Don't Make Noise; Make a Difference
Donation protected
Hi!
I'm Tim Flucht. I'm from Canton, MI.
I'm the guy that's going to ask for $5 of your money, in about 5 minutes.
That picture? That's a howler monkey.
I promise it will all make sense by the end.
When I first heard Penn State University planned to honor the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game as head coach (during their home game on 9/17), I was incredulous.
Whether you believe the Freeh report got all the details right or not, this seems the most tone-deaf "celebration" I can remember.
We're all aware of Jerry Sandusky, and his horrific campaign of sexual abuse of children. I don't need to reiterate here what happened. If you don't know, you can Google it--but be prepared to be sick.
Sick about the abuse, sick about the cover-up, and sick about the apologists who continue to insist it didn't happen, or wasn't as bad as that, or that, well, maybe more should have been done, but that's all water under the bridge.
That era of PSU history should never be "celebrated".
The more I thought about it, the madder I got.
I wanted to do something, something to protest this callous disregard for the victims, this attempt to whitewash a legacy that should be stained forever.
I thought about T-shirts saying who knew what and when (1989, 1979, or 1976, depending on which testimony you believe).
I thought about trying to organize a protest at PSU's next game, at Michigan on 9/24. Boo the PSU team, hold up signs--do something!
Then I thought about this - why make noise?
Football games are already loud.
Election years are full of noisy ads, screaming negativity about the other candidate.
It's all noise.
I'm not sure it's even effective.
I don't want to start a conversation about attempting to rehabilitate an era best left alone. The honor of winning a bunch of football games will NEVER outweigh the disgrace of the sexual exploitation of children.
When I was on vacation this year, my family and I were able to see a large troop of howler monkeys. Howlers are the loudest sound in nature, with their howls topping out at about 140 decibels, about the same as a jet engine.
This troop traveled through our resort, from nesting to feeding areas.
In the late morning, when the grounds crew was working, the crew would use leaf blowers to clear the walks.
The blowers made the howlers crazy! They'd hoot, holler, and howl at the grounds crew, screaming in competition with the leaf blowers. The overall cacophony was unreal.
Lots of noise, but nothing was accomplished.
We don't need more noise, whether about PSU's ill-timed and tone deaf celebrations, or the tainted legacy of their program, or specific people within it.
It won't accomplish anything.
But together, we can accomplish a lot.
So how do we show our displeasure, but still make a difference?
By corralling that outrage into something positive.
How do we show Michigan spirit (hey, Sparties, Lakers, Broncos, Eagles, Chips, Bulldogs, Titans, Warriors, and Huskies are all welcome to join in!) in a meaningful way?
The Big House holds (officially) 107,601.
107,601 x $5 = $538,005. That's a LOT of money.
Even after GoFundMe takes their 5% off the top, it's still over a half mil. Imagine what the right charity could do with that, especially a charity that works with abused kids?
That's how we show our displeasure. We band together, pitch in the price of a designer coffee drink, and 100% of the net will be given to a Michigan or national charity, one that works with abused kids. Over a half million dollars to help prevent more kids in the same boat as Sandusky's victims - lost, scared, and ashamed.
You can read more about it in Neal Rubin’s column in the Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/neal-rubin/2016/09/12/neal-rubin-joe-paterno-michigan-football-protest/90291752/
The money will go to a charity dedicated to the prevention of child sexual abuse, Darkness to Light: www.d2l.org. We intend to transfer the funds directly to them the week after the U of M/Penn State game, when we close down this site.
I do not have any ties to D2L, but they were suggested as a candidate for the donations. I researched them, and they have solid ratings.
D2L specializes in the prevention of the sexual abuse of children, and they are good stewards of donations, with 82.1% of their donations going directly into programs.
They also received 100% score for transparency and accountability, from Charity Navigator (see the report here: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=8847).
The money will be put to good use.
We don't need to make noise.
But we can make a difference.
Would you please donate $5? And if you do, would you also share this site and cause with a friend? Facebook share this site, or Tweet it out #dontmakenoise.
If you feel like you want to give more than $5, feel free to do so. The kids can use it.
And if you all want to stand up on Saturday, September 24, when the Penn State football team runs into the Big House, and NOT MAKE A SOUND, I'm OK with that, too.
Don't make noise; make a difference.
I'm Tim Flucht. I'm from Canton, MI.
I'm the guy that's going to ask for $5 of your money, in about 5 minutes.
That picture? That's a howler monkey.
I promise it will all make sense by the end.
When I first heard Penn State University planned to honor the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game as head coach (during their home game on 9/17), I was incredulous.
Whether you believe the Freeh report got all the details right or not, this seems the most tone-deaf "celebration" I can remember.
We're all aware of Jerry Sandusky, and his horrific campaign of sexual abuse of children. I don't need to reiterate here what happened. If you don't know, you can Google it--but be prepared to be sick.
Sick about the abuse, sick about the cover-up, and sick about the apologists who continue to insist it didn't happen, or wasn't as bad as that, or that, well, maybe more should have been done, but that's all water under the bridge.
That era of PSU history should never be "celebrated".
The more I thought about it, the madder I got.
I wanted to do something, something to protest this callous disregard for the victims, this attempt to whitewash a legacy that should be stained forever.
I thought about T-shirts saying who knew what and when (1989, 1979, or 1976, depending on which testimony you believe).
I thought about trying to organize a protest at PSU's next game, at Michigan on 9/24. Boo the PSU team, hold up signs--do something!
Then I thought about this - why make noise?
Football games are already loud.
Election years are full of noisy ads, screaming negativity about the other candidate.
It's all noise.
I'm not sure it's even effective.
I don't want to start a conversation about attempting to rehabilitate an era best left alone. The honor of winning a bunch of football games will NEVER outweigh the disgrace of the sexual exploitation of children.
When I was on vacation this year, my family and I were able to see a large troop of howler monkeys. Howlers are the loudest sound in nature, with their howls topping out at about 140 decibels, about the same as a jet engine.
This troop traveled through our resort, from nesting to feeding areas.
In the late morning, when the grounds crew was working, the crew would use leaf blowers to clear the walks.
The blowers made the howlers crazy! They'd hoot, holler, and howl at the grounds crew, screaming in competition with the leaf blowers. The overall cacophony was unreal.
Lots of noise, but nothing was accomplished.
We don't need more noise, whether about PSU's ill-timed and tone deaf celebrations, or the tainted legacy of their program, or specific people within it.
It won't accomplish anything.
But together, we can accomplish a lot.
So how do we show our displeasure, but still make a difference?
By corralling that outrage into something positive.
How do we show Michigan spirit (hey, Sparties, Lakers, Broncos, Eagles, Chips, Bulldogs, Titans, Warriors, and Huskies are all welcome to join in!) in a meaningful way?
The Big House holds (officially) 107,601.
107,601 x $5 = $538,005. That's a LOT of money.
Even after GoFundMe takes their 5% off the top, it's still over a half mil. Imagine what the right charity could do with that, especially a charity that works with abused kids?
That's how we show our displeasure. We band together, pitch in the price of a designer coffee drink, and 100% of the net will be given to a Michigan or national charity, one that works with abused kids. Over a half million dollars to help prevent more kids in the same boat as Sandusky's victims - lost, scared, and ashamed.
You can read more about it in Neal Rubin’s column in the Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/neal-rubin/2016/09/12/neal-rubin-joe-paterno-michigan-football-protest/90291752/
The money will go to a charity dedicated to the prevention of child sexual abuse, Darkness to Light: www.d2l.org. We intend to transfer the funds directly to them the week after the U of M/Penn State game, when we close down this site.
I do not have any ties to D2L, but they were suggested as a candidate for the donations. I researched them, and they have solid ratings.
D2L specializes in the prevention of the sexual abuse of children, and they are good stewards of donations, with 82.1% of their donations going directly into programs.
They also received 100% score for transparency and accountability, from Charity Navigator (see the report here: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=8847).
The money will be put to good use.
We don't need to make noise.
But we can make a difference.
Would you please donate $5? And if you do, would you also share this site and cause with a friend? Facebook share this site, or Tweet it out #dontmakenoise.
If you feel like you want to give more than $5, feel free to do so. The kids can use it.
And if you all want to stand up on Saturday, September 24, when the Penn State football team runs into the Big House, and NOT MAKE A SOUND, I'm OK with that, too.
Don't make noise; make a difference.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tim Flucht
Organizer
Dearborn, MI
Denis Chirles
Beneficiary
