Penn State scandal, JoePa and the football/college town complex

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by That Phat Hat, Nov 8, 2011.

  1. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Only when they target your livestock
     
  2. puttputtfc

    puttputtfc Member+

    Sep 7, 1999
    Moral obligation, yes. Or his superiors may have told him to never mention it again. We don't know.
     
  3. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The guy Paterno has always been compared to is Dean Smith. Now, there are alot of reasons for NC State and Duke fans to take shots at Smith, and many of them are fair shots. But in the early 60s, when he was still an assistant coach, Smith faced a test of character. And he passed with flying colors. He took a black friend to a whites-only restaurant. The restaurant backed down and seated them. He used what little influence he had to fight the evils of segregation, and he did it when his position wasn't unassailable as it would be later, or like JoePa's was when he first heard that his friend was anally raping a 10 year old boy in the football team's showers.
    Wow. I guess that's why the University cancelled the press conference.
     
  4. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    superior on paper only. there was nobody superior to Paterno in Happy Valley in reality. Paterno could have and should have done more. as Mr. Warmth said, if he reported it to the boss, and he saw that nothing was done, he had a moral obligation to do something more, if he believed that the graduate assistant that told him about the incident was telling the truth.
     
  5. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    this may not be the right place or time to discuss what should be done with pedophiles, but I think it's a discussion that needs to be had. is pedophilia a disease? a mental disorder? I'm all for personal responsibility, and clearly these people do not need to be in a position where they can do further harm, but I'm not sure killing them is the answer. I mean what if this guy had a ****ed up childhood and was himself abused as a child. it doesn't excuse his actions, but perhaps killing them may not be entirely fair to them either.
     
  6. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    If your superiors tell you to shut up about a 10-year being ass raped, you absolutely positively do not shut up.
     
  7. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    I'm not professionally trained in psychology but my understanding is that it's very much a mental disorder and they really do need to be kept away from children because they don't have control over their impulses. And it's also why so much of the responsibility, legal or otherwise, falls on Paterno and the administrators.
     
  8. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't care. Hell, if it was up to my wife, torture would be involved before the killing. Me, I'm civilized about it. .40 cal to the back of the head.

    We agree to disagree.

    Lots of people have ********ed up childhoods, including abuse, not everyone turns out to be a pedophile.
     
  9. THOMA GOL

    THOMA GOL BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 16, 1999
    Frontier
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In my line of work, and in accordance with the UCMJ, (DUI example) those that are around a drunk buddy and that drunk buddy gets a DUI when something could have been done to save that drunk buddy, those that knew but didn't act basically get blackballed not to mention, could get an equal punishment under the UCMJ.

    In regards to Sandusky, there should ALWAYS be a zero-tolerance policy on sex crimes involving children! To put it mildly, a person will no longer have a worthy life after getting booted for child sex crimes. That's just how it goes.
     
  10. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I know, and I used to share your attitude too. in my old age, I guess I've gone soft. humans are extraordinarily resilient and capable of coping with and overcoming many horrors. maybe there are several things that have to line up just right to create this kind of person. you probably don't care to hear it, but I would like to know a little more about this guy - what his childhood, his upbringing, and his adult life was like. what has to happen in a person's life to make a human being into a monster. perhaps it could help us as a society treat people like this. keeping them from being able to inflict harm is a definite must. but perhaps punishment also needs to be balanced with treatment.
     
  11. puttputtfc

    puttputtfc Member+

    Sep 7, 1999
    I have no idea what JoePa was told. Neither do you. I wonder why the janitor or GA did not go to the police. They were first hand witnesses.

    Agreed Thoma there should be zero tolerance for this. Sandusky should not be around children.
     
    Chesco United repped this.
  12. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ucmj?
     
  13. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And knew of the relationship between Sandusky and JoePa and that JoePa was God in Happy Valley.

    What about young men?

     
  14. THOMA GOL

    THOMA GOL BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 16, 1999
    Frontier
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Uniform Code of Military Justice
     
  15. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    they should have told the police, no doubt.
    but Paterno was in a much better and much more secure position (in terms of his job) to have done something about it. a low-level employee feels he has done his duty if he tells the boss. at Paterno's level, that's just shifting responsibility because you don't want to deal with it. neither do the actions/inactions of the GA and the janitors excuse Paterno's inaction when he realized the university wasn't doing anything in the situation.
     
  16. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Uniform Code of Military Justice.
     
  17. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    oh... that's rough. so what's your responsibility under UCMJ if you're at a party, and you see some drunk guy you don't really know get into his car? under what circumstances do you have a duty to stop a crime (directly or indirectly)?
     
  18. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    According to his grand jury testimony, Paterno had heard that Sandusky was in the shower with a child. That alone seems to constitute criminal behavior.

    Paterno, the janitor and the GA did not go to the police all for the same reason - to protect themselves. It's reasonable to think that the janitor or the GA thought they wouldn't be taken seriously by the campus and town police.
     
  19. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I just looked at Penn State's remaining schedule. Home to Nebraska this weekend, then closing out on the road to Ohio State and Wisconsin. Win two out of three, or maybe just one and get some favorable other results, and there's a Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.

    Those road games might get ugly.

    The reports are that the university is figuring out ways to sever ties with Paterno: Now? One more home game? End of the season?
     
  20. THOMA GOL

    THOMA GOL BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 16, 1999
    Frontier
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If drunk guy is or isn't included in your 'band of brothers and sisters', the honorable thing would be to stop him and call a cab or offer to drive him home. If drunk guy raises level of threat by refusing, start to consider calling civilian law enforcement.
     
  21. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Coach or not, Joe Pa may not want to travel with the team.
     
  22. minerva

    minerva Member+

    Apr 20, 2009
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    what if you yourself are drunk - i.e. not in a right state of mind. do you still bear responsibility to ensure that others don't break the law? can you say, your honor, I was drunk at the time. how can I be held responsible for others doing the responsible and legal thing?
     
  23. THOMA GOL

    THOMA GOL BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 16, 1999
    Frontier
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For one, I was always the one 'babysitting', so I honestly, I don't know, or want to know how it was being plastered. I enjoyed my role as babysitter quite frankly, especially in foreign ports.
     
  24. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm getting a vision of you in that old Navy recruiting PSA: Port of Call - Bangkok!
     
  25. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Well, that doesn't seem to be available, but the SNL parody is on youtube.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL-OtsN9VdM"]navy its not just a job - YouTube[/ame]

    Luckily, I'm not seeing ThomaGol in this one.
     

Share This Page