Playing devil's advocate...ten comments on this Sandusky situation

I don't proclaim to know anything more about this situation than anybody else. I only know what I've read. And, I guess this is more a reaction to the reactions I've seen from the angry mob.

1. Why isn't anybody calling for the head of the PSU grad student that witnessed the Sandusky incident and only 'reported up?' Or the janitor? Or the wrestling coach? Anyone along that line could've easily called the cops. But, all of them felt that reporting it up the chain was the correct thing to do.
2. There are lots of reasons JoePa should hang it up, but 'reporting up' as prescribed isn't one. He reported it the next day, and the grad assistant detailed what he saw to university officials.
3. It's in the hands of the law, give the torches and angry town folk a night off. The facts will emerge with or without your angry chorus for any name you know from PSU to be stoned to death. I know it's all the rage to be part of an angry mob online and topple villages, but the process is in motion.
4. Sandusky was removed from the football program as well as any campus-related activities involving children once Paterno was alleged to have been made aware.
5. The people who should've acted, but did not have been removed once it came to light that they acted dishonestly. If it comes to be that others were aware and aided in a cover up, they too should be dealt with.
6. Should Sandusky prove to be guilty, he should, and will be dealt with aggressively.
7. Should the officials that acted dishonestly prove to have obstructed legal process or enabled the continuation of these alleged acts, they will be held accountable as a party to the crime.
8. Large institutions have lots of people--some good, some bad. A lot of good people work at PSU and most have good intentions. Let's remove the infected appendix without killing the patient.
9. Second Mile has publicly known of accusations against Sandusky since 2002, but he still had unsupervised access to kids through that program, leading to at least the 2005 incident. He wasn't restricted in access until 2008 and wasn't removed from the org until 2010. Why isn't there an angry mob darkening their towers?
10. People can only operate on the information they are given. How many of you would be surprised that a co-worker beat their kids or kept bodies in their refrigerators, but acted and functioned normal at work? I don't pry into the personal life of my co workers. And in a large institution, it's easy to see how bad seeds could be under your nose without ever knowing.

Bottom line, a lot of good goes on at Penn State. Like any large institution, there are good and bad people. All indications are that the issues are caused by individuals, not the institution. The bad people should be dealt with appropriately. It is the job of the institution to fix the situation, remedy what it can and restore its greatness. This is in the works regardless of rallies to throw the babies out with the bath water. Still have extra energy, focus on the victims, donate to programs, learn from the situation and be vigilant.

Monday Morning Hipsters

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"Omigod, I can just imagine the dread of people discussing a current event that they all shared interest in last night. How dreadful and unoriginal," drone all the hipsters after any disappointing loss around Pittsburgh. "It's just like that time I predicted those people would cry at that funeral. How mundane." 

When you're from Pittsburgh, it is culturally significant to be passionate about your football teams--and sports in general. You are not promoted up the food chain in any way by hipishly pulling a finger from your mocha espresso to point accusingly at people discussing a significant community event. 

Of course, in pointing this out, I've indirectly created a third level of meta-cool-hipster that points out how cool I am by blogging about hipsters that are so cool that they've pointed out that people are going to talk about a major sporting event the day after it happens. It may well tear a hole in the time-space continuum, but I digress.

Pittsburgh is a community that had its industrial rug and heart ripped out from under it at just about the time two major, local sports teams were emerging. The City of Champions was a fine hook to hang our hats on while the rest of our lives were hurting. And, true to our nature, Pittsburghers are industrious and helpful. We do not simply moan and say there's a problem. We try to identify a way to fix it -- often mixed with the passion we have for our sporting programs. 

Sure, there are different plays, players, aspects and influences that stand out in the minds of people with varying levels of understanding of the sport, but the bottom line is that when a loss occurs there is something wrong with something Pittsburghers care deeply about, and therefore, we're trying to do something about it. It's like seeing the potential in your kid and pointing out behaviors that can help or hurt progress.

There's not a formula, there's a consensus on the pathway to progress. Consensus is built through trial and error and cultural exchange of ideas and opinions. People rise to new heights and levels of understanding though studying these exchanges. Some are happy to yell it out on the sidelines or at their TV's. Some discuss it among their friends. Some hone it into a skill that enables them to write and discuss it through a medium. Some take it to a level where they are professionals, coaches and advisors. But, it all starts in the examination of what works and what doesn't.

So, it's funny to see the hipsters don their evolved, original analytic cap and braggishly post to their social media commoners how boorish it will be to hear people be upset about a passionate loss. And, it's twice as funny to hear sports media personalities don their hipster high horse saddles.

That's why sports talk shows exist--as a forum for these passionate sports fan folk. Without these folks, the show hosts wouldn't have a forum nor the access that gives them the shard of increased knowledge they're given by having access to the them--to share with their audience.

But, in all honestly, if this level of access or their access to a medium made them any more knowledgeable than the rest of the people discussing it, they'd be coaching or rich by cashing in at a Vegas sports book.

And, the hipsters that sneeringly scoff at the differing perspectives of analysis, well, I'm sure that's just one of many instances in their lives where they blame their lack of belonging or contributing to the community on their evolution in originality. 

 

They're Everywhere: People and Plates from Out of State

Something interesting is afoot around Pittsburgh. It might not be obvious if you're walking around, looking about town. But, hop in your car and travel about the airport corridor. Look at the cars around you. Look at the licence plates. Specifically, look at the states of the plates around you. There are suddenly a lot of out-of-state people coming to Pittsburgh.  

Like most kids, I grew up playing the licence plate game on trips. Playing the license plate game always had to be on trips, because, at the time I was growing up, people were leaving the area--not coming here. 

Around here, it was always just PA plates and you'd have to hope for the occasional over-the-road truck passing through with an out-of-state plate. As a result, punch bugs, counting cows or cemetaries had to suffice for trips within the area. 

But, that has seemingly changed recently. Even on my 30 minute commute, it's nothing for me to see license plates from 15 states, which is awesome. It means people are coming to Pittsburgh from other places. And, it's not just people passing through. These are people here daily for the business commute. 

Maybe it's a result of more movies being filmed in town. Maybe it's because Pittsburgh is continuously voted a most-livable city. Maybe it's because our property is relatively inexpensive, stable and spacious. Maybe it's the emerging green living trend here in Pittsburgh. Maybe some of it is rental car traffic through the airport. But, popular consensus seems to be that a lot of these people are here to work.

People are coming to Pittsburgh to work for Google or CMU. People are coming to Pittsburgh to work in medical research. People are coming to Pittsburgh to work in the natural gas drilling boom that's happening in the area. Jobs are bringing people to Pittsburgh. That's something I haven't seen most of my life. 

It's been more than a couple of generations since Pittsburgh was stood on its head by unemployment from the fall of the industrial age. There's a reason that Steelers fans are everywhere. It's not just because they're an honorable, winning franchise. It's because Pittsburghers were scattered about the nation in search of work after our industrial heritage became passe. 

So, to see people coming to the area--in some cases, coming BACK to the area, is fantastic. It's validation that Pittsburgh has turned the corner and is returning to its prominance as more than a place to visit--it's a great place to live. Take a look the next time you're out and about. See how many plates you see representing people coming to our area. 

Life Axiom: All the Drama

• Life Axiom: A person uttering the phrase, "I'm done with all the drama," is positively correlated to being a contributing factor in said drama.
  • Add the word SO to that phrase, "I'm SO done with all the drama" and they're defnitiely the source of said drama.

Can I Kindly Choke to Myself?!

Nope, this isn't a blog about those winter flu, germ spraying circus seals that spread their funk about without a thought about covering their mouths. This isn't as serious as a drunken Republican lodging a pretzel in his throat in the recesses of the White House on NFL Sunday. This one's about me. Sitting by myself, at a restaurant, as I try to hide the fact that I've sucked a hunk of Arby down the wrong pipe like a pigeon into a jet engine. *HOOOARK* 

You know how it goes, I'm sitting there at lunch and paying attention to just about everything except the food going in my mouth. Reading sports scores, Tweeting about the food I should be paying attention to and *thunk* I have the Augustus Gloop of Arby bun inhaled into my windpipe. 

I can breathe. It's not heimlich worthy, but it's kind of quiet around, I'm in a visible seat and I don't want to make a production.

If anybody was looking, they probably saw me failing to be subtle about aggressively mouth breathing like the big, bad wolf prepping to blow down a multi-story steel structure. But, let's assume that wasn't the only symptom of my predicament. 

Apparently Arby's sauce, while innocuous in flavor, becomes rather spicy when creeping about your lung corpuscles. So, my eyes start watering like a colicky baby. That, of course, inspires a watery nose, which is hard to battle when you lack the wind to suck it in, or blow it out, as well as the long sleeves to go all third-grade smear tactic. (on a completely unrelated topic, I'm going to recommend against ever Googling images for scorching hot sauce without safe search on. MY GOD, who knew!?) 

But, back to me. I've got it together. I'm pretending to actively read my Twitter stream and not scream out the Yetti call that would easily dislodge the mishap. So, I'm subtly grunting like something that would be a great hit among the Tuvan throat singing crowd. At the same time I'm looking around to see if anybody is noticing. 

Well, nothing gets people to notice something meant to go unnoticed like looking around to see if anybody's looking. Dude in the booth adjacent to mine whispers to his wife, then subtly gives me the raised eyebrow, like, "you going to live man?"  I gave him the little wave, letting him know I'm a jackass and forgot how to eat, but I'll make it. He gives me the nod, chuckles and whispers it back to his wife, who has to look.

I'm pretty sure that attracted a few more looks as well. But, I hunkered down for the most intense 140-character reading session I could muster while trying to dislodge a flaming Pinto from my windpipe. 

Eventually I quietly rattled things loose enough to get me through my meal and wind service returned to normal. But, all wasn't clear yet, that is, until I got into the parking lot and finally let out that Yetti cry that sent Augustus Gloop flying from the pipes. I'm pretty sure I heard bigfoot return the call in the distance when, the guy from the restaurant emerged again and gave me the look. I, again, gave him the wave, and said, better now! He chuckled. 

 

Scrabble Players Needed for Charity Tournament

So, you think you're the best at Words With Friends, how about trying your skills against others in a Scrabble tournament to benefit Adult Literacy Action Penn State Beaver? 

Adult Literacy Action is hosting its Second Annual Scrabble Tournament at the Beaver Valley Mall on October 20. I'd like to encourage you to participate. If you're an experienced player--or even a beginner, it's for a great cause. 

Adult Literacy Action is a non-profit organization that depends on the generocity and community involvement to provide service within Beaver County. For more than 30 years, Adult Literacy Action has actively promoted a literate Beaver County by offering free adult education in reading, writing, math, GED preparation, distance learning, English for Speakers of Other Languages, workforce education and family literacy. Last year, volunteer tutors and Adult Literacy instructors served over 800 adults at libraries and learning centers throughout Beaver County. 

In these tight financial times, more people need these services than ever before and your Scrabble Tournament entry of $25 will go further to help Beaver County.

Here's your chance to show off your skills:

When:   Thursday, October 20, 2011
Time:    5:30 - 8:30 PM (tournament begins at 6:00 PM)
Where:  Beaver Valley Mall --- Center of the Mall
RSVP:  Call 724.773.7810 to Enter Today 

Jesus Google! Really?! Sometimes suggestions are helpful, then other times there's this?.