Cowardly Joe

    When Joe Paterno passed on Sunday I felt a twinge of empathy.  Hold on, put your torches down.  I felt empathy for his kids, having lost my own mother almost two years ago.  There's nothing worse than watching helplessly as a parent slips away.  I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.  Hearing the reports of Paterno dying, I was taken back to a snowy Sunday morning in December; the day that my siblings and I tried to come to terms with the loss of our mother and the anchor of our family.  My own feelings of loss aside, my empathy for Joe Paterno goes no further than that.  I don't want to hear that he was there for his kids and his university.  Oh, he was there for his kids; the ones that made him the king of the college gridiron.  Oh he was there for his kids alright; the ones that made him the most powerful man in Pennsylvania.  The problem is, Joe Paterno wasn't there for the kids that didn't make his pockets fuller.  The problem is, he didn't give a damn about the kids that didn't help contribute to his ever growing power base.  I'm tired of the news outlets painting Paterno as a victim of circumstance.  His sins were self inflicted, he chose to be a coward.  For his cowardice, he was dismissed from his position of power.  Period.  End of story.  ESPN can throw its boquets at Paterno and everyone can pretend that his 409 wins hold water but here's the reality; they don't mean a damn thing to those kids that Joe Paterno failed to protect.  Paterno's 409 wins mean absolutely nothing to those boys who will be scarred for the rest of the lives because Joe Paterno was too busy protecting his empire.  It infuriates me when I hear stories about the sycophants in Happy Valley sweeping snow from uncle Joe's statue.  You know who are.  You're the ones with tears in your eyes.  You're the ones blathering on about how your so called Messiah did all that he could.  You know what you hero became at the end PSU nation?  He became a bewildered politician passing the buck.  Pennsylvania's feel good folk hero was nothing more than a self preservationist who chose the path of obliviousness.  Paterno chose to be oblivious when children were being victimized and needed him the most.  This is what you're mourning Penn State Nation, a selfish little man who chose the path of self preservation.  That's why he was fired, stop deluding yourself Penn State nation.  To the Paterno family, I offer my sympathies for your loss.  Let me say this though.  I hope, that when Paterno closed his eyes for the last time, he was haunted by the images of all those kids that he betrayed.