Media has built up Joe Paterno as this magnificent angelic god in Pennsylvania. People around that area worship him so. It's probably a huge reason why nothing was ever reported about this huge scandal. People wanted to protect football and this giant legacy that Penn State and Paterno had just built. The people in power wanted to maintain that so they silenced anybody who tried to speak up or some chose to not speak up. This culture of power and respect for the football legend built up to the point where going against it was considered deviant. It was now acceptable to cover up for the football great, nobody what the cost was.
One could look at this entire scandal from the view of the Functionalist perspective. Everything that has happened over there in Pennsylvania just happens to uphold all of what society values. We value football. We value sports. We value legends. We value entertainment, money, and power. We value children. Maybe not so much on that last one. The scandal just shows us that many people value such things much more than they do the safety of children. Scary thought.
I'm really shocked that people are actually holding a vigil at Paterno's house as if he was some kind of martyr. He put his own legacy over the children. These children will be permanently hurt psychologically and traumatized forever. Yet people worry more about their football season then they do about the lack of Paterno's actions to protect the children. I look at this scandal and I'm like, "Wow, we really do value sports more than children." Then those crazy fans just feed into that scary thought.
Paterno and all those involved need spend some time in jail for what they have done or haven't done. They had moral obligations but they let petty things come before the safety of children. Speaks so much about the world we live in...
Bryant Pham
Kin 338i TuTh930
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