doffing a foolscap

i feel pretty sorry for that kid from notre dame. manti te'o. yes, i believe he's innocent and a victim. i don't believe he was in on it. and yes, i believe he's been a fool and been fooled. (i know there are people who don't, but i think they are wrong.)

so i feel sorry for him, because in the public eye, he is either seen as dishonest or as a complete idiot.

but, first, he's young. give him a break, just on that score. and second, i don't really care how old you get, almost anyone can be fooled by someone or something. and i think that when the heart is involved, there is so so so much of a chance of being made a fool. at any age.

so where does the kid go from here? is he going to be dogged all his life by this dumb event? no matter how much he achieves ever, is he always going to be mostly remembered as just the kid who was duped?

i hope not. i hope that those who are close to him, his friends and his family, make it clear and plain to him that he simply made a mistake believing in this person, and i hope they let him know that he is much more than that mistake. that's the only way to remove that foolscap from his head, i think. i don't think it's possible to take that cap off all by yourself.

and i want to thank some people in my life, who did just that for me, when i was feeling like for the rest of my life that when i looked in the mirror, all i'd ever see is that duncecap on my head. i want to thank them for helping me see that i had/have value and that i was/am a good person.