How many of you have failed to live up to your standards?

I mean, some mornings I don't live up to my own standard of working out. This isn't quite in line with permitting child rape by not speaking out.

I've never failed to report a case of sexual abuse of a ten year old.  Sorry.

of not covering up child rape. 

In this case, Joe Paterno failed at his moral and ethical responsibilities for decades.  This wasn't a one-time slip-up.  This wasn't a car accident, one bad night at the bar, an affair.  This was a continued lack of oversight in allowing a child molester to have access to his program, its facilities, and the general prestige it provided while he was molesting children.

Sure, we all make mistakes.  But not many of is make a mistake where a serial child rapist could rape again in your building on your watch.  And did.  That's the distinction here.  This is the most heinous of crimes, and it's time we stop apologizing or feeling bad for Joe Paterno, and instead focus on what his reckless disregard has meant to the children (now numbering in the dozens) who were harmed, as well as the general taint he has brought to everything his football program has stood for over the past five decades.

No human is perfect, but that doesn't mean Hitler and Mother Teresa are on the same level.  Enabling a child rapist is different than anything I've ever done wrong.

tl:dr. To answer your question, I wake up in the morning and piss excellence. Thought I was wrong once and was wrong about that. So no I really can't relate to the whole PSU debacle. Nice try though.

I think JoePa and a significant percentage of the PSU AD and administration actually revealed themselves to be inhuman.

tomayto/tomahto

No, because it begs the question, 'if he did this, what else has he done that we don't know about?' Maybe nothing, but now we can never be completely sure

.

I have set extremely low standards for my life.  In fact, I expect almost nothing from myself on any given day. 

That said, if I see a guy rape a child, or even come close to it, I'm going to maybe kill that person, but likely tell someone with a badge about it.

That I sometimes forget to put the toilet seat back down. I can be such a monster.

There are many situations in life where I am not sure if I will "do the right thing".

What if I witness my boss sexually harrassing a woman? Would I step in and report him? I think I would, but I don't know if I can say for sure I would do it.

What if I saw a pack of teens attacking a homeless man? Would I step in and fight the thugs off? I think I would, but again I don't know for sure.

What if I saw a child standing in the street about to be hit by a bus? Would I push him out of the way save his life while endangering mine? Not sure.

But you know what I KNOW FOR SURE? That if I was in McQueary's shoe and I saw what was happening in the shower, I would have screamed, beat Sanduski off the kid, get the kid away from that monster, get him dressed and call the police. I know that that would be my action as clear as the day. No if's and or but's.

And I also know for sure that if I heard what McQueary said like Joe, the first thing I would have done was to get to Sanduski's house and find out who the boy is so that I can make sure that the kid is okay. No if's and but's.

We really need to start expecting more from fellow human beings. Asking them to speak up against child rapist, should not be a difficult thing to ask.

Was this thread written by one T. Pryor?

Paterno and the PSU administration didn't even call the cops. It was that simple. Just call the freaking cops or whatever social service dept Pennsylvania has.  The call could've even been anonymous.  Then to let Sandusky stay on campus and run youth footbal camps after two different incidents?  Wow. Just wow.  

So yeah, Paterno's projected image (integrity, responsibility, etc)  that he and PSU have cultivated for so many years is total BS.

when you tolerate/enable a child predator you do not "reveal yourself to be human." There is no humanity in that.

be required.

None of us is without fault, but that doesn't mean we must withhold our opinions about fault found in others.  We just have to be willing to turn the same critical eye on our own actions and intentions.

Relativism in this case stunningly misses the point. I think you need to think really hard about why you seem to rink enabling a child rapist for years isn't worthy of condemnation. That was a stunningly stupid statement.

Paterno's sterling reputation was a bit of a facade.  http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/thetoydepartment/2011/11/on_paterno.html

This isn't new information here but not oft discussed, because in general, no one wanted to drag the old man's reputation throught the mud.  Someone posted today that hating on Paterno is like hating on Santa Claus. I agree.  

But here's the thing.  When I was 11 I witnessed the brutal rape of a classmate by her father and I never told anyone. I actually had a crush on this girl but I  was scared and he saw me. Oddly though, I felt like I had stumbled across some family secret and more than anything else, I was embarrassed.  Embarrassed.  I have wished for 30 years that I would have said something to my parents back then.  So yeah, I didn't live up to my standards as an 11 year old but I also wasn't the most powerful man in the state of Michigan.  To my adult mind this argument is bullshit, but at 11, I wasn't sure what I was seeing.   I can still hear her cries. 

I guess this is where we as adults have to come through for kids.  They are not capable of processing what is happening to them.  They are ashamed, they are so embarrassed.  We have to step up, we have to do it for them.  As adults, we can't have any excuses.

There's quite a large difference in an everyday human being failing in certain aspects of everyday life versus a man who millions look up to, who parents entrust with their sons, failing to stop a child molestor, a goddamn rapist from harming another child.

Sure, I'm not perfect and make mistakes and am thankful for every second chance I'm given, but if you had told me you saw one of my close, dear friends doing what Sandusky did to a child, I'd personally make sure he'd never even imagine doing that again...and then I'd call the police.

I understand what you're trying to say here, but this is not the time or situation to play devil's advocate.

Yes, we all have failings.

Doesn't mean, when we have those failings, we shouldn't be punished for them.

If you get caught cheating on your wife, you might get a divorce.  Etc.

But ultimately, here is the rub:  This is not about Joe Paterno.  That is the point.  

Paterno may have done good deeds all his life.  And good for him.  But here, he failed.  He failed miserably.  And for the University to move on, they need to clean house.

And here is the other point, though you may not like it...we are often defined by our worst moments, not our best ones.