h/t Angry Black Lady Chronicles (via Angry Little Girls)
I don’t know about YOU, but I’ve got OWS Fatigue, thanks to the media going full tilt on it. Overkill, overdone, over IT. Stick a fork in it a serve it up Thursday, I say.
Now what’s going on at Penn State and the rest of central Pennsylvania, THAT I can get some outrage mustered over. Especially considering that the first victim to come forward has had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because his fellow students were bullying & threatening him.
Victim One, the first known alleged victim of abuse by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because of bullying, his counselor said Sunday.
Officials at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County weren’t providing guidance for fellow students, who were reacting badly about Joe Paterno’s firing and blaming the 17-year-old, said Mike Gillum, the psychologist helping his family. Those officials were unavailable for comment this weekend.The name-calling and verbal threats were just too much, he said.
This answers the age old question of why victims are reluctant to report, especially when sex crimes are involved: because they are relentlessly harassed if they do. I want to know where the school administrators were during all of this, and what steps they are taking now. Names should be taken and more heads should roll.
There’s some good news, though. Penn State is throwing its weight behind an independent investigation of the University’s actions in the case, going all the way back to 1975. They’ve hired Louis Freeh to head the investigation.
Louis Freeh, former FBI director, will lead an independent investigation into the details of the sex abuse case involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
…
The time frame of the investigation could go back to 1975, Freeh said, two years before Sandusky started his Second Mile charity to help at-risk children. According to the grand jury report, all of the alleged victims met Sandusky through the Second Mile.
“We’re not conducting a criminal investigation,” Freeh said. “If we find or run across any evidence of criminality, we will report that immediately. We will ask criminal investigators for their help.”
In addition, Second Mile is considering its next steps, which include closing down the organization entirely.
“Because the focus of our organization is on the children, The Second Mile is currently exploring three options: (1) restructuring the organization and keeping its programs going, even if it means doing so at a reduced level of service and funding, (2) maintaining the programs by transferring them to other organizations or (3) not continuing,” the statement said.
“Our primary goal is to sustain the programs for the sake of the kids.”
…
About a quarter of the 32-member board has quit since the charges against Sandusky were announced on November 5, the source said.
That’s a lot of board members resigning…
And finally, wrapping it up, Penn State stares down the barrel of a series of expected civil lawsuits:
The university is vulnerable because the investigation suggests it knew that Mr. Sandusky was suspected of preying on children and did little to stop it. But Penn State faces a dilemma: some of the options available to it as it considers a legal defense could have negative repercussions on its reputation.
Given the growing number of plaintiffs, the alleged cover-up described in the grand jury report, and possible civil rights violations that might push some lawsuits to federal court, the legal picture for the university is expected to get very messy, very fast.
You know how I feel about that: Good. These things never change unless significant amounts of cash are at stake–and lost.
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