I know most of you have been waiting for my take on the whole Joe Paterno/Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal story and I apologize for making you wait so long. Many of you get your news from GEP and when we fail to comment on a major story in a timely fashion, I usually feel pretty bad. There is a reason it's taken me awhile to comment on this particular tale of woe however, and that is because large portions of it make me sick to my stomach.If you don't have any idea of what I'm talking about, first, you most assuredly live underneath a rock, by which I mean you aren't alive at all, but, rather, buried in a cemetery somewhere, unless, of course, your body was donated to science or cremated and tossed into the Grand Canyon. Second, this timeline of events posted at ESPN.com should bring you up to speed. Allow me to nutshell it, if I may: Jerry Sandusky, an assistant football coach under legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno, molested and raped several different young boys over roughly a fifteen year period. His disgusting conduct was witnessed and reported, but nothing was ever done until just recently, when Sandusky was arrested on 40 criminal counts.
There is a lot about this story that makes me sick. First, Sandusky is an inhuman monster. He creates a charity for boys from dysfunctional homes and then uses said charity to find easy marks--broken, lonely boys aching for a father figure in their lives. Sandusky becomes that father figure and proceeds to betray their trust.
Second, you got the members of the Penn State faculty and staff who knew what Sandusky was up to, but ignored it or, in the case of Joe Paterno, did the bare minimum of what was required and got back to promoting the Penn State brand. Nobody picked up a phone and dialed 9-1-1, like, ever. They passed the buck, swept it under the rug--you pick the cliche! The simple fact is that boys were being sexually abused, but Penn State's reputation was much more important.
Third, these students that rioted and flipped over a news van. Really, guys? Now that you know the whole horrible story, I bet you feel pretty dumb. Let me rephrase that: you better feel really dumb. Listen, I hadn't heard the name Joe Paterno until last week (believe it or not, not everybody cares about college football), so maybe I don't get how much of a legend he is 'round your parts. I do know that a graduate assistant witnessed Jerry Sandusky anally raping--ANALLY RAPING!!!--a 10-year-old in the locker room showers and called his dad, not the police. HE CALLED HIS DAD! Then, THE NEXT DAY, he told Joe Paterno who also DID NOT CALL THE COPS, but rather Penn State's athletic director and the whole story dies there. Paterno was part of the cover-up, like it or not, and for that he deserved to be terminated. Let's step outside of our school pride for a moment and look at the facts. Paterno fucked up. He's not the only one who did, but he did nonetheless. So, why not help right that news van and get back to studying or binge drinking or whatever.
Who are the victims in this story? Joe Paterno? Not bloody likely. Penn State's reputation? If they're so great, why have I never heard of them?* I'll tell you who the victims are...
LOCKER ROOM SHOWERS!
That's right: what young boy in his right mind is going to take a public shower after all this? Scores of middle school boys will leave second period gym sweaty and stinky, offending the sensibilities of their Social Studies classmates, all because the locker room shower has become a terrifying, tiled house of horrors. Rumors will fly: "I heard if you stand in front of the boy's room mirror and repeat "Jerry Sandusky" three times, Coach Sandusky appears naked and cuddles your from behind." Showers will go ignored and unused. Horrifying!
Of course the showers aren't the victims! Sandusky's victims are the victims, but it seems like everybody forgot that for awhile, although I think people are finally coming around.
There is a special place at Hell's Thanksgiving table for child molesters. Jeffery Dahmer cooks the turkey, Osama Bin Laden makes the seating chart, and Hitler does the carving. It makes the Thanksgiving dinner for blasphemers and liars look like a Labor Day barbecue in The Hamptons, you know, fun, but kind of intimidating. Sandusky ruined a lot of lives, but what's become of JoePa's legacy is nobody's fault but his own. Remember that next time you see a news van that looks just right for tipping. Believe it or not, there are things more important than your alma mater. Grow up.
*I'm kidding. I've heard of Penn State. I've visited the campus. I had my picture taken with that lion.
