And please dont assume my motives for asking questions. I think Paterno is neither God nor Satan.
2001:
THE BLUE & WHITE SOCIETY ADOPTS KIDS FOR A DAY OF FUN
The Blue & White Society, the student constituency of the Penn State Alumni Association, will will adopt 40 “little lions” from Jerry Sandusky’s Second Mile foster children program and treat them to a day of fun that will culminate in a Lions’ basketball game at the Bryce Jordan Center. Two groups of 20 youth from the Second Mile program will attend one of the following games: The Lions vs. Purdue on Saturday, Feb. 17, or the Lady Lions vs. Michigan on February 25. A pre-game party before each game, organized by the Blue & White Society, will feature the cheerleaders, a variety of games and activities, and an opportunity to meet the famous Lion. For more Alumni news, go to http://www.alumni.psu.edu
No, it's a good Q.
The "so what" is that then what Paterno heard from McQueary that first Sat. in March, 2002...wasn't any huge surprise to him.
Already the report was credible from a credible person. Obviously, Paterno gave it credibility; otherwise he would have just told him to go meet with his superiors himself. Instead, Paterno met with them FIRST.
When you get confirmation that you have a pedophile spanning four years of such gut-wrenching actions...that would suggest he needs to be stopped.
Arrested.
Kept away from kids @ kids' camps @ State College, Erie & Harrisburg -- all run by Sandusky.
Does Paterno elevate his sense of Sandusky as a threat?
We don't know. The answer is probably for the rest of that winter of 2002 into the Spring and perhaps Summer & Fall of 2002.
At some point, he knew Sandusky wasn't arrested.
At some point, he knew McQueary have never been interviewed.
AT some point, he knew the admins had stonewalled the report.
Yet for whatever reasons, Paterno dropped the perceived threat level Sandusky posed to kids.
That's why the columnist of this thread wrote: "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more," Paterno said in a statement. That's pathetic. You need hindsight to tell you that you must do whatever you can to stop a dangerous criminal?
The bottom line then of the "so what" is: I don't see how people can claim that Paterno didn't know enough of a history of Sandusky ('98 to early '02) -- and then put 2 & 2 together re: his access to 4th graders on up run thru sports camps throughout the state.
Those sports camps weren't hidden obscure camps.
Paterno needed to do whatever it took to at least get Sandusky arrested/investigated by local authorities. It's not as if he was a local man with little influence.