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Waging Nonviolence / Op-Ed
Published: Monday 14 November 2011
“There are many factors that contribute to a riot, but at the core is a deep-seated, unconscious belief in both the social efficacy and ultimacy of violence.”
Violence, Penn State, and the Loss of Identity
Thousands of young college students in the streets — some tearing down street signs and tipping a news van – were confronted by riot police and pepper spray before being dispersed late Wednesday evening. Another unruly mass of Occupy Wall Street protesters? No, it was Penn State students protesting the firing of a football coach.
After charges of sexual abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky were filed last Saturday, Penn State’s Board of Trustees met Wednesday evening and announced the immediate firing of head football coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier for their complicit knowledge in the alleged sexual abuse. Following the announcement, thousands of students gathered in support of Paterno — endearingly known as JoePa — to protest the administration’s decision. At some point in the evening, the protest turned into a riot — which is sadly not the first at the so-called #1 party school.
Admittedly, the student protest-turned-riot does not speak for all of Penn State. As is often the case, the physical damage was inflicted by only a small number of people. Many students, alumni, faculty, and staff are, rather understandably, shocked and dealing with the news in a variety of ways — some extremely positive, like holding a “blue-out” at Saturday’s game to support victims of child abuse. Nevertheless, the events of Wednesday night show a culture rooted in violence, searching for meaning.
While the mainstream media has refreshingly got it right about not having pity for JoePa, it is worth noting that the frenzy-hungry news outlets haven’t pounced on the riot to condemn them for what they are: an absurd reflection of society’s obsession with sports as well as a general lack of critical thought and moral coherence among college students. The Christian Science Monitor published a critical news report and the coverage on ESPN has been fair in contextualizing the fallout from JoePa’s firings. But as institutions charged with having a public, moral character — including the media — there should be outright and explicit op-eds and university statements making this a teachable moment about justice, responsibility, and social action.
Penn State is charged with teaching young people and “improv[ing] the well being and health of individuals and communities.” The scandal does little to model the kind of moral leadership such a mission demands. Should we really expect more of today’s college students who chose to protest — let alone riot — over the firing of the deified JoePa while neglecting the far graver moral issue of predatory sexual abuse when the institutions themselves are incapable of acting with moral character?
The Penn State affair and subsequent riot is like a mirror, revealing to us a more ugly state of affairs: violence is still a valid response to injustice (perceived or otherwise). The lack of public condemnation of the student protests is equally troubling, suggesting that the student response was in some way justified; it’s as if we tacitly understand or empathize with the students’ losing their beloved JoePa.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence,” penned F. Scott Fitzgerald, “is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
Both the student riots and larger public response indicate that, in general, society lacks the ability and/or structure to deal with complicated situations in nonviolent and mature ways. The central foci of sports, especially college football, has displaced concern for victims’ needs and perpetuates a culture in loss of real identity. As Harsha Walia pointed out in an interview with Dave Zirin after the Vancouver hockey riot in June 2011:
There is a sense that people rioted over a ‘stupid apolitical hockey game.’ While I too wish people were motivated by social justice issues, the hockey game is not apolitical by any means. The riots were a fundamentalist defense of a type of nationalism, most evident in the beatings of Bruins fans in Vancouver last night. NHL hockey is not simply a game, it is representative of obedience to consumerism and is part of the state’s attempt to forge a false identity—despite vast differences and inequalities across race, class and gender, through the spectacle of sport.
What the Vancouver riot and the Penn State riot have in common is the loss of identity in society. As any Penn Stater or college football fan, for that matter, will tell you, JoePa was God. When he got sacked, there was a vacuum — a search for meaning – at Penn State that needed to be filled. And contrary to all the press nonviolence has been getting of late, modern society is still dominated by the myth of redemptive violence. This myth, posited from imperial creation myths, suggests that violence is inevitable and the way of the world.
There are many factors that contribute to a riot, but at the core is a deep-seated, unconscious belief in both the social efficacy and ultimacy of violence. Add into the mix the history and circumstances unique to Penn State: JoePa as the greatest college football coach of all time, a socially-embedded culture of partying and heavy drinking, and a collective identity tied to Penn State football. Combine those things with the generalized postmodern angst that young people face without necessarily being given or taught the skills to cope with such ventures of self-reflexivity and systems of meaning-making and we can better understand what happened at Penn State.
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28 comments on "Violence, Penn State, and the Loss of Identity"
avjdxd
Football is a sacred cow. It is the altar about which has evolved a huge industry of worshipers, for as naive a need to win, or as profound a need to make a profit. The event at Penn State can only be solved by a radical movement of that University into the University of Chicago direction. But hold on. What's to become of the Albamas, the Notre Dames, The sports pages? Let's just ordain Football Coaches, and take their jabberings as gospel. Let's just continue on the salesmanship of emblems. Don't rock that boat. By the way - let's drink to it. signed Elmo of VMRC.
Football is a sacred cow. It is the altar about which has evolved a huge industry of worshipers, for as naive a need to win, or as profound a need to make a profit. The event at Penn State can only be solved by a radical movement of that University into the University of Chicago direction. But hold on. What's to become of the Albamas, the Notre Dames, The sports pages? Let's just ordain Football Coaches, and take their jabberings as gospel. Let's just continue on the salesmanship of emblems. Don't rock that boat. By the way - let's drink to it. signed Elmo of VMRC.
Football is a sacred cow. It is the altar about which has evolved a huge industry of worshipers, for as naive a need to win, or as profound a need to make a profit. The event at Penn State can only be solved by a radical movement of that University into the University of Chicago direction. But hold on. What's to become of the Albamas, the Notre Dames, The sports pages? Let's just ordain Football Coaches, and take their jabberings as gospel. Let's just continue on the salesmanship of emblems. Don't rock that boat. By the way - let's drink to it. signed Elmo of VMRC.
Football is a sacred cow. It is the altar about which has evolved a huge industry of worshipers, for as naive a need to win, or as profound a need to make a profit. The event at Penn State can only be solved by a radical movement of that University into the University of Chicago direction. But hold on. What's to become of the Albamas, the Notre Dames, The sports pages? Let's just ordain Football Coaches, and take their jabberings as gospel. Let's just continue on the salesmanship of emblems. Don't rock that boat. By the way - let's drink to it. signed Elmo of VMRC.
November 16, 2011 1:45pm
Instead of expelling the student rioters they should have to take a sensitivity class of one year or more in order to graduate. They must be able to demonstrate true compassion for victims of abuse. Students should have to meet with men and women who have perpertrated these crimes, observe these criminals in court, in prison, in therapy and through the eyes of victim's support systems, social services, therapists, law personnel, etc. They should be required to work for victim's rights. They need to understand that the coaches the University Administration, and themselves are NOT the victims here but complicit of the crimes due to their actions and inactions. He may have been an awesome coach but as a person he is devoid of compassion and morals.
November 15, 2011 6:22pm
There are so many things I would debate with you on in this article. Under most circumstances I would have a tough time choosing. Not this time though.Your statement the mainstream media got it right by not having pity for Joe Paterno is absolutely wrong. In fact quite the opposite is true. When we look at the opposite of this statement we see the heart of why there were riots at Penn State and why Mike McQueary is receiving death threats. It is the mainstream media, led mostly by sports analysts, who let loose a torrent of rage directed inappropriately at two men who did as they were asked to when trained for their position. They were not perfect in their response, but they did as they were told to do, report to their supervisors. In the torrent of bile heaped upon these two men, not a word is said about the administrators who apparently did not do as they were asked and let the report sit. Just the coachs get the rage. We heard suggestions McQueary should have attacked Sandusky. This idea has no sense of safety for the child present. It also further traumatizes the child by showing adult men responding to rage by aggression and it complicates police work by frightening the child. It remains central to the idea McQueary did not do enough and underscores the notion rage is good if the cause is good. Those who rioted in Penn State felt the same way as do those who make death threats against McQueary. When does aggression end and the healing and preventative learning begin?We hear suggestions Paterno throw his weight around when he did not see the results of his report to the administrators. After all, this suggestion goes, he is the football coach. Everyone on campus should listen to the coach because he is more important than even the administration of the school. Again, there is this notion the best response is aggression and the use of power. It is like these analysts never got off the football field and still see life as one prolonged football game where we knock people around to get what we want. These young people who have been abused also feel rage. Should we teach them to use their fists? What happens when they are twenty, still rageful, and have built some muscle and weight to go along with their fists? Do we teach them healing then? You call it pity, I call it caring and healing. If we are going to save the lives of any of these children, then we need to tone down the rhetoric and use calmness, talking and listening, orderly processes in the judicial system, and self control. Blaming Joe Paterno discourages others from cooperating with investigations. Castigating Mike McQueary discourages people from being involved if for no other reason fear of doing the wrong thing or not doing enough. They need our healing right along with the victims of these attacks.Time to let go the rage and engage the brain.
November 14, 2011 5:54pm
My perception, as well. The lack of principled thought, action, and all that means has moved into la-la land rapidly, since the fearful reactions to the earlier efforts to re-form America, the late 1950s-1960s... since the 1970s the slope has accelerated, downward.
November 14, 2011 5:09pm
Everybody that goes to PSU should be ashamed of their school, the president of the school, the football coaches and others that knew of of the perversion on little boys that went on on the campus of PSU and didn't see fit to call the police. They hid the perversion from the public while more little boys were raped by paterno's buddt sandusky. I might not have said exactly what I wanted to say earlier, I tried to say dirty things that went on at PSU in a cleaner more polite way, but any way you look at it is deviant. When a grown man, a buddy of PSU's head football coach inserts his penis in the behind of a ten year old boy, while forcibly holding him against a shower wall, it is deviant. And when a 28 year old, 6'5" football coach walk in on that deviant act being performed and doesn't do anything about it to stop it, I will just call him a sissy. He then runs home and tells his daddy and the next day he and his daddy go and tell the head football coach what was seen, another sissy type of behavior.
This message is for Carolyn and Nancy Briton, two women that disagreed with the words that I used previously. I hope you two are satisfied with the words I used this time.
Paterno called the campus police; they did nothing either.McQueary's father who is also a coach at a high school told his son not to call the police but to tell Paterno instead. There are many people at fault-including some on the Board of Trustees who may have known, and only when the indictment came out in the open, fired people. I am not ashamed of the school-there are many excellent programs in science and agriculture, communications, international study, math, pre-med courses,etc that attract people from all over the world.You are indicating that all these good things have no merit due to this scandal. Our whole community of State College has been affected by this horrible thing-everywhere one goes-stores, banks, the black cloud is felt. We are all standing up for the victims-yet we ourselves have become victims to the circus media.
Paterno means... "Fatherly"
November 14, 2011 3:35pm
@Falkin: Gay men are attracted to adult men, not little boys. Pedophiles are attracted to little boys. They are not the same.
November 14, 2011 4:11pm
Who cares, performing oral sex on a little boy and having the little boy perform oral sex on you is deviant behavior. Sexual abuse on a child or on an adult is still sexual abuse. Especially when it is performed on Penn States campus.
November 14, 2011 4:08pm
Who cares, performing oral sex on a little boy and having the little boy perform oral sex on you is deviant behavior. Sexual abuse on a child or on an adult is still sexual abuse. Especially when it is performed on Penn States campus.
November 14, 2011 2:41pm
Mr. Paterno made his choice when he failed to act in a responsible manner. The students could and have taken the same action over a single disputed call in any game in recent history.
The real lesson here is that our focus and priorities as a nation are in need of real review. Our colleges and universities have become instruments of commerce instead of houses of learning. Morality is left to Clerics and excused from politicians and citizens. "Do what thou wilt" is the new motto of society.
Americans need to get a grip on reality and take a good look in the mirror. We have and are becoming the very monsters we once feared and fought around the world. This is not how we must be. This is not how we should remain! No one likes to have to fix things that are broken, least of all when that which is broken is ourselves.
Buck up AMERICA! THE CHALLENGE IS THE CHANGING OF OUR WAYS! Americans have always risen to a noble challenge! Arise my noble countrymen, we have met the enemy and they is us!
November 14, 2011 2:28pm
All madness, all about big money derived from football. All else is placed below 2nd place including human rights and education. Forget football, instead teach Mathematics and Science so that as a species we can move forward. Dr David Howard D.Sc.
Dr. Howard,
Paterno told the students to go home and study-he WAS a patron of the academics and made sure his players remembered why they went to college-to learn something. Stop judging when you don't know the whole truth; you are trying to fit Penn State into a pattern that doesn't apply here. There are students raising money for victims support. There are excellent science and math programs along with many others that draw people from all over the world.
November 14, 2011 2:21pm
To print that Penn State is a "culture rooted in violence" is terrible.
The events that unfolded last week were devastating and very sad; however, Penn State University is a fine educational institution, and has graduated many accomplished and successful individuals.
Your comment is insulting to the integrity of the faculty and students who have passed through Penn State.
Parent 2008
I am glad you spoke up; these other people are misplacing their judgment.My son too went to Penn State, and I have taught the children of many of the faculty here.
"insulting"?! poor little whiney baby. can you possibly fathom the pain and anguish these innocent boys and their families endure to this
day? your response underscores PERFECTLY everything written in this report. you're devotion to what? a man, an institution, a GAME in essence condones the activities of a pedophile. it supports the cover up and now it condones violence. the author is correct, you and all that write such things are morally bankrupt and to be pitied. and you call yourself a parent. you should be ashamed.
"insulting"?! poor little whiney baby. can you possibly fathom the pain and anguish these innocent boys and their families endure to this
day? your response underscores PERFECTLY everything written in this report. you're devotion to what? a man, an institution, a GAME in essence condones the activities of a pedophile. it supports the cover up and now it condones violence. the author is correct, you and all that write such things are morally bankrupt and to be pitied. and you call yourself a parent, shame on you!!!
November 14, 2011 6:15pm
you didn't read my response.
it is sad for all. i question your age...
November 14, 2011 2:11pm
This response from FALKEN751 is absurd. It is homophobia in its worst form.
November 14, 2011 4:09pm
Who cares, performing oral sex on a little boy and having the little boy perform oral sex on you is deviant behavior. Sexual abuse on a child or on an adult is still sexual abuse. Especially when it is performed on Penn States campus.
November 14, 2011 1:59pm
There are many gay football players and maybe that guy, that 28 year old guy, that 6'5" guy that walked into the showers and saw a 10 year old boy being raped is gay too. Maybe the sight of the little boy being raped was not too repulsive to him. Who knows why a 28 year old, 6'5" football player and coach wouldn't do something when he saw that little boy being raped. Maybe paterno kept sandusky around those ten years or so was so he would have someone to shower with when no one was around. Could be!
November 14, 2011 1:50pm
While I do not condone the rioters, I want to know where is the news coverage or even mention of the 10-12,000 PSU students who held a candlelight vigil on Friday for the victims of the abuse.
November 14, 2011 12:04pm
The only reasonable response from Penn State is to expel all and any students that participated in this riot. The reaction to the firing of a coach that at the very least protected the criminal activities of a subaltern is inadmissable by any standards of decency, let alone academic standards. None of those students deserve to ever get a degree in anything.
You are making judgments when you don't understand why the students rioted. Paterno has been a promoter and patron of the academic world; he has always said that study takes first priority at a school and if one plays sports the grades must be kept up, or the player will be suspended. He would even attend some of the classes himself. He spent some of his own money for the betterment of the school. He did report the incident as it was told to him, and is the only one who took responsibility last week by saying he wishes he had done more- no one else said this. He has been a huge force for 46 years. I'm not a football fan, but Joe P. deserved better, as time will tell. The students know it also. And by the way, the best thing the rioters did was to turn that news van over.