It’s Not About Paterno. It’s About the Kids

[TBF]

Thoughtful article about the Penn State situation - from a writer who was also abused at a young age -

That is the tragedy of this story—not Joe Paterno’s firing, not the blemish on the university, but the very real physical and emotional pain inflicted on at least eight, and now possibly nine or more, young boys...

The game of passing the buck seems to have ended with the firing of the head football coach and the university president, but it’s got to go further than that. It should land on the culture we have created that devalues children as human beings, a culture that does not want to face issues such as child abuse.

As a society we don’t want to face the horrors in our own midst. We do everything we can to avoid them. We can’t look at our souls in the mirror, so we look outward. Paterno is something easy upon which our gaze can focus...

http://www.progressive.org/penn_state_paterno_sex_abuse.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+progressivefeed+%28The+Progressive+Main+Feed%29

[hedgehog]

1. How many high schools, colleges and professional teams cover up sexual crimes

on a routine basis "for the sake of the team"? My guess is that most players are OK guys themselves, but when they look the other way when a teammate abuses or rapes a girl friend or casual date, they are as guilty as Paternao.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/15/cheerleader-rape-saga-still-roils-silsbee-texas-three-years-later.html

[Pathwalker]

2. For me, it's not about football, it's the child abuse.

Instead of focusing on football, Joe Pa, or Penn State, we should be focusing on the culture itself, where the child abuse is endemic. It's everywhere. Thank you for this article. :cry:

[fishwax]

3. k/r

[cutlassmama]

4. K&R

[MADem]

5. "....a scandal of power and violence ...." But Paterno DID play a role in perpetrating it.

That cannot be dismissed, and if he has to be the face of an asshole who played the "Go Along, Get Along" game and put kids in danger, so be it. Whatever it takes to get this shit to stop.

I do think that the children who were victimized in brutal fashion should be prioritized, and that we DO need a national discussion regarding keeping kids safe--we do not speak to that need with sufficient vigor, and we should.

It's like walking and chewing gum at the same time--we can put the kids first, AND hold the Sanduskys, Paternos, McQuearys, and Boards of Directors accountable and responsible.

I say do BOTH.

The author of this piece is still living in hell. This shouldn't happen to anyone.

I liked this piece of the essay:

And the media needs to quit calling it a sex scandal. A sex scandal is when someone is caught cheating on his wife. It is about something that is consensual. What happened to those boys is not a sex scandal. It is a scandal of power and violence perpetrated upon innocent children. Rape, sexual abuse, molestation—these are crimes of violence, not of sex. Please stop calling it a sex scandal. It only minimizes the pain inflicted upon the victims.

[TBF]

6. I liked that part as well and agree about doing both -

For instance, Penn State insisted on going forward and having their football game. That's fine - but why not donate the profits from the remaining games this season to a non-profit that helps the victims of child abuse (both sexual and physical).

I agree the perps need to be held responsible as well. This just happened to be one of the first blogs I had seen that really addressed the victims.

[MADem]

7. I found the "Wear Blue for Child Abuse" touting for game day particularly NOXIOUS.

As if they genuinely give a shit about the victims. It's horribly convenient that the "child abuse blue" just happens to be the EXACT same shade of blue as the Nitwit Lyin's uniform. Offensive.

Talk about trying to turn their smelly trash into treasure!

They disgust me--I hope Nebraska wipes their asses with 'em--and I'm not a football fan, but I'd rejoice at that victory because it would be poetic.