Today was a huge day finding former assistance football coach Jerry Sandusky of Penn State University guilty of charges related to boy's sexual abuse. I loosely followed the recent court case, purposely not becoming immersed in the fine details; the whole thing provokes anger within me and I chose not subject myself to that.
What matters most to me is how the victims are doing. I think about the tremendous struggle each and every one of those victims had to go through in order to finally speak their voice and be heard. They were not heard so many times before. I do not believe the average person can begin to grasp just how extremely difficult this was on each and every one of them. I wonder if it feels to them like too little too late; that maybe they themselves have lost so much in their young lives because of the emotional and mental burden of the abuse that it does not matter anymore. I wonder if the toll of the trauma can allow them to feel any vindication for the verdict result. What matters most to me is how the lives of these individuals were forever changed and not just when the abuse itself took place but by how their 'village', their communities and the people around them did not stand up. What does this tell us of this community?
Is it not interesting that it took as many years as it did for charges and ultimately this court case to be heard? Is it not interesting that victims had told people in their lives of the abuse and that it was denied or ridiculed, scoffed at and ignored? Is it not interesting that these victims were reported to have been screaming for help in the Sandusky home and Mrs. Sandusky did not hear anything? What does this tell us about this community?
The amount of people other than Sandusky himself that knew or ought to have known of the abuse is beyond comprehensible. How can a just society continue to actually support crimes of this nature and this magnitude completely under the radar of so many? And support the sexual abuse is exactly what they did. Shame on all of you. You know who you are. You did not need to be a blood relative to pick on cues and changes in personalities and behaviours in the victims in order to spark alarm and ask questions. What makes humanity turn a blind eye to such a severe situation? Where were the instinctive skills, the intuition to pick up on the many clues? And please do not say "but Johnny didn't seem any different to me" that is not true. He was different and you did not notice. Shame on you. What does this tell us about this community?
I mentioned at the onset of this blog that I purposely did not immerse myself in all of the gory details related to this abuse trial. One must be aware and self-reflect on what this case provokes within you and turn it around, make this your opportunity not to spur more hate and anger but to look around you, be aware of what is going on in your community. Take notice and stand up for what you believe in; children and youth dependent on their 'village' in order to develp and grow into who they are meant to become. Each one of Sandusky's victims was let down by those around them and that rejection, that abandonment very likely is equally if not more tragic and traumatizing than the abuse itself. I can not even begin to fathom what this was like to experience. What does this tell us about this community?
I think about and pray for humanity to wake up and protect their own.; to realize they can make a real and positive difference in the life of a child or youth and that they have an obligation to do so. Now what would that tell us about a community; this awakening? I think I know, it would tell us that people matter more than money. Imagine. What a concept.
Julie
#BoysNeedtoFeel
