EVIL
Yesterday as I was at my desk, I heard someone yelling for help outside my office. It sounded like a child and didn't sound good. My business partner and myself ran out to investigate, and found two agents with a youth in a hammerlock.
The kid was kicking, screaming, and cussing while the agents did their best to calm him. We, on the other hand, were not buying they were agents. We quickly confronted the two and threatened to intervene unless proper I.D. could be furnished. Even then, we were not completely convinced.
This is a child on the line here, and we were not going to blindly walk away. As we questioned their actions, we called local police and checked I.D. and badge numbers. As it turns out, they were legit.
Kudos to them for their professionalism as we did not make their job easy for them. They were kicked, spit on, and cussed at by a 10 year old who kept screaming that he wanted to kill himself. On top of that, they had two adults ready to get into the mix if they did not check out and we smelled something fishy.
It could have been an ugly recipe. As it turns out it was an eye opener.
I replayed the event over in my head the remainder of the day, and I came out of it with a few thoughts:
There are times in your life when confronted with a clear case of standing up and doing the right thing. In my mind, you fail as a person if you do not.
Now, mind that we did not have to intervene in this case, but we were ready to if need be.
There was no doubt in my mind, that if was two thugs or pervs assaulting this kid, we were going to blows to save the kid. No questions asked. I would do it for any child. Instead, that was not the result as it was two plain clothed officers doing their job.
Which in turn, brings to mind the situation at Penn State. A 60 year old predator was allowed to roam for years as everyone turned a blind eye. Nobody had the balls to come forward. Nobody had the moral strength to do what was right. Everybody just turned their head and said, "not my problem".
They might sing a different tune now that the cat is out of the bag, but the reality is they would have towed the company line all along until now.
In doing so, they all failed as human beings and should be hung. Period. The crimes committed on these young boys is inexcusable. Forget what the law says, there is a MORAL obligation to stop these actions, and silence is tantamount to accomplice.
For those of you with children, ask yourself what you would have done if it was your kid?
Better yet, listen to this.
My high school assistant basketball coach was a sexual predator. He loved teenage boys. It was an open secret among the team. We all knew never to be caught dead alone with him. He took a run at all of us. Would offer alcohol, dirty movies, all the stuff a young guy wanted at that age.
Hell, he wasn't even the only one at our high school. There were two more EXACTLY like him. We all knew them, and always watched our backs when they were around. Why? They always came around after workouts when we were in the showers, or in the trainers room. Loved to take a lookie or pat you on the ass or try to stick a finger in your jock.
Evil fucks.
Well, he never got to me. We all suppose he got to one of our team members, but we can't confirm it. He never said.
(side note--we went to college together, and he had definitely become a different person by then. What comes to mind the most, was his rampant hate of homosexuals. It was something he wore like a badge.)
Still, my high school looked the other way and he resigned before it broke and they swept it under the rug.
My school failed. Penn State failed. Others fail every day.
Myself, I will never fail. Not for my children. Not for my friends kids. Hell, not for any of them if I could help it.
Would you?
-the Cap'n
