sorrow and pity for the victims. Your
pious mouthings don’t make up for the pain that they suffered.
Here’s an exercise that I often do when I talk to people
about child sexual abuse.
Close your eyes.
Think back to the first time you had a sexual encounter. Remember being nervous, maybe sweating a
little, fumbling for words and buttons.
Remember maybe you were in the back of your first car or on your parents
basement couch. Okay open your eyes and
tell me about it. Not very easy is it?
Close your eyes again now imagine that you are 10, your
encounter scares you, makes you feel sick and alone. Imagine that you are screaming for help and
nobody comes for you. Now imagine that
10 years have passed. Open your eyes and
tell a professional.
You have no idea what it’s like for me or any DCFS
Investigator to interview victims and get them to talk about the most horrific
thing that has happened to them. No
idea what it’s like when a victim breaks down because he or she didn’t tell and
their little sister was subsequently abused.
No idea how mad it makes you when a 4 year old says she knew she did a
good job at oral sex because she would get a chocolate chip cookie as a
reward.
You have no idea what
it’s like to sit with parents after doing a Victim Sensitive Interview and
having the parents both men and women turning into sobbing, inconsolable messes
because they blame themselves for not having known or seen the signs. There are no words that suffice, the silence seems like an eternity and in the end all you can offer is Kleenex and the name of a good therapist.
Clearly Penn State's Football family has hubris that knows no bounds. I dare you to sit with me or any of my DCFS colleagues and talk to these children and parents. I guarantee that if you had you would never sign this arrogant treatise on the glory that is Penn State.
Clearly Penn State's Football family has hubris that knows no bounds. I dare you to sit with me or any of my DCFS colleagues and talk to these children and parents. I guarantee that if you had you would never sign this arrogant treatise on the glory that is Penn State.
Raw and powerful - nicely done. I don't think I'll ever look at a chocolate chip cookie the same ever again. But, that's a minuscule problem compared to the horrors the aforementioned children have gone through. I hope some of the signers read this, and regret.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYour argument to the Penn State Letter are shaped to destroy the entire university, when it should be the few that made mistakes who are at fault. Is my father a child molester because he works for Penn State? Is he a terrible person because he works for the university? Joe Paterno has done a million great things for millions of people. One mistake does not make him the devil. He has done a lot more with his life than you will ever do. Does he deserve some blame? Yes. However he is not the single person behind any of this, when was the last time you heard the name Tim Currely? Or Gary Schultz? Do you even know who they are? They made mistakes too, and unlike Joe who may not have done enough, they tried to sweep it under the rug! They have not done what Joe has done throughout his life. Do you even care about the Bernie Fine story? I guess no one does even though ESPN and other news organizations did the exact same thing Joe has done. But, well it's ESPN, can't be their fault? No body gives a shit about those kids, or any other sexually abused kids, just the ones linked to PSU. I will acknowledge something terrible has happened in the university with many officials covering up these acts done by Jerry Sandusky, and that Joe Paterno is one of many at fault. However look at the broad picture, many boys were sexually abused, can we not all agree on mourning for them? Or if you are going to get upset, get upset at the monsters in this situation, Jerry Sandusky, Currely, or Shultz. Joe Paterno is a good many that I am still proud to be a family friend of. He has devoted an 85 year span to the development of young men, a university, and a town that I am proud to call home. I sincerely say fuck you and hope that next time before you open your mouth, look at other sides to the spectrum and not just the distorted views that you twist the facts into.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine how hard it is to do the work you do. Thank you for protecting our children, and thank you for speaking the truth to these people that signed that horrible letter. I hope they have the courage to read your response. This is something I wrote a couple of weeks ago on my blog. By the way, I'm a Quad Cities guy too. Maybe we'll run into each other at a Hungry Hobo.
ReplyDeletehttp://fatpastor.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/congratulations-coach/
Sebastian, you are a complete moron. It was a massive coverup by the entire athletic department and they deserve the death penalty. I bet you were one of those dumbass college kids rioting after Papa Joe was rightfully fired.
ReplyDeleteSo you should shut the fuck up yourself, you festering pustule. It's hilarious that you chide the author for not seeing both sides WHEN YOU ARE DOING THE SAME FUCKING THING, YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!
God, is everybody in PA this fucking stupid?
I have actually lived in State College my entire life, and did not take part in that so if you would like to hate me for living in a certain part of the world go ahead. I acknowledge something went wrong, and even grieve for the victims. You make a good point in saying "it was a cover up by the entire athletic department", then why does 95% of the public blame solely Joe Paterno? Riddle me this, again I know from personal encounter being that I am family friends of the Paternos. But yes, explain to me why his grandchildren are being harrased? Isn't that child abuse? What did they do to deserve the ridicule and the harassment from the public?
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of things. Sebastian, your argument is well crafted. If you read my prior blogs I specifically referred to Sandusky and Fine. I'm sorry that Paterno did not in my opinion do what needed to be done. As far as Penn State as an institution, it seems from this distance that as an institution a blind eye was turned to this and many crimes to protect the program.
ReplyDeleteI know there are good people working at PSU and teaching the kids there. I am not painting the entire U with a broad brush. This was simply a response to the 382 people who signed the support letter.
I think the people harassing Paterno's family are just as reprehensible as those who harassed one of the victims right out of high school.
I first of all would like to say thank you at approaching me in a calm and reasonable tone unlike others. While I felt my first post had good points it may have come across arrogant, and that's not how I roll, however everything I've said has a point. I am not saying Joe is clean in this situation, I would simply like others to realize who else is responsible for the same wrong doings, if not worse (actually covering it up, rather than not doing enough). I would also like others to respect the lifetime of dedicated hard work to the young men, university and my town. Terrible things have transpired, however there is a lot more to the Joe Paterno story than just these past two months. I ask people to certainly dislike, if not hate, be upset, furious, but respect the man. If people are going to be upset about this (which is evident), please be upset at the monsters in the situation. Sandusky, Currely, Schultz. Include Joe if you will, but hold those three more and McQuery equally as responsible. I ask people to look at this with logos, and not purely with their pathos.
ReplyDelete