So I understand why people are devastated at the possibility that their hero, Joe Paterno, wouldn't have done everything in his power to bring a child-abuser to justice. And if that were truly the case, I can only say that JoePa's lucky that he's one month shy of 85, because no jury in Pennsylvania would send this old man to jail. Of course, that means that he's also closer to his own personal Judgment Day, and God would probably mete out a stiffer sentence than the good people of the Keystone State.
Still, Paterno didn't commit a crime, and the indictment handed down this week makes that perfectly clear. Neither did Sandusky nor the others, until the allegations are proved in a court of law, something that a lot of peopole are willing to ignore.
So until it's proved that the legend of Happy Valley knew what was going on in the shadows and showers and made a concerted effort to ignore it, we should all just back off. I'm tired of the sustained campaign to assassinate the character of anyone who gets sucked into a child-abuse scandal, even those accused of covering up.
Look no further than the nearest pew to see where that's taken us. The Catholic Church has been accused of protecting child molesters so often and so indiscriminately that any time I hear that a grand jury is about to hand down an indictment, the only question in my mind is: "Which archdiocese?" And that's completely unfair, because many of the accusations, decades old, have never been proved. If they ever are, the perpetrators deserve to suffer both here and in the eternal flames of Hell. But, of course, our current "enlightened" society doesn't need legal proof to start igniting the torches and wielding the pitchforks.
