Based on the response that I've seen in the days after the scandal as well as the way people continue to react, it's really made me ponder the human condition. I'll spare the trouble of reading the vitriol and irrationality spewing from people in comment sections, but it suffices to say that there is still a lot of ignorance and misinformation being used to support the hatred and I just can't understand it.

In an article regarding Jamil Pollard committing to Penn State, people are calling him "a shameful piece of garbage" for his decision. What is it that illicits this reaction from people? I realize that there are an ample amount of trolls out there and this is most likely one of them, however through personal experiences with people, I still see similar, less extreme reactions. So what is it about the human condition that causes this?

When the Sandusky story broke and there was an immediate rush to judgment and speculation despite the absence of facts, I took from it an understanding that it is not in our instincts to wait. Waiting is not a survival instinct, only acting and reacting are. While the majority of people rushed to act, we were forced to react, even if it was only to encourage waiting until facts emerge. While this isn't a defense for the mass hysteria and ignorant speculation, it was my attempt at rationalizing it. However, I'm having a very hard time understanding the continue vitriol that persists now that the hysteria has died down. Especially because it seems that it has only begotten more ignorance. Now not only are people claiming Paterno was the witness, or that Sandusky was still a coach for the last 10 years, it is affecting other principles of Penn State as well. Seeing people claim that Penn State never cared about academics, or that we don't worry about our athletes' graduation rates are about as far from the truth as you can get.

Is it because the ignorance has been validated with Paterno's firing and the university's lack of action? Is it that there's something in the human condition that forces us to remain on the attack despite the threat being neutralized? Is this story that horrific that people that were completely unaffiliated with any of it feel violated and traumatized?

I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what is going on. My skin has definitely been thickened throughout this ordeal, and my allegiances have not wavered. It just baffles me that not only does the ignorance and hatred persist, but that it grows undaunted. I understand that the examples I have used may not apply to a majority of people, or even a significant portion, however they still exist, and they tend to be the people yelling the loudest. In the absence of fact and information disseminated from proper entities, it enables this situation to persist. I just don't understand why people take that as an opportunity to do these kinds of things.