The Paterno thing

vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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I didn't want my question to get lost in the other threads or me forget to look for responses.

Help me understand. Child molestation accusations were brought to Paterno. He reported it to the higher ups. They didn't act on the information, and also may have actually tried to cover it up.

So why is Paterno going down for this? Is it because he ran it up the chain instead of personally notifying the police? Sandusky didn't even work there anymore, did he? I just don't see why Paterno got fired for something his bosses did.
 
Hank

Hank

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vraiblonde said:
I didn't want my question to get lost in the other threads or me forget to look for responses.

Help me understand. Child molestation accusations were brought to Paterno. He reported it to the higher ups. They didn't act on the information, and also may have actually tried to cover it up.

So why is Paterno going down for this? Is it because he ran it up the chain instead of personally notifying the police? Sandusky didn't even work there anymore, did he? I just don't see why Paterno got fired for something his bosses did.
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"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." ~ Joe Paterno
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." ~ Joe Paterno
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That doesn't answer my question. When something bad happens, everyone wishes in hindsight that they had done more to avoid an unpleasant outcome.
 
Hank

Hank

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vraiblonde said:
That doesn't answer my question. When something bad happens, everyone wishes in hindsight that they had done more to avoid an unpleasant outcome.
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Joe Paterno is considered God at Penn State... He withheld information that should have been shared with the proper authorities. He failed to do so. More is expected from someone of his stature, influence and leadership.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
Joe Paterno is considered God at Penn State... He withheld information that should have been shared with the proper authorities. He failed to do so. More is expected from someone of his stature, influence and leadership.
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He's a college football coach, BFD.

Regardless, was he supposed to call the cops instead of making it the AD's problem? That's a real question - I have no dog in this fight. Just unclear as to why Paterno got canned over this.
 
Hank

Hank

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Plus Pennsylvania has a mandatory reporting law. The law stipulates that anyone with knowledge of child abuse must call child protective services, not necessarily the cops. It is a 3rd degree misdemeanor not to..... So, he essentially broke the law...
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
Yes!!! Wouldn't you?
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Not if I didn't see the incident myself, no. Paterno had no idea whether the accusation was true or not and I'm assuming he didn't want to jump the gun over something that may or may not have happened.

Why didn't the guy who actually saw Sandusky with the kid call the police? Because if someone came to me and said they saw a child being molested, I would insist that THEY call the police and report it. I mean, they're the one that saw it happening and the only one who can give a factual report. Anything else is just rumor and hearsay.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
The law stipulates that anyone with knowledge of child abuse
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But he didn't have knowledge. The guy who actually saw it had the knowledge. All Paterno had was someone said they saw someone else commit a crime. Which is why I don't really understand this turn of events.
 
Hank

Hank

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vraiblonde said:
Not if I didn't see the incident myself, no. Paterno had no idea whether the accusation was true or not and I'm assuming he didn't want to jump the gun over something that may or may not have happened.

Why didn't the guy who actually saw Sandusky with the kid call the police? Because if someone came to me and said they saw a child being molested, I would insist that THEY call the police and report it. I mean, they're the one that saw it happening and the only one who can give a factual report. Anything else is just rumor and hearsay.
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Really? Wow! See, that would be on my conscious whether it would be true or not....Abused kids rarely have a voice, therefore they need to rely on us "adults"... I wouldn't be able to hold that info in my brain without acting on the said info.
 
Hank

Hank

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vraiblonde said:
But he didn't have knowledge. The guy who actually saw it had the knowledge. All Paterno had was someone said they saw someone else commit a crime. Which is why I don't really understand this turn of events.
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Even if it is a third or even fourth person account, in my opinion that would still be deemed "knowledge"..
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
Really? Wow! See, that would be on my conscious whether it would be true or not....Abused kids rarely have a voice, therefore they need to rely on us "adults"... I wouldn't be able to hold that info in my brain without acting on the said info.
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You'd really go on a witch hunt over something someone else told you that may or may not be true?

I would insist that the person who actually saw it go to the cops, because they're the only one with first-hand information. Instead, Paterno sent McQueary to the AD to tell what he saw. I don't really see that as the wrong move, if you're in doubt as to whether a story is true or not.

The other option would have been to confront Sandusky directly with the accusation. Perhaps Paterno should have done that.

It seems to me that, if the abuse happened frequently, anyone who worked closely with Sandusky must have at least suspected. And if that's the case, then they all should be strapped to the chair.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Here's the thing:

You call the cops, they start an investigation. The media gets involved because the accused is a well-known individual. And now the guy is guilty and ruined for life whether or not he actually did anything.

Media vultures and over-zealous cops have made me cynical. :ohwell:
 
nhboy

nhboy

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Hank

Hank

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vraiblonde said:
You'd really go on a witch hunt over something someone else told you that may or may not be true?

I would insist that the person who actually saw it go to the cops, because they're the only one with first-hand information. Instead, Paterno sent McQueary to the AD to tell what he saw. I don't really see that as the wrong move, if you're in doubt as to whether a story is true or not.

The other option would have been to confront Sandusky directly with the accusation. Perhaps Paterno should have done that.

It seems to me that, if the abuse happened frequently, anyone who worked closely with Sandusky must have at least suspected. And if that's the case, then they all should be strapped to the chair.
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No, not necessarily a witch hunt but if I was in the position Paterno is at Penn State (basically a figurehead) I would follow up on the accusations and yes perhaps that would be confronting Sandusky himself.
 
Hank

Hank

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People need to be more proactive when it comes to child abuse...Even a rumor should be considered as serious as any truth...:shrug:
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

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Hank said:
This is a decent synopsis... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/opinion/dowd-personal-foul-at-penn.html?_r=2&hp
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I have a hard time taking Maureen Dowd's prattlings seriously because 9 times out of 10 she's a lying hysterical sack.

But I did choke down her story and it answered some of my questions, if she is telling the truth and not making crap up like she usually does.

It sounds like everyone knew Sandusky was a pedo creep because of the previous allegations, and they covered it up. My question was what Paterno had to do with it, and it sounds like he almost certainly knew of the previous incidents. Which means he most likely believed McQueary's story. To me, the AD is the biggest jerk in this and hopefully he'll sit in jail for a long time, since gassing him probably won't happen.

And I also see where Paterno is indeed guilty of not reporting a crime, not just this time but the previous times as well.

Again, that's if Dowd's "reporting" is factual and not crap she's spewing on the fly.
 
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