Quote:
Originally Posted by 33girl
ASTalumna06 summed it up. You really can't understand it unless/until you live here. And for a lot of PSU students and alumni, it has ZERO to do with football or the coach (past, present or future).
I think a big part of it is that so many businesses in the state (like the steel mills) have been lost, and Penn State is still booming and then some.
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I completely agree that the issues Penn State is currently dealing with have little to do with football. My point to Als463 was that the quote she referenced from me and responded to was a conversation about the specific consequences the football team was dealing with and had nothing to do with the general Penn State population.
The rest of this isn't directed specifically at you but at several of the previous posts from those who went to Penn State or live in the state. I have to say I'm a little bothered/concerned about the "Penn State is an experience separate from all others and no one else can understand how special it is to all of us" attitude. I understand it is special to all of you and you are just trying to get that across and you don't mean it to sound this way, but it comes across as a little insulting and provincial.
As Dr. Phil stated, Penn State did not invent the wheel when it comes to the loyalty and love its alums and the state feel for the school. While it's true that unless you live there you don't understand the feelings people have for Penn State, it is equally true that no one from Pennsylvania or Penn State understands the feelings someone from say, West Virginia has for WVU or someone from Nebraska has for well, Nebraska.
Saying "You'd have to live here to understand" is a little like someone coming on and saying, "Hey, I'm sure all GLO's are good, but the XYZ's are a little different. We have an especially strong sisterhood. Our rituals are so touching and so many girls would rather be nothing if they can't be an XYZ. XYZ just means so much to us. It's our everything. We do things differently. You just have to be an XYZ to really understand." Come to think of it- that has happened on this forum before or some version of it and most of you quite understandably view it as an insult.
On a deeper level - I really wish you were all right and that kind of vehement loyalty and school love to Penn State or any other organization was unique. Unfortunately, I doubt it's true. That actually scares me more because while I know that all of you are completely appalled by what happened there and in no way condone it, that prevalent attitude or an extreme version of it, in my view, is what allowed it to continue and caused it to be covered up. It's what typically leads people to the kind of horrific decisions that the Penn State administrators and Joe Paterno made.
It's one step from "We're a little bit special and unique" to "Because we are special and unique, we can do things differently and the rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to us." That sums up the "Penn State culture" that the NCAA and Freeh report denounced because it is so dangerous.
Anytime you let who you are as an individual get that tied into an institution, organization, school, business - even a family you run the risk of putting it before all else and letting your personal sense of right and wrong go out the window. You start justifying wrong behavior for the sake of that group and that's what these men did. It's what several bishops in the Catholic church did. It's what thousands of families across the country do every day.
Again, I'm not singling out Penn State because I don't think your attitudes and feelings are unique. I think many of us in many states have that same depth of feeling for our schools, churches, organizations, businesses, families, whatever, and we all need to take a step back and check ourselves because there but for the grace of God....
PS - 33Girl - I wrote this out before I say knight_shadow's response and your response to that, so I appreciate that you already understood my point and I'm preaching to the choir.
I do want to add that while I get your point about Penn State being important because the state is economically depressed, so it makes a successful program like Penn State even more important, look just to your south to see a state constantly in economic depression with NOTHING to hang onto but a college football program. In even that Penn State is not unique and I assure you WVa can one up you there.
And I'm really sorry this is so long, but I've kind of been holding this for awhile.