My Interview Regarding Joe White
I just got off the phone with a reporter from The Record (NJ), the newspaper for the region where I grew up. He is doing a story on the former Teaneck High Principal who is accused of child endangerment.
I basically told him that I knew Mr. White as a moral, ethical educator who really cared about helping kids and the community, and that the accusations are hard to believe, a total shock. That, never in a million years, would I have thought the man was capable of what they've accused him of, and that I always knew him as a great guy.
I had to explain that this blog wasn't about Joe White; it was just one of the subjects I've written about, which seemed weird. I mean, it's JoeGrossberg.com, not JoeWhite.com and there are almost 3,000 entries.
It'll be interesting to see if my quotes get included and how. I said "um" and "like" and "ya know" a lot, so I doubt they can be run verbatim.
I hope I don't end up regretting my chat with the press, but I really think that Mr. White was awesome, and made a positive difference for a lot of teenagers, and I wanted to say something, in the hope that his accomplishments weren't completely overshadowed by these charges.
I can just see the quote now:
"Mr. White is amoral, unethical educator who freely helped himself to kids in the community." ("Mr. White is a moral, um, ethical educator [...]")
Good luck with being quoted accurately, and in context. :-)
Posted by: Dossy Shiobara on July 12, 2007 9:20 PM | permalinkI remember there was a Rolling Stone interview after he'd left office, where they quoting him as referring to the "dumbass Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. He claimed to have said, "Don't Ask ... Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and Rolling Stone issued a retraction.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on July 13, 2007 11:14 AM | permalinkSpeaking to media outlets is a game and "umms", "ahhs", "likes" and "you knows", while hard to avoid, sound a lot worse on tv and radio then they will when you're (hopefully) quoted in print. So I wouldn't worry too much about that.
But I don't understand why you're praising a guy who abused his position of power and authority over students, not once, not even twice, but on multiple occasions! (Investigators apparently contacted other students he allegedly touched who are now over 18 and refuse to cooperate with the investigation).
And he did it all after he spent who knows how much of his fortune (to say nothing of the emotional costs borne by his wife and family) defending himself from the first set of allegations, bringing the case all the way to trial, where he was eventually -- and with the benefit of hindsight, it certainly looks like, wrongfully -- acquitted.
To my mind, Joe White is as big a disappointment as an educator as the closet-case he followed into that Principal's office. I don't usually wish jail or prison on anyone (not even Paris Hilton) but Joe White getting locked up is exactly what he deserves!
No, wait, that's not true. He's getting much less than he deserves.
Posted by: Danny G on July 13, 2007 6:02 PM | permalinkDanny G:
What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? He hasn't been convicted of anything.
Fine, you "know" it's true. But do you really?
Are you telling me that you, of all people, give the benefit of the doubt to the cops and prosecutors?
If he did indeed do the stuff, it's fucked up and totally inexcusable.
And I know that lack of a conviction doesn't mean innocence (OJ Simpson, anyone?).
But I think it's also disingenuous to say he was a bad man, period.
If there's anything this saga has taught me it's that people are really complex, and things aren't always (pardon the pun) black and white.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on July 13, 2007 11:09 PM | permalinkThis Joe White thing is tough for me too. I totally know how you feel, Joe. But Danny G makes a totally valid point. Here's a guy who (allegedly) took advantage of children. On top of that, he was in a position of power over children, wherein respect for the authorities makes an even bigger difference than usual, and he seems to have used that to pretty ugly ends.
My interactions with Mr. White were always good. I liked him a lot, and he seemed like just a great guy. Did I misinterpret? I don't know. Maybe, I guess. I defended him for a while, but after all this, it's hard for me to say anything good about him except that when I knew him years ago, I thought he was pretty cool.
And as far as "innocent until proven guilty," that's for a court of law, not public opinion, so Danny G isn't wrong at all in that respect. I will, as I'm sure he will too, await the judgment of the court, but until then, I can only go on what I know and hear and see. And right now? He looks pretty guilty.
Posted by: Open Bar on July 13, 2007 11:42 PM | permalinkDossy saved me the trouble of posting.
Good luck with them not twisting what you said and/or making you look like an idiot.
Posted by: on July 17, 2007 7:25 PM | permalinkOh, I already look like an idiot. You should see some of the ridiculous political posts I've made over the years.
I just hope it gets translated properly, as in "I can't believe his is accused of this" versus "what he did was OK."
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on July 17, 2007 8:47 PM | permalink"You should see some of the ridiculous political posts I've made over the years."
Oops, didn't have my name in my previous post.
Yes, I've seen your ridiculous political posts over the years ;)
Posted by: *dell on July 18, 2007 7:10 PM | permalinkWell said, Joe.
http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE3MDg0OCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=
Posted by: Brian G. on July 20, 2007 10:54 AM | permalinkWhat happened to innocent until proven guilty? He got accused a 2nd time in 3 years of kiddie-diddling, only this time he's ON TAPE being inappropriate towards a student in his school. That's what happened to the presumption to his innocence!
But you're right, Joe, I don't *really* KNOW anything at all about Joe White. But as I said after he was acquitted at trial the first time, "No one really knows what went on between Joe White and that kid, except Mr. White and the kid."
If he was found guilty by a jury, I wouldn't have automatically believed he actually did anything. Similarly, after he was acquitted, I didn't think that meant he was NOT guilty.
Call me rationally skeptical about trial process being able to actually achieve JUSTICE, especially when good lawyering is involved.
Posted by: Danny G on July 20, 2007 2:26 PM | permalinkNo more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.