Paterno asked to step down after comments about FSU LB

[RhodeIslandRed]

Who's organization looks like a fool NOW? Maybe that NOW spokeswoman needs to resign....

 

[TommyMac]

I'm really surprised that NOW had the gonads to take on JoPa. Those gals really sacked up. :eek2:

 

[stlimprov]

I think that this thread just goes to prove that when asked to comment on sexual assault it is very easy to say things that are appalling.

 

[IH8Orange]

I think that this thread just goes to prove that when asked to comment on sexual assault it is very easy to say things that are appalling.

It's pretty appalling that some people in this country think that people should be fired for unintentionally making a single remark that might be construed by SOME as insensitive.

EVERYONE, even including Ms. Hyphenated-Name, will make a statement that unintentionally hurts someone else or a group of people at some point in their life. It's not as if there is a pattern of malicious speech over a long period of time. This seems to be a single incident. Is it just to take away everything for which they have worked over a single injudicious remark?

Of course not. That is utterly ridiculous to ANYONE with one ounce of decency or a sense of justice. It's no more sensible to say that Paterno deserves to be fired over a single callous remark than to say that a girl deserves to be attacked because she went to someone's room at a certain time of night. Both are inane and contemptible.

It is episodes such as this that have made so many organizations laughable in the eyes of society. Seemingly anything that a public official says is going to offend someone and some lunatic-fringe group will be calling for their head to roll. It's as predictable and taken-for-granted as the sun rising in the east.

 

[stlimprov]

That we cannot get through this thread without suggesting, e.g., that women who raise issues about rape and sexual assault do so only because they are ugly and, by extention, angry that no one would rape them suggests that her point was one that is not irrelevant to our society.

I think her tactics are melodramatic and counterproductive. But maybe she's willing to pay the price of people thinking she's silly in order to get people thinking about the issue. Maybe that's what she thinks it takes. I think it's unfortunate that she might be right about that.

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

That we cannot get through this thread without suggesting, e.g., that women who raise issues about rape and sexual assault do so only because they are ugly and, by extention, angry that no one would rape them suggests that her point was one that is not irrelevant to our society.

I think her tactics are melodramatic and counterproductive. But maybe she's willing to pay the price of people thinking she's silly in order to get people thinking about the issue. Maybe that's what she thinks it takes. I think it's unfortunate that she might be right about that.

In describing the FSU LB situation, Joe Paterno was, merely, describing social realities, rather than condoning or making light of sexual assault, in general. The NOW spokesperson was upset at the comments, finding them insensitive. What I find ironic is calling on PSU to fire Joe Paterno as a result of the comments. She called on an institution to humiliate a very popular figure in PA based on a comment which was misunderstood, not meant as an insult. That is the brunt of the insensitivity. She would have received more positive light and focus on the issue of sexual assault had she said something like, "I would like to call on Mr. Paterno to clarify his comments with regards to sexual assault by football players. While I understand the social interactions between young athletes and young women may include unwelcome aggression, I don't think we wish for it to be considered acceptable behavior."

Had this discourse been pursued, PSU and Mr. Paterno would have obliged; the focus would have stayed on sexual assault; the public would have been educated; and there would be no negatively charged emotion against Joe Paterno or the NOW.

Of course, this ignores the possibility that the NOW spokeswoman may very well be a Bryn Mawr College graduate....

 

[TideFan in AU]

Hmmmm.....

This is the hag that is trying to get Joe to retire. Maybe she's tired of being told she looks like Joe. Either that, or she's disgruntled illegitimate JoeSpawn! :eek2: You decide....

Here's the NOW Website:

http://www.now.org/officers/kg.html

 

[alatider]

IMO...everyone should look at the gravity of the situation. Was his comments aimed at any one individual or were they general comments?

Did he violate a law?

Otherwise, an apology should be made.

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

IMO...everyone should look at the gravity of the situation. Was his comments aimed at any one individual or were they general comments?

Did he violate a law?

Otherwise, an apology should be made.

Here is the ESPN article quote from the initial post:

Paterno's remarks came a day before the Orange Bowl, when a reporter asked about Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who was accused of sexual assault and sent home before Tuesday's game.


Paterno replied by talking about past suspensions of Penn State players. He then added: "There's some tough -- there's so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?"


"Geez. I hope -- thank God they don't knock on my door because I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms," Paterno continued. "But that's too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He's a heck of a football player, by the way; he's a really good football player. And it's just too bad."


Tosti-Vasey issued a news release calling for Paterno to apologize and step down from the post he has held for 40 years. She sent an e-mail to Paterno and the university president the next day, but said Sunday she has not heard back from either.


"Allegations of sexual assault should never be taken lightly," the statement reads. "Making light of sexual assault sends the message that rape is something to be expected and accepted."


Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said Sunday that Paterno's comments were taken out of context. A spokeswoman at the NOW headquarters in Washington said the organization's president, Kim Gandy, supports the call for Paterno's resignation.

IMO, I don't think he was trying to be insensitive or justify the behavior of his athletes. He himself has suspended his players for this before. I think he is speaking frankly about what's going through these kids' minds. I don't think this warrants an apology, but clarification that that rape and sexual assault are unacceptable behaviors, and that he, the athletic dept, or PSU do not condone these actions.

 

[IH8Orange]

That we cannot get through this thread without suggesting, e.g., that women who raise issues about rape and sexual assault do so only because they are ugly and, by extention, angry that no one would rape them suggests that her point was one that is not irrelevant to our society.

I said that many women that are militant about SEXUAL HARASSMENT are those that would never be harassed. Hopefully, you understand the difference between harassment and assault.

I think her tactics are melodramatic and counterproductive. But maybe she's willing to pay the price of people thinking she's silly in order to get people thinking about the issue. Maybe that's what she thinks it takes. I think it's unfortunate that she might be right about that.

Then why isn't she directing her action toward the player that allegedly committed the crime instead of someone who merely commented on the issue? The fact is that she is attacking someone, whose unintentional actions do not justify the viciousness of the attack, just as an attack against an icon... an abstract that represents men... for political power gain.

While rape is usually defined in the context of a sexual assault, it is also vehemently argued by psychiatrists that rape isn't about sex at all, but about power and anger, usually against those of the opposite sex. The reason that the assault is usually sexual is because that causes so much more shame... it is an added insult to the original attack. So, the true definition of rape is not a sexual assault, but an attack against another person in order to assert power over them or as a gender-biased revenge.

Given that definition, this woman is herself the equivalent of a rapist. She's attempting to harm someone merely to gain a measure of power and revenge.

 

[BAMMAR]

Is it me or does the person in the bottom picture (in color) looks like Tom Hanks in drag (Bosom Buddies)?

 

[Littlewing]

Is it me or does the person in the bottom picture (in color) looks like Tom Hanks in drag (Bosom Buddies)?

lol