Penn State: Child Rape University (or: Dude, seriously? What the fuck?)

Yeah, you knew I had to chime in on this one.

WARNING:  This will be highly offensive to some people.  Please do not continue if you are squeamish or in any way support Paterno, PSU, or anyone involved (or if you support child rape.. so..yeah).  Trust me, if you feel that way you really will not like me once this is over.

Let me start out by saying very clearly: fuck Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, the "whistleblower", the entire PSU administration and the entire PSU athletic department.  May they all die horrible, slow, painful, humiliating deaths.  That's just for starters, folks, I warned you, remember?

Why are Paterno and the "wistleblower" on the same level of "bad guy" as the actual rapist?  Here's why: they had an opportunity to stand between innocent children and pure evil.  They chose to do, essentially, nothing.  They deserve everything they get after that choice.
 
So, as it turns out a coach at PSU was raping young boys in the showers of the football team's locker room.  And he was running a charity to help troubled boys.  Since 1977.  This piece of shit would gain the boys' trust, take them under his wing under the guise of helping their career, and then take them to the showers and rape them.  OK, yeah, pretty fucked up, right?  I mean, that alone is just about the most horrible story you have ever heard.  The guy should be castrated for sure.  But it gets worse...

There are now allegations that this piece of garbage not only raped these young boys, but pimped them out to high paying donors to Penn State.  So he sold the rape of little boys to other sick pieces of shit who paid for it.  That nice new PSU field house, track, dorm, cafeteria?  Turns out that may be, in part, paid for by child rapists.  But it gets worse...

Turns out that once, in 1999 this animal was caught raping a little boy in the shower.  A little context: the rapist garbage was in his 50s.  The coward who caught the rapist in the act was 6'5" and muscular, in fact a former PSU quarterback.  So of course he beat the ever living shit out of the child rapist and detained his sorry ass for the police right?  Not so much.  This coward told his boss and his dad.  They basically said "don't worry, we will take it from here".  And that was that.  For TEN GODDAMN YEARS THIS COWARD KNEW LITTLE BOYS WERE BEING RAPED IN THE LOCKER ROOM AND DID NOTHING MORE!

OK now, that is all "in the past" (not for those boys, but we digress, dear reader) now.  We need to look forward and build for a better tomorrow, right?  Here's your "better tomorrow": the total elimination of PSU football and the entire athletic department permanently.  Once the lawsuits from the victims are settled and fines levied by the NCAA are complete, if PSU has one dime left to support the school it will be too much.  Let it be bulldozed and the lands set up as a park.

"Oh, you're being too harsh.  99.999% of the PSU staff had no idea this was going on, why should they be punished for the acts of relatively few people?"

If that is what you just asked me, stop reading now.  Please go out, experience the world, understand that things are not all wonderful and happy and come back here.  I will wait.  For those of you who have a semi-functioning brain, let us continue.

So it would've been fine to let SOME Nazis go on after WWII ended (yes, I know many went on to help both the US and the USSR after the fact - but I speak only of what should occur, not what did, so don't be a pedantic ass, I have a point here).  Fuck that.  Child rapists (stop calling them "abusers," ESPN), much like Nazis never go away, they deserve harsh punishment, as do any who aid their cause to not only cover up rapes but to continue them.  Let the entirety of the PSU system be purged and burned to the ground, and the earth salted so that future generations will know that we value the innocence of youth over a fucking game.  At least, some of us do.

On a side note: the very worst part of this whole sickening saga is that there are millionaires and billionaires who paid to rape children who will never be outed.  Some pussy DA will give the PSU scum immunity to plead guilty and go away so the ever-precious money can continue to roll in to PSU.  Give me all these scum in a room, a pair of pliers and a small assortment of knives and I promise you we will find out every name of every piece of shit who paid to rape an innocent child.  Within one hour.  Yeah, that is just as wrong as torturing Al Queda suspects.  And after the fact I would need a lifetime of therapy and Scotch to forget those memories.  But I'd still do it without hesitation.  These people will continue to rape innocent children if they are not purged now.  We must go after them with everything we have.  As sickening as it seems, giving immunity to trash like Paterno may be the answer.  If we give him that, even though he willingly put football (?!?!?!!) before the safety of children, and knowing he will go on a talk show tour and book signing deal, netting him millions of dollars...shit....so be it.  He has been (along with his cohorts) garbage for decades - why stop now?  Use his total lack of morality and humanity to our advantage so we might purge more filth from our society.

I could write on and on for days about this.  The entire story has made me (quite literally) vomit several times already and I am sure that will return in time.  I will change nothing with this post, and I apologize that this is not my normal "angry dude ranting about everyday shit" posting, but this had to be addressed.  It solves nothing, and things will go on as they always have.  If you would, dear reader, do two small favors for me.  Pay attention to kids around you.  Victims of abuse often cry out to us in ways that are hidden or masked in their own way, for their own mental well-being.  Defend them.  Stand between a child and pure evil.  Do not be a coward like those at PSU.  My second favor is far easier: if anyone you meet ever defends Paterno or the PSU staff you have my explicit permission and endorsement to kick him/her in the crotch as hard as you can.

There will be no funny or amusing photo here, no silly meme to "make it all better."  I feel sick after writing this, and so should you.

The Subway

Ah...the NYC Subway system.  It really is the best way to get around the city and when you think about it, the complexity and size of the system make you wonder how it all manages to work at all (and nearly on-time more often than not!).

For those among us who do not live in NYC, however, I do not want to portray the subway as some panacea of modern transportation that is free of a single flaw.  The 7 train is always noisy and not as clean as many others, and if crowds make you squeamish you can forget the 6, 7, A, Q and most others during rush hour.  My problem with the transit system is not with the crowds or the performers looking to make/scam a buck from people who are not well trained in the art of ignoring others, or the random craziness one sees on a regular basis (that girl on the 7 train after the Mets' game earlier this year comes to mind.  If you were there you know exactly what I am talking about!).  The problem is that many people are seemingly unable to grasp (relatively) simple societal rules about conduct not only in a mass transit system but just being out in public.

Basic concepts:

• Knowing the difference between right and left and knowing which side of a sidewalk, platform or stairwell you are expected to use when walking.
• When you are about to go through a turnstile (especially during rush hour) and there is a massive flood of people coming in the opposite direction you HAVE TO FUCKING WAIT - there are 10,000 people right behind me so even if I am nice and let you through (I'm not, and I won't) you will have to battle through 9,999 other people who hate you for this.  And the train leaves in 10 seconds.  You will not catch this one.  Just wait goddamnit!  
• When on the train please, for the love of all that is good in this world STAY OFF YOUR PHONE and if you must talk on the phone learn to keep your voice down.  No one else wants to hear you whine about your day or complain about the rash you have.  Nothing in your world is so important that this one phone call cannot wait until you get outside!  
• In any subway car there are a limited number of hand-holds, and in the case of the R160B car, for example, one vertical pole in the center at each doorway.  Biggest asshat move on a crowded train: when someone leans against the pole so in order for other people to hold on you have to be 6'7" or are OK with grabbing a spot that will put you in contact with someone's back, ass, etc. (not advisable).  This offense seems to be most commonly perpetrated by enormous (in comparison to yours truly) gangsta douchebags who have no concept of the fact that other humans occupy this planet and just might like the idea of not being thrown about a subway car as it accelerates or comes to a stop.  
• For tourists: people here walk fast.  Slow walking may be acceptable in suburbia, flyover country or out in the woods, but not here (City parks being the exception to this rule).  City people have places to go and things to do that are more important than your vacation here.  Not one of us cares that this is your very first trip on a real subway and you just have to photograph every step and savor every moment of the experience.  Don't believe me?  Go to any station, get out of the way and just watch how people move - there is a flow to it all and (with the exception of the elderly) it works very well in most cases because we are mostly on the same wavelength.  If you can learn to get the hell out of the way we will get along just fine.  If not, please stay home.  
• Final thought: have your MetroCard out of your wallet and ready to swipe BEFORE you go into the goddamn turnstile!

I am fully aware that the supply of hundreds of millions (if not billions) of tourist dollars are brought here by millions of people, most of whom have no idea about these concepts (we may not love you, but we love your money), and I probably should not expect a non-NYCer to follow these simple steps, but to people who live here: COME ON!


And now for the laugh/forced meme of the day:

The New Dog

I know that I announced that this post would be an exciting journey through the NYC subway system and how people who use it have the incredible ability to get me angry on seriously impressive levels, but that will have to wait for now.

A new couple (not the previously established shoe store owners) has moved in down the hall from me and they have a small dog.  I love dogs.  In fact I love dogs more than most people (not you, my dear reader, you are awesome, it's all those other jerks that I can't stand!). This dog is left alone for the usual work day, like most dogs, but unlike most he is left alone almost every night as well.  Why is this a problem?

Tangent: the hallway on my floor has amazing (or absolutely awful, whatever) acoustics.  You can hear the slightest sound from the far end of the hallway as if it were right outside your door.  Needless to say, a dog that whines and whines and WHINES for hours on end, all the while clawing at the door - can be heard throughout the floor.  This wouldn't be so awful and annoying if those sounds didn't catch the attention of the three other dogs (who are all well behaved, I might add) and drive them quite mad!

Seriously people, is it that hard to train a dog?  Aside from that, who gets a dog and leaves it alone for 20+ hours EACH DAY?

Clearly this situation must be resolved, and apparently I am not the only person who feels this way.  This evening there was a note on this person's door.

 The text is as follows:

Hello neighbor,

You may not be aware of this but when you are out, either at work during the day, or well into the evening, your dog whines, cries and scratches the door incessantly.  Because of the terrible acoustics in this hallway your dog’s cries are heard in every apartment on this floor which (aside from being maddeningly annoying), over time, causes the other dogs on the floor to bark in response.  

This situation cannot continue - aside from the cruelty of leaving a dog alone for 15-20+ hours a day, it is annoying and disruptive to your neighbors.  

Please look in to training for your dog as he/she clearly suffers from extreme bouts of separation anxiety and loneliness.  It is the right thing to do, for the dog and for your neighbors.  

We all have to live here together - let’s do what we can to make that as nice as possible.  

Thank you.

I have to say, I am impressed!  Why that story made me think of this I will never know:

And while we are on the subject of dogs, here is a great protip for you: don't EVER pet my dog without asking me if it's ok FIRST.  How would you like it if I went up to your child and patted him/her (I refuse to write him/her every time, so the child in this scenario is a boy.  Don't like it?  Stop reading!)  on his stupid head?  You'd call the cops, probably after assaulting me.  So why is it perfectly acceptable in your mind to walk up to my ANIMAL who you don't know at all and stick your grubby hand near its mouth FULL OF TEETH?  The times this has happened to me I almost wish I had a real asshole of a dog who would tear your arm off just for being an unknown person within two feet of me.  Alas, I have the sweetest dog that has ever existed, so there is no threat whatsoever in approaching her, but if we have never met before, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!  KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!

The Shoe Store II: Boxing Day

After my last post I was considering giving the "shoe store owners" a break for a while and let my disgust of their inconsiderate nature grow for a while before a follow-up.  Now, I just might be getting too picky by now (much to the surprise of all who know me, I am sure), but this is just one more example of people being inconsiderate, entitled asshats.  

As a background:  on each floor of this building there is a "Recycling Room" with the garbage chute access door and two bins, one for paper and the other for plastic and glass.  The bins are standard-size garbage cans, a perfect size for one floor's newspapers, six-pack containers and random junk mail for a week, and plenty of beer and wine bottles in the glass bin.  Several people on the floor (myself included) use Fresh Direct for groceries and the deliveries are made in cardboard boxes.  The COURTEOUS thing to do, when one has several boxes that will not fit properly into the paper bin would be to break down the boxes and slide them in between the bin and the wall, thereby keeping them out of the way for other residents and not forcing the maintenance personnel to do WORK YOU SHOULD BE DOING.  

Now back to our story.  I went to the recycling room this evening and much to my surprise (not really) I found this:

OK, admittedly this is not the worst offense in human history, and it actually rates pretty low on my scale of things to be outraged about, but its the general principle of the matter at stake here.  There aren't that many boxes - the litterbug could have easily broken each box down and slid them each between the wall and the black bin in the photo.  By pure...coincidence I happened to spot a note later on that calls out the litterbugs for what they are:

Passive-aggressive?  Sure.  Not the best handwriting?  Perhaps.  Relatively low on the humor scale?  Well, OK.  I am, however, in full support of the message here.  It publicly "shames" the litterbugs/lazy people who feel they have every right to act like this.  Granted, it will most likely not change a thing, and I will wind up being angry over a nearly identical incident perpetrated by the same people within a month, but maybe...just maybe the litterbug will see this and consider how they have acted, shamed by the public "outing" of their lazy and inconsiderate ways, and vowing to act like a grownup member of society for once.  

Nah, once an asshole, always an asshole.

The lesson here, I suppose, is this: none of us (aside from really awesome lords, kings, etc.) live on an island, isolated from all of humanity.  The crap you leave around WILL impact someone else just as much, if not more, than their crap impacted you.  So let's all try to do our part here - clean up after yourself.  Try not to have a negative impact on others.  And don't be an asshat.

Wait, did I just get philosophical there?  Sorry about that folks.  The real lesson here is: people who act like inconsiderate, entitled children are douchbags and deserve to be called out openly, if only for our own amusement.  

On the next episode:  things people do on the subway that really grind my gears.  

The Shoe Store

My friends, many of us live, or have lived at one time, in an apartment building.  A more communal setting has both advantages and drawbacks.  When you live in a building with many other people there is just no way you will get along with everyone and you are lucky to make a few friends (as I have) in a vast sea of random jerks.  That said, when you live in close proximity to others it is a generally accepted social policy that you try to interfere with the lives of others as little as is reasonable and, for the majority of us, to be courteous to our neighbors.  Then there is this:

"What's so bad about that Brian?  Stop being so picky," you might say.  Just wait...

So now we added some more shoes and a newspaper.  "That's it?  A few lousy pairs of shoes and a newspaper is what this is all about?"  Yeah, not so much...

And this is what we get when you have an entitled jerk living on your floor.  Now, I do not wear shoes in my apartment, but I have the common decency to BRING MY SHOES (and any articles of clothing I manage to strip off in the hallway) INSIDE MY APARTMENT WITH ME!  *whew*

There are some more egregious examples of this kind of asshattery but I will spare you the evidence for now.  The lesson here:  either take your crap inside with you or prepare to have...things done to your footwear.  *walking away slowly, whistling*

Till next time...

Welcome, friends.  This is a forum to vent about things that really grind my gears.  I hope this to be therapeutic for me and amusing for you, my dear reader.  Or was that amusing for me and therapeutic for you?  We may never know.

The most common topics to be covered (for now) will be generally accepted rules of society and the asshats who choose to disregard these rules and endure my wrath on a private blog in a tiny corner of the tubes, and whatever is bouncing around this...interesting mind of mine.  Feel free to leave messages, posts, etc. and join in the fun!

I hope you will enjoy this.  I know I will.