News Penn State

[anni]

No way!! See, this is where the defense stategy of CONFUSING the issue is already working I think I already knew that, too, having read the dam thing. Fortunately, it'll only work briefly in the court of public opinion with whifty people like me since of course lawyers in the court room will make hash out of that. They'll be HAPPY to, since it's such an obvious lie, as are a few of the others.

I'm really unhappy the various defenses seem to be trying to divert attention away from their guilt and onto the janitor. Now it seems to be 2 janitors? This man ( one I know of so am sticking to one ) told and told and TOLD, and was shut down at every single turn. It seems it was not 'just' his job he was worried about, there are hints he was worried about other things. Now he has dementia, so cannot be interviewed or testify. He's a dandy scapegoat for people who had MUCH more pwer and culpability at the time-geesh! I KEEP hearing this guy in the same sentence as the coaches. It's apples and oranges. You just cannot compare their situations, given the employment, their places in the pecking order at Penn State, their respective abilities to speak publicly ( or privately ) now, what they really did attempt to do and not do at the time. I think the press should cease ALL coverage and stop giving these slime balls the oppurtunity to slide out from under their respective putrid rocks.

 

[Happy Head]

And let's not forget everyone at his non-profit who knew 15 years ago!!!!!!! Those allogations were swept under the carpet way before anyone at Penn State knew...

 

[anni]

I heard yesterday that charity is now defunct, with all the money trasferred out of it I suppose to protect it from the inevitable law suits of the future. It really was something which benefitted children too, the swine. I'm guessing the new non-profit will be similar, the money channeled towards children also. BUT. Any child who was abused there, who might be a victim and is associated with that charity just lost their chance for validation. Perhaps there's some sort of grandfather clause, with defunct charities and the monies being transferred? Boy I hope so. Yes, it is a charity, it is an awful, awful shame to see it go down because of a pedophile. The victims must must must be addressed, bottom line. This just creates more dam shadows someone has to go shine a klieg light into.

Penn State now appears to be trying to shush on the whole thing, just when it is most imperative that the digging begin. Sandusky has been at this an awfully long time. They keep speaking of 'trying to get back to what they used to be'. Nope. These people have to fall on their swords and stay there until it is clear the pig stye has been mucked out properly. If Penn State really does wish to use all that awesome power it has as an istitution, it would tell Sandusky and McQuery to please stop making public statements.

 

[Girl3]

Sports, money, men with power. Throw a pedophile in there and so what - as long the sports, money, and power continues. It is truly sickening.

 

[BloomInWinter]

"Some people are on the good side only because situations have never coerced or seduced them to cross over.
This is true not only for perpetrators of torture and other horrible acts, but for people who commit a more common kind of wrong—the wrong of taking no action when action is called for. "

Source: http://www.lucifereffect.com/articles/heroism.pdf

How sad and true this is in this case...

 

[anni]

I wish we knew how much of the press is controlled by power behind the scenes we know nothing about. This is a HUGE story and is somehow getting less and less coverage, not the increasing amounts you'd think as victims come forward, more information is revealed. I hate to sound like some paranoid , conspiracy theory freak, however, this seems just plain wierd.

 

[Happy Head]

I heard this morning where the first boy who came forward had to leave his high school because of bullying. I'm so sad for this for two major reasons. First, the poor boy - he's already been through too much and second, that isn't going to make it easier for anyone else to come forward.

 

[BloomInWinter]

The victim is a hero. The rest of the Penn State crew who knew and did nothing as the same brand of 'good' as the 'good guards' of Abu Ghraib.

"Some people are on the good side only because situations have never coerced or seduced them to cross over.
This is true not only for perpetrators of torture and other horrible acts, but for people who commit a more common kind of wrong—the wrong of taking no action when action is called for. Whether we consider Nazi Germany or Abu Ghraib prison, there were many people who observed what was happening and said nothing. At Abu Ghraib, one photo shows two soldiers smiling before a pyramid of naked prisoners while a dozen other soldiers stand around watching passively. If you observe such abuses and don’t say, “This is wrong! Stop it!” you give tacit approval to contin. You are part of the silent majority that makes evil deeds more acceptable."

Source: http://www.lucifereffect.com/articles/heroism.pdf

 

[mamachick]

I know I am going to be so politically correct in saying this, but here it goes.....
I have been one of those people who the world seems to drop the evidence of abuse right in front of me, for that, I have had to follow my conscience, and report. My children have witnessed this and have followed by example. There are several occassions in my personal life that I have made the choice to report something. I can tell you from experience, that if you are not at the top of the pecking order, others who are will make you out to be a trouble maker, even while they are slapping the wrist of the perpetrator. After the slap, the behavior has continued (in a couple of instances), and for someone like myself, the pissing off of these higher ups has had very negative effects on myself. That being said, I would still do it again.

When you do report to police or cps, or most other agencies, once the report is taken-they are done with you. They will tell you "it is being investigated", whether it is or not. There is always someones right to privacy that prevents these agencies from sharing the outcome.

My daughter was a junior in high school, when her music teacher was sexually inappropriate, and when she avoided him, her would catch her in the hall and confront her. He had a history of this and it had been swept under the carpet. There were rumors that he groomed and dated other female students, but nobody had ever made a formal report. She went to a female instructor, who discouraged her from making a formal complaint. She made the formal complaint anyway. I attended a meeting with her with a representative of the board of education, guidance counselor, board of education attorney, etc. They took the information and concluded that this would be investigated. When I never heard anything after 30 days, I contacted the school. I was told that the matter had been handled but the outcome is confidential. The teacher continued in his position.

Three years later while she was in college, the sheriff's dept contacted her and wanted to speak with her about this teacher. I went with her to the meeting. The officer told us what was happening (Im guessing because of contact I had with this particular officer through my job-) He told us that this teacher was grooming another female student who pulled away as my daughter had. The girls parents knew there had been a previous complaint but did not know who had filed it. Soon a couple of other girls came forward. This time the teacher began stalking the student, and had sent her emails and hand written notes, describing sexual dreams he had about her etc. The teacher was finally fired and the sheriff dept was working on a criminal case against the teacher.

I know that my daughter was motivated to report because she knew her little sister(2 grads younger) would also be in this mans class and is much more gullable and naive. I know that because of this, she withdrew from this class, and the rest of her high school experience felt a bit shaded as a result. Some girls were mad at her, as they seemed to like the attention, and felt she was over-reacting. At one point, I felt responsible for her going out on a limb as I was probably her primary life model, and I saw her following in my footsteps. Seeing her pain actually made me think that I wished I could be a person who could not get involved, not see what others seemed to be oblivious to at times, who could overlook. When the sheriff dept called her in and told her of the recent events, she knew she did the right thing.

Unfortunately, doing the right thing is not the most popular. Others may not want to believe, not want involved, or sweep it under the rug. I am not saying that we do not all have an obligation to protect and report things such as this, just that it does come with great consequences. Consequences that some must find to be too costly when the system is not prepared for the truth.

 

[mamachick]

that was suppose to read "incorrect" ---sorry

 

[Girl3]

Well - in my lifetime - I was repeatedly sexually abused by my brother, sexually abused by my Karate teacher who started an affair with me when I was 11. The women's basketball coach ( a guy) organized my rape by taking me out of town to a motel when I was 14 and invited 4 other guys to join in. The high school boys basketball coach began an affair with me that lasted for two years - during that time he slept with several other girls and got one pregnant. Adults in the community knew these things were happening. Those of us who wound up as prey were condemned as sluts.

Fast forward to college: I was nearly beaten to death by a grad student. The DA of that city declined to prosecute the case saying that I should be happy to be alive. I found a private attorney who would prosecute the case - and had to go through months of humiliation as his attorney tried every trick in the book to get the case dismissed. The university graduate department also tried to humiliate me to protect their 'genius' - as if I somehow deserved to be beaten and put in the hospital.

It takes an incredible amount of fortitude to stand up to the hierarchy, and when you do - it is often painful and adds to your shame.

As for the press - my husband worked in television for 25 years, traveled all over the US, South America, Caribbean and Europe and the Middle East - the press bends things to serve their purpose and quite frankly it is mostly bending toward the left. I have watched uncut pieces that after the editing have you believing that the person in front of the camera is either a blithering idiot or a Rhodes Scholar when in fact neither is true. My husband worked with the top people - Mike Wallace, Morely Safer, Stephanopoulos, Sawyer, Ed Bradley, Charlie Gibson, etc - we have pictures all over our house with him and whomever. They bend the stories to make you want to hear more, or believe things that will help them get ratings - they use words, phrasing, editing - whatever it takes to make it what they want. Unless you are physically present at some event and see the thing happen for yourself - whatever you see on the news is twisted and designed to play on your emotions rather than your logic. Logic doesn't sell stories.

 

[BloomInWinter]

I agree, (((((brat17)))))) - I think most people just aren't able to deal with the consequences.

"Heroism is different than altruism. Where altruism emphasizes selfless acts that assist others, heroism entails the potential for deeper personal sacrifice. The core of heroism revolves around the individual’s commitment to a noble purpose and the willingness to accept the consequences of fighting for that purpose."

Source: http://www.lucifereffect.com/articles/heroism.pdf

Which...really makes me appreciate all the truly heroic people on the forum and in real life.