Tue Jul 24, 2012, 06:46 AM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

I'd admired and respected joe paterno for YEARS, but...

...obviously, my feelings and beliefs have done a complete about face.

I had a thought last night that took away all of the regrets that I had about the tearing down of his "legacy". I'm running it up the flagpole for you. Some of you may salute, some may pee on the pole.

One of the things that I'd always held against Ike as President is that he had such high stature with the public that he could have ENDED joe mccarthy's little reign of terror with a single sentence. The public would have rallied to Ike and mccarthy would have been finished and a whole lot of lives wouldn't have been needlessly ruined or ended.

it was an unnecessary absence of leadership on Ike's part.

The same could be said for joe paterno. He could have ENDED this with a simple statement to the university administration and started the ball rolling to get his sexual predator employee in jail for life.

It wasn't only an Ike-like absence of leadership, it was, in fact , compounded by the active cover up.

This is where the football fan in my went aside and the father in me took over. All of a sudden I saw my son's face whenever I thought of these young men who were victimized by sandusky and paterno's tolerance of his conduct. In a way I'm sorry that the statue is no longer on the campus. It would have been a good place to relieve myself if I were ever on the grounds of PSU!

That's my 2 cents, and quite possibly overpriced at that!

PEACE!

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11 replies	Author	Time	Post
I'd admired and respected joe paterno for YEARS, but... (Original post)	MarianJack	Jul 2012	OP
A 12 hours later self kick...	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#1
I'm not trying to be snarky	bigwillq	Jul 2012	#2
I used to be a big football fan and I lived in PA, so...	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#3
Thanks for the reply	bigwillq	Jul 2012	#5
paterno actually gave a damn about his players,...	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#7
Wow	bigwillq	Jul 2012	#8
Actually, in 57 years...	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#9
k&r	Whisp	Jul 2012	#4
Compared to sexual abuse (or any abuse) of a child,...	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#6
I never understood the sports figure worship in this country.	Alduin	Jul 2012	#10
Sports IS way too big in this country.	MarianJack	Jul 2012	#11

Response to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 06:50 PM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

1. A 12 hours later self kick...

...to see what the evening people think.

PEACE!

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Response to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 06:52 PM

bigwillq (72,790 posts)

2. I'm not trying to be snarky

but what did Paterno do besides win football games that would warrant your respect and admiration?

Thanks for your reply.

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Response to bigwillq (Reply #2)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 06:54 PM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

3. I used to be a big football fan and I lived in PA, so...

...winning football games was big. Also, for years all we heard about him was that he actually gave a damn about his players.

Please excuse me for not knowing about this scandal before it even happened.

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Response to MarianJack (Reply #3)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 07:05 PM

bigwillq (72,790 posts)

5. Thanks for the reply

Not saying one should've know about the scandal, but it would've been nice to hear a reply that said Paterno donated this or gave such and such to charity or helped those in need etc etc etc

From as long as I could remember, Paterno always seemed like a thug. He was also very homophobic from what I have heard.

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Response to bigwillq (Reply #5)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 09:09 PM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

7. paterno actually gave a damn about his players,...

Last edited Tue Jul 24, 2012, 09:40 PM - Edit history (1)

...meaning about them getting their education and degrees. A prett high number of his athletes actually graduaated, as opposed to so many coaches who saw their players as numbers on uniforms who meant nothing other than X' & os or wins & losses.

The homophobia was something that I was unaware of. It usually wasn't covered in the sports pages in the 70s & 80s. When I was younger and single, I spent much of my fall weekend afternoos watching football. If you lived in PA at the time, that meant that you watched Penn State.

Now that I've said something positive (though in a historical, pre-scandal context) about the old bastard I feel like I have to go take a long shower

Shall I IM my posts to you for your critique and approval in the future?

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Response to MarianJack (Reply #7)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 09:55 PM

bigwillq (72,790 posts)

8. Wow

Chill out.
It's a message board, dude. You may not always like what others have to say.

But feel free to IM me for approval.

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Response to bigwillq (Reply #8)

Wed Jul 25, 2012, 12:39 AM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

9. Actually, in 57 years...

...I have learned and accepted that I won't always like what others have to say and that they may not agree with me.

I've also learned that others may not like being called on their patronizing and condescending tones.

This post was a condemnation of paterno's needless and contemptable lack of action in the sandusky case. I'm rather sure that I was hardly the only football fan in the 60s, 70 & 80s who respected a winning local coach when the only stories we were getting about him were positive. The fact that there were positives about him in the first 40ish years that he was either an assistant or head coach at PSU only makes his inaction in the sandusky case worse, just as Eisenhower's inexplicable silence about mccarthy was a taint upon his legacy.

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Response to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 06:58 PM

Whisp (24,096 posts)

4. k&r

well said.

I can't understand those who still protect and make excuses for Paterno - don't they see/hear those kids and their pain and fear over some stupid asshole football guy? Can they not imagine what actually went on and what Sandusky did to them?

*shakes head.

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Response to Whisp (Reply #4)

Tue Jul 24, 2012, 08:52 PM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

6. Compared to sexual abuse (or any abuse) of a child,...

...football game victories mean absolutely NOTHING!

To continue to praise joe paterno after this would be comparable to those who claim that nixon was actually a good president because of his supposed foreign policy accomplishments. As I said in the original post, he had the stature and standing to have ended this with a single conversation with the administrators and would today be remembered and regarded as a heroic figure for starting to roll the ball to put sandusky's perverted ass in jail.

If he protected sandusky out of "friendship", I can only say that I know of no decent or respectable person who would remain friends with a child molester. I sure as hell wouldn't.

His silence brought this scorn upon his head. He has gotten the scorn that he unconsciously sought. In a way I can understand the PSU freshman asking how it could "happen to him". A college freshman is totally blameless in this matter, as are so many of the others who were attracted to PSU by the lure of a perpetually great football program.

PEACE!

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Response to MarianJack (Original post)

Wed Jul 25, 2012, 12:45 AM

Alduin (501 posts)

10. I never understood the sports figure worship in this country.

I always figured Paterno was a sleazeball.

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Response to Alduin (Reply #10)

Wed Jul 25, 2012, 07:18 AM

MarianJack (10,237 posts)

11. Sports IS way too big in this country.

When I was single, I was really BIG into footbaall, golf, baseball and, especially tennis.

Today, I have a wife and son. My family are the people I want to spend my time with. I'm still a big tennis fan, but it only goes as far as the fac that I'm very happy when my favorite players (Federer, Azarenka, Nadal & Serena Williams) win. If they lose, I'm sorry but I'm not about to go into a days long depression as some do.

I'm also aware that the sports "heroes" are only human beings. Their poop stinks, too!

PEACE!

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