say it ain't so, joe

i normally prefer to stay mum when it comes to largely-publicized news, but once in awhile a story comes along that changes that.  the story this time first permeated the local media, which almost instantly hit national news, discussed and dissected by pretty much anyone who reads a newspaper or listens to the radio or watches TV or goes online or stays current with what's going on.  it's really impossible not to have heard something about it because it's been circulated everywhere.

first of all, i believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, which is why i generally keep my thoughts to myself about things like this (since i don't want to push my views on anybody).  and secondly, as someone who does not know all the facts or every detail of what happened, the following conclusions are just my thoughts outloud about the events of the past week.  so here goes...

the most recent story that pushed me over the edge was the rioting at penn state last night over the firing of joe paterno.  in one of the pictures i saw of a bunch of students flipping over a news van, one of the kids was smiling(!) -- an open-mouthed, bared-teeth, ear-to-ear kind of grin.  i thought, what is so amusing about what he was doing?  or any of this, for that matter?

when the scandal first broke, it made me sick to my stomach.  i despise hearing about children being abused.  it's absolutely disgusting.  jerry sandusky is despicable.  that's all i'll allow myself to say about him.  as each day passed, it seemed like the heat was turned up on joe paterno, about what he knew and how he was involved.  yes, he alerted his superiors.  yes, he obeyed the law.  but what bothered me more was what he didn't do -- follow-up, alert the authorities, something! -- that sadly has now tarnished his illustrious, 46-year career at the university.

i didn't go to penn state.  i don't know what it's like to have a legendary football coach at my school (i went to temple, where football wasn't one of its strong suits).  and i don't know how it feels to watch his legacy torn apart.  but this is much more than that.  turning a blind eye to allegations of sexual assault on a child is basically walking away from your moral obligation as an adult.  as a person.  it's washing your hands of the problem, allowing it to continue for another decade.  it's not exactly the same as performing the lurid acts yourself, but it might as well have been, by doing nothing.

like my husband said, no matter how much good he did during his career, he doesn't get a pass now.  it's not like it balances out.  these horrible things still happened and he had the choice and chance to stop them.

i guess it all comes down to this: would you just sit by and knowingly let it happen?

me?  heck no.

the worst part out of all of this is that innocent children were being "allegedly" raped, coerced, abused, victimized... it's terrible and awful and abhorrent.  so enough about joe and jerry and football and penn state and the scandal that's "rocked the nation."  i'm thinking of those children and their families today.