I couldn't read any more of your post. Joe represented how a program should be run morally?!?! You have got to be kidding! His non-action, and please forgive me for not accepting his telling the AD was all the "legal" action he needed to take, in reporting the rape of a child is the not what I consider to be very moral.
It is not a shame to see his legacy torn down. THIS will be his legacy. His arrogance probably helped him to this place where he finds himself. The arrogance at State Penn about the "venerable, old man" also helped. Yes it does suck balls because THIS is a big, big, part of his legacy. Turns out that Paterno really wasn't the moral compass many thought he was.
This whole cluster[censored] brings up a memory of a situation I had once with a student.
Back in 1992, I had an excellent female calculus student. Always in class, always with it, earning a solid 'A'. She missed the 11th week of the semester; no call or email (yes it existed back then), she just missed a week. That was very atypical behavior. She then shows up in my office (after the week absence) to see what she had missed and get homework assignments. She was not herself. She was withdrawn, seemed very distant. After a little time, I asked her if everything was okay, and she started to cry and divulged that she missed the week because she had been a victim of date rape. She didn't know what to do, didn't know who to turn to, all typical emotions one would expect. She hadn't told anyone, parents, police...kept it to herself. I listened and talked to her. After about 30 minutes, I then escorted her to the campus counselor (a clinical counselor). My next stop was to the campus police to see what her next course of action should be. The crime didn't occur on campus, I was simply gathering information that I could then relay to her. I then spent some more time waiting for her outside the counselor's office; I was then asked to come in and join the session. We (the three of us) discussed her legal course of action and future appointments with the counselor for sessions to help her through her traumatic ordeal.
I only mention that little insignificant aside to illustrate what I see as a difference between my actions and those non-actions of Paterno. I know the most basic differences between right and wrong as well as when to help a fellow human being. Paterno exhibited neither. I could have simply walked my student to the counselor and said, "I did my part" when honestly, that isn't even in my job description to do that!
I get really [censored]ed off by any talk of feeling sorry for Paterno and his [censored]ing legacy. Mainly because I think back to my former student. What I really remember and what really fuels my disdain for the "poor JoePA and his legacy" bull[Mark May] is the letter I received from that student 4 years after the situation. She had moved out of state and finished her degree (went into mathematics), but she thanked me for my actions. What she shared in that letter was that the day she came to my office, she had seriously contemplated suicide, but decided to come to campus instead. She thanked me for saving her life. I still get a little teary (I am a sentimental fool) thinking how close she came to ending her life and how some simple, common sense actions prevented that. But I get more [censored]ed wondering what damage the inaction of everyone at PSU, including JoePa, did.
And that is why I say THIS mess, and his non-action IS a big part of his "legacy".
