Paterno

Some day there may be a cure for brutal stupidity. We are not there yet. Watching the reactions of the students at Penn State after the firing of Joe Paterno made me feel like I was in a time warp. No, I was simply in Middle America.

Paterno and Sandusky. ESPN Photo

In this time of regimented political correctness among the young, there is a disturbing flip side of cynicism and suppressed violence. When combined with alcohol abuse, another commonly accepted behavior among today's college students, that rage surfaces readily. Violent behavior after sports tournaments has become commonplace in cities with large student populations.

However, the student reactions to the Paterno firing are disgusting and disturbing. That hundreds of students would race to vehemently defend a man involved in unreported child abuse without waiting for the outcome of the full investigation speaks to a stupidity and impulsiveness which usually fuels the worst of causes in the hands of demagogues.

I am not unfamiliar with this mentality. I was recently shown a three-unit building by a real estate agent. The building was a rat trap. Filthy hallways. Trashy grounds. Structural dangers. This building was inhabited by three families which included small children. I saw five children under twelve during my showing. I was told there were more. Some of the tenants were getting rental assistance (Federal tax dollars) through a local city housing authority.

The building was recently inspected by a private home inspector who pointed out that one side of the building was not being fully supported by its sagging foundation. My head was spinning as the agent glibly explained that this was the way it is. She shrugged. My mind raced to an image of the building collapsing with the children inside.

I wrote a letter to the local public health department. It is my legal responsibility as a nurse to report any situation in which I feel a child is at risk. It was clear by the response I received that the matter would be reported to the building department of the city by the public health nurse I contacted. However, there was a bureaucratic undertone in that response that implied I was being annoying. I am planning to follow up soon to see what is happening. I did note that the building's sale price was significantly reduced.

Refusing to take responsibility can lead to denial that evil things do happen to innocent people. This is a great way to continue to avoid taking responsibility or holding those in authority responsible. Denial enables those who are irresponsible and those who take advantage of no accountability. The denial in the Penn State case may have resulted in many young boys dealing with life-long scars in their sexual lives. For gay boys, they may have been introduced to a sordid and confusing form of sexuality that fed their fear of being gay. For the other boys, they may have been set on a road of a lifetime of homophobic hatred and hatred of older men.

It is just as disturbing to realize there are hundreds of drunken bullies in a state university who would not even stop to consider the plight of the victims of this abuse. These morons would rather act out violently for an octogenarian who has lived a wealthy and adulated life while denying his responsibility to molested young boys. The cult of celebrity and egocentric power once again trumping mindfulness and compassion.