Why Joe Paterno had to Go

Today a 10-year-old child is no safer then he was yesterday or the day before. Last night, the world became privy to an American dirty secret and a horrifying and saddening harsh reality.

Last Night, Joe Paterno was fired along with a relative unimportant unknown: the now former president of Penn State.  Last night the student masses rose up in outrage—earnest social activists that they are.  They rose up in protest of Joe Paterno being fired.  You see, Joe Paterno is an innocent victim too right?

The couple of nights before, there were no public outcry from these students over the rape of a 10-year-old child in a Penn State locker room shower. Child rape was just not that important in this sport driven town ruled by the legendary Joe Paterno. 

I remember down in the south such things were hushed away and never brought up in polite conversation.  It was not proper to speak of such things. It was not proper.

And at Penn State an eerie southern like reenactment occurs: 

1. A child is allegedly raped in a locker room shower stall at Penn State University
2. During the alleged assault, a graduate student witnesses the entire thing and reports the aggression to Joe Paterno
3. The child sees the witness and even then the assault continues.
4. Paterno passes the information up the chain of command and nothing is done to contact the police or even social services about this assault. It would not be proper.
5. Penn State takes the perpetrators locker room keys and tells him to go away for a few days.
6. The alleged perpetrator shows up at ball after being told to stay distant with kids in tow.

So, these students have a right to be outraged although, in this writer’s humble opinion, these righteous students of Penn State should be outraged at themselves.  We all understand team spirit and we do get it. We get it.  But this college and its students; this bastion of the future potential 1 percent simply does not get it.  Why should they? It didn’t happen to them or at least as far as we know.  After all child abuse is one of the things that go neatly and discreetly under a rug, right?

They should be embarrassed and their parents should be ashamed but most likely they will continue to belch their fires of superfluous indignity because an enabler was let go.  That is right, I said “enabler”.  If, for whatever reason, these types of crimes are not reported, then the perpetrator is enabled to go back out and continue his ghastly pattern.

By sending this man away and taking his keys to the locker room and NOT reporting his activities to the authorities, Penn State has allowed him, nay given him permission indirectly, to act against the innocent once again.  Hey, don’t argue with me about this one: the guy showed up with a fresh crop of kids in tow at a Penn State Ball game.

So, intellects of Penn State; what is it that you are protesting exactly?  You should be ashamed of your self and I do not chide you lightly. I am familiar with this scenario.

You see, a long, long time ago in a system far away, I was in a foster home and the male head of that family liked little boys and one day he decided to take me fishing and being in need of being wanted because that is what foster kids need, I went with him.  We got down to his private fishing spot, he showed me “his” private spot and it could have gone further if his wife hadn’t showed up and frantically intervened. She grabbed me up, threw me into her car and dashed away with me.  I was five years old at the time.

You see, she knew about his little problem, did nothing to stop it and it continued with other children in their care. As a matter of fact, I was severely whipped with a fly swatter to my bare five-year-old behind because I went fishing with him. He was not at fault for molestation, I was at fault for tempting her husband.  She was an enabler like Mr. Paterno. Now Child Protective Services found out about my situation and did nothing except pull my sister and me out of that wretched home and stuck us in a children’s home.  My sister suffered the worst and was mute for several years. I cannot comment further on her as that is her story to tell.

My sister and I overcame the trauma but it took many years of enduring a torturous lack of confidence. For me, at least, the episode raises up as a vague but ugly little memory that I just tuck back into some dark and dusty part of my brain.

So my final words are for this assaulted child, whose tragic story takes the back seat to the inconveniencing of a sterile and self-preserving school and sports system.  Son, the world goes on and its possible to rise above this episode despite the riotous behavior of a school full of self absorbed chimps.  My prayers are with you.

As for the chimps:  I hope you never have children.

I’m just sayin….

OK, This Has Got To Stop

I keep telling myself to leave Herman Cain alone. The man is entitled to his opinion and he obviously has an excellent track record when it comes to running a company (Burger King and Godfather’s). In one of my more recent posts, I sent a clear message that I did not like his politics and that I did not think that he was competent to be handed the keys to the buttons that would spell nuclear doom for the entire world.

Folks, I am trying. I am really trying to cut this guy a break but every time I turn on the television, read a paper, pop onto the Internet there he is.  “It’s always something” as the SNL character Roseanne Roseannadanna would say. “It’s always something”.

Today, Herman Cain says (and I am paraphrasing here) that if China starts developing nuclear capability then we must move to prevent that from happening. Herman, China became a nuclear power in 1964!  Did you think that we would not notice this most recent foray into the superior demonstration of your foreign expertise?

Additionally Mr. Cain’s staff has given him a cheat list of names of world leaders to memorize and which are the good guys and which are the bad guys.

His two instances of allegations of sexual harassment have now changed to three.

And here is the coup de grace:

Herman Cain "appears" to be in favor of the banning of abortion. Well to some that is not a bad thing; to some it’s a horrendous thing but Mr. Cain goes a step further and declares that he is for the total banning of abortion: that means that if you are a woman and you are raped and you become pregnant, you must keep the baby or give it up for adoption or whatever but you cannot abort the child.   If you elect to give up the child for adoption, then you or your attorney must acquire consent from the rapist. Ask any adoption attorney.

According to CBS news Mr. Cain, when pressed as to what an extreme circumstance was and would that include rape and incest Cain insisted and I quote: "I do not have exceptions. No I do not. I am pro-life from conception."

When he was on CNN’s Piers Morgan two weeks earlier and I heard him say this on the television that abortion was best left up to the decision of the woman and her family.

Now, in principal this concept of a total abortion ban that Mr. Cain puts forth seems very sound except that there is that whole irritating subject of the law and parent’s rights.  You see, dear reader, if the child is born and there is an identified mother and a father, the courts are hesitant to bastardize the child which means that the rapist would be obligated to pay child support as the legal and biological father (this is certainly a good thing).  However compounding the issue is the pre-supposition that the rapist, as father, now has parental rights.  He will be able to move in and out of his victim’s life at will.  Her life will be his whim. The whole point of rape is power and control over the victim.  To me, a rapist’s parental rights is not only a travesty and an affront to the legal system of this country but it’s also a continuation of the rape as a mental process because the perpetrator can now exercise power and influence over his victim’s life and the life of their child.

Herman Cain, is it too much to ask that you think before you speak? There are some of us out here that you are scaring.  Your attitude toward the American people is, at best, contemptuous and cavalier. You leave the impression that you simply do not care about anything except winning a nomination and these loose cannon comments that you make in all of your best political sincerity illustrate to us the American People that your reckless insensitivity borders on bringing this population closer to the brink of disparity.

Right now this country is looking for its leader and it’s looking for its voice and if it’s not too much of a strain for you folks (democrats and republicans alike) this country would like its pride and dignity back.  No one wants to march and protest and cry out that the world is not fair.

Quite scaring us with your quips and your contempt; it’s obvious that you are not ready to tackle the subject of abortion. Play it safe and leave the real issues to the big boys.

However, again to be fair, Condoleeza Rice said yesterday that when you ascend to the presidency that it is a sobering and overwhelming experience when you first step into the oval office and realize that all those things that you said you would do has to be aligned with the truths and the hard realities that come with being the leader of the free world.  Maybe being president will calm you down. Then again, maybe it will send you over the edge…

I’m just sayin’…