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Strong opinions continue to swirl through Happy Valley following recent events uncovered at Penn State. Former assistant head coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested earlier this month, charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys in and out of the Penn State locker room over a 15-year period. [Click to view our Paterno Scandal cartoon slideshow]
Our own Mike Keefe, staff cartoonist for The Denver Post, drew this tough cartoon in response to students rallying to support long-time football coach Joe Paterno, who was fired for allegedly covering up for Sandusky.
It ran in The Daily Collegian, Penn State's student paper, where some of the students at the epi-center of this horrible news story are calling the cartoon insensitive.
What do you think of the cartoon? Is it appropriately tough for such a terrible story, or simply insensitive to everyone involved?
Leave a Comment:
Sheesh. I've got mixed feelings. One, it does drive home the point that the children are the ones who are injured here. I am a bit concerned about the effect these children, some now adults, will feel from this though. I'm going to have to come down on the side of the children/now adults on this one, their feelings should be considered above all else. Too late though, isn't it? Cartoon's already out.
I'm with iggie75....I'm mixed about this cartoon....but that might be the intended purpose...it is supposed to make us feel uncomfortable. I was outraged when I saw all of rioting for the firing of JoPa....but saw nothing that supported the victims of this case. This cartoon reminds us of the true victims of this case and where our support should be towards.
You saw NOTHING that supported the victims???
Thats because news stations only covered 10 seconds of the PENN STATE student body Plus other holding a candlelight vigil for the victims.
They SHOULD NOT have fired Joe...But I understand the university did what they had to do....SANDUSKY is the monster here...but the news reporting of this is putting JoePa in all the news to draw attention to this. YES it"s a horrible thing that happened..... If you were only paying half assed attention to this, you would think that JoePa did the horrible things...HE didn"t - Sandusky did. I can"t stand it when sports news casters and other say..."You have to give Sandusky his day in court...But everyone already lynched Joepa...PATHETIC!!!!!!
It took a few days for things to calm down at Penn State and for people to finally get a clue! And yes...you finally did see action and sympathy towards the victims...but the very first thing you saw was the anger and the rioting of JoePa's firing. And he deserved to be fired. He might have done legally on what he was supposed to do by telling the assistant to report it to the athletic director. But after that...he did NOTHING! No report to the police, no follow up, no questioning whether this monster should be near kids...all they did was take some keys away. Yes, I agree Sandusky is the monster in this story. But JoePa had a moral obligation to...at the very least...follow up on what happened. Instead he was a participant....one of many....who did everything they could to cover this mess up. And for ALL of the people responsible for the cover up...they deserve to be fired....including JoePa.
THIS IS DESPICABLE!!!! I think of my son sitting there...
Jen123456789 - If it made you think of your son then the artist got his point across.
It made me think of my husband as well as myself. When you know that wrong has been done you just DO NOT protect people who sexually abuse others.
I agree... the cartoonist is making a very powerful and important point. As a man who was sexually assaulted as a child, I know that those boys are feeling incredibly isolated, pressured, stressed, and responsible. Every rioting or rallying student tells the boys who were victims that they shouldn't speak up or tell, that it will just stir things up. Better just to hide and maintain the secrecy. Same message goes out to all boys and men who were victims of child sexual abuse. If there are any consequences for the powerful, people will rally around the powerful, rather than the victims.
I think if this was an art piece done by one of the victims, in the voice of the victims, it would be one thing, but I feel like this is too much too soon. But, yes, as iggie75 says, too late now! But on another note, there needs to be a bit of clarification. Yes, there was an alleged cover up, but primarily, Joe Pa was fired amid angry assumptions that he did not do enough to ensure that when he reported the accusations the proper protocol and repercussions were taken, not that he tried to cover anything up. Curley and Shultz, on the other hand, are the ones that have been accused of trying to cover it up. They are the ones who are being indicted for perjury and not reporting.
Jen: No, it's not "too much too soon." What was "too much" was the rally in support of the coach, and this should be pasted on the locker of everyone who attended that rally. Paterno (I think "JoPa" is a rdiculous nickname) should have called in Sandusky and the grad assistant who found him raping the boy and asked what the hell was going on--and them report it. That would have been to proper thing to do. If this had been a university biology professor we wouldn't have heard about the case at all. The fact that it's linked to a ridiculous, useless game like football is the only reason it's gotten any traction.
Anyone who supports Paterno or anyone else that covered this disgrace up deserves to be made fun of. What kind of a human being sees a child being raped and molested and doesn't do something? That person only allows it to continue and says to the world it's ok. He deserves much more than being fired. He belongs in jail and deserves to be labeled as a child abuser himself. Same as a mother that sees the father abusing their child and does nothing. I can only pray the families of the children abused file a class action law suit against Penn State and all those that covered this up! To the families, you have my complete and full support and my heart.
knock it off!!! You act like your better than eveyone else...you have ALL the answers, don"t you????
All I hear is JoePa this and Joepa that.......What about everyone else up the chain of command????
Say JoePa would have went to the cops and AGAIN during the investigation, they didn"t find anything....SANDUSKY would have sued PENN STATE big time for defamation of character. Besides...JoePa NEVER SAW the action...MCQUERRY (spelling not sure of) did...wheres all the outrage for McQuerry??????
You can't sue somebody for reporting an alleged crime to the authorities.
It's not the cartoon that concerns me. That protrays, in a very poignant way, the lonliness of a child (adolescent/teenager/young adult) that has been mollested in this way. It is the caption that I think is wrong. Surely, a better caption could be put with this drawing that is not trying to come across in a off color style of humor as this one hits the reader. While I don't know if the editorial cartoonist meant for the caption to come across the way it is coming across, it is never the less extremely insensitive to the situation.
Although we ALL feel that Joe Paterno shoulders blame for his staff, past & present, we cannot forget the children that were sexually abused and just shoved aside. I BELIEVE that Penn State has done the RIGHT THING - FINALLY.... by getting rid of Joe and the rest of "the staff" and having said that I DON'T believe that the world should be allowed to sweep his ability to coach Penn State for 46 YEARS by removing his name from trophies, signs, etc. He EARNED his place on those trophies and erasing them will not take away the memories - good or bad!!
It's the right level of 'disturbing' as the subject of the cartoon is injured as the rest of us go about our (sometimes) gleeful lives. Remember the images from the killing fields of Cambodia? Good pictures or cartoons aren't always funny, they are sometimes a very pointed message.
This cartoon wasn't meant to be funny or insensitive. The artist got his point across...just sick! I can't understand why people would support this man?
A good artist ...yes..got the point across...IT IS SICK!
There has been far to much irresponsibility all around. It appears that those involved have now been forced to address the issues.There is pain on all sides and many people,the innocent and the guilty, will continue to suffer. Lives have been destroyed,the image of a great university has been damaged,perhaps beyound repair. Let it alone.Let those who are now in charge lead this through the proper channels. The less said from here forward the better.
I think we are all forgetting that the real criminal here is Jerry Sandusky and the administration at Penn State who did not report what Paterno had reported to them. It is so much easier to tear down an icon than to make news out of people who's names are not famous. Did Paterno do anything wrong? Isn't that for a judge and jury to decide?
All that aside, it is easy to forget that the real victims are the children who were abused and molested. While the cartoonist does make that point, I think that scandalizing a man who's involvement in the crime is reportedly peripheral is an other example of media caring more about scandal and less about reporting facts.
EXACTLY!!! Couldn't have said it better!!!!
Yes...Sandusky is the real criminal behind this case.....but so are all the other players that were responsible for the cover up. Whether you like it or not wildturkeyman....JoePa WAS a participant in that cover up! And thus DESERVED to be fired!
I was molested at age 11 by a high school teacher in my community. I wish there had been witnesses who could have saved me from what happened as I am sure the kids who were molested at Penn State must have felt as well. Children crave the attention and approval of adults and can not be expected to speak up for themselves when this happens to them. I feel that Paterno should have gone to the police if he truly did know what was happening. Perhaps it will all come out in court.
For the record, my molester did not identify as a gay man. I suspect that this fellow at PSU doesn't either. There is an important lesson here for American society. Do not demonize the "others" who you would expect to pin this on. It is the guy who slips under your radar that you have to fear. Most male molesters of children are heterosexual as would make sense in a world where most people are heterosexual. Please do not confuse child molestation with sexuality. This is perversion and the perpetrators need to be treated as accused criminals, given their day in court and imprisoned if they are guilty.
Are you saying the cartoon is despicable? If so, I disagree. What happened to those boys is despicable. Pointing out that the victims are the people we should be thinking about - rather than rallying around the celebutard "Jo Paw" - is a good thing!
Yes, Sandusky's the great villain - but your beloved, beknighted Jo Paw had knowledge of a horrific crime against a child - and did NOTHING.
Oh, but it's the cartoon that offends us, not the act itself!
Are we so enamored with football, holy football - so bedazzled by the mythological "greatness" of its coaches and players - that we would rather turn a blind eye to a crime so horrific as this in favor of maintaining our illusory "legends?"
Now, that's despicable.
Are you saying the cartoon is despicable? If so, I disagree. What happened to those boys is despicable. Pointing out that the victims are the people we should be thinking about - rather than rallying around the celebutard "Jo Paw" - is a good thing!
Yes, Sandusky's the great villain - but your beloved, beknighted Jo Paw had knowledge of a horrific crime against a child - and did NOTHING.
Oh, but it's the cartoon that offends us, not the act itself!
Are we so enamored with football, holy football - so bedazzled by the mythological "greatness" of its coaches and players - that we would rather turn a blind eye to a crime so horrific as this in favor of maintaining our illusory "legends?"
Now, that's despicable.