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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa.—Last night I witnessed the aftermath of the brief, angry riot at Penn State: an overturned news van being righted by a bulldozer, debris from battered cars and upended trash cans littering the street, college kids in “Joe Knows Football” t-shirts stumbling away from College Avenue with pepper sprayed red eyes and tear-stained faces, courtesy of the police. The students had reacted violently to the 10 p.m. announcement from the university's board of trustees that Joe Paterno, their beloved football coach, was fired.
As the rioters vented their rage and grief, commentators and bloggers around the world began lambasting the students for defending a man who knew about an allegedly horrific case of child abuse and did very little to try to stop it. But for these students, turning on Paterno may not be a simple matter of recognizing his moral error and reevaluating their reverence for him. Psychologists have long studied the mentality of group membership, and their research helps explain why all of us have a tendency to stick up for our idols and leaders even in the face of serious wrongdoing.
According to psychological theory, every person has a social identity, which depends on being a member of various groups. “The social groups you belong to become a part of the very essence of who you feel you are,” explains psychologist Adam Galinsky, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. These groups can include our families and circles of friends; the clubs, churches and schools we attend; our race, ethnicity and nationality; and the list goes on. The more strongly we identify with a particular group, the more vehemently we defend its members and ideals—a trait that experts think evolved along with early human society. Banding together and protecting one another allowed our ancestors to survive, and so to this day we are quick to cheer on our comrades and feel animosity toward rival groups. Many scientists think this in-group psychology explains prejudice, racism and even sports fandom.
Most of the Penn State students who rioted Wednesday night have social identities that are built around a lifelong allegiance to the school. If you attend Penn State, Galinsky explains, “Penn State is you, it’s part of you, it’s such an important thing.” And nothing symbolizes Penn State more than Joe Paterno, head football coach for 46 years. Many of these distraught young adults chose to attend the university because of their love for the Paterno’s team—not the other way around. And they rioted because “the person that symbolized the school they go to, that’s given the school stature, that’s made their own selves have meaning and purpose, has now been taken away from them in an aggressive and sullied way,” Galinsky explains.
The pros and cons of such an extreme allegiance to a sports team are a ripe topic for debate—especially in the wake of this scandal, in which it seems the needs of the football program trumped the moral imperative of the university’s leadership. But setting that aside for now, the fact remains that these particular students do have an incredibly strong identity as Nittany Lions—and recognizing that identity can help us understand their behavior. Their actions during the riot were systematic and easily explained from a social identity perspective, Galinsky points out. “It’s understandable why they turned over the media bus,” he says. “For them, this whole thing is being driven by the media. If it wasn’t for the media talking about the scandal 24/7, Joe Paterno wouldn’t have been forced out.”
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Add CommentThe psychological power of the group, and the weighty inertia of groupthink once established is indeed a well-understood force to be reckoned with. It has historically been the source of untold damage as entropy multiplied by Murphy's Law. Ominously worse has been its intentional use for selfish manipulation -- from the Hitler Youth of yesteryear to the exploitative/hate manipulation in the educational systems of some governments and quasi-governments today.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut to the positive, what if our globalizing world could use this power -- being the largest group ever to exist in history -- to mold and form a new world-wide generation directed toward mutual concern/guarantee -- rather than exploitation and hate.
Does not such psychological power as seen in this unfortunate Penn State "experiment," demonstrate that Humanity coming to be worthy of the name is not pie-in-the-sky, but eminently doable? We're integrating into an evermore tightly interdependent world; no country, community, or individual can remain an independent variable in the prosperity/catastrophe equation of any other.
Steering towards that ideal Humanity is no longer the nice thought of idealistic "children" -- it is the do or die future of the world. Its the vital duty of the scientific community to lead the way.
The real problem is that the students identify with the football team and/or chose Penn State because of its football team. Treating the choice of a college as nothing more than a choice of which team to root for is a sign that the person in question doesn't belong in college.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI used to be a college professor, and after many years, I came to the conclusion that half or more of the students should have been learning a trade and getting into the world of work. They had no academic interests whatsoever and were in college only because that's what middle-class youth are supposed to do between ages eighteen and twenty-one.
The colleges where I taught were too small for major riots, but they all had instances of vandalism, assault, rape, and other significant violations of the law. I cannot think of a single instance in which a genuinely intellectually curious student got involved in these illegal acts, but plenty of incidents that involved students whose only interests were partying and varsity sports.
A student from any background who thinks of college as an intellectual feast really belongs there. A student who thinks of college as a series of boring obstacles that one must overcome to gain entry into the adult world would be better served elsewhere.
The Penn State mess reminds me too much of the priest abuse mess. I see New England as a mix of liberal thinkers plus lots of Catholicism. How similar are these two situations: the ease of turning away when we observe something we clearly know is immoral. The "sin of omission" is when we do not speak up! Often times the sins of omission are as .... what tag do you want to put on it.... "immoral" "hurtful" or "evil." These wrongdoings are "illegal" but if we turn our heads it's like they never happened? How much cover-up has been going on in institutions and NOW in this day and age.... maybe it is a good sign that we cannot tolerate SILENCE as a response to evil in the corporate meeting room, in a school gymnasium, in a rectory? I see it as all the same problem. But I do see hope. WHat's curious to me is how much publicity this case of sexual abuse is getting vs. the hundreds of sex abuse cases where priests have molested boys and girls all across the globe! AND it has been covered up by the "nice" people who just let it go and don't say a thing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have long believed that the USA is a pagan society similar to that of ancient Rome, hotbed of evolving and merging cults providing people with both a social identity and sense of transcendence.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe biggest, richest religion is "alma mater," usually linked with a sports team, most often football, sometimes basketball. There are branches of this cult, with the Ivy branch the most prestigious.
But Christian groups are also pagan cults. The fundamentalists fetishsize the Bible, worshipping absurd anti-scientific interpretations. The Catholics worship an infallible God-man. Etc.
The MBA and its worship of "maximizing shareholder value"is another cult, with the omniscient Invisible Hand as the Supreme Deity. the Tea Party also worships the Invisible Hand plus Ayn Rand.
It is a bit scary to imagine how The Invisible Hand and the the goddess Ayn Rand mate to produce lesser gods but they do. Some of them now serve in the US house.
Obviously some worship the gun, Some advanced degrees. And so on.
You're generally right about New England being heavily Catholic (4 of the top 5 most-Catholic states are in New England according to this http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2004/11/State-By-State-Percentage-Of-White-Evangelicals-Catholics-And-Black-Protestants.aspx)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowever, Pennsylvania is not in New England, and it is only about 27% Catholic. In fact, it was founded by the Quakers, a Protestant sect. Just saying.
Following other institutional pedophilia cases, it's part of the usual picture that the abusers are much admired or even emotionally central members of the institutional community. The institutional pedophile personality works around this extreme admiration they presume they're receiving..including from their victims. Sadly, I think social psychology overlooks something here by looking just at identity and teams. The extreme popularity is an integral part of institutional pedophilia, and how a culture of looking away is built. As this culture of looking away is vital for institutional sexual abuse, I would suggest a more critical approach to the phenomenon, perhaps a study of how 'nice normal young people' are sucked into a structure of looking away that's at least as important for institutional sexual abuse as the person of the abuser themselves. Without their adoring support group, the institutional pedophiles tend not to have much substance, or things to defend themselves with.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree that there is a problem with colleges being a place for partying and sports. Getting rid of the college sport system would help (unfortunately, I suspect that will never happen in this country). I also don't see the point of uninterested students wasting their time, their parents' money, their professors' time, and society's time, on college if they are not really learning anything anyway and would be better off doing something they were actually interested in and got good at outside of the standard four-year gauntlet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am one of the mass mentality you speak of. I grew up there. Paterno began coaching when I was 7 years old, and he has been my idol all my life. Tim Curly was my high school quarter back.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(more)...The whole point of sport, all sport, is belonging. This is true of players and fans. We are right, they are wrong...even if it is just a game. It is built into our DNA so that we can support the group that use to be needed to help us survive in the wild. I know all that. But as I sit here typing, a grown man, I am weeping. The power of natural instinct is powerful. Of course we stand behind our leader. It is only natural.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe author has this whole subject backwards. It's not the that students love Joe Paterno so much. They hate the press. The press is willing to screw anyone, anytime for ratings and then hide like cowardly scum behind the first amendment and tell us what heroes they are. Sorry, that story isn't selling anymore.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou need to read "Clutter," the third chapter of Zinsser's "on writing well." I say this because of this monstrosity:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Does not such psychological power as seen in this unfortunate Penn State "experiment," demonstrate that Humanity coming to be worthy of the name is not pie-in-the-sky, but eminently doable?"
what does that mean?
Should have been more forcefully stated: our seemingly undying need to belong to a "superior" group or ideology is a great and dangerous weakness. All college coaches set themselves up as mouthpieces uttering only the most fervent statements proclaiming 'how principled' they are. This, with the addition of high octane aggressive games, becomes the "religion" and coaches are the high priests. The high priests "prove their potency" every Saturday of football season. Rivals are reviled and "climbing to the top" becomes the yearly quest. This is the creation of True Believer psychology and it's damned dangerous.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSame exact method is used by political parties and religious institutions: people are duped by their own need to believe in higher values and superior "whatever." The word is: manipulation. It's expertly done by universities, churches and political parties: to get at the loyalty and resources of the masses. To get: more power and influence for those who run these institutions. Joe Pa: is the ultimate example of this kind of exploitation of followers.
The Republicans are the current "national leaders" in this methodical exploitation of people's ideals: they've made themselves a mish-mash of rigid Christian moralists, world domination militarists and "pure Capitalists." The result viewed objectively is an Insane Clown Show with candidates and party members performing ever-greater feats of anti-democratic, anti-scientific absurdities -which produces nothing but recessions and constantly descending quality of life for the masses.
And yet: people love them and vote them into power where they carry out the wishes only of the moneyed elite.
Universities and their engrained self-deception and self-protective "holies" are but a small part of this grand exploitation of idealism and ideology.
As an Englishman and non-physical person, this US varsity football culture seems deeply foreign. But I can acknowledge how deeply human it is, and wonder how else these young men, at the height of their potency, would sublimate their testosterone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis culture might be one of the more harmless ways.
Dear Outside the Box: a couple questions.... Are you saying The Penn State students hate the press? Can you explain why? Is it because the press has demonized a great man? Has the press exaggerated his weaknesses? Should the story about him not have been told? Why do you think this story IS selling? What do you think should have happenened, instead of all this publicity?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSitting here in Australia I find this whole situation quite disturbing. I have read the Grand Jury indictment of Sandusky in full and I am revolted by its content.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPaterno as the head coach was apparentl yaware of allegations made in relation to Sandusky and did nothing effective about alerting authorities along with several other senior members of the University thereby allowing a number of boys to be sexually abused.
It is a sad reflection on these rioting college students that their identity with their football culture is more important than standard norms of social justice. They appear to have judged that the alleged buggery and sexual abuse of children is less important than their emotional identity with their football coach.
It is really a sad reflection on the culture of power, and the abuse of power by those pederasts in positions of authority whether they be Catholic priests in Boston, Ireland or Australia, or as it would appear football coaches. It is also sad reflection on the shallow perceptions of social justice by these pampered and privileged students.
Consider the hold Charles Manson had over his followers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe author is wrong in saying we all have this tendency. We do not. This kind of deification of a living person is what happens when people have a low-self-esteem, feel threatened in some way by the larger society, and need to have the protection of a group, and a person to tell them how to think.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is however the very tendency that can lead to fascism. Those adoring faces we saw in the famous films of Leni Reifenstahl are the same faces we saw on display among the students who rallied outside of Paterno's house. The students who tore up the campus the night Paterno was fired were in a small way acting just like the Nazi supporters on Krystalnacht.
Dave Lindorff
founding editor
ThisCantBeHappening!
www.thiscantbehappening.net
Riots never really make any sense to me. That said, the Penn State student's cause makes a lot more sense to me than those Occupy Wall Street people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think it was the Trustees that deified Paterno. That's why he was held to a higher standard than the 2 superiors he reported it to, the underling that saw it, the numerous others (child welfare workers, law enforcement workers, a missing D.A., a janitor, Second Mile people, school officials) that all heard about abuse but never got the justice ball rolling for a myriad of reasons. Paterno is even being held to a standard higher than PA law. I heard the victims expressed the regret that they were not brought into the discussion on Paterno and now have guilt piled on them about the tumult on campus. I think the Trustees saw their deity on the mount and struck him down hastily in anger. With a phone call. Paterno is a coach. That's all. One guy in a huge organization- Penn State. But he was expected to be so much more by many. But not by all. The rioting kids weren't making him a god. They were saying you've gotta be kidding-that fast? a phone call? others not fired? over a decade with many hearing about abuse and it all falling through the system and Paterno takes the fall? To make an example- a whipping boy-they wanted a head on a stick and the Trustees offered up their god.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHigh Schools and Colleges:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA football team that also happens to have a teaching faculty--or--a teaching institution that happens to have a sports team.
The entire system is upside down, corrupted by money (who makes more a math instructor or a coach?)and misplaced status (who is more valued--a sports goon or high preforming student?)
School spirit--Athletic furor--they are both a form of tempory insanity.
the person comparing Occupy Wall Street to the rioting at Penn State is idiologically blindered. Nobody's rioting in the occupy movement. They are dedicated to peaceful actions. Nobody's worshiping or deifying one. They are consciously avoiding having leaders. Furthermore, they are focussed on trying to better the lot of all (except the 1% who are thieves and crooks posing as elites), while the rioters at Penn State were just trying to preserve a status of their school as a top football contender. There is simply no comparison. It's not even apples and oranges. It's apples and dog poop.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDave Lindorff
www.thiscantbehappening.net
You're making it more complicated than it is. Perhaps the students see this for what it is. The Board of Trustees should be fired along with the State Police Commissioner and our Governor. Those with 20/20 moral hindsight should take a good look at themselves first.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, I believe it's not just the students who dislike and have a low opinion of the press.
What a fascinating discussion! I have to agree that the role of universities in this country and of the sports program within those institutions should be reevaluated. Students who attend "to get a better job" should think about all the graduates currently residing in parents' basements and working at fast food establishments, with thousands of dollars of student loan debt. Many once true "facts" are now myths. As the former professor stated so well, intellectual curiosity is the only good reason to go to college. As for reporting problems to the police, most colleges do not encourage students or faculty members to do this. I hope this incident changes a widespread, nationwide implicit policy, but I doubt it. Sexual assaults visited upon female students by male students are supposed to be reported to the police, too. Yeah, right.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a fascinating article on the complex dynamics of human group psychology and identity, however I cannot in good conscience accept the final admonition to not judge the rioting students harshly.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe sad fact is that they violently pledged their allegiance to a man who was complicit (through his inaction) in the repeated rape of children. I understand how shocking this must be for those who have placed Paterno on a pedestal, but we have free will in choosing who we idolize. Part of group identity is a reflection of the person that you want to be. For this reason we have the ability and obligation to evaluate -and re-evaluate- those that we hold in high esteem. For those that choose to ignore this process of re-evaluation I have the right to judge them harshly for being complicit themselves in condoning morally reprehensible behavior.
If it had been me, I would have been rioting against Paterno and the rest of the pathetic and pusillanimous administration that enabled such opprobrious behavior. Public humiliation is only the beginning of what they deserve.
Well said!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is very well said. Kids that age have a strong feeling that things should be "fair" and clearly, this is not. It was a case of finding someone to carry the burden of guilt so everyone else can go on doing what they have been doing. Paterno did report. He did not call the police. That was not the culture of the institution. What would have happened to him if he had? Everybody, in every institution today, should be examining the "channels" and layers of command. When will leadership change from passing blame to taking responsibility?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWrite a book. It is needed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with everything you said. I'm angry at the fans for putting sports before the innocence of a child. It's just repulsive.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisApparently you don't pay attention to the news.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOakland ..... vandalism .... tear gas .... any of that ring a bell?
Yours is an eminently reasonable question. Why do the students hate the press (attacking reporters and turning over press vans)? It can best be answered by requesting you watch a half hour of "reporting" on CNN, or Fox, or MSNBC. Platitudes, incitement to hatred of anyone even marginally connected to the events, and just generally irresponsible reporting of, in this case, a school these students have a lot of themselves invested in. I'm not connected with PSU but I don't much respect or care for the press either.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this... as opposed to the fearless football legends who allowed a known pedophile to rape little boys for a decade?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, the press has no moral high ground here. Perhaps when it comes out that those same little boys were being pimped out to wealthy donors by these brave paragons of moral excellence, you will change your mind. But I doubt it.
In order to change one's mind, it must be open to new information. You're not outside the box. You're so far inside the box, you can't see you've been buried, along with your dead football gods. Grow up and join the human race. The press didn't make your heroes into rapists and enablers. You did, with your ticket dollars, your raving fanaticism, and your inability to criticize your authoritarian perverts when they do wrong.
I have a real problem with the entire premise of the article. The "explanation" in terms of group identity is all too convenient an excuse. And it smacks of determinism. That is, the students are not responsible; they belong to and identify with a particular group, therefore ......
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is no doubt, as evolving animals, that there are strong, hardwired tendencies within homo sapiens, like all other animals. However, these are just that, tendencies. Whatever these tendencies, however, the students had choices and had the choice avail themselves of the facts, the contents of the indictment and years of socialization and self-control. These particular students failed in any number of ways, for which they are fully and individually responsible.
And the 40,000+ of students on the Penn State campus who disagreed with the rioting students and who are appalled by their actions and mentality, did not riot, though they are and were subject to the same culture of football and Paterno idolization.
The rioters did not behave as they did because of some group think, but because of a substantial lack of moral backbone, much like the coaches and administrators they idolize.
I have to say as a PSU alum who has enjoyed Scientific American for many years, I am very disappointed in the author and many of the commentors. Did you actually talk to anyone there? These are not lab rats! Many people who gathered were there in support of the victims - only a few turned violent (40,000 students are there in State College). There are so many emotions going through all of our minds right now and not all students who go there are football fans. I certainly didn't go there because of football - I don't really care much for sports. Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions - shame on all of you - this isn't a science or sociological experiment. Some people were upset about the way Joe Paterno was let go after 61 years of service to football and academics. This is before he has had his say and the legal process has unfolded. That is why, myself included, have despised the media for years. They like to whip the public into a frenzy and everyone is tried in the press. The whole scandal and what happened to those children is horrible and inexcusable, but the media is totally making everything worse until all the facts have come to light. Let the legal system do it's job and hold anyone involved accountable. Emotions are high enough as it is, since these events have disgraced and brought shame to our university. Penn State is, and will always be, a huge part of my life, and yes, it is a wonderful family, but for me it has nothing to do with football or any sport and I do not deify anyone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood stuff, engineer.sci. I think we're on our way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with some of your comments but differ significantly regarding "... until all the facts have come to light ..." or that the media "is making everything worse", or "before his has had is day in court".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMedia is often at fault for making everything worse, and sensationalizing those situations which require rational deliberation. The media are more often guilty for deep-sixing issues on which there is a need to shine light. The media is not a fault yet for either sensationalizing or deep-sixing. It's more likely in my mind that the media will deep-six, and that is beginning to happen, with media statements that "Penn needs to move on, put the problem behind them, and start healing". So soon?
In any case, everyone's days in court will take two to three years from now. That is not acceptable, and for the victims, it will take far longer to get the justice they deserve. By that time, Lindsay Lohan or Snooki or the Kardashians would have taken center stage again.
Further, legal and moral culpability is different.
As for Paterno being fired by the University, this was correct simply as a matter of law. "At-will" employees, which Paterno was, serve at the pleasure of their employer. Except as negotiated by employment contract, or if one is in a "protected class", to quote Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist an at-will employee "can be fired for any reason, including a bad one".
And coaches have been fired for a lot less important reasons than Paterno.
I know this is going to come to you as a terrible shock Max but dirty old men have been doing little boys since ancient times and even beyond. The press is zeroing in on a story (as they used to say) that sells newspapers. How about the number of boys in western Pennsylvania during this time killed by shootings, beaten criminally by their parents, etc.etc.etc. It's much like Fox News when they concentrate on a missing young girl as long as she's blond and blue eyed. You're being led around by the nose by the media and don't even realize it. There's a lot of evil in this world and it would be a good idea to keep a sensible idea what is the most important of it. At the most basic level, I didn't hear of anybody dying here.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlthough I agree with your reasoning, Larry, Paterno was employed under a contract and was not an at-will employee.
He was fired for cause, under a term of his contract. I don't think he will contest it. He could file an action for compensation for the remainder of his contract, but this was the last year and it wouldn't be worth it. For all we know he could still be getting paid for the remainder of the season, which would be relavent to the article.
And soccerdad is as perverted as Sandusky in his thinking (or lack thereof). What an idiot.
This really isn't anything new or revolutionary. Religious apologetic behavior is something that most of us are quite familiar with; and understanding WHY people behave a certain way does not in any way EXCUSE that behavior. If you can't get past your own psychological hangups, you don't get any sympathy from me for your abominable actions. I do have faith that this is just part of the evolutionary process and someday we'll shake completely free from the fleas of our misguided ancestry. Hopefully my children or grandchildren may live to see that day.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGroupthink regardless of the "mentor" is a deadening and often deadly, negative force. It was the intellectual elite of Germany, including scientists and engineers, that enabled hitler to legitimatize his power through national groupthink.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe seminal work on "groupthink" is the story of the Tower of Babel, from the Biblical Book of Genesis, thought by many to be a fable. I continue to marvel at the relevance to all seasons of the Biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel. By the way, it is a story about global groupthink - as it involved peoples of the then known world.
abash of Potomac MD
Let us spare ourselves a lot of pointless bafflegab.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThink of someone who is such a defective individual that they truly DO identify with a college to this level.
There is something seriously missing in them.. and that is maturity... as well as even the barest hint of adult intelligence.
A lot of this psycho-babble is just excusemaking for immature twits who cannot sort out right from wrong... and upon whom college is wholly wasted. They simply are not smart enough to be bothered with.
Spare us the pseudo-scientific pontifications of the therapy industry.... which is all we see in this article.
More immature jerks making excuses "they couldn't help themselves, they are slaves and prisoners of their psyche"... is the dog-ate-my-homework excuse we are supposed to buy.
And these marketers of bogus comic book 'science' would imply they can fix it all up.. for a not so modest fee.
Here is why the students rioted. There are two facts here. One fact is that some boys suffered terribly. Another fact is that Joe Paterno, for more than 40 years, has done wonderful things for Penn State - and not just for the football program. He hasn't just won games, but he's brought a whole new standard to what is expected of players and of Penn State students.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow it comes to light that, allegedly, the same Joe Paterno has not done as he should have in this case. Nobody is suggesting he personally harmed anyone.
What are the facts? He says that he was not aware of the nature of the allegations, that what he knew was an imprecise, 2nd hand report of one instance, which he immediately reported to the university president. Nobody has suggested that he had any reason to believe there were more incidents.
In other words, the only facts we have are that 1. he reported this to the university president instead of the police, and 2. he has said, in hindsight, that he wished he'd done more - of course he does - but that doesn't mean he knew more at the time.
Now, IF the whole story finally comes out and it turns out that he was aware of and ignored ongoing abuse, then the reaction will have been fully justified and I will retract this. But there is no reason to think that - it would be totally out of character based on everything that we know about the man.
What happened is that you had a bunch of cowardly regents who needed to "show they were taking action", when unfortunately it was far too late to take any action to help the victims. And to make themselves feel better, they took the most dramatic action they could envisage, which was to fire Joe Paterno. Even the victims themselves wonder why.
Joe Paterno himself has too much class to fight the decision, because he knows that he is not the "victim" of this case.
But the students do not believe that two wrongs make a right. Yes, the crime was terrible - but it is still just plain wrong to effectively ruin someone's reputation based on sketchy evidence that suggests he made an error of judgment and no evidence at all that he actually acted with anything but the best intentions.
What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
As the article says, for many people, JoePa was like a god - they looked up to him and imitated him and learned from him. And what they learned made them better people. And when you now destroy his character, you need to think about the damage this is doing to all those good characters he helped to create, and the impact of that on society.
Hear, hear.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe world is, and probably always will be, full of good Germans who look the other way as their neighbors are carted off to their death.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would like to know if the problem in the Catholic clergy began when priestly celibacy did, or whether it is unique to our hypersexualized society.
"The [rioting students] appear to have judged that the alleged buggery and sexual abuse of children is less important than their emotional identity with their football coach."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe if they had been imbued with Judeo-Christian morality instead of pagan hedonism they would have judged otherwise.
Exactly. Collegiate sports is just a microcosm of the larger corrupt society with its values upside down - but that assumes that their is an absolute up and down, a right and a wrong. Who is valued more - a 7'1" muscular fella who can elbow everyone out of the way and dunk a basketball (Don't get me wrong, I thrill to Shaq doing his thing as much as anybody else) or a seasoned pilot who can land a plane in a river and save 155 lives?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRioting is never a good thing, although on a small scale it's probably the price we must pay for living in a democracy. I’m glad it ended with minimal damage.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat the students should be upset about is not necessarily that it was their idol that was targeted for ritual defamation by the media and others, but that it could happen to anybody. The media has turned this into another “Satanic panic,” referring to baseless accusations of Satanism and murder that occurred during the 1980s. Lives were destroyed and innocent people imprisoned at that time. Fortunately, most of them were subsequently pardoned or acquitted at second trials’
Once the engines of publicity, intense focus and claimed outrage bear down on an individual -- who may be blameless, or more frequently, whose blame is nuanced by circumstances and distance from the offense -- that person also becomes a victim, too. Only one person is guilty for what occurred, and that's the individual who committed the offense, and he has neither been tried nor convicted yet. What we are witnessing is the development of a moral panic. The news media have been at their usual irresponsible, self-interested and shameful best here.
To broaden the net to include everyone who did what seemed to them to be their job, i.e., they reported it to their superiors but didn't second-guess them and go over their heads, is manifestly unfair. They fulfilled their basic responsibility. "Why didn't you do more?" is easy to ask if you weren't there and if you weren't them. This has become a witch hunt, almost like blaming everyone in a family for the acts of one of their members, as if they somehow magically took part in the offense. There is something almost medieval about this kind of "justice."
Give this case a couple of weeks for more facts to develop and don’t jump to conclusions. Recognize that the presumption of innocence is there for a good reason and let the legal process take its course. Most of all, refrain from the mad dog desire to make everybody in sight pay for the offense.
2 facts. First, innocent until proven guilty only applies in the courtroom. Everyone has the right to judge in their own mind if someone is a deviant pervert, whether the courts convict him or not. I read the Grand Jury report and I am convinced.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecond, 17 states have legal requirements that anyone who suspects this type of behavior report it to police. Pennsylvania does not. Teachers in primary and secondary school have a legal obligation to report this type of behavior, as do doctors and social workers. The cover up is obvious and everyone involved contributed to the extreme harm that was done to these children, including Paterno.
Paterno has admitted that he should have done more. This is called conciousness of guilt. To say that none but the perp are guilty means that nobody has a legal or moral duty to intervene or report this behavior. Nobody would ever get caught for the worst crime that can be committed against a child.
In my opinion, anyone who sexually harms a child should get the death penalty with no appeal. This is a defect that we should eliminate from the gene pool. I'd be happy to volunteer as executioner.
Engineer, you are eminently correct, sir!!! It has been well documented how groupthink has had a deleterious effect on world events...anyone remember the Holocaust?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd PDX, being a longtime college student myself, I am compelled to agree with all you say as well (please em me: tpre007ATgmail.com); but, as an aspiring Sociologist, as well as through my own firsthand observations, I feel compelled to ask you, sir; were NONE of these "'party animal' students" of whom you speak also extraordinarily talented in one or more academic areas as well?
Pick any media story like this in history. If Joe Paterno did nothing wrong, his character and legend will remain in tact as he makes millions on a book deal telling his side of the story. Universities will study this event, all will argue their side, soft scientists with use this to gain government grants to study the nature of group dynamics (yet again). Everyone has the new flavor of the month, all profit, University leaders will apologize as they stand behind caring for children was the message they wanted to send.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJoe Paterno book will become a best seller and many of you will buy it and read it. Some young college student's will be required to purchase it as part of a college Sociology course requirement. Everyone will have something to talk about at their social events and can debate and compare ignorance and some will puff up their egos by proposing saving the children of the world while mistreating their girlfriend or mother or other loved ones.
Novel thought...do right in your world, help those you affect to lead better lives, protect your children from harm and stop trusting your children to people just because they have a "trusted position"...they are your children. For the unfortunate without parents, it is on our society to do all we can to protect them, so when predators are found they should have their sexual organs removed and removed from society!
Yes, unfortunately you have just described a member of my family, who cannot let go of his moronic worship of a football coach.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is alarming that institutions we rely on to train our young to think independently is turning out graduates with lynch mob mentality. I thought the downfall of Germany in WWII had clearly demonstrated the down side of group think. Apparently not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRight. Who cares if boys were raped. Go Joe!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thispdxtran: .. I used to be a college professor, and after many years, I came to the conclusion that half or more of the students should have been learning a trade and getting into the world of work. They had no academic interests whatsoever .... Quite true - but not politically correct. It always boggles my mind that such students get sucked into the "university degree" status mills and then graduate up to their eyeballs in debt, devoid of critical thinking skills and unemployable in the real world. It is a sad state of affairs when the education establishment misleads our youth down such rat holes, rather than guiding them into a college or trade stream. As for the Penn State riot participants - obviously NOT university material. And it would make an interesting study to analyse why a significant portion of our population worships "sports" celebrities, movie stars, tabloid celebrities, ... lining up to spend their money in support of a vauous and delusional proxy life style ! Is our existence so empty of reality that the flat panel TV on the wall is the only window to our experiences ? Don't blame the media - they merely supply the fodder so eagerly observed and absorbed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeing a survivor of sexual abuse, the word molestation (=to bother) is insulting to what I and others have been through. I urge journalists and writers not to use molestation in this context when words like abuse, rape, skeele are far a more accurate depiction of what was done to us.
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