Warbler said:
Why should you feel sorry for them?
1. they are not responsible for the scandal
2. They had a lot of pride in Paterno and Penn State. It is now crushed. These people bleed blue and white (the colors of the school) and thought of Paterno as a god. This scandal has to be heartbreaking to them
3. not all of the students rioted
4. the rioting wasn't that bad and only went on for 1 night.
5. they are not responsible for the scandal
That is actually really depressing to think about. You make it sound like these people have absolutely no life beyond their silly games. Maybe they don't. Makes me feel even less sorry for them. Maybe this will help them wake up and realize their are higher stakes in life than grown men tossing balls around... but probably not. Anyone who raises a man to the height of a god deserve all the pain and disappointment they get. No one is that good. Paterno proved he was far, far from it.
CP3S said:
Their hero turned out not to be so heroic. That always sucks, but as will it always be when someone feels the need to have heroes.
I think it is human nature to want to look at someone as a hero.
I think this is where your maturity theory comes into play. Hero worship is something we tend to do when we are younger, and grow out of as we get older.
CP3S said:
but not when their upset is focused on the fact that not everyone else is as willing to forgive their hero for his extreme shortcomings as they are. They shouldn't be,
maybe some are in shock over this and don't know what to think. Maybe some were in denial. Learning that your hero is not really all he is cracked up to can be difficult to accept. When we talking about someone regarded as a legend as Paterno is, it is easy for one's judgement about him to be clouded. They don't want to give up Joe Paterno the legend, so they trick themselves into thinking that Joe Paterno is still the legend and it must be wrong to fire him. See, this were maturity comes into play.
How do people really get this worked up about sports? This is one of those things I really can't understand for the life of me. Don't suppose I ever will. "Hero" "Legend" You'd think the man had slain dragons, brought nations out of oppression, and fed all the hungry children of the world. Kind of sad what the "stuff of legends" is these days.
CP3S said:
he wasn't a very nice person.
they didn't know that until a few days ago. For 45 years, they thought Paterno was great man who had done so much for the university.
But now they know.
CP3S said:
I bet there are plenty of people 50 and over who are just as much up in arms about this as the 18-21 year old students.
how many 50 and overs do you think were involved in the rioting?
I don't know. Probably none. 50 year olds probably do a lot more considering of consequences prior to doing things like that than 18-21 year olds. I just meant that I bet there are plenty of 50 and overs who feel the same way as the 18-21 year olds do, even if they aren't actually out there rioting.
CP3S said:
walkingdork said:
My hope is that in 2 years people don't pretend to forget what's happened and begin to gush over Paterno again. I can just picture a new Joe Paterno statue at Penn State in a few years and that's pathetic.
there already is a statue of him there. Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, there should never be another one.
That one totally needs to be removed.
there is talk of that. Its sad that is has to be like this, it is what probably needs happen. I never thought Paterno would be involved in covering up a child molester. If had told me two weeks ago that Paterno was covering for a child molester, I'd have told you that you were nuts.
I guess it is sad, especially if you really looked up to this guy. But honestly, he is a pretty horrible smear on the history of the school (even if he was a highlight of its history before, all that is rather tarnished by all of this). I think removing the statue is right.