Joe Paterno's Statue

Penn State President Rodney Erickson on removing the statue of Joe Paterno from in front of Beaver Stadium (the Paterno Library will keep its name):

"For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location. I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse."

Ta-Nehisi Coates responds to the calls to remove the statue:

It is indeed hard for us to reconcile the commission of evil with the commission of good. We like to think that evil is only perpetuated by those who are obvious, the better to relieve ourselves of the burdens of constant evaluation and reflection. It's similar to our conversation around race here. How does one accept that American democracy depended on American slavery? How do you accept that your brilliant spiritual father, Thomas Jefferson, committed the sin of slavery, knew it, and continued nonetheless?

 And again (here too):

The point I'm driving at is that in a free society, I am skeptical of the notion that sins can simply be pinned solely at the top.

Clearly, something this serious needs to cause us to reevaluate Joe Paterno's legacy, even given the deep attachment that many have to him. Not only is his failure to sufficiently deal with the 2001 rape at stake, but so is his later failure to acknowledge and express remorse for what he'd done in the grand jury questioning. I'm not going to say anything about his motivation: it may have been to protect his friend and his program; it may have been that he honestly thought that he was dealing with the situation in the most appropriate way. The motivation isn't the main thing.

Coates worries that pulling down the statue allows for a too-easy forgetting of what happened, which was not only the fault of Joe Paterno, but of all of Penn State--it's a scapegoating that allows the rest of the community to feel that the situation is resolved. I worry, similarly, that pulling down the statue is a quick fix (this is not to say an inappropriate response): The media-feeding mass seems to long for some sacrifice to be offered up to it--once it's had that sacrifice, it quickly forgets and moves on to something else that can outrage it. And there's no end of evil to be outraged by. What we need is a more sustained reflection on evil, on its causes and the institutional supports that perpetuate it.

And we need to realize the truth that good and evil are not always as neatly separated as we might wish. Coates points out Jefferson's complicity in slavery (and, what he doesn't even mention, Jefferson likely slept with at least one of his slaves--a misuse of power, to massively euphemise). There are many examples of people who have had an admirably positive effect in one area of their life and have had serious and significant faults in others.

I'm not saying that the statue should remain. I'm saying that what should be done and people's response should be much more thoughtful and lasting. And interest in this situation, and in the broader fact of sexual abuse, shouldn't flare today only to move on tomorrow.