Situational ethics. No, I'm not going to call the cops if I see someone smoking a joint, but...

[Scuba]

...goddammit if somebody is buggering a little boy in the shower I'll be calling both the cops and an ambulance.

It is NOT OK to just report such abuse to your boss and then remain quiet for a decade.

[HopeHoops]

1. Well personally, I'd be more likely to kick the shit out of the guy and then call an ambulance.

[hifiguy]

2. A quick, hard kick in the nuts would have immobilized Sandusky

long enough for both the cops and ambulance to get there.

[HopeHoops]

3. I'm a little more direct than that. The nuts are an obvious target. Serious pain first.

[Scuba]

9. Sorry, it should have occurred to me the boy also needs an ambulance. n/t

[XemaSab]

23. Exactly

:thumbsup:

[JuniperLea]

10. I'd have a hard time holding myself back...

With my bare hands... I swear if I ever saw someone hurting a child like that, I could do grave bodily harm to the waste of skin and air with my bare hands.

[Scuba]

14. I'll hold him while you hit him. Then we can trade places. n/t

[JuniperLea]

17. Deal n/t

[seabeyond]

4. what is even worse is they allowed this man to continue to have access and alone time with the kids

not only did they not follow up by calling police. they reported and walked away.

[JuniperLea]

12. Those that knew of the initial incident...

And kept quiet, are as culpable for the following molestations as much as if they did it themselves.

How could they live with themselves? Is the "Yay Team" mentality so strong that it can overturn common sense and dignity?

I'm appalled.

[seabeyond]

13. exactly. if you know kids are eing fucked, and you turn away you are saying, have at it. nt

[JuniperLea]

16. Yep

Silence condones, period.

[Aerows]

5. This was purposefully covered up

If you read the Grand Jury report, the graduate student was in at least 5 different meetings with higher ups about this. A janitor also caught him a different time orally assaulting a young boy in the shower and reported it, but now he's in a nursing home with dementia and isn't competent to testify.

I'm not saying what the graduate student did was necessarily right, but hindsight is 20/20. He DID report it to the school on several different occasions, they just covered it up.

I'm with you, though. If I saw it, I'd be on the phone with 911 faster than you could say "pervert".

[freshwest]

6. +1,000

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Agreed n/t

[dtexdem]

8. But one can always ask for a toke.

And one should always report sexual abuse and rape -- especially of children but not limited to them.

[Bandit]

11. According to Rush Limbaugh and most elected Republicans

When that very same activity was discovered concerning supposed terrorist (a fourteen year old boy)in captivity, it was nothing more serious than college pranks....certainly nothing that could be considered torture or even illegal....

[hedgehog]

15. It goes to show that authoritarian structures are perfect hiding places

for pedophiles. Once people are socialized to obedience, they lose their moral compass. Look at all the parents who took their testimony to the local bishop rather than straight to the cops!

[Brickbat]

18. I have to say I think it's possible to see that happening and convince yourself you didn't see it.

I think it would be the first instinct of many people, if they saw someone they respected to the core doing that. Recoiling and retreating, and then thinking about it very hard for 10 minutes. The kid wasn't crying or struggling, and maybe he was actually closer to 15? Or 16? And the perp wasn't, you know, beating him up or anything? People rationalize all sorts of things; I can think of many scenarios where a person can convince himself he didn't see what he actually did see.

[Scuba]

19. Yeah, that could happen. But it's no excuse. It's failure to face the facts. n/t

[Brickbat]

21. No, there's no excuse at all. But I find all the keyboard warriors talking about kickin' ass and

takin' names to be sadly unlikely, too. I suppose it's possible we have a self-selected group of uncommonly strong personalities around here. In the general population, however, we see again and again that most people are very likely to do nothing when they see shit going down.

[Scuba]

22. Sadly, I'm familiar with examples that support your point....

Thanks for taking time to post.

[justiceischeap]

20. Nowadays, someone would shoot a video of it on their cell phone and then post it on YouTube

then someone on YouTube would notify the police and then the police would have to figure out where the video actually came from. Once they found the individuals involved, they (they being the criminal justice system) would then either ignore it or prosecute it.

Forgot to add: The one who recorded the video and posted it on YouTube would get arrested and prosecuted for distributing child porn.

[slackmaster]

24. Smoking a joint is not a malum in se crime

There is nothing wrong with the OP's ethics.

[Laelth]

25. I agree. Smoking a joint is malum prohibitum. Very different. n/t

-Laelth

[AngkorWot]

26. What if it was just a rumor?

If we're talking hypothetical situational ethics.