LP_041918

12 | April 19, 2018 | The Lockport Legend sound off
lockportlegend.com
From the Editor
Facing an uncomfortable reality
Max Lapthorne
max@lockportlegend.com
When something
makes us feel uncomfortable,
it’s
a natural reaction to try and
avoid talking about or acknowledging
it. But, while
that might work in the short
term, when it comes to an
issue such as sexual abuse,
shoving our heads in the
sand and hoping it goes
away for decades has done
nothing to help prevent an
issue that permeates our
country.
Like many serious societal
issues, sexual abuse
can feel like something
that only happens to other
people. I’m as guilty as
anyone of thinking to myself,
“Well that would never
happen in my community.”
And yet here we are for the
second time in three weeks
with stories inside the
pages of The Legend detailing
alleged abuse by people
in positions of power at
local high schools.
Our April 5 issue featured
the story of Danielle
Sarna, a Lockport Township
High School graduate
who is still searching for
justice and accountability
after allegedly being
groomed and sexually
abused by a former LTHS
teacher for a number of
years. It took more than a
decade for Danielle to begin
speaking out about the
alleged abuse, as is the case
in the disturbing story on
Page 7 in this week’s issue.
Former Providence Catholic
High School president
Richard J. McGrath left
his position at the school
in December after a female
student allegedly saw
“what she believed to be a
photo of a nude 13-year-old
male” on McGrath’s phone,
as previously reported by
The Legend. No criminal
charges came of that
incident, as the phone in
question vanished, leaving
a lack of evidence.
But last week, a lawsuit
was filed by a former student
alleging that McGrath
sexually abused him when
he was a student in 1995-
1996. Now 36-year-old
Bob Krankvich, the plaintiff
in the lawsuit, also
alleges that Providence
was aware of the abuse and
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covered it up.
These stories are sickening
to read, and my first reaction
is to shy away from
reading the details, waiting
for the news cycle to churn
up something more palatable.
But that right there is
the problem.
We can’t continue to
simply read the headlines
of these stories and say,
“Oh my, what a shame,”
and move on. We need to
read and understand them
thoroughly, so we can learn
more about how these
types of things happen, and
can become more wellequipped
to prevent them.
As a graduate of Michigan
State University, I
have read all about the
horrific crimes of Larry
Nassar, a former doctor
who abused hundreds of
girls over the course of
two decades as an employee
at MSU. It’s unthinkable
that one of the worst
sexual predators in the history
of America was abusing
children on the same
campus where I had so
many positive memories. I
needed to know how.
How could such a monster
flourish for so long
without someone putting a
stop to it? But then I heard
Danielle Sarna’s story.
And then Bob Krankvich’s
story. And the stories of so
many other brave men and
women speaking out as part
of the #MeToo campaign.
And suddenly I started to
understand.
There is no quick fix
when it comes to sexual
abuse. But the vile nature
of these abuses have
scared us away from the
topic, preventing a national
dialogue and hamstringing
any opportunity for
change.
But that change is slowly
coming. More and more of
these victims are coming
forward, and that dialogue
has begun. The volume
of people sharing their
stories of abuse is jarring.
Are there really this many
people living alongside us
who carry this with them
every day?
On the surface, it’s hard
to imagine, but given our
societal propensity to disassociate
with anyone and
anything having to do with
these abuses — including
victims — it isn’t hard to
imagine why it has taken
so long for people to feel
comfortable speaking up
about it.
Danielle Sarna, Bob
Krankvich, Rachael
Denhollander — the first
woman to publicly accuse
Nassar — and thousands
of other people speaking
up about sexual abuse are,
in my eyes, heroes. It’s
impossible for me to know
the strength it took for them
to share their stories, but I
do know the world is a better
place for having brave
people like them speaking
out about an issue that’s so
pervasive in this country.
What I’ve learned from
hearing and reading all
these stories is that my
ignoring them and hoping
they’ll go away because
they inconvenience my
rosy worldview is part of
the problem. We need to
listen to the chilling details
of these stories. We need to
learn how the perpetrators
of these crimes get away
with it. And we need to do
our collective best to make
it stop.
It’s time for all of us to
come together and face this
issue head on; we owe the
Danielle’s, Bob’s and Rachael’s
of the world at least
that much.
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
From LockportLegend.com from
Monday, April 16
1. UPDATE: Body of missing man found in
river
2. UPDATE: Body found in river after
discovery of leg prompts search
3. UPDATED: Lawsuit alleges sex abuse by
McGrath, neglect by Providence
4. Police Reports: Man attempted to steal
$600 worth of merchandise from Walmart
5. Christian Brothers Automotive searching
for Lockport franchisee
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