I have written a letter to Governor Corbett. You can plagiarize from me all you want:Dear Governor Corbett,
I took a moment today to read your January 22, 2012 expression of condolences on the death of Joe Paterno, and your January 23, 2012 State Flag half staff order in honor of Joe Paterno.
I understand that Joe Paterno has meant a great deal to the State, in terms of fame and publicity, as well as in his “Generosity to Penn State as an institution.”
I would like to take a moment of your time to call attention to the grave damage that child molestation does to its victims. In most cases, children in such situations develop an intense mistrust of the very people who should be able to help them, especially when they perceive that people who should be helping them are failing to do so. These innate, learned responses persist well into adulthood, leading to a very difficult life for many victims of such crimes. In addition to feeling socially awkward our outcast, we typically suffer more health problems than the general population; we have greater odds of engaging in dangerous behaviors, acting out violently, and drug and alcohol abuse. We are often depressed, we have frequent suicidal thoughts, and sometimes, we follow through on those thoughts.
Child Molesters seem to have a unique ability to attach themselves to people who are financially, legally, and politically well connected, so that they have important people to defend them when they are exposed of their heinous crimes. This attachment often becomes insidious, pervasive, and inseparable without perceived sacrifice on the part of the persons defending the molester.
Mike McQueary, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Graham Spanier, and Joe Paterno are all people who fell into Jerry Sandusky’s trap, and they DID NOT “confront adversities” with “grace and forbearance.” Instead, they allowed colossal human damage to continue for a decade. Those men were too afraid of damage to their own reputations to stop Sandusky, and it is likely that no one will ever know the number of children victimized.
The victims of such crimes are often very attuned to those people who child molesters use as character witnesses, and the very mention of these supporters opens up wounds anew, almost as painful as the actual abuse was.
Your celebration of the “man,” Joe Paterno, is undoubtedly causing additional pain and grief in those who have suffered, and those who care about them.
It is shameful that your office has issued these tributes without also acknowledging the atrocious damage that Paterno has allowed.
Your office has fallen victim to the same seduction that McQueary, Curley, Schultz, Spanier, and Paterno have fallen for: You gain more popularity by celebrating the hero, than you would in standing up strongly for those damaged. And in so doing, you re-enforce the victim’s distrust of everyone who should have the power to stop the damage.
I hope you will take some time to learn about the damage that child molestation does to people, short and long term, and take it to heart in the future.
Emails can be sent to governor@pa.gov
His meat-mail and telephone information are here: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/contact/2998
There is a form-mail link on his page there as well. Take thirty seconds to copy/paste/swamp.
Previous Topic
Index