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Joe Paterno and ignorance of evil

You are here: Home / Explaining the sociopath / Joe Paterno and ignorance of evil

January 23, 2012 //  by Donna Andersen

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Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach, has died.

I can’t help but wonder if the travesty of the last few months, with his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, being charged with sexually molesting 10 young boys over 15 years, killed him.

I’m not an alumna of Penn State. (I am, however, an alumna of Syracuse University, with its own scandal of an assistant basketball coach allegedly molesting boys.) Still, I hate to see the storied career of Joe Paterno forever blackened by the malevolent behavior of one man, if that proves to be the case.

Some people argue that Paterno had to know what was going on. They argue that Paterno was so concerned about his legacy, the reputation of his football program and Penn State University, that he was willing to turn a blind eye to the behavior of Jerry Sandusky.

I’m not so sure.

Since the scandal broke in November, Joe Paterno has given only one interview, to Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post. The story was published on January 14, 2012. It characterizes Joe Paterno as unable to comprehend what Sandusky may have done, because it was simply too foreign to the way Paterno himself lived his life. Jenkins writes:

He reiterated that McQueary was unclear with him about the nature of what he saw and added that even if McQueary had been more graphic, he’s not sure he would have comprehended it.

“You know, he didn’t want to get specific,” Paterno said. “And to be frank with you I don’t know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it.”

Is it possible to be that unaware of the existence of evil? Yes, it is, and we all know it.

While I was uninitiated, meaning, before my direct, personal encounter with a social predator, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would cross paths with evil. I didn’t know that someone who appeared to be so loving and caring could have a hidden agenda. I lived a life of integrity, and I believed that the people who were part of my life were like me.

But, some may argue, sex abuse of children has been in the news for years—look at the stories about the Catholic Church. Well, my cousin was abused by priests. He received financial compensation many years ago—it was probably one of the first cases to be settled. I heard people in my family talking about it. Still, I did not comprehend what he must have experienced.

I didn’t understand the human capacity for manipulation and evil until it happened to me.

So, yes, I can believe that Joe Paterno was clueless. He grew up in a different era, when although the sexual abuse of children probably occurred, it certainly wasn’t talked about. He was inspired by his father. He believed in education. He believed in turning troubled athletes around. His whole life was about winning with integrity.

So for Paterno to realize, at this late stage of his life, that he may have been hoodwinked by someone so close to him must have been a terrible shock. It probably didn’t cause his lung cancer. But it may have sapped Paterno’s strength to fight it.

Read Joe Paterno’s last interview, on WashingtonPost.com.

Category: Explaining the sociopath, Media sociopaths

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Ox Drover
13 years ago

Sky, you gave me a belly laugh!@....... What a great quote from both The homeless man and Jesus. Both apply.

We must work on our own lives….

skylar
13 years ago

Oxy,
Glad to share the laughter!
I believe hypocrite is just another word for spath. The definition is the same. They cover their evil with a facade of goodness. Their words and actions are completely contradictory.

I think Jesus was addressing the problem of spaths each time he said the word, “hypocrite” – and he said it a lot.

parallelogram
13 years ago

Oh yeah, and that was such a sweet moment. I do see this same homeless man every now and then and I want to high five him so bad! I very much admired how he handled himself. He had boundaries and dignity – just beautiful.

I’m not at all surprised that a homeless man has a better understanding of Jesus’ teachings and a more honourable way of interacting in the world than certain other you-know- whats.

Ox Drover
13 years ago

Sky, I never thought of it that way exactly but I think you are right on there….hypocrite is a psychopath…they mask and pretend to be something they are not. Fence sitters are also hypocrites too….remember the story of the good samaritan? Where the priest and the levite walked by on the other side of the road, didn’t want to get their hands dirty helping someone who was wounded? Hypocrites!

Ox Drover
13 years ago

Parallelogram,

Go give that homeless man a buck or two and tell him how much you appreciate his wisdom!

skylar
13 years ago

hyp·o·crite
”‚ ”‚[hip-uh-krit]
noun
1.
a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2.
a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

Need I say more?

skylar
13 years ago

Well, I will say that the fence sitters still sort of confound me.

They are as shallow as the spaths, I believe that. But I don’t understand the extent of their evil. Your fence sitting son, still confuses me. I don’t understand how he could do what he did. I just don’t get it. My spath sister WAS a fence sitter, I believe. But her spath husband has absolutely filled her empty head with evil. And she took to it like a duck to water. Before, she wanted to be like me. She would go Christmas shopping with me until we dropped. She liked to buy people gifts and though she is naturally a selfish person, she also wanted to be generous. Now she is to the point of wanting to kill her siblings for their inheritance. She doesn’t feel bad about it at all.

Her words already drove her husband’s brother to suicide. He had attempted 2 times before. He called to talk to her and she said, “C, your life doesn’t affect anyone else. What you do doesn’t affect anyone else. You can make any decision you want and it won’t matter to anyone.” My mom and I were listening when she said these things to C. He had only just survived a suicide attempt a few weeks earlier. Then he was dead the next week.

parallelogram
13 years ago

Nope, a perfect fit. Grrr. Woe to the hypocrites.

Oh I never just walk by this homeless man, Ox Dover, he can count of me for a toonie every time I see him. But this high five compulsion! I feel itchy I want to high five him so bad.

skylar
13 years ago

Well, here’s your answer.
Paterno knew all along and instigated the cover up. I’m not surprised at all.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/joe-paterno-influenced-penn-state-officials-quiet-jerry-sandusky-emails-reveal-article-1.1105285

It is our tendency to project and to believe what we want to believe that got us into trouble. We need to step away from that and just look at what people DO.

one/joy_step_at_a_time
13 years ago

pedophiles flock. don’t we know this yet?

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