# Is there anything Sandusky could do that would allow society to forgive him? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790 "2011-11-13T13:48:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/41 "2011-11-14T20:56:40Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > The first is that, as individuals, to forgive someone doesn’t mean wiping out the crime or pretending it didn’t matter. It means making a purposeful decision to let go of the pain, heal, move on, and refuse to seek revenge or punishment of the one who hurt us. Most psychologists and clergy will say that forgiveness is by far the better route, but from my experience, it takes a certain amount of emotional and mental resources to forgive. If you’re coping day to day with crippling pain because of what was done to you, you may not have the ability to do these things. Exactly right. Forgiving someone as an individual is about preventing their wrong from continuing to hurt you. If we are intent on revenge, we are allowing their evil to influence ourselves. > [@](#): > > The second is that, as a society, where possible, we need to allow those who have committed crimes, admitted their guilt, come to terms with their responsibility, paid the consequences, and show an honest desire to make amends to rejoin and become part of us again. The problem is, very few people are capable of admitting they’ve done something wrong, let alone take responsibility for it, let alone accept the consequences or make amends. And, there are some crimes that are so awful - like using a position of trust and authority to rape children - that no matter how earnest and regretful the person is, we just don’t want them back. The damage they did includes destroying their right to be part of our society. Exactly. Forgiving someone on the individual level is separate than forgiveness as a society. We have a duty to protect our society. Someone who has broken our trust repeatedly in such a heinous way must be separated from society. Probably forever. > [@](#): > > I think at that point, the best we can do is comfort the victims and leave the criminal forever apart from human society. Put them away, ostracize them, forget them, and let them live the rest of their life knowing they are no longer part of the human community. I suppose for some, it won’t really matter to them. For others, it will. At that point, though, what they think or feel about the outcome doesn’t really matter any more. I completely agree again. Capital punishment gives an easy out for them. Better to let them live a long lonely life with themself. And torture is a non-starter–it demeans us more than it punishes them. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/42 "2011-11-14T21:35:16Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > Godwin’s Law = the longer a discussion goes on, the likelihood of a Hitler reference approaches 100%. I don’t know how **StusBlues** got that out of your OP either. > > I don’t think it’s in poor taste. I did not mean a criticism. My first impulse was to answer “What could Hitler do that would allow society to forgive him?” Sorry for being unclear. ---
**Author:** ![gerund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@gerund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gerund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/43 "2011-11-14T21:46:39Z")
I have a suggestion for what should happen to him and every person who knew what he was doing. Since it is not appropriate for an online forum, I’ll keep that suggestion to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/44 "2011-11-14T22:13:38Z")
Short of the allegations being conclusively proven false or him having some kind of very serious mental disorder, I can’t see society forgiving him. Sexually abusing kids is horrible in its own right, but this scandal involves repeated, premeditated offenses over the course of several years. There “might” be room to forgive someone who did it once, under some kind of argument of momentary weakness or something, but so many times over so many years completely removes that. However, I think the worst part to the general public is the violation of the trust of someone who seemed to be a very upstanding person in an upstanding organization. If it had been some creepy guy that’d be one thing, but this was someone who served as a role model, who worked in charities, and part of one of the greatest institutions in all of sports under Paterno for 46 years. But he was secretly demented and using that position only to gain him access to kids. And, in so doing, he’s dragging down that whole institution with him. So, he not only has to overcome the whole pedophile thing, which is borderline impossible by itself, but the serial-pedophile, trust-violating, institution-destroying, right-under-our-noses stuff as well. I just don’t think that’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/45 "2011-11-14T22:34:44Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I did not mean a criticism. My first impulse was to answer “What could Hitler do that would allow society to forgive him?” Sorry for being unclear. Oh no problem at all. I just wanted to be sure and I learned something too. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790/46 "2011-11-14T22:36:36Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > However, I think the worst part to the general public is the violation of the trust of someone who seemed to be a very upstanding person in an upstanding organization. If it had been some creepy guy that’d be one thing, but this was someone who served as a role model, who worked in charities, and part of one of the greatest institutions in all of sports under Paterno for 46 years. But he was secretly demented and using that position only to gain him access to kids. And, in so doing, he’s dragging down that whole institution with him. I agree. They never look like the monsters they are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-sandusky-could-do-that-would-allow-society-to-forgive-him/602790.md?page=2)