i am going to excerpt quite a bit from an article at e.s.p.n. by gene wojciechowski about joe paterno's "fall from grace," entitled "the tragedy of joe paterno." now, understand, the theme of the whole article is as the highlighted text below points out clearly, e.g., joe paterno should have called the police about jerry sandusky years ago.--
"In less than a week's time, the 46-year reign of Paterno as Penn State's head football coach -- and as the university's de facto leader -- collapsed under the weight of arrogance, ignorance and a sexual abuse scandal that will leave deep, unsightly scar marks on whatever is left of his legacy.
"His spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall prove once more that absolute power absolutely corrupts or, at the very least, blurs the vision. And make no mistake: Paterno's power and influence at Penn State was often vast and overpowering. [the same point raised by the idiot law professor previously discussed in this series of posts, and proving one thing absolutely, and that is absolutely nothing. it is asserting that paterno, had he wished, could have "solved" all this by his "power," which is pure unadulterated bullshit. editorial comment: john jay.]
" 'Joe is -- was -- in absolute control of Penn State athletics,' " says a former BCS conference official who had a long working relationship with Paterno. " 'There's no question about it.' "
Says another BCS conference administrator: " 'Joe's got a dark side. He's not always that witty old man. Joe can be very, very tough. He's very smart.' "
"The more phone calls you make to those who know Paterno, who have worked with Paterno and who have socialized with Paterno, the more you realize he isn't simply the smiling cardboard cutout figure that the riotous crowds in downtown State College used as a symbol of their unrest.
"The descriptions from one administrator: " 'Fabulous and horrendous' " … " 'Surreptitious '" … " 'Self-absorbed' " … " 'Calculating' " … " 'Protective of everything he's done.' "
"JoePa is three-dimensional, capable of extraordinary acts of kindness and charity, as well as extraordinary acts of backroom politics. But he isn't who we thought he was. If he were, he would have called the police nine years ago when first alerted to the alleged misconduct of former Nittany Lions assistant coach and friend Jerry Sandusky." http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7221684/the-tragedy-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-joe-paterno .
and, how does gene wojciechowski "prove" that joe paterno should have told the police about jerry sandusky.
well, by a whole series of quotes from persons who would not allow their names to be attributed to the quotes wojciechowski attributes to them. in short, none of these people would identify themselves.
now, just in case you are so obtuse as not to see the irony here, you should understand full well that when a person makes a criminal complaint against another, or reveals facts related to crime to the police, that person is not given the luxury of anonymity. you don't get to put a sack over your head and have your voice obscured when you testify in a court room, or talk to the police.
there is no small irony here, in that the persons who condemn paterno for not coming forward were simply unwilling to do what they demand of paterno, and that is to put their names and identities on the line.
the greatest irony, even greater than their cowardice to identify themselves as they pillory paterno?
they waited 10 or 15 years to do so, before they summoned the "courage" to savage him, from behind a black wall.
this is irony the wojciechowski is completely oblivious to, as he rushes in to skewer paterno, for wrongs that are never named and simply unrelated to this case.
this is what they call "character assassination" in polite circles, and what i would label chickenshit. it is doubly chickenshit because wojciechowski does not mention: 1.)that sandusky dodged prosecution in 1998-99 because the prosecutor thought the case against him unsustainable in a court room, and 2.)that paterno fully informed the penn state administration what he had heard related to him by mcquery about the anal rape in the showers, and paterno fully informed the grand jury that released the criminal charges most recently against sandusky.
paterno stepped forward, and he stepped up, and he took no efforts to conceal his identity.
he was responsible for his actions.
i am 63 years old. i have never forgotten a film i once witnessed involving the murder of a hapless man taken prisoner by his adversaries in one of those india-pakistani conflicts involving the hindu's and the muslim's. as this poor bastard lay on the ground, too weak to even writhe in his agony and death throes, a brave lad from the opposition would walk over, look at him, and then fetch an aged rifle and rusty bayonet, assay the man for a place not already stabbed, and slowly stick the bayonet in the man. and watch him. this process repeated by successive "men," who each no doubt claimed a "kill" of the enemy.
well, each of joe paterno's enemy whose cowardice silenced them for these many years have come over to his body on the ground, and given him a gratuitous, if anonymous, kick for his "past wrongs," each of them knowing absolutely fucking nothing about the matter at hand.
gene wojciechowski fashioned the above article, and for it, he condemns himself a hypocritical and ignorant idiot on the matters at hand.
for shame, idiot!! that you are!! wojciechowski!!
can no one see the irony here?
john jay @ 11.13.2011
p.s. i will remind readers just one more time, (as if it will do any good whatsoever), that in such matters of criminal prosecution, that proof, persuasion, evidence and corroboration are required, and that mere accusation does nothing.
it is why sgt. friday always said, "the facts, ma'am, just the facts." he did not say, "give me your best scurrilous opinion, hearsay and other bullshit, unsupported by personal observation." keep that in mind.
keep in mind wojciechowski's most "pointed & telling" accusation against paterno, and that is that he "knew" about sandusky and did nothing. i will simply ask you, at any point in all of this, does wojciechowski demonstrate what he knows paterno to have known? and, why does he so patently ignore what paterno did do, which was just about everything he could have done within the limitations of his personal knowledge and observation.
these are matters simply lost on wojciechowski as in his haste he rushes forward to skewer paterno with a gratuitous bayonet thrust, so that he, too, can get credit for a kill.
and index of previous articles at this blog on the joe paterno scandal.--
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