Steve wrote above, in a post that is worth re-reading in full:


... It's way too simplistic to say that he was simply "of his time" because we have to accept that, just like today, his exploitation of children had the potential to be damaging to those children.

...

I don't think it matters, in terms of the exploitation of the girls that was going on, whether their parents were complicit or even present. The naked photos overstep the mark by any measure. He may have had " permission". But the girls themselves were not of an age to give their informed consent. By saying that I don't think I'm seeing things merely from a 21st century viewpoint.


We've been around this before, so I don't intend to dwell on it. But while I agree it is too simplistic to say he was "of his time", I think you are still giving too much weight to a 21st century viewpoint. There is am immense difference between a Saville knowingly exploiting great numbers of under age children for his own purposes, and the fact that all of us - with almost no exceptions if you are over 60 and of sound mind - knew that such things went on in the Rock'n'Roll world, even if we so distant from the people involved we could not name names. But to that limited extent, we were all complicit in permitting paedophilia to continue, and our only excuse is that is we were "of the time". There is a pretty poor series running on of the channels called "It was all right in the 70s" which makes plain the sexism, racism and other isms that were rife in mainstream entertainment at the time. And that was the entertainment provided because that what we, generally, liked it, being "of the time". Obviously there were groups and individuals who didn't, but in the main, society was at least comfortable with it.
"COnfessions of a Window Cleaner was the top grossing British film of 1974, for example, but even at the time many people thought it incredibly sleazy, Equally I have not the slightest doubt this continues: in fifty or a hundred years there will be things we do today that people look back on and say 'how could they have allowed that? Didn't they see the harm that was done to children/society/whatever?" Some we can see now and will be able to say we protested against it in various ways, but there will be others we simply are not aware of, or just accept, because we are "of the time".