The Age of Pedophilia Revealed

The litany of horrors continues with the ongoing phenomenon of child molestation revelations, as the media so gently puts it. The public is learning that three of the biggest,  most trusted organizations- the Catholic Church, the Boys Scouts and now the BBC have been systematically covering up and protecting men who have abused and raped children for decades.

That such evil occurs is not surprising, what is incomprehensible is why good men did nothing when they learned of the acts. I always give the same answer " the holy fraternity" as I call it, is when men protect other men no matter what. The brotherhood is more important than anything it's members might do. That may sound simplistic but the metaphor seems to explain a lot as illustrated in the NY Times  . The BBC is wrangling with the discovery of the perverted past of TV personality Jimmy Savile:

Bob Langley, a former reporter who covered a charity run in which Mr Savile participated, said he saw girls of “12 or 13, they could have been 14” emerging from Mr. Savile’s trailer at the event. “After they had gone he indicated to me in a nudge, nudge, wink, wink sort of way that he had just had sex with them,” Mr. Langley said.

“Supposing I had gone to the police or to the BBC, what would have happened?” Mr. Langley went on. “The answer is nothing would have happened. He would have said it was a joke, can’t you take a joke. And that would have been it.”

Nothing would have happened. That's how they get away with it. 

Another pernicious concept is that despite all the talk of reverence for childhood, society doesn't really value children that much. Oh sure they do when children are cute and precocious but otherwise find little value in them until they are grown up and can pay their own way.

Child labor, slavery, sex trafficking, abuse. Poor families throw them away like yesterday's newspaper when they cost too much to feed or care for.  Weak adults see them as the only ones they can dominate and male relationships are notoriously hierarchical.

Instead of recognizing the stunted growth of these adults and do something to stop them, we look the other way and deny we knew anything rather than face up to the problem- like the church, the Boy Scouts and the BBC.