The truth of the matter is - if 1/2 the time and energy being exerted to exonerate Joe Paterno's legacy was put into preventing child sexual abuse, we could potentially save millions of future children from a lifetime of pain.
I have said from the beginning that this is NOT about Joe Paterno - but rather about the culture (not the Penn State culture, not a football culture) but THE culture - OUR culture that allows serial predatory pedophiles to go unchecked because we don't want to SEE what is right in front of us.
As I wrote in "I Was 5 When the Grooming Began"
But the media doesn't want to talk about child sexual abuse - it would rather focus on football programs and legendary coaches.
SJF, like me, was screaming at the top of her lungs that THIS ISN'T ABOUT JOE PATERNO! It's about the reason children continue to be sexually abused today. Because it makes people so uncomfortable. The very thought of a child being sexually abused - no. that's too clinical a term. Let me spell it out for you where our rage comes from...
And later
...our anger, our disgust, our outrage with the non-stop media coverage and idolatry of Joe Paterno is because, again, the true horrors of what child sexual abuse looks like isn't being told. The lifelong effects of what child sexual abuse does to a person isn't the focus. Joe Paterno is the focus because the media can't stomach what the truth looks like.
Joe Paterno said that all he wanted was the truth - well, the truth of the matter is that 1:4 girls and 1:6 boys are sexually abused by the time they are 18. 90% by a someone they know and 68% by a member of their own family -
and nothing over the course of the last 20 months since this story broke has fundamentally changed to prevent that.
Instead of Bob Costas taking his national platform on Jay Leno last night to speak about Joe Paterno's legacy - why not talk about how serial predatory pedophiles operate? Why not talk about the importance of teaching our kids about good touch and bad touch, the difference between secrets and surprises, that their bodies are their bodies and how no one is allowed to touch them in an inapproriate way - not mommy, not daddy, not their teacher, coach, priest, boy scout leader - not anyone? Why not use his platform to educate the public about how prevelant child sexual abuse is in our culture:
In the Catholic Church
In the Boy Scouts of America
In the Jewish Communities
In India
In Europe
Across the United States
Why didn't Bob Costas take his time to help millions of future children be more secure in their futures rather than try to restore the legacy of a man who was blessed in so many ways?
It has been said that Joe Paterno didn't care about his legacy or what happened to him, that he would be okay. He purportedly always showed concern for others. Let's take that lesson from Mr. Paterno. Today, there are kids who are being sexually abused - in their own homes, in their churches, in their boy scout troops, in their schools. Let our concern be for their safety -
Can't we talk about that?
Look, I don't think Joe Paterno did any more or any less than most people would have done or (in my case) has done when faced with a similar situation.
But don't we want to change that for our future children? Aren't they worth that?