Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich
Tax the Rich
Website Wednesday
Sorry for no Movie Monday but I entered the third stage of my dental implant (they cut the gum and insert another piece of the titanium rod) and I was whipped. Surprisingly, because stage one and two were the proverbial breeze. But two days of ibuprofen have me back in action.
Now, I don't like to go into metaphor too much (insert a big guffaw here) but reading the comments to the Paterno/Penn State football/"let's cover up the raping of little boys" scandal, I find the metaphor for the USA staring me down like the deer in the headlights.
For those who know nothing about this scandal: In 2002, a graduate assistant at Penn State, PA entered the shower room of the football building and saw a naked football coach (Jerry Sandusky) in the shower raping a 10-year-old boy (listed as Victim 2 in the grand jury report.) He reports this incident to his dad who advises him not to go to the police but to report it to the legendary Coach Paterno (don't know the guy but apparently he's legendary, that is, he wins football games.) Well, the legendary coach reports the incident to his superior at Penn State and that seems to be the end of it. Apparently, the rapist loses his keys to the locker room as punishment.
Fast forward to 2011 and a PA grand jury issues a report of the horrible, graphic incidents of child sexual abuse/rape perpetrated by Sandusky before and after the shower room rape incident.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/20111106-pennstate-document.html
So America has produced another monster, you say. Surprised? No, but I'm surprised at the reaction. First, the reaction of the graduate assistant. He told his father? His father said don't go to the police? (What, do we treat young boys as the play thing of sick men in this country? This was not a horrible crime?) Then the legendary Paterno (after reading in the Penn State faculty handbook, I assume, on "What to do when you hear something really, really bad") reports the incident to his superior and just walks away from it. Jesus H Christ! The GA saw the child being raped. It wasn't a second or third hand account told to him in a town bar after a night of drinking.
But back to the comments. Of course, there is outrage. That's to be expected. But there is also a good amount of: Well, Paterno reported it. Why are you complaining? attitude.
And that's where it gets so typically American; so typically and hypocritically American. We sure do love our sports; we sure do love our heroes; we sure do love our values. So whether it's applauding the assassination of people without due process, the dropping of drone bombs on innocents, or the raping of children, we can dig into our vast top hat of moral justifications and pull out a plum. What a country!
My website pick is: http://www.openculture.com/
Have you ever thought: What book(s) would I bring with me to a desert island? Well, Open Culture is the only website you need to bring as long as you're wired for WiFi. Open Culture has audio books, audio and video courses, movies. What more could you want? There are language lessons, free e-books, and links to cultural icons you should know about. I see good cheese, good bread, grapes, good wine and Open Culture on this island. It sounds like heaven to me. Enjoy!
Now, I don't like to go into metaphor too much (insert a big guffaw here) but reading the comments to the Paterno/Penn State football/"let's cover up the raping of little boys" scandal, I find the metaphor for the USA staring me down like the deer in the headlights.
For those who know nothing about this scandal: In 2002, a graduate assistant at Penn State, PA entered the shower room of the football building and saw a naked football coach (Jerry Sandusky) in the shower raping a 10-year-old boy (listed as Victim 2 in the grand jury report.) He reports this incident to his dad who advises him not to go to the police but to report it to the legendary Coach Paterno (don't know the guy but apparently he's legendary, that is, he wins football games.) Well, the legendary coach reports the incident to his superior at Penn State and that seems to be the end of it. Apparently, the rapist loses his keys to the locker room as punishment.
Fast forward to 2011 and a PA grand jury issues a report of the horrible, graphic incidents of child sexual abuse/rape perpetrated by Sandusky before and after the shower room rape incident.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/20111106-pennstate-document.html
So America has produced another monster, you say. Surprised? No, but I'm surprised at the reaction. First, the reaction of the graduate assistant. He told his father? His father said don't go to the police? (What, do we treat young boys as the play thing of sick men in this country? This was not a horrible crime?) Then the legendary Paterno (after reading in the Penn State faculty handbook, I assume, on "What to do when you hear something really, really bad") reports the incident to his superior and just walks away from it. Jesus H Christ! The GA saw the child being raped. It wasn't a second or third hand account told to him in a town bar after a night of drinking.
But back to the comments. Of course, there is outrage. That's to be expected. But there is also a good amount of: Well, Paterno reported it. Why are you complaining? attitude.
And that's where it gets so typically American; so typically and hypocritically American. We sure do love our sports; we sure do love our heroes; we sure do love our values. So whether it's applauding the assassination of people without due process, the dropping of drone bombs on innocents, or the raping of children, we can dig into our vast top hat of moral justifications and pull out a plum. What a country!
My website pick is: http://www.openculture.com/
Have you ever thought: What book(s) would I bring with me to a desert island? Well, Open Culture is the only website you need to bring as long as you're wired for WiFi. Open Culture has audio books, audio and video courses, movies. What more could you want? There are language lessons, free e-books, and links to cultural icons you should know about. I see good cheese, good bread, grapes, good wine and Open Culture on this island. It sounds like heaven to me. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment