One of the primary reasons I decided to go into social work
was to find an outlet for my unwavering, sometimes inappropriate empathy. I
have the ability to empathize with the “worst” of individuals—I won’t make a
list of who, but there’s something about people doing terrible things that
pulls at my heartstrings. How did they get to that point? How much hurt must
they be experiencing to want to hurt others so badly?
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| From Deadspin.com |
But sometimes my empathy is tested. This tends to happen
most often when you throw privilege into the mix. Enter Penn State and the
protests against the firing of Joe Paterno. Deadspin posted aslideshow of the “bros” long faces, highlighting that these kids are taking
this seriously. Try as I might, I cannot take them seriously in return. A quick
look through of the slideshow features, as a friend pointed out, primarily cis
gendered white men. I’m assuming, and this is certainly an assumption, most of
them are heterosexual. This is the
battle they choose to fight. Nevermind the fact that there is actual Occupy Penn State action
being organized, these kids decided the best thing to do was to protest against
the justified firing of someone who turned a blind eye to children being
abused.
I’m not saying that Paterno is the worst human being alive.
I think Paterno was, however, acting to his own self-interest and to the
interest of the Penn State community (or at least, the reputation or what he
considered the interest of the Penn State community). However, it is my belief
that fighting against child abuse and potentially preventing more children from
abuse is worth some tarnishment to your reputation—a tarnishment that would
have been much lighter than what he has to face now.
It’s also important to consider how this scandal would
affect the survivors of Sandusky. Survivors of sexual assault often turn blame
inward. Seeing the media portrayal of a school so upset over the firing of
Paterno could potentially negatively affect these survivors. I can only imagine
what would be going through their head—if only I hadn’t been there for Sandusky
to abuse me, perhaps this trouble wouldn’t be happening. I hope, rather, that
they are able to see what is happening as an example of why they are not at
fault. The exposure of Sandusky and Paterno’s tight knit hold on the Penn State
administration and the fact that there are several survivors may help the
survivors conceptualize the severity of the situation and how out of their own
control it really was.
But I can only hope. And as angry as I am at the Penn State
protestors, I think it’s taking attention away from who the real victims are in
this situation. It’s not these bro dawgs who are sad about losing their
football coach. It’s the people who were severely and maliciously abused by
Sandusky. There's some reasonable students at Penn State, fortunately, as seen in videos posted by Colorlines. I hope that while I can’t find
empathy for them, that those protestors can find empathy for the survivors.
