Penn State

[Ravariel]

For those of you who have lived under an internet-capable rock for the last week, a former assistant coach at Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting at least 8 young boys. The Athletic Director and Financial Manager have also been arrested for failure to report the crime. Joe Paterno and the University President have been fired over the scandal, though neither appear to be facing criminal charges.

McQueary, an assistant coach who, in 2002 said he witnessed one of the assaults, but only ever reported it to Paterno and the AD (read: left the boy to his fate with Sandusky and didn't call the cops) remains on the coaching staff and will likely be on the field against Nebraska this Saturday. To make matters worse, students at Penn State rioted after they learned of Paterno's firing.

As much as the crime itself sickens me (and I hope that, if Sandusky is proven guilty, he will face the heaviest punishment allowed by law), the reaction of the students and media may make me even more uneasy. The Students rioting shows that they are more concerned with a hometown hero's job, than his complicity in the raping of several boys (allegedly). And some media outlets have been calling this a "sex abuse scandal," as if a child could consent to sex and it just got a little out of hand. This is a "Child Raping Scandal."

What does it say about our society that events like this are rioted against by students, and downplayed by some media outlets. Seen in conjunction with Herman Cain's sturdy poll numbers in the midst of a series of more-and-more believable charges of sexual harrassment (where crowds boo when he is questioned about it and cheer when he blames it on some media bias). These same crowds cheer letting the uninsured die and boo a soldier.

Seriously... what the fuck?

[Korriken]

Simply put, Paterno got scape goated. While I can't say they shouldn't have fired him, given that he SHOULD have called the cops when he realized the higher ups at penn state haven't, his firing, along with the president's was simply damage control, hoping that this thing can be contained and not get out of their control.

the way I see it, it's not going to go away and more people will be losing their jobs, and rightly so. To know one of their colleagues is molesting children and turn a blind eye is just despicable.

[orangebomb]

This is one of those cases that where idol worship isn't all cracked up as it is to be. Once Paterno got fired, some of the students began to lose direction and started to riot, basically smashing up the ones who they considered the catalyst for Joe Pa's firing, and just about everything that has went wrong at the campus. Penn State is going to do everything they can to clean house, and remove everyone who was involved with this scandal, and rightly so.

As for the media pickiness dealing with sexual abuse of any kind, I can agree to a point. What Sandusky did is absolutely the sickest thing anyone could do to children, whereas what Cain did was just as bad, but most of the media doesn't have the same amount of venom to a bunch of women who got sexual assaulted, as much as when kids get raped. The liberal media tends to be hypocritical a lot, especially to those they see as heroes and good people who could do no wrong, and the general degenerates of our society, who they want to see hanged on a streetlamp for no reason, other than being viewed as bad for society, or at best, not give 2 shits about.

[Famas]

Countdown until the National Guard gets called in.

[aviewaskewed]

At 11/10/11 10:00 PM, Korriken wrote: Simply put, Paterno got scape goated.

I thought you did that by taking a basically innocent person and pinning all the blame on them? That's not what happened here.

While I can't say they shouldn't have fired him, given that he SHOULD have called the cops when he realized the higher ups at penn state haven't, his firing, along with the president's was simply damage control, hoping that this thing can be contained and not get out of their control.

It's also the fact that, as you pointed out, NEITHER individual reported this to the cops. In fact, neither individual seems to have had any problem with Sandusky continuing to hold a position and offices on campus (offices he visited as late as last week).

the way I see it, it's not going to go away and more people will be losing their jobs, and rightly so.

Agreed. Anybody who knew and kept their mouth shut should be removed.

To know one of their colleagues is molesting children and turn a blind eye is just despicable.

Yessir.

Remind me again how, given this is your position, Paterno was in any way "scape goated" or deserves and ounce of defense? I'm not getting it.

[WallofYawn]

I was shocked that while the coach, Sardusky(or whatever his name is), and the president got canned for sexual allegations/potentially covering up those allegations, the only reaction the students had was to start rioting, tipping over news vans and shouting "we want one more game!"

Maybe I'm being misled by the news and the media, and granted, I haven't done much research on this, but the students at penn state sound like a bunch of immature jackasses. One of your faculty members is possibly going to prison over sexual molestation charges, and all you care about is a fucking football game?

I like football as much as the next guy, but jesus fucking christ. They sound like a bunch of selfish bitches. They want one more game? So they tip over a news van and start rioting on campus? What a bunch of douchebags.

(though I could be being misled by the media. I'll do some research when I'm not busy, or in the meantime, someone potentially pops in here and pwns me intellectually, and educates me in the process)

[WallofYawn]

Also, I'm sure the allegations themselves have something to do with the campus protests/riots as well. So I don't mean to label the whole thing as only being about a football game to them, but that's how the news portrayed it.

[Proteas]

.... and this is the part where I get to ask the one question that nobody else thought to ask.

How exactly did Sandusky get a 10 year old boy into a college campus shower to sexually assault him, and why was McQueary the ONLY ONE who saw the assault happen? You mean to tell me that nobody else on campus noticed the full grown man go into a college campus showers with a 10 year old boy, and McQueary was the ONLY witness? Really?

How does that happen?

[Camarohusky]

At 11/11/11 10:29 AM, Proteas wrote: .... and this is the part where I get to ask the one question that nobody else thought to ask.

How exactly did Sandusky get a 10 year old boy into a college campus shower to sexually assault him, and why was McQueary the ONLY ONE who saw the assault happen? You mean to tell me that nobody else on campus noticed the full grown man go into a college campus showers with a 10 year old boy, and McQueary was the ONLY witness? Really?

How does that happen?

Having been around a major college's facilities, I can tell you that when they are not in use by the football team, they become graveyards. In college I spent a greal deal of time inside the UW athletic complex (Hec Ed) during off hours.

In the alternative, Sandusky was part of a program that connected troubled youths to 'role model' adults. Sandusky taking one of these 'Little Brothers' around his workplace wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.

[Warforger]

This shit happens all the time just like Casey Anthony, I don't see why it needs its own thread.

[Famas]

At 11/11/11 01:59 PM, Warforger wrote: This shit happens all the time just like Casey Anthony, I don't see why it needs its own thread.

Teachers systematically molest students under the protection of the school all the time? Where do you go to school? In The Vatican?

[All-American-Badass]

Sandusky is a waste of flesh for his actions, unfortunately, the Constitution doesn't allow the punishment I see fit for him. That aside, McQueary should have called the cops as soon as he saw it, I'm surprised Penn St. hasn't given him the boot yet seeing has he has way more liability than Paterno did. Paterno's only real mistake was trusting a corrupt system in the worst of circumstances short of murder.

[RydiaLockheart]

Regarding what WallofYawn was talking about:

Lots of people, in state and out, go to Penn State for the mythos. Joe Paterno basically was the university. The whole mythos of Penn State is the, um, extracurricular activities (it finally beat out WVU for #1 party school not too long ago) and the football. And for over four decades, Paterno WAS football there. People will pay extra money for this despite the Commonwealth schools being cheaper. So when Joe Paterno is gone, it's like paying extra for a premium line-cutting pass at Disney World only to get there and all the rides are closed. Yes, it's stupid. Don't ask me why they do this; I did the Commonwealth schools.

Here's another interesting tidbit: six years ago, the DA was apparently investigating something at Penn State. He vanished without a trace. Had he been able to complete his investigation, it's likely charges would have come much sooner. (I got this from reading the affidavit and remember the disappearance well, as I was near the area then.)

[Warforger]

At 11/11/11 02:04 PM, Famas wrote:

At 11/11/11 01:59 PM, Warforger wrote: This shit happens all the time just like Casey Anthony, I don't see why it needs its own thread.

Teachers systematically molest students under the protection of the school all the time? Where do you go to school? In The Vatican?

All the time I mean this isn't the first occurrence, this happens every other month or whatever, you'd probably figure it out if you watch documentaries on crime and just see how often it happens. And there are more pressing human rights issues, such as slave labor in the cocoa fields in West Africa, sex trafficking, bloodthristy regimes etc.

[Korriken]

At 11/11/11 01:43 AM, aviewaskewed wrote:

I thought you did that by taking a basically innocent person and pinning all the blame on them? That's not what happened here.

now that you mention it... i'll rephrase. he got thrown under the bus? stabbed in the back? ooh I know, He got.. something.

Remind me again how, given this is your position, Paterno was in any way "scape goated" or deserves and ounce of defense? I'm not getting it.

I misphrased.

[Camarohusky]

At 11/11/11 08:56 PM, Korriken wrote: he got thrown under the bus?

I think this pretty much sums up the situation.

Yes, Paterno wasn't in the right. He did the bare minimum when the bare minimum was nowhere near enough. However, the quickness through which he was fired (when he only had about 5 games left to go anyway) and the reluctancce to get rid of McQueary reeks of being thrown under the bus. In public opinion, it's almost as if Paterno had molested those children himself.

Now I know, nobody has really ever heard of Sandusky or McQueary, but that's not excuse to treat them as less culpable than Paterno.

[aviewaskewed]

At 11/11/11 08:56 PM, Korriken wrote: now that you mention it... i'll rephrase. he got thrown under the bus? stabbed in the back? ooh I know, He got.. something.

What he deserved for his part in things?

I misphrased.

I see that now. That's what I figured. Because you're one of those people that I give the benefit of the doubt that whenever you say something that makes no sense I tend to think it's on accident.

[orangebomb]

At 11/11/11 03:38 AM, WallofYawn wrote: I was shocked that while the coach, Sardusky(or whatever his name is), and the president got canned for sexual allegations/potentially covering up those allegations, the only reaction the students had was to start rioting, tipping over news vans and shouting "we want one more game!"

In the bubble world that is Penn State, some of them viewed Paterno as a "demigod" of football, a sort of cult of personality that extended throughout the campus, if you will. And once Joe Pa offically got canned, some of the students believed that he got screwed, {with the notorious conjuction of alcohol/drugs in some of them} and began to smash up the streets, in "support" of Paterno. In retrospect, that only made the situation worse.

Maybe I'm being misled by the news and the media, and granted, I haven't done much research on this, but the students at penn state sound like a bunch of immature jackasses.

I'd say that they were more angry and of a one track mind, but that said, they clearly didn't do the mature thing and leave peacefully, they needed their pound of flesh to attack, so to speak, and the media truck was meat. Note that it wasn't all of them, mind you, it's a small group that acted like English Premier hooligans out there.

One of your faculty members is possibly going to prison over sexual molestation charges, and all you care about is a fucking football game?

Well, I'm sure that they wanted to see Sandusky pay for his crimes, and if they had their way, they probably would've strung him up on a streetlamp somewhere, hell, someone smashed a window into his house with a cinder block. Never underestimate the venom and fury that drunken college kids could do in a volitile situation like this.

I like football as much as the next guy, but jesus fucking christ. They sound like a bunch of selfish bitches. They want one more game? So they tip over a news van and start rioting on campus? What a bunch of douchebags.

I can somewhat understand why they would be upset in the short term, but I obviously cannot condone what they have done that night. Speaking of football, you better believe that the Nebraska players and staff are going to be on edge for this, even with the extra security around them. There's always a slight chance that someone goes over the edge with the Penn State students when they see something they don't like, and then the shit will hit the fan.

I'm not saying that'll happen, but as I said drunk college kids can get very hostile, especially after dealing with the proverbial fallout of the situation.

[Korriken]

At 11/11/11 10:50 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: What he deserved for his part in things?

Well it's not like he was in on it. however, I get the feeling they ditched him and the president to protect the board of trustees. I get this sneaking suspicion they knew about it, but figured to look the other way because their football program would suffer if they did away with Sandusky, not to mention it would make the school look bad. Once the shit hit the fan they got rid of Paterno because they needed someone to throw under the bus and figured they could get away with not firing McQueary... for some reason. However, last I heard they placed him on leave too. Apparently they don't want to lose him as well because they would have to find a whole new coaching staff and the football team would suffer severe setbacks as the new coach might suck horribly, which would harm their football revenue

In the end its STILL all about the money.

I see that now. That's what I figured. Because you're one of those people that I give the benefit of the doubt that whenever you say something that makes no sense I tend to think it's on accident.

Either an accident or I'm overlooking something, which happens more often than you can imagine and I like to admit.

[aviewaskewed]

At 11/12/11 07:35 AM, Korriken wrote: Well it's not like he was in on it.

Uh, he knew about it....he turned it over to school authorities...then he kept his mouth shut along with them for all these years and did nothing. Even if you say there's no evidence of him being involved in any active conspiracy, his inaction and refusal (even if only passive) to go to authorities gives him a culpability in any cover up.

however, I get the feeling they ditched him and the president to protect the board of trustees.

I figured it was more about protecting the rep of the school, doing damage control, and making sure that people didn't stop paying to go there.

I get this sneaking suspicion they knew about it, but figured to look the other way because their football program would suffer if they did away with Sandusky, not to mention it would make the school look bad.

Maybe they knew, maybe they didn't. If they did, they should be punished too, but my feeling is with outside law enforcement involved we'll know one way or another soon enough. But right now it's all about damage control, and that means belatedly doing what should have been done from the start: ousting those involved with this horrible chain of events.

Once the shit hit the fan they got rid of Paterno because they needed someone to throw under the bus and figured they could get away with not firing McQueary... for some reason.

That part I don't get. McQueary should be out too, because he's guilty of the same failure to responsibly report what he saw that Paterno is. I tend to think eventually he'll be put out on the streets as well, as long as the cries to do so continue to be loud enough anyway. Also continuing to defend Paterno baffles me as well.

However, last I heard they placed him on leave too. Apparently they don't want to lose him as well because they would have to find a whole new coaching staff and the football team would suffer severe setbacks as the new coach might suck horribly, which would harm their football revenue

Boo fucking hoo. Putting football above doing what was their legal and moral responsibility is what put them in this mess in the first place. They need to rebuild their reputation right now...their football program can be rebuilt along with it.

In the end its STILL all about the money.

Oh sure. Doesn't mean that you can't do the right thing finally in the process as well.

[ZJ]

All I have to say about this is that people it took it way out of hand. The fact that kids were rioting over this crap was just silly and really reflected poorly on Penn State and its staff and students. I mean really? They flipped a bus over this?

[Korriken]

At 11/13/11 02:34 AM, aviewaskewed wrote:

Uh, he knew about it....he turned it over to school authorities...then he kept his mouth shut along with them for all these years and did nothing. Even if you say there's no evidence of him being involved in any active conspiracy, his inaction and refusal (even if only passive) to go to authorities gives him a culpability in any cover up.

Can't argue that one.

I figured it was more about protecting the rep of the school, doing damage control, and making sure that people didn't stop paying to go there.

that too.

That part I don't get. McQueary should be out too, because he's guilty of the same failure to responsibly report what he saw that Paterno is. I tend to think eventually he'll be put out on the streets as well, as long as the cries to do so continue to be loud enough anyway. Also continuing to defend Paterno baffles me as well.

*shrug* the whole thing just goes to show that 40+ years of greatness can be washed away by 1 very bad decision. It also shows that they don't give a damn about the moral obligation, given that they tried to spare McQueary, even naming him temporary head coach before being forced to toss him as well. it's like a kid being busted stealing candy from a store and trying to keep a piece or two as he hands over the stolen goods.

Boo fucking hoo. Putting football above doing what was their legal and moral responsibility is what put them in this mess in the first place. They need to rebuild their reputation right now...their football program can be rebuilt along with it.

heh their reputation and football program will never be the same now. that's gonna leave a scar that will never heal.

In the end its STILL all about the money.

Oh sure. Doesn't mean that you can't do the right thing finally in the process as well.

only when forced to will they do the right thing.