Quote:
Originally Posted by Heroball
There can be multiple "real" problems at the same time.
(1) Joe Paterno's cowardly, if not malicious, failure to report rampant child molestation.
(2) Powerful people committing rampant child molestation.
Both are really bad and both should be discussed.
That's the problem, though, isn't it?
The opportunity to have a proper discussion about a problem that borders on a national epidemic, and the utter failure of the justice system to properly handle these cases, was pretty much squandered because the media and the vast majority of people chose to focus solely on the narrative that Joe Paterno should be crucified because he didn't do enough to stop this behavior.
Meanwhile, there are dozens of other examples of people doing pretty much the same thing, and those examples are met with a collective shrug.
It is somewhat galling to me that people only seem to care about this because it involves a college football program.
Meanwhile, child sexual abuse is literally an epidemic. USA gymnastics. Youth hockey in Canada. Soccer in England. The Catholic Church. And what meaningful changes are being made to address it?
And yet in a discussion in this thread that has lasted for years, the only thing that seems to matter to most people is how this will impact their favorite college football teams. It's just sad.
I could care less about Joe Paterno. Dig him up and cut off his nuts. Take away his wins. Ban PSU football. Do all those things, and not one kid is going to be made any safer. And if kids aren't going to be made any safer, why do any of those things?