Thursday, November 10, 2011

Humanity

I sleep. I do not stay up late.

However, I was in shock and awe about why PennState University students were supporting Joe Paterno. 

The support and adoration of Paterno after everything that has been disclosed and his own statement that he "should have done more" has sickened me. I was physically ill after hearing and witnessing the support. This has never happened to me before.



I prayed that I would hear and read some different stories in the morning.

I found these great quotes online:
•Colleague Mark Schlabach: "Finally, adults with backbones and courage made a prudent decision at Penn State. Paterno was fired because he failed miserably while making the biggest decision of his life."



•The Philadelphia Inquirer's Bill Lyon: "The irony is, the tragedy is, in trying to keep his beloved school from suffering harm, Paterno had a hand in causing that very harm. When the scandal was brought before him, he reacted, but it was only the bare minimum, superficial, a shocking cover-up that flew in the face of all that he, and Penn State, had come to stand for."
Then saw these two posts from friends on facebook:

As a Penn Stater, this entire thing is sickening and heartbreaking. And it's about those young kids. They did not deserve that abuse and will have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Paterno, and every single one of the administration that knew about what Sandusky did needed/needs to be fired over this. And charged under the law. That small portion of the 45,000 students up there rioting does not represent MY university. Not one of my fellow alums thinks Paterno et.al should stay. This is not about football and wanting a winning football team. When it comes to PaternoStaters get that and are sickened and upset just like you are. It's that 1% that can't see beyond the confines of their own small world and/or can't articulate their anger that do these stupid things. And of course, the media finds them.
as well as, 
To add to what Shane said, there are very few things in big-time college football or in life for that matter that are good and true. And, up until a week ago, Joe Paterno was one of those things. If people are upset, it's because it is har...d to accept that Joe Paterno, the pinnacle of all college football coaches, could let everyone down like he did. It's another sad example of a hero taking a terrible, yet deserved, fall.
 
Today I am thankful that there are
some loving and sympathetic human beings out there;
I was starting to get scared.
 

1 comment:

Claire Kayser said...

Right on! So very disappointing, indeed! Well said!