Distance Learning- What have we become??

First of all, when I refer to "we" in this post I include myself. At the initial outburst of this scandal nearly two weeks ago I was in shock and awe over the allegations that were being thrown at coach Jerry Sandusky and Penn State University. I have long been a fan of college football and, although I root for no specific team, I have always known of the intense heritage and tradition that the football team and Joe Paterno embody at Penn State. Although I have no firsthand knowledge of what a game is like in person or what the atmosphere of the town is, I knew that any attempts at pointing the finger at all of this being Paterno's fault would bring outrage among most of Pennsylvania. At the onset I even believed that it was better for Paterno to finish out the season and retire. I believed that he had done all that he could have when his graduate assistant reported the incident to him. He went to his superiors. That's what you're supposed to do right? WRONG! Not when you're Joe Paterno. Not when you're a living legend. Not when you have a shrine of yourself on the campus that lives and breathes everything that you as a person represent. When your superiors are men that you have coached, you should feel even safer about notifying the police before them. Whatever the case somewhere before, after, in between, or all 3, you go to the police! You shouldn't even really need to go to your superiors. Damnit Joe you have grandchildren and children of your own!

So as I sat on my couch on a Wednesday night and watched as mobs of Paterno loving college students stormed the campus, turned over media trucks and held candle light vigils in honor of Joe Paterno I began to think of the victims that were watching this. Who knows where they were at that moment but without a doubt they knew of the rioting in Penn State. The amount of undeserved fear, blame and shame that must have been put on these victims shoulders at that moment is immense. So for that moment I was as embarrassed as I've been in quite a long time. These were college students acting in barbaric ways. I am a college student. I even felt that Paterno should have been given certitude to finish out the season. Am I like these barbarians?! One thing is for sure, we all were to quick to think about Football and tradition, rather than the thought of the victims. For me, it took a couple of days to realize the gravity of this situation, others it was right away and some of the students at Penn State it could have been when they woke up hungover and ashamed in their dorms that following Thursday morning. The bottom line is this, in this instance traditional values and sports have taken precedence over the lives of human beings. This, to me, no matter how much you love Saturday football and ESPN is absolute bullshit. The ultimate irony for me came when I saw highlights of the Nebraska/ Penn State football game that took place last Saturday. At the beginning of the game there were prayers for the victims and a moment of silence. Even in the moment of silence, dedicated to the victims, you can hear idiotic fans yelling "we love you Joe Pa!". Penn State lost the game to Nebraska that day and maybe it was fitting, because in my eyes many of the fans just didn't deserve to win.

Spencer Pirdy KIN 332I