Pennsylvania governor orders flags to be flown at half staff - agree or disagree

[declansdad]

I agree with it...he did what he thought he was supposed to do. As a former Bronco (Shannon Sharpe) who I follow on Twitter said yesterday, "History may mark yesterday as his death date, but he died the day he was fired. His reason to live was taken away from him."
Besides, if Ted Kennedy got the funeral he got after what he did to Mary Jo Kopechne, Paterno definitely deserves some respect.

What did he do to deserve the honour of having the flag fly at half-mast? He was a football coach who helped out one university. So have many other people.

"Did what he was suppse to do" I don't think he was that stupid! He knew exactly what he was doing.

 

[Amy]

I strongly disagree.

I would disagree with it if this scandal never happened. He was a football coach for crying out loud! He's not that special.

Do they fly the flag at half staff for truly great teachers or people who donate just as much or more money than Paterno did?


What kind of world do we live in when a college football coach is so revered like this?

EXACTLY! Forget the scandal - Joe Paterno was FOOTBALL COACH. Thanks to iheartidisney for posting the guidelines - Joe Pa doesn't fit any of them.

 

[Allison]

For a football coach? Inappropriate.

 

[GSUJillybean]

pretty much sums up my feelings, so put me in the strongly disagree category.

I find it repulsive that a governor would order flags flown at half mast for a man that condoned child rape.

Wonder if I can change my birth certificate to have Harrisburg removed from it as place of birth?

Dude, let's say this DIDN'T happen. Let's say Paterno never met Sandusky.

I still don't get how coaching guys to run a ball up a field makes you a hero. Famous, sure. People love football. But, "flags half staff" famous? Meh.

Then, when you add the whole thing about bragging re: what a clean program they were running, when they were giving Sandusky run of the showers even AFTER he no longer worked there? Gross.

 

[GSUJillybean]

Sorry, I guess I didn't realize there was a second page to the thread.

So, yeah, what everyone else said!

 

[MattsPrincess]

I don't agree with it, but it has nothing to do with the whole scandal thing. I just think that's an honor that should be reserved for military, police, etc.

 

[goofy!]

Strongly is not a strong enough word for how strongly I disagree!


Scandal aside- he was a football coach. It is completely inappropriate.
Did he order the flags to fly at half staff for the hundreds of Pennsylvanians who will not come home from Iraq and Afghanistan? Or firefighters and police officers who are killed in the line of duty? Nope, just for the football coaches. It is disgraceful.

http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/halfstaff.pdf

Thanks for the guidelines.

Somebody ought to e-mail them to the governor to refresh his memory on when it is appropriate to fly a flag at half mast.

A football coach? Really?

 

[sbell111]

Thanks for the guidelines.

Somebody ought to e-mail them to the governor to refresh his memory on when it is appropriate to fly a flag at half mast.

Those were federal guidelines, not PA's guidelines. Further, they make it clear that it is appropriate to do it whenever the President decides that it is.

A football coach? Really?

Those that are taking the position that it shouldn't be done because Coach Paterno was 'only' a football coach no little or nothing about Coach Paterno.

 

[sbell111]

I don't agree with it, but it has nothing to do with the whole scandal thing. I just think that's an honor that should be reserved for military, police, etc.

One wonders how many vocations that you include in that 'etc'. Surely, men and women in all walks of life can achieve greatness and could be recognized similarly.

 

[goofy!]

Those were federal guidelines, not PA's guidelines. Further, they make it clear that it is appropriate to do it whenever the President decides that it is.
Those that are taking the position that it shouldn't be done because Coach Paterno was 'only' a football coach no little or nothing about Couch Paterno.

I believe I know everything I need to know about the character of "Couch" Paterno.

Flying a flag at half-mast for a football coach - ridiculous
Flying a flag at half-mast for a football coach that condoned rape - sickening

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

What did he do besides coach football? Here are some examples: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/44244/your-joe-paterno-tributes
As far as not doing what he should have done (or what he thought he should have done), he was an old man by the time the behavior happened...Many things had changed during his lifetime. The one I put the most blame on by far (other than Sandusky, of course) is McQueary. He was young enough that he had been raised knowing that what he saw was wrong and what to do about it. Yet, he didn't know what to do and instead of doing what he should, he called his daddy? If he were a real man, he would have called 911 and Sandusky would have been at least unconscious by the time the cops got there.

 

[wvjules]

Those were federal guidelines, not PA's guidelines. Further, they make it clear that it is appropriate to do it whenever the President decides that it is.Those that are taking the position that it shouldn't be done because Coach Paterno was 'only' a football coach no little or nothing about Coach Paterno.

The Ppresident orderd flags flown at half-staff?

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

The Ppresident orderd flags flown at half-staff?

I think they mean that the guidelines posted above for flying the flag half-mast are federal guidelines and the governor (or state) has a right to set his own standards that are different from those of the federal government.

 

[luvmy3]

What did he do besides coach football? Here are some examples: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/44244/your-joe-paterno-tributes
As far as not doing what he should have done (or what he thought he should have done), he was an old man by the time the behavior happened...Many things had changed during his lifetime. The one I put the most blame on by far (other than Sandusky, of course) is McQueary. He was young enough that he had been raised knowing that what he saw was wrong and what to do about it. Yet, he didn't know what to do and instead of doing what he should, he called his daddy? If he were a real man, he would have called 911 and Sandusky would have been at least unconscious by the time the cops got there.

Is that link supposed to be a joke?

 

[goofy!]

What did he do besides coach football? Here are some examples: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/44244/your-joe-paterno-tributes
As far as not doing what he should have done (or what he thought he should have done), he was an old man by the time the behavior happened...Many things had changed during his lifetime. The one I put the most blame on by far (other than Sandusky, of course) is McQueary. He was young enough that he had been raised knowing that what he saw was wrong and what to do about it. Yet, he didn't know what to do and instead of doing what he should, he called his daddy? If he were a real man, he would have called 911 and Sandusky would have been at least unconscious by the time the cops got there.

This is the second time you have posted this.

Do you really want all of us to believe that raping young boys was ok back in Paterno's younger days? That because he was old, he didn't realize it was no longer acceptable in today's world?

I can pretty much bet that the acceptability of raping young boys is NOT something that changed during his lifetime.

And nobody is debating that McQueary is not equally to blame. But Paterno was the one in charge, so everbody looked to him as the leader, thus modeling keeping quiet is so much worse.

I am just glad to see that world isn't crazy and that 72% of it believes flying a flag at half-mast for a football coach, especially one without moral integrity is wrong.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

he totally deserves it - sorry if you disagree.

 

[Adipoo]

Penn State area resident and I find it very inappropriate. He will surely go down as a legendary FOOTBALL coach, but he is far from the definition of a hero.

 

[Heidict]

I agree with it...he did what he thought he was supposed to do. As a former Bronco (Shannon Sharpe) who I follow on Twitter said yesterday, "History may mark yesterday as his death date, but he died the day he was fired. His reason to live was taken away from him."
Besides, if Ted Kennedy got the funeral he got after what he did to Mary Jo Kopechne, Paterno definitely deserves some respect.

What happened to Mary Jo Kopechne was a horrible tragedy, and I believe that Ted Kennedy is responsible for her death. However, I don't feel that the molestation of hundreds of young men over the course of years is comparable.

I don't respect Paterno. I lose all respect for any person who would willingly turn their back on a child who was being sexually abused. They are on the same level as the abuser.

he totally deserves it - sorry if you disagree.

In all seriousness, what did he do to deserve the honor? Taking away this whole scandal and his actions or inaction's surrounding it, he was a football coach, nothing more.

Yes, he donated money and helped a lot with the special olympics, but so do many others and yet they would not have the flags flown at half staff. Why does the governor and so many others feel that he deserves it?

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

the reasons I believe this have already been posted in previous threads, which were closed for the nastiness and back and forth.

For those reasons, I voted and stated my feelings. For those reasons, I will not contribute to the nastiness or back and forth.

 

[Geoff_M]

Thanks for the guidelines.

Somebody ought to e-mail them to the governor to refresh his memory on when it is appropriate to fly a flag at half mast.

If I apply your logic to our state, then our Governors over the last 10 years could also be criticized for flying flags here at half-staff whenever we lose a Michigander in Iraq or Afghanistan, since if we interpret those guidelines as being exclusive in nature, would also be "improper".

I'm not a PSU grad, or connected to PA in anyway. I also think that PSU did the right thing in firing Paterno. However... I have an understanding that what Paterno did over his unparallelled career was a whole lot more than just teaching guys to run around and throw an oblong inflated leather ball. It's that understanding that makes his act of incredibly bad judgement that led to his firing even more mind boggling. Go ahead and get your knickers in the twist if you want about flags in Pennsylvania being lowered, or stadium lights being turned on at night, or whatever you like.... but to me Paterno's passive response about what people told him about Sandusky isn't much more than a sad post-script to a much broader story.

I also don't agree with the critics in the OP's story that saying your sad that someone has died is tantamount to being "insensitive" to anyone or "ignoring" a moral lapse.