Article VIII, Vol 1
Penn State Scandal: Fear of personal welfare by observers left door open for abuse to continue
Corrective action pertaining to the abuse of the helpless children in the Penn State community was very slow. It is troubling to know that so many people knew about it, but yet condoned it. Seemingly, some felt they had full filled their obligation when they passed the information upward. Once the information was passed upward, the informed continued their friendship and interacting with the perpetrator, Jerry Sandusky.
The alleged perpetrator, probably just laughed, and continued in his unlawful acts, and the children continued to suffer.
I still cannot understand why it took from 2002 to 2011 for this matter to come to light. That is nine years! I can imagine the insiders were busily working to keep the lid on the matter to protect the good name of the University and the head coach.Sandusky, the alleged perpetrator, I imagine, was aware of the University actions, so he just kept right on performing his abusive acts.
Also, it was reported that Sandusky could sign one or some of the children out of school without the parents consent. What kind of school system is that? Well, they probably figured that it was okay because he was Jerry Sandusky, the man who worked with Joe Paterno.
I admired Paterno for his coaching ability and all the things he did to help in society. Yet, I cannot accept the fact that he ignored the cry for help from the children. Yes, he had a moral obligation to report and keep reporting the incidents to the legal authorithies until something was done. This requirement was not only for Paterno, but for every coach, player and school staff member who was aware of the situation. You are soaping in folly, if you believe only a few people knew what was happening.
You may ask and wonder how does this matter relate to slavery and discrimination? Let us look back.
Slavery was ingrained in this country's system for over 400 years. There were a lot of Bible toting people who was morally oppose to slavery, but openly continued to support it. It was a status thing to own and control the lives of other human beings. The slave owners could sell, beat, kill, whip and treat them like animals - with the confort of knowing there would be no consequences. (The movie, "Roots" has a lot of truth in it. It is not shown on TV much now, in part, because O. J. Simpson is in it).
Men who openly professed to be Christians and knew that slavery was wrong, continued to accept slavery, in part, because they were the beneficiary of the free labor or they feared for their lives and/or status.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, slavery, on paper ended, and discrimination against the ex-slaves increased. The Negro was discrimimated against in virtually every walk of life. Many persons were in a position to speak up and do something to halt it, but they did not do a thing.
There is a lot of evidence that thousands of Blacks were wrongfully killed, but no action was taken by persons in power against the killers because they feared to speak up would affect them politically, financially, or harm their status in society. Many white peoples were aware of what was going on, but felt helpless. You ask, What could they do? Well, they could have been more outspoken and denied the fruits of the discrimiation practices.
Lots of us marvel at the great works of President Thomas Jefferson. He made sure the Constitution stated that, "All men are created equal...." but he did not put those words into practice. He knew it was morally wrong to own slaves, but he continued ownership until the day he died.
So, in conclusion when you consider the two matters presented above, you will be able to see a linking point. Men in society, churches, and other high places saw what was going on, but just stood by for a long time and did nothing about it.
What a pity, what a real pity!
Copyright 2011.Grady E. Bryant, Sr. All Rights Reserved.
Penn State Scandal: Fear of personal welfare by observers left door open for abuse to continue
Corrective action pertaining to the abuse of the helpless children in the Penn State community was very slow. It is troubling to know that so many people knew about it, but yet condoned it. Seemingly, some felt they had full filled their obligation when they passed the information upward. Once the information was passed upward, the informed continued their friendship and interacting with the perpetrator, Jerry Sandusky.
The alleged perpetrator, probably just laughed, and continued in his unlawful acts, and the children continued to suffer.
I still cannot understand why it took from 2002 to 2011 for this matter to come to light. That is nine years! I can imagine the insiders were busily working to keep the lid on the matter to protect the good name of the University and the head coach.Sandusky, the alleged perpetrator, I imagine, was aware of the University actions, so he just kept right on performing his abusive acts.
Also, it was reported that Sandusky could sign one or some of the children out of school without the parents consent. What kind of school system is that? Well, they probably figured that it was okay because he was Jerry Sandusky, the man who worked with Joe Paterno.
I admired Paterno for his coaching ability and all the things he did to help in society. Yet, I cannot accept the fact that he ignored the cry for help from the children. Yes, he had a moral obligation to report and keep reporting the incidents to the legal authorithies until something was done. This requirement was not only for Paterno, but for every coach, player and school staff member who was aware of the situation. You are soaping in folly, if you believe only a few people knew what was happening.
You may ask and wonder how does this matter relate to slavery and discrimination? Let us look back.
Slavery was ingrained in this country's system for over 400 years. There were a lot of Bible toting people who was morally oppose to slavery, but openly continued to support it. It was a status thing to own and control the lives of other human beings. The slave owners could sell, beat, kill, whip and treat them like animals - with the confort of knowing there would be no consequences. (The movie, "Roots" has a lot of truth in it. It is not shown on TV much now, in part, because O. J. Simpson is in it).
Men who openly professed to be Christians and knew that slavery was wrong, continued to accept slavery, in part, because they were the beneficiary of the free labor or they feared for their lives and/or status.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, slavery, on paper ended, and discrimination against the ex-slaves increased. The Negro was discrimimated against in virtually every walk of life. Many persons were in a position to speak up and do something to halt it, but they did not do a thing.
There is a lot of evidence that thousands of Blacks were wrongfully killed, but no action was taken by persons in power against the killers because they feared to speak up would affect them politically, financially, or harm their status in society. Many white peoples were aware of what was going on, but felt helpless. You ask, What could they do? Well, they could have been more outspoken and denied the fruits of the discrimiation practices.
Lots of us marvel at the great works of President Thomas Jefferson. He made sure the Constitution stated that, "All men are created equal...." but he did not put those words into practice. He knew it was morally wrong to own slaves, but he continued ownership until the day he died.
So, in conclusion when you consider the two matters presented above, you will be able to see a linking point. Men in society, churches, and other high places saw what was going on, but just stood by for a long time and did nothing about it.
What a pity, what a real pity!
Copyright 2011.Grady E. Bryant, Sr. All Rights Reserved.
