# See, now this is a crowd **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 10, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481 "2011-11-10T04:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/1 "2011-11-10T04:30:40Z")
> **[Penn State Scandal: Students March In Support Of Joe Paterno](https://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/11/9/2548905/penn-state-scandal-students-march-in-support-of-joe-paterno)** > > Hundreds of students gathered in front of Joe Paterno's house Tuesday evening, cheering and chanting Paterno's name and eventually drawing the Nittany Lions head coach out of his house to offer his... Hundreds of students gathered in front of Joe Paterno’s house Tuesday evening, cheering and chanting Paterno’s name and eventually drawing the Nittany Lions head coach out of his house to offer his thanks for the support. Paterno eventually went back inside, but instead of dispersing, the throng of student supporters continued to grow, eventually migrating down Beaver Avenue to the steps of Old Main, the school’s administrative building, according to Penn State’s student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. Thousands of students congregated in the campus streets, as you can see in the picture below posted on Twitter by @TheSchoolPhilly: ============================= OWS people dream about this kind of turnout. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/2 "2011-11-10T05:01:41Z")
Well, if nothing else, it’s pretty good support for those who believe that football is a bigger part of Penn State than intellectual pursuits. At least they’ll be able to say “When they came for the pedophile rapist enablers, i stood up.” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/3 "2011-11-10T05:25:15Z")
And the rest of the article says … > [@](#): > > While so many students have been vocal in their support for Paterno, the whole reason for why his job may be in jeopardy – could he have done more to protect minors from a suspected sexual predator? – seemed to have been lost on the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/4 "2011-11-10T05:34:48Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > And the rest of the article says … Exactly. How fucking stupid are these people? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/5 "2011-11-10T06:32:28Z")
Uh, yay pedophiles? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/6 "2011-11-10T06:41:33Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [Penn State Scandal: Students March In Support Of Joe Paterno - SBNation.com](http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/11/9/2548905/penn-state-scandal-students-march-in-support-of-joe-paterno) > > Hundreds of students gathered in front of Joe Paterno’s house Tuesday evening, cheering and chanting Paterno’s name and eventually drawing the Nittany Lions head coach out of his house to offer his thanks for the support. > > Paterno eventually went back inside, but instead of dispersing, the throng of student supporters continued to grow, eventually migrating down Beaver Avenue to the steps of Old Main, the school’s administrative building, according to Penn State’s student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. > > Thousands of students congregated in the campus streets, as you can see in the picture below posted on Twitter by @TheSchoolPhilly: > > ============================= > > OWS people dream about this kind of turnout. O rly? [ > [@](#): > > Hundreds of students gathered about two blocks from the campus, with some chanting “We want Joe! We want Joe!” Some shook a lamp post and others tipped over a news van, kicking out its windows. Police fired bursts of pepper gas. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBC\_PENN\_STATE\_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-10-01-13-54](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBC_PENN_STATE_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-10-01-13-54)) So, you support unruly lawbreakers acting in support of pedophiles and their enablers? Is that the message you’re putting out there? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/7 "2011-11-10T06:43:23Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > So, you support unruly lawbreakers acting in support of pedophiles and their enablers? Is that the message you’re putting out there? What gave you that idea? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/8 "2011-11-10T06:47:45Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > What gave you that idea? Lame. Defend your post or get the fuck out of here. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/9 "2011-11-10T06:50:42Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > What gave you that idea? Probably the number of threads in which you’ve written disparaging opinions about the OWS people, and how you attempt to juxtapose them with the Paterno supporters you wrote an OP about. It certainly seems to me that you are expressing support and even admiration for the people gathering outside of Paterno’s house. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/10 "2011-11-10T06:57:31Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Probably the number of threads in which you’ve written disparaging opinions about the OWS people, and how you attempt to juxtapose them with the Paterno supporters you wrote an OP about. It certainly seems to me that you are expressing support and even admiration for the people gathering outside of Paterno’s house. Only in your fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/11 "2011-11-10T07:00:05Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Lame. Defend your post or get the fuck out of here. There’s nothing to “defend”. Thousands of students turn out for something stupid like a sport team’s coach firing. As I pointed out, OWS would kill for this kind of turnout. But I guess OWS just cannot provide a good reason for young people to come. At least not as good as the one in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/12 "2011-11-10T07:07:39Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Only in your fantasies. I’m just going by what you wrote. I have no fantasies about you whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/13 "2011-11-10T07:10:50Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > There’s nothing to “defend”. Thousands of students turn out for something stupid like a sport team’s coach firing. As I pointed out, OWS would kill for this kind of turnout. But I guess OWS just cannot provide a good reason for young people to come. At least not as good as the one in the OP. I take it you haven’t seen any of the pictures depicting thousands of people at OWS then? It’s funny, but just by googling “owe crowd size” I was able to find pictures from just a couple of days ago that make the crowd outside Paterno’s seem small. I think you might be the person here who has fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/14 "2011-11-10T07:11:13Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > There’s nothing to “defend”. Thousands of students turn out for something stupid like a sport team’s coach firing. As I pointed out, OWS would kill for this kind of turnout. But I guess OWS just cannot provide a good reason for young people to come. At least not as good as the one in the OP. Ah. Come back in two months and let me know if the students are still protesting this. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/15 "2011-11-10T13:15:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I take it you haven’t seen any of the pictures depicting thousands of people at OWS then? Yes - sure. In the most populous city in the nation, once, OWS managed to get 6K people together. Otherwise, it’s a couple of hundred people sitting in a park. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/16 "2011-11-10T13:48:46Z")
Seems that OWS has done a very fine job of occupying your head, since even the totally unrelated firing of a football coach has reminded you of what they’re doing. And that’s what they want; they want people to be aware of them and why they’re out there. Mission accomplished. And with only a few hundred people! How efficient, eh? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/17 "2011-11-10T14:13:18Z")
People, if you have a problem with the OP, take it to the Pit. This thread is about the riots at Penn State. Keep it on topic, please. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/18 "2011-11-10T14:37:48Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > People, if you have a problem with the OP, take it to the Pit. > > This thread is about the riots at Penn State. Keep it on topic, please. > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator No it’s not. It’s a troll thread. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/19 "2011-11-10T15:02:36Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > People, if you have a problem with the OP, take it to the Pit. > > This thread is about the riots at Penn State. Keep it on topic, please. > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator It appears to be about the Penn State riots as compared with the OWS demonstrations, as evidenced by the final line of the OP. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481/20 "2011-11-10T15:12:21Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It appears to be about the Penn State riots as compared with the OWS demonstrations, as evidenced by the final line of the OP. IMO. The thread being titled “see, now this is a crowd” is another subtle clue, as is the cleverly coded language displayed here: > [@Terr](#): > > Thousands of students turn out for something stupid like a sport team’s coach firing. As I pointed out, OWS would kill for this kind of turnout. But I guess OWS just cannot provide a good reason for young people to come. At least not as good as the one in the OP. I’ve analyzed this carefully, and it’s my opinion— stay with me here, this may seem shocking, but keep an open mind— that the OP is attempting to draw a disparaging comparison between this demonstration and the OWS ones. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-now-this-is-a-crowd/602481.md?page=2)