Wednesday, January 25, 2012
JoePa, one more time
Joe Paterno gets laid to rest today. To acknowledge the complexity of a story about a man whose life was defined by 80 years of amazing accomplishments but clouded by two months of devastating humiliation, I'm re-posting Monday's thoughts on JoePa and the community that has ebbed and flowed in his support since the Sandusky allegations were revealed. Just click here.
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I thought of the original posting of this blog post the other night when walking to my car. I passed a man lying in the street and didn't know if he was hurt, ill or drunk. I awakened him and got him to speak a little and still wasn't quite sure what was wrong with him but was assured by another passerby that it was okay to leave him there. It was implied that he was drunk and there was nothing we could do for him.
ReplyDeleteThe assurance I received from the passerby was enough to allow myself to leave the situation and feel as though I had tried to help ans had done something. Afterward it made me think of Joe Paterno. In his situation he had alerted his superiors and expected them to handle the situation. Although there is a huge difference between a drunk man in the street and a child being harmed by another adult, it made me think about what we owe to others in need and how far we can be expected by ourselves and others to aid in a situation not of our making. It allowed me a small amount of sympathy for Joe Paterno whereas up until then I had none.
What a great story. When you're IN THAT MOMENT, it's a different experience than when you hear about that story hours or days or even years later and think you would act differently or judge someone for what s/he did or didn't do. Thanks for sharing.
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