Joe Paterno statue taken down

The Joe Paterno statue was removed Sunday morning from its pedestal outside Beaver Stadium, and it will be stored in an unnamed "secure location," Penn State president Rodney Erickson announced. Erickson also said the Paterno name will remain on the university's library.

Shortly before dawn in State College, Pa., a work crew installed chain-link fences to barricade access to Porter Road outside Beaver Stadium and covered the fence with a blue tarp.

The work crew then removed the 7-foot, 900-pound bronze statue by forklift and placed it into the lower level of the stadium. Erickson released his highly sensitive decision to the public at 7 a.m. ET Sunday.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8188530/joe-paterno-statue-removed-penn-state-university-crew-site

I think this was the right thing to do. It would have just been a constant reminder and polarizing symbol for the university. Eventually, hopefully everyone will be able to heal and move on and I feel this should help in the long-term.

I'm glad it's gone. There was really only one argument that I could've agreed with for leaving it up: to leave it as a reminder of what happened so that nobody will ever forget.

You know, I was afraid to open this post (I'm serious). I was afraid that I might find what I had found on another site -- a comment
that made me want to cry and made me sick in my stomach. A woman that posts on FB (Woodley's site) replied to Wood's question should Joe Pa's statue be taken down or not. Here is what she said: He and the administration of Penn made a small mistake. Paterno was the best coach in all of football. It should never be taken down.

The problem I have with this? One SMALL mistake. I'm still shaking my head. Enabling and ignoring a child molester who preyed upon and terrified young boys -- a SMALL mistake. I don't have a problem with anyone's opinion on whether or not Joe PA should be removed, it was the comment/attitude of "one SMALL mistake" that made me ill. I clicked her name and there she is posing with her daughter on her daughter's graduation day. I can't help but wonder if she would have looked the other way if her daughter was raped as a child and someone knew but did nothing to stop it.

Seriously --- sometimes I think the human race is a cesspool.

Gingerchip wrote:

The problem I have with this? One SMALL mistake. I'm still shaking my head. Enabling and ignoring a child molester who preyed upon and terrified young boys -- a SMALL mistake.

It was more than a small mistake. Any crime of that nature has got to be reported "IMMEDIATELY"! There are two things in this American Justice System you don't mess with.
1. Our Children
2. Our Elderly

Kornbread wrote:

Gingerchip wrote:

The problem I have with this? One SMALL mistake. I'm still shaking my head. Enabling and ignoring a child molester who preyed upon and terrified young boys -- a SMALL mistake.

It was more than a small mistake. Any crime of that nature has got to be reported "IMMEDIATELY"! There are two things in this American Justice System you don't mess with.
1. Our Children
2. Our Elderly

I'd argue that you don't mess with people in general, no matter what their age, sex, race, etc.