TruthTellah

@Cashewual said:

I missed the summerbadge by one vote. :(

Did you get anything for unlocking it, except the badge itself?

Nah, you didn't get anything for it. Just the badge. It's nifty, but it's no big thing.

@JasonR86 said:

@Otzlowe said:

@JasonR86 said:

@TruthTellah said:

@MariachiMacabre said:

Good, he was a bastard worthy of no praise.

Wait, you sure you're talking about Paterno? Paterno was the much-beloved, elderly coach. Not Sandusky, the convicted serial child molester.

I have a feeling most people don't see or care to acknowledge the difference. The demonizing is working wonders isn't it?

Effectively enabling someone to rape children is every bit as bad as actually raping them. The difference is fairly minimal, frankly.

Having knowledge and not stopping a rape isn't the same as raping. Both are terrible. One is worse. One directly hurts a person. The other does so indirectly. This discussion is also not really the point of the thread.

I agree that what Sandusky did was worse. Though, what Paterno did was still pretty darn bad, and it's significant to the weighing of whether or not there should be any standing honor toward him such as a statue.

Sandusky raped those boys, but Paterno placed him in that position to rape them with the full knowledge that he had raped before. So, sure, the rapist in the room harmed those boys, but there was a man who placed that rapist and those boys in the same room, knowing full well of what might happen. That's pretty bad. It shows that a once decent man allowed his personal investment in the university to outweigh his duty as an administrator and human being to protect the students, and for someone in any high level of a place of learning, that's appalling and tarnishing of any level of good legacy he had.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@TruthTellah said:

@MariachiMacabre: Yeah. And I definitely think that's part of why it's appropriate that they took down his statue. Though, I just wouldn't say he was a bastard worthy of no praise. His legacy is certainly tarnished, but that's a bit far, I'd say. It certainly fits what Sandusky has done though.

I don't know, man. I just can't see a defensible reason to cover this up. He's most certainly not the only one responsible and he obviously wasn't the one molesting them but, as far as I'm concerned, their act of covering it up meant they cared more about football and their goddamn legacy than the well-being of those kids.

I agree. I don't think it's defensible in any regard. I'm just saying I wouldn't go so far as to say it means he's just a bastard deserving of nothing. Certainly Sandusky, but there are different levels of how horrible their actions were. And in this case, I just felt the language was a bit strong for his level of involvement vs the rest of his life.

@MariachiMacabre: Yeah. And I definitely think that's part of why it's appropriate that they took down his statue. Though, I just wouldn't say he was a bastard worthy of no praise. His legacy is certainly tarnished, but that's a bit far, I'd say. It certainly fits what Sandusky has done though.

@JasonR86 said:

@Donkeycow said:

@JasonR86: How much of the university management do you think was really aware of the situation? If tons of people knew then this sicking activity would have been ended much sooner. Paterno DID know, thus his statue is being taken down (which it should). I don't think its fair to say the entire administrative body of the University was in the know of what was happening, knowledge of this would have largely been focused in the football department.

Sandusky was also a member of the faculty and ran his charity out of the school. He had his hands all over the university. I just can't believe that the football program staff were the only people sharp enough at the university to know what was going on.

There's no reason to believe that the football program staff were the only ones to know. Reports have already shown that others higher up than the football program knew. There's no real doubt about it.

With what is known now, pretty much everyone knew. Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno knew. Former Penn State University president Graham Spanier knew. Former Penn State University vice president Gary Schultz knew. Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley knew. Everyone all the way up to the most powerful people at the university knew.

Taking down the statue was the right thing to do. It's just one small part of taking down everything tied to those involved. The school is facing big fines, and Paterno's statue being taken down is just the first blow in a number of big, well-deserved blows to the school and its management.

@JasonR86 said:

@TruthTellah said:

@MariachiMacabre said:

Good, he was a bastard worthy of no praise.

Wait, you sure you're talking about Paterno? Paterno was the much-beloved, elderly coach. Not Sandusky, the convicted serial child molester.

I have a feeling most people don't see or care to acknowledge the difference. The demonizing is working wonders isn't it?

Well, I can understand thinking ill of Paterno for what he did in the coverup, but to say he was a bastard worthy of no praise at all, I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. He was a misguided old man who put the interests of his football program over that of the students. That's a horrible thing, but it's nothing next to what Sandusky has done.

@SmilingPig: So... why are you friends with those people?

I mean, if you have to be friends with them on Facebook, you can also just set to never see anything they ever post. So, they'll still see you as a friend on there, but you'll never have to deal with their stupid or offensive posts. And you can set to not get e-mail updates on posts, preventing a torrent of Facebook spam to your inbox. If you are really that bothered by them, there are options.

@MariachiMacabre said:

Good, he was a bastard worthy of no praise.

Wait, you sure you're talking about Paterno? Paterno was the much-beloved, elderly coach. Not Sandusky, the convicted serial child molester.

@Chaser324 said:

While I admit that Paterno's involvement in this Sandusky debacle has irreparably diminished his legacy, I think it's really unfair for the administration to just throw him under the bus like this. Paterno put in a tremendous amount of sweat, tears, and his own money into growing Penn State as both an athletic and academic institution.

Personally, I'd prefer to just see the NCAA bring down the 'death penalty' down on them to allow some time for the dust to settle. Even if they don't though, that football program is going to be looking at an uphill battle with bringing in top recruits and maintaining the fanbase.

It is definitely shaping up to look like a 'death penalty' scenario would have been better for their program. With the rumored amount of money they will be losing when it comes to funding the program and paying for scholarships and incentives to get players, they're looking at a dismal few years for the program. Taking down Paterno's statue certainly isn't assuaging anyone's concerns; it's the least they could do. The university is still getting its due.