Probably the most out of touch comment I've read on the Penn State riot
And surprisingly (or not, to some) it comes from Michael Schur (creator of FireJoeMorgan.com and Parks and Recreation (which I think is the best show on TV)).
Yes, of course! If only this cohort of bored, likely intoxicated 18-22 year olds had kids, then they wouldn't be rioting. Somebody get these students some babies!
/takes off sarcasm hat
Seriously, when I saw this on my Twitter feed I assumed it was from Bill Simmons because its explanation was equal parts: facile, smug, and wrong. (Yes I follow both Simmons and Schur on Twitter. It's because I'm jealous of their success, you see.) As I hinted at in the insultingly sarcastic chapter of my tweet criticism, I think most people would agree with me when I say that this protest, if it can be called that, has nothing to do with PSU students' inability to empathize with the victims' parents. What it's really about is that college students do stupid shit, and football fans are the most irrational assholes in the country. The fact that the student body used Paterno's early dismissal as an excuse for mayhem and wanton destruction is probably the least surprising thing about this whole mess.
Furthermore, I think Schur's argument is weak because it'd probably take about 5 minutes of canvasing State College, PA before you found some lifelong PSU fan with kids who said something like "Joe Pa deserved better!" Maybe I'm wrong on that count, but look at this past Sunday Night Football game. 65,000 fans cheered on Ben Roethlisberger as if he were a conquering hero. Would you really want to a wager that they were only able to palate Big Ben, an alleged rapist, because none of them had ever had a mom, sister, or daughter? Would you want to bet that no one at Lincoln Financial Field had ever owned dog? Probably not. So let's chalk this one up to PSU students being shit heads and not a generalization about the childless's inability to comprehend the gravity of child rape.
4 comments:
The most out of touch comments have been made by those connected with PSU, including the students that support him.
So....it's wrong for a 60-year-old man to be balls deep in a 10-year-old? Glad I read KT's Tweet. Thanks!
[full disclosure: no kids.]
While there is a certain similarity between the roethlisberger situation and that of the Penn State scandal, the visceral reaction that parents have to the idea of hurting children is undeniable and significantly stronger than the instinct to protect any adult, even a loved one. What Mr Schur (i.e. KT) was pointing out is that a parent cannot abide by the idea of a child being violated especially sexually. Im sure that there are irrational people,as Jack correctly points out, who will stubbornly defend Paterno, but that will be under the rubric of disbelief of the apathy towards evil that is being attached to his reputation. Surely, Ken was referencing those poor souls who will justify and rationalize, few if any of whom will be parents.
Doesn't Franco Harris have kids?
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