# Flags at half-staff for child-molestation enabler? I don't get it.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flags-at-half-staff-for-child-molestation-enabler-i-dont-get-it/610417>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [January 23, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flags-at-half-staff-for-child-molestation-enabler-i-dont-get-it/610417 "2012-01-23T18:29:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flags-at-half-staff-for-child-molestation-enabler-i-dont-get-it/610417/41 "2012-01-26T00:31:49Z")

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By most accounts, including his own, Joe Paterno should have done more. But, while it might be a small point, his error was one of omission, not commission. But we should all be judged on the totality of our lives. Paterno did a great deal of good in his life as well. He built a football program by supporting and improving the lives of thousands of young men. He supported minority athletes when many of them were not given a fair chance. Millions of fans and alums loved the entertainment of his teams. He was a great father and grandfather. He gave millions back to the school.

I’m not advocating that he should be completely forgiven, or even forgiven at all. Only that there is much more on the positive side of the ledger than is being acknowledged here.

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**Author:** ![SantaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@SantaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SantaMan)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flags-at-half-staff-for-child-molestation-enabler-i-dont-get-it/610417/42 "2012-01-26T00:39:13Z")

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I feel awful that this is the first thing that came to mind when I saw this title

> **[But You Screw One Goat! - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButYouScrewOneGoat)**
>
> This title, named after the punchline for a joke, could be one of two things: It's the old name for the Bestiality Is Depraved trope. The actual joke is about one of two tropes: Never Live It Down (if an Audience Reaction) Once Done, Never …

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