Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutt
well he must have done something right - he was 85 and had a full head of dark hair.
what exactly Paterno was told isn't known, I read the Grand Jury report/indictment and in it if I remember correctly Paterno was told there was some kind of 'horseplay' going on in the shower with Sandusky and a boy. you can't forget Paterno's age and what generation he came from in this - sorry but you can't. things went on in society in their day and people kept their noses out of it - for example, adultery/children out of wedlock/spousal abuse/child abuse - much much different times. Most people in sports media had been calling for Penn State to fire Paterno for years - many thought he had become feeble minded.
one thing I am pretty sure of - Joe Paterno didn't know that Jerry Sandusky was a serial child rapist. he did not cover anything up.
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Exactly. People seem to forget that there's a slight generation gap in thinking. Not to mention that what we're aware of as a society by comparison to yesteryear, thanks to the media (who I'm the first to criticize in many cases) is simply immeasurable.
True story...
I lived with a guy who rented out a few rooms in his house about 28 years ago. (Fuck me that I can say 28 years ago, but I digress). I befriended this guy when I was 15ish and he was about 20. I had problems at home and he was a nice guy. This is important...the guy NEVER tried anything with me.
So, after having some trouble at home I moved into his house. I was working and seeing some girl so didn't spend much time there other than to sleep. This guy had a colecovision and always had a couple of the neighbors kids over playing the game. I'd played a few games with the guy and again...he NEVER tried anything with me. I, and the others living in the house, just thought he was a nice guy. I never thought anything about it.
Fast forward about 5 years and I've long since moved out of the house. I notice on the front page of a local newspaper some guy with his hand over his face with the headline "Pedophile" or something along those lines. I can kind of see enough of his face to recognize him but I'm not sure. When I read the story, sure enough it was the same guy.
I feel bad about it to this day, but looking back don't think I or anyone else could have known. If that happened TODAY, everyone in their right mind would be calling the cops. Then again no parent in THEIR right mind would let their kids hang out with some random guy in the neighborhood.
Did I do something wrong? Was I negligent? I sleep well knowing the answer is no. If it happened today, I'd feel a LOT more responsibility because of what we know.