Touch: Malcolm Gladwell on Jerry Sandusky

In today’s must-read stories: I’d suggest you spend some time with Malcolm Gladwell as he deconstructs Jerry Sandusky. Surprisingly, Gladwell didn’t liken Jer to a Jewish lawyer from New York, or blame his tendencies on his inability to spend time with computer terminals at the University of Washington. Instead, this: [New Yorker]

We now know what Sandusky was really doing with the Second Mile. He was setting up a pipeline of young troubled boys. Just as important, though, he was establishing his bona fides. Psychologists call this “grooming”—the process by which child molesters ingratiate themselves into the communities they wish to exploit. “Many molesters confirmed that they would spend anywhere from two to three years getting established in a new community before molesting any children,” van Dam writes. One pedophile she interviewed would hang out in bars, looking for adults who seemed to be having difficulties at home. He would lend a comforting ear, and then start to help out. 

 

It’s long, but worth your time. Or your lunch break. Read it here.

I’d also highly recommend you swing by the Malcolm Gladwell book generator to see what’s on the horizon from Gladwell:

Screen Shot 2012-09-20 at 10.21.33 AM

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

14 Responses

  1. After months of ripping the Paternos, I’m shocked to see you post this.
    Jerry Sandusky was really fucking good at being a pedophile. So good at it that everyone around him is taking part of the blame. Tragedy.

  2. Look, if you have young kids; the moral of this fucking story is that you really have to question any man that is actively making the company of your children. You cannot trust your instincts. Stranger Danger is the least of your concerns.

  3. The real reason he wasn’t caught is much closer to this than a conspiracy to cover up.

  4. I hope Jerry is anally raped with a rusty soup kitchen ladle duct taped to a table leg with screws sticking out of it every single day of the rest of his life. I also need a drink.

  5. I’ve read all of Gladwells books, he’s writing on another level in the realm of psychological content. This article is well worth a read, if only for the ability to recognize the warning signs within your own community, so get off Kyle’s back lunatics.

Comments are closed.