The Penn State child abuse scandal broke out this past weekend. It is simply horrendous that this can happen in one of the most respected universities in the country. I do not understand how we as a society can tolerate such behavior in adults. Aren't we supposed to protect our children? What makes this particular scandal worse than normal is that the prominent players involved are specifically associated with children and teens and their development through sporting activities. These people are coaches and University officials. These people are the role models for the little league coaches and the little league players. These people are the ones who preach success with honor or not at all.
Child abuse is one of those issues that gets my blood boiling. It scares me. In general people find children irresistible. They are cute, trusting and filled with an incredible energy that makes your heart happy. And I believe they also make you feel important and invincible. If you help them reach a book on a shelf too high for them, they are thrilled. It is so easy to make them happy. It is also so easy to get them to do what you want. A little bribe or a scolding will do the trick more often than not. And that makes them easy targets for the vile adult mind. Protecting our children's mind, body and soul is one of our main responsibilities. We just cannot interpret this to mean that this responsibility extends only as far as each of our own biological children. Child abuse makes us worse than animals- even animals do not violate their young ones.
So going back to Penn State- what makes it harder for me to accept all this talk about anything becoming a factor in the decision to report or not report the accusations to the authorities is the realization that these people did not recognize that their silence was making them enablers. Or did they realize it and they figured their football program was more important. As a self proclaimed football fanatic, that just makes me sick to the stomach. In any case- this is many times worse than choosing to do nothing to help or interfere in the life of a person who might be addicted to drugs. In that case- the person you choose to not help is the victim of the disease. In the case of Penn State, the entire group of "responsible" citizens decided to not stop the offender. And in the process, they allowed him to continue to create a set of victims that would have never existed.
I will write again on this subject- as I work my way through the process of figuring out how I can help in the global initiative to stop child abuse. For now- everyone please stop and look around you. Keep in mind that these predators live amongst us and that we cannot afford to be ignorant. Talk about it with people- because knowledge is indeed power.
Dora.. Out.. Woof.
What a strange law? I didn't know about this case until I read your blog, and I quickly read upon it. So they are saying that since the person reported their crime to their superior, they are not so guilty? Maybe I didn't fully get the story. It is very true though and made me realize too that children are very innocent and guillible and they trust an adult very easily. They need to be amoung right set of people all the time..Ender
ReplyDeleteEnder, In the state of Pennsylvania, the incident should have been reported to state law-enforcement authorities. The university people including the coach- neglected to do so. Hence- this is a cover-up. The sad thing is it is already last week's news. And nobody is talking about the real perpetrator. Also- the rioting that followed the head coach's firing was just terrible too.
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