Joe Paterno/Penn State/Sandusky Child Molestation Affair

[tonyzackery]

Being a former collegiate football player who respects Paterno on a number of levels, I must comment briefly on this sordid affair.
Incredibly tragic for the children.
Incredibly sick on Sandusky's part.
Couldn't have written a worse epilogue to the story of arguably the greatest collegiate football coach ever in the USA.

 

[jhuskey]

My opinion is that Paterno has not had full head coach responsibilities for some time now which has nothing to do with this situation. Whatever knowledge he had in the incident is something he will have to reconcile and deal with in his own mind.
I think some people take child molestation less seriously than they should. Some molested children commit suicide, grow up to be molesters themselves and at the least suffer mentally and emotionally for years.
It is truly the gift that keeps on giving

 

[tonyzackery]

Paterno really should have saved the university from needing to fire him. An immediate resignation would have served the situation well.
The fact there's rioting because people are upset with his firing is reprehensible, IMO. Total slap in the face to those victimized children.

 

[alienator]

Paterno was notified of an incident by a graduate assistant. Did he follow up? No. Did he call the cops? No. Did he contact one of his higher ups? Yes. He covered his butt, a little, and that's about it. Paterno's win/loss history gives him no cred at all when he didn't inform the authorities. Likewise, the grad student should have notified the authorities. There is one thing that needs to be done when child abuse is witnessed: call the cops. Paterno didn't see it, but his response should have been the same: call the cops.

Now, Paterno is trying to cover his ass by saying he should have done more. No kidding. The only thing Joe has lost has been his credibility and his job. Sycophants will still revere him. How many kids might have not been abused if Joe or the grad student or he administration had called the cops? Who gives a damn about what Paterno has done in the history of some game? It's pretty sad when the status of a game is elevated such that it outweighs the safety of a child. It's pretty sad when the status of anything is elevated such that it outweighs the safety of a child.

 

[tonyzackery]

The choir hears your preaching loud and clear.
I respect what's he done and accomplished in his career - win/losses wise, and as a leader of young men. You can't relate - I comprehend that.
His inactions were inexcusable, and may prove criminal - who are arguing with about on that issue???? LOL!

 

[alienator]

Here's what the mother of "Victim 1" had to say: "Asked whether she thinks Paterno should have been fired, she said 'they all needed to be gone.'" Absolutely. There is zero difference between the Penn State handling of this and the way the Catholic church handled its child abuse victims and complaints. Both organizations were primarily focused on maintaining the stature of their institutions, as well as their income. Hopefully, once criminal proceedings are done, the families of the children abused will bleed Penn State, Paterno, and everyone involved dry in civil court. Between the actions of officials at Penn State, members of Paterno's staff, and Paterno himself, it seems no one bothered to consider the life-long damage being done to the children. The recent student protests over Paterno's firing are equally repugnant. How anyone can **** and moan about a coach losing a job whilst children had their innocence violently debased and possibly erased is beyond comprehension. Protect the game and screw the innocent children. What an ethic that is.

Fortunately, a Pennsylvania state congressman is introducing legislation to close the loop hole that Paterno and his droogs slithered through. The legislation will require anyone who witnesses or obtains knowledge of child abuse to go directly to the police, which is what any decent human being would have done in the first place.

Maybe to some people this is some abstract event that's difficult to imagine or relate to. Having worked with child abuse victims--both sexual abuse victims and physical abuse victims--in a medical setting, it's not something from which you can walk away and not feel sick to your stomach or not feel anger or rage well up against the adults who perpetrated the acts or who turned a blind eye. The feeling that stays with you after witnessing as much is magnitudes of order less than what the children and their families go through.

I wonder how good ol' Joe would feel if things were reversed, if instead one of the abused children was one of his five children and someone else were the head coach, the assistant coach, or a member of the Penn State administration. I wonder if he could honestly say that he'd not hold the head coach responsible. I wonder he'd rate someone else's legacy in the face of the pain of one of his children. I'm willing to bet he might then understand why so many are disgusted by him, some of his staff, and the administration at Penn State.

 

[tonyzackery]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7215664/penn-state-nittany-lions-mike-mcqueary-not-attend-game-weekend

Penn State will pay him off to get lost, so he won't leave empty-handed. Heck, he's kept his job thus far because he failed his moral duty to report to the police that he eye-witnessed Sandusky sodomizing that 10yo boy in the showers. There's no way in heck he'll remain with Penn State.

 

[64Paramount]

I'm sure I'm not getting the whole picture, but how badly would Paterno and his organization have been hurt if they'd have reported the incident to the authorities as soon as they were aware of it?

I know it would definitely been a blackeye for them to have had that pervert on their staff, but at least they would've done the right thing as soon as they had knowledge of the incident and that would've made a big difference in my opinion of them.

But the way it was handled makes me think their main concern was protecting their financial interests and they didn't give a **** about those kids...

 

[tonyzackery]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/page/gerald-sandusky-grand-jury-presentment-14924522

Grand jury indictment.

 

[64Paramount]

My wife and I both just read through that indictment. It just amazes both of us that the educated, mature, and supposedly intelligent adults that knew about this at Penn State didn't think there was anything seriously wrong happening.


I hope Schultz and Curley are also charged for perjury, or reckless indifference, or something.......I don't know much about the law, but they should be held accountable for their inaction to report these incidents to the police and their attempts to disavow knowledge after the fact....

 

[tonyzackery]

It comes down to the USA's prevailing religion - Capitalistianity. The almighty dollar took precedence over the sanctity of childhood. Besides, these kids that were involved with Sandusky were 'at risk' youth. Not like they were the young sons of wealthy alums./img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif

 

[ambal]

Originally Posted by tonyzackery .

It comes down to the USA's prevailing religion - Capitalistianity. The almighty dollar took precedence over the sanctity of childhood. Besides, these kids that were involved with Sandusky were 'at risk' youth. Not like they were the young sons of wealthy alums./img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif

You've summed it up perfectly there.

 

[tonyzackery]

^ Thanks.

The latest on McQueary:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7221182/penn-state-nittany-lions-mike-mcqueary-placed-administrative-leave-interim-president-says

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by alienator .

Paterno was notified of an incident by a graduate assistant. Did he follow up? No. Did he call the cops? No. Did he contact one of his higher ups? Yes.

So what action has been taken recently with the graduate assistant and Paterno's "higher up" - or has Paterno just been singled out, stuck on a stick and roasted?

 

[tonyzackery]

^^^LOL! He must be kidding! Gotta be facetious - especially living in the USA. Seek, and ye shall find...Heck, he might find the answers to his questions in the article I posted just above his comment. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by swampy1970 .

So what action has been taken recently with the graduate assistant and Paterno's "higher up" - or has Paterno just been singled out, stuck on a stick and roasted?

One assistant coach who reported what he saw to Paterno was placed on leave....McQuery I think is his name. Hopefully everyone that either witnessed the events or dealt with them administratively at Penn State will be dumped by Penn State and will lose their hides in at least civil court. Again, Penn State beautifully applied the Catholic church's strategy for covering up embarrassing and illegal activities. It's hard to say, though, how this will play out.

 

[tonyzackery]

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

[Reid2]

It is exactly how they do it. The Catholic Church,
which I would like to make amends with, covers up.

I am a witness for a long-dead, child-abuse victim,
Miguel "Mike" Chinchilla.

Ah, here we go,

https://www.google.com/search?q=Miguel+%22Mike%22+Chinchilla+priests+child+abuse&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a

I knew Mikey when he was eight, and onward.
That was the summer of 1968.
I knew he was gay. I realized, in looking at him, that I was gay, too.
I never touched Mikey, he was like a little brother.
Others, however, touched Mikey, and he died of their affects.

I will tell it again. It will always be told.

Chaptzem Blog!
jesodehatora.je.funpic.org/Kolko.pdf - Germany
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Kolko had been charged with two counts of sex abuse in the first degree, one count each of sex abuse in the ... endangering the welfare of a child. ..... altar boy, Miguel Chinchilla, whose family claimed he had been molested between 1975 and 1977 by two priests at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables. Rev. ...



When I returned to live at 1034 Almeria Avenue, Coral Gables,
home from my active duty hitch in the US Navy, it was...January of 1975.

Soon after my reunion at home, I saw Mikey by chance. I invited him into my room,
the room in the breezeway between the house and the garage, to visit, was all.

"Reid! I'm all grown up, now. Look?"

And he shucked his shirt and dropped his pants and grinned.

I was horrified. He was only fifteen.

"Mikey...I can't..."

He wailed without a word, put on his clothes, and ran out of the house.
I did not see him again for months, and when I did see him, it was from a distance,
he was at the corner, walking. I hailed him, "Mikey!"

He turned and saw me, and then ran away.

The priests had done their work, and Mikey was ruined, ashamed,
and so was I, for I did not know at that time, what had gone down.

 

[tonyzackery]

The comparison to the Catholic church begins and ends pretty quickly because Sandusky's not getting transferred to another university/parish to continue plying his pederastic trade in another community. He'll be rotting in a prison soon enough. Whether or not he was the only perp is still being investigated. There are rumors that he 'loaned' out kids to wealthy alums/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif.

 

[Reid2]

Tony? He won't be "rotting" in prison for long, not at 84.

These people always work networks.

I'm not in a network. "At least he wasn't transferred"


Well, tell you what, the two priests who fondled Mike Chinchilla were transferred and carried on their careers.


Another story, and I failed big-time. I was piano-tuner-technician for New World Symphony,
a world-class training orchestra for young, classical musicians. One day as I came on stage to tune,
after Mr. Tilson-Thomas completed his rehearsal, one of the male violinists tarried in his chair,
adjusting his violin. In result we were alone on the stage a few minutes later. He was 21 and normal looking.
"Reid?" Yeah? "I can ask you? What can I do? I've never been with a girl." That's alright. "I only like little boys."

_________________________________________________________________________________________


The only way to deal with these always-male issues, is to come out and TELL THE TRUTH,

and if you fondled a girl or a boy, then admit your sin to them and to the world, and be clean(er).

"I was a normal, horny male, but I had irrepressible lust for underage humans. I will not touch a child."

If a person does that, and is controlled, then there's your "solution". It is better than life in prison or castration.

But, if the person cannot be "trusted", put them away. I suppose that at 84, you it won't cost much to jail Sandusky. Three months time?