Do pedestals allow us to see with great vision, Julie Gillis asks, or do they just help us fall from grace?
I read the news about Penn State with great sadness, not because I was upset about a favorite team and school losing pieces of it’s reputation, but because the story seemed all too familiar to me.
I don’t know very much about sports. I know that they make money and that they symbolize power. College sports symbolize a kind of pride in the institution, which can surpass pride in an English Department or Theater School. The reputation of a sports team can influence the reputation of the entire university. There is a great deal of pressure connected to that. I don’t know much very about Joe Paterno, either. In fact this piece is less about him, and the issues at Penn State, and more about a dynamic in human systems that I find frustrating.
I’m not surprised that people in power can sometimes fail their positions of trust and prey upon the more vulnerable of their charges.
I’m not surprised that when people in charge find out about the abuse, they sometimes cover it up, rather than deal with the issue right then and there, even though that always makes things worse.
I’m not surprised about the cognitive dissonance that occurs when these abuses come to light to the public. An anonymous writer described this beautifully in his piece “We Are?”:
We are represented, too, by the university, in everything that word implies. Mostly, at a big school like Penn State, that means athletics. Football in particular. We are, most of us, proud of our school because our school—specifically the talented young men who wear our colors on the field—gives us something to be proud of. Something to be a part of. They give us an identity. They provide a focal point around which to rally. They let us belong.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeSo who, or what, do I belong to now?
He continues:
I realize that this might sound absurd. I’ve tried explaining it to friends with no connection to the university, and they don’t get it. Reading this, you might not get it either. But I’ve talked to other alums, particularly those who live in or near State College, and many of us feel the same. We feel sad, and angry, and almost physically disoriented.
That’s cognitive dissonance for you. Because we are human, we want to belong, and we join groups. We belong. We feel pride and begin to identify ourselves strongly with that group, whatever it is. We seek a leaders to guide these groups with their vision, thus imbuing them with great authority and power. We place them on pedestals and lean on them, identify ourselves as much with that leader as with the group itself.
And then sometimes, something occurs that is so terrible, untenable, that we have to either deny the outside influence (It’s not that bad. Those people are lying. Think of his/her reputation.), or change our attitudes and beliefs about the group itself and our membership in it (I can’t be a member of this group, I quit. I’m changing my stance from pro to con even if I lose my friends). It’s a painful feeling, that dissonance.
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What I am surprised at is that we still, after centuries of seeing how it does not work, place leaders on pedestals and then grieve when they fall. Being on a pedestal sets you up to fall.
When you are placed on a pedestal, there is nothing to do but hope you don’t fall off, hope you aren’t pushed down. But who wouldn’t want to be on a pedestal? To be praised and held above others. To be considered a legend, to be worshipped, to receive the love and hopes of those beneath you. To feel that level of power and dominance is tremendously heady, no matter the role. It’s unbearable, I would imagine, after a time. To have to be perfect. To have to win at all costs. To maintain your role as leader, healer or minister. To not be allowed to fail.
I imagine that someone in the position of a Joe Paterno would have felt immense pressure to keep the lid on any scandal that could damage Penn State. To keep enemies at bay. To keep money and wins rolling in. To stay fiercely on that pedestal and to knock away anyone or anything that could pull you down. To not fail at any cost. What an amazing exhausting place to be.
Was it worth it?
Over and over again, though, we see this cycle occur: actors, priests, senators and presidents, CEOs, football coaches.
It seems as though every year we have at least one politician caught red-handed doing the thing things he pledges to be completely against. Off the pedestal. Yet still we seek better, more moral leaders, to take their places. “This won’t happen next time.” Yet it does.
Why do we still need these pedestals? Why can’t we allow people to lead AND be human? To serve and also fail in small ways, prior to failing in the big, terrible, untenable ways?
Because we don’t want to do the work? Do we just want someone else to take that heat? Is that why we don’t stop doing it? Because it’s easier for us to put the pressure on one person, rather than all of us step up a little bit? Because we respond to dominance? Even when that dominant one is messing up really badly? Do we enjoy the fall, the tearing apart of those who we only so recently worshipped?
Worse, why do we leave people on their pedestals long after the time has come for them to step down? Why wasn’t immediate action taken in the case of Penn State? Why hide such terrible and untenable actions? Why is a reputation of a team more important than the health and well-being of children? Their faith in their leaders? Their safety at school? Stopping it in its tracks would have cost Penn State so much less than it does now.
Paterno is not innocent. We should not worry about his reputation as a legendary coach. His work remains; the legends are there. He’s done great things, but those great things have to be seen clearly now, through the light and lens of some very bad choices, and all of us, even those of us not connected to the school, have to learn to sit with that uncomfortable feeling. To have pride in the school but also look to solve the problems that have occurred.
Paterno is a fallible human being, and mistakes were made. Terrible, untenable mistakes. There should have been immediate action. There wasn’t. And why, is a good question to ask.
Can we learn to accept our leaders as being as human as we are, that maybe it would be best to have them lead on the same level as everyone else, not up on high? When will we learn that fixing the failures in a system early on is a sign of strength and leadership and that if we cover things up out of a desire to maintain this position on the pedestal, there won’t be anywhere to fall but down?
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The GMP on Penn State:
We Are?
When the Game Becomes Religion, Gary Percesepe
Male Lust Arrives in Happy Valley, Tom Matlack
Destroying a Young Boy’s Soul, Ken Solin
Power Is at the Core of Sexual Harassment, Mervyn Kaufman
The Tragic Lionization of Joe Paterno, Tom Ley
Men, Monsters, and the Media, Nicole Johnson
Loyalty and Responsibility at Penn State, Andrew Smiler
Jerry Sandusky and Penn State: A Familiar Story, Sophia Sadinsky
Beware the Legacy You Are Protecting: Winning Isn’t Everything, Eli Kaplan
Institutional Injustice: Why Rooting For Universities Breeds Immorality, Aaron Gordon
I Failed, Rick Morris
Sandusky-ed, Tim Green
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—Photo enviziondotnet/Flickr
“When will we learn that fixing the failures in a system early on is a sign of strength and leadership and that if we cover things up out of a desire to maintain this position on the pedestal, there won’t be anywhere to fall but down?” Now is as good a time as any! But, I can see quite a few pedestals that are jealousy guarded – and the chances of getting some down from on high is remote. Painted Idols and Idolatry is like that. Leveling the playing field won’t happen in a standard news cycle! It has been… Read more »
I agree, and I this kind of thinking should be applied to far wider arenas than sport. I can’t help but feel that by insisting on voting for politicians on the basis of issues with nothing to do with their job role, such as their private lives, we end up with a very poor quality of leader.
I’m so glad u wrote this post. I’ve been amazed at some people – such as this sports writer who refuses to believe Paterno could look the other way http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/nov/09/paternos-side-needs-to-be-heard/ The unfortunately reality is athletes instead of firemen are considered heroes. And when they fall from grace – which seems to happen a lot – we’re always shocked by the persona we think they should have – OJ, Michael Vick, Tiger and the list continues – So much so there’s even a Wiki of athletes who’ve been jailed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_sportspeople_convicted_of_crimes When we as a society start to place greater emphasis on… Read more »
Respectfully Karen, I believe you want society to move in the entirely incorrect direction. Personally, I yearn for a society where we can recognize people for being good at what they are good at, regardless of their other behavior. Did Bill Clinton’s indiscretions REALLY affect his ability to govern? And if not, why obsess over them? Indeed, it seems likely that there are a great number of people out there just looking for a chance to attack athletes for reasons that have nothing to do with athleticism. Anyone else remember the “Group of 88” faculty members who were ready to… Read more »
He covered up for an underling sexually abusing children, not dipping his pen in the (consensual) company ink. No comparison btwn Bill Clintin/Monica Lewinsky scandal and a football coach who put his ego and the reputation of *college freaking football* ahead if the well being if 20+/- CHILD VICTIMS of RAPE and sexual abuse. It matters bc your job as a coach is to be a leader and to care about the team. Whose best interests was he acting in by covering up such a horrific crime. Purely his own–he didn’t want to tarnish his record, his career. He could… Read more »
Again, what does any of that have to do with his ability to win football games?
Was he primarily hired to win football games, or to police the sexual behavior of his staff?
He did his job.
Be indignant if you want to, but it’s an indignance steeped in irrationality. I want a coach that wins games, I don’t really care about the rest of his behavior. If you choose a coach based on something other than his ability to win games, you are acting against your own primary interest, and that is fundamentally irrational.
Mike,
Adults are legally required to report the sexual abuse of a child when they are aware of it happening. Therefore Paterno, and many others, were criminally negligent. It has nothing to do with his performance as a coach, and everything to do with his culpability as a douchebag.
Therefore it is not an indignance steeped in irrationality, but one steeped in illegal and deeply troubling moral failure.
Mike you might want to get a heart transplant, and/or get some therapy for your childhood abuse issues.
He reported it to his management as required by policy. At present only teachers and medical personnel are required by law to report. Every state has different laws – there is no one nationwide standard for reporting.
“Was he primarily hired to win football games, or to police the sexual behavior of his staff?” Actually – His Contract Covers Both. Primary does not come into it! A janitor may primarily be hired to clean toilets, but if they failed to report they too would be fired. The contract of employment operates in it’s entirety. A breach of one part is a breach of the whole. The degree of breach brings differing responses. Failure to meet Federal legal obligations on child protection is a Dismissable offense, full stop. PSU have strict policy on reporting of sexual violence which… Read more »