68 years old

[Are_grits_groceries]

Jerry Sandusky is 68 years old. The number of kids that he has been able to abuse is probably staggering. He was so cocooned and protected in 'Happy Valley' that it took decades for his crimes to come to light and for some justice to prevail.

The number of people who had a clue that he was up to no good is equally staggering. I hope none of them ever gets a sound night's sleep ever again. I doubt if his victims have had many restful nights.

One of the worst conseqences of this is the fact that some victims can and do become abusers themselves. An unholy cycle of horror is unleashed every time this occurs. That is the nightmarish neverending story. Unfortunately, the Brothers Grimm weren't the only ones who could write scary stories. Others can, and they are all too real.

I hope that those in power are brought to account. However, the most important lesson to be learned is that we all have a measure of power. That power is bestowed  by the truth. We all have to have the courage to speak the truth to the greater power around us.

The young men who came forward are brave beyond measure. They did not have to just face one accuser. They also had to face the opprobrium and invective of many who could not and would not even consider that there was evil within the PSU family. Like those who have accused Catholic priests, they run into a huge wall created by the power of an entire institution.

I hope all of those abused find a measure of solace no matter how small.

Dante Alighieri has the most suitable epitaph for those who were aware:
The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Oh shit, he is my age.

I hate to think I share anything with this monster.

And yes, Dante was sooooooo right.

[BlueMTexpat]

6. Hi from another 68er!

Unfortunately, Sandusky was a REALLY bad'un in the crop.

[LiberalLoner]

2. I would like to point out

That the vast majority of us who were sexually abused do NOT become abusers ourselves.

We do tend to become suicidal in much higher numbers, and some do become abusers, but most of us do not.

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. I was abused too,

and I escaped that cycle. However it does happen, and another circle of Hell is opened. I pointed that out not to damn the abused, but to highlight what I consider to be one of the most terrible results of these cases.
Lawd, I am not trying to start a fight now.

[shireen]

8. you expressed yourself very clearly

Circle of hell. I cannot begin to imagine the suffering you've had to endure but that phrase is a powerful description of it.

[LiberalLoner]

12. Oh, okay, I understand now! :) I was worried everyone thought that people like us

went on to abuse others. I didn't. In fact I resigned my commission in the Army to protect young soldiers who were being molested by an oral surgeon on post. Long story, but I ended up having to go to the press about the matter before the dentist stopped being protected by his chain of command.

Some of us become champions instead for the abused. We choose light instead of darkness. I know you chose the path of light, too.
But you have a point, some do go on to abuse others, the ones who accepted what was done to them as right and fair, tend to be the ones who go on to harm others.

[yardwork]

16. I'm not sure that there is any evidence that sexually abused children become pedophiles.

I have a feeling that this is an old idea that doesn't have any evidence behind it. Nobody knows why some people are pedophiles. Even if it could be shown that many pedophiles were abused themselves as children, that wouldn't prove that the abuse caused their pedophilia. It could be some combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors.

[LiberalLoner]

17. Thank you! Just want to make it clear, all of us who were abused DON'T become

abusers ourselves.

[yardwork]

18. Yes, that's what I'm saying.

In fact, I don't think that there is any evidence that abused people are any more likely to become abusers themselves. In fact, the opposite may well be true. In my experience, many people who were sexually abused as children shy away from any physical relationship as adults as a result of the trauma they suffered.

[LiberalLoner]

20. :)

[lunatica]

21. Most of us who were abused are the ones who react the strongest

against sexual abuse. We know what it does to our lives. It took me a very long time but I healed and can now talk about it without pain or any self hatred or self-pity but I know this isn't the case with too many victims.

Thanks for 'coming out' as it were.

[LiberalLoner]

22. Thank you for your honesty, too! :)

[Rowdyboy]

4. I am incredibly lucky in that I was never abused, either as a child or as an adult....

I think he is evil personified. I believe he will pay.

[freshwest]

5. Best thread on this so far. Bookmarking.

[shireen]

7. eloquent and thoughtful

i really like the way you write. Thank you for sharing, I could not agree more.

[B Calm]

9. Jerry Sandusky registered republican. . .

[Are_grits_groceries]

10. I don't care if he

supported the entire Democratic Party and all progressive causes, he should be gone. I'll bet that a lot of people who had a clue weren't all Republicans.

If my alma mater had done this, I swear I would want to bring down the FB stadium and all other places attached like Samson. Then I'd want to salt the earth so nothing would grow and the barren land would stand as a reminder and warning.

And this is coming from someone who dearly loves tht place. DON'T MESS WITH KIDS! EVER!

[LiberalLoner]

13. Amen to that!

[AngryOldDem]

24. So what? n/t

[malaise]

11. Good post

I do wonder how many kids he abused over all these years.

[slackmaster]

14. Well said.

[Spazito]

15. Excellent OP...

I, too, hope all of those abused find a measure of solace no matter how small.

Well said.

[coalition_unwilling]

19. I can think of nothing to add, other than a solemn "Well said." - n/t

[AngryOldDem]

23. I've known some abuse survivors...

...and they are fervently committed to not letting this happen to another child. Their attitude is, "It happened to me, and I'll be damned if I'll let it happen to another kid."

Agreed -- it took a lot of courage for these young men to come forward, knowing full well what they were opening themselves up for, but at the same time, knowing that they had to do what was right and just.

[calimary]

25. I love your Dante quote. Shatteringly relevant.

We actually had one whole Catholic priest convicted recently, too.

Hopefully it's a start. NOT the end. I hope jerry sandusky NEVER walks free again, and I hope for the same with all the other human lice involved in, denying, excusing for the sake of protecting their precious fucking football program, and covering up, this horrible horrible scandal.

[Avalux]

26. This is a great post. I am from "Happy Valley"

and my parents still live there....PSU is my alma mater. We have had many discussions over this whole thing and agreed that Dottie Sandusky should be held accountable as well, although it won't happen. There will be civil suits filed against the family, so at least she may end up penniless. I am usually not so harsh but that woman lived with a man who was raping young boys in the basement of their home and did nothing. The house is small...there's no way she didn't know what was going on under her roof.

Dottie Sandusky chose maintaining her cushy lifestyle over doing the right thing.

At least now, Sandusky's victims may find some peace in knowing he's behind bars....the brave ones we know of who came forward, and the many that are out there, nameless and faceless, who have been suffering all this time.