Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: The Jimmy Savile Scandal (Palgrave Pivot)

• Jimmy Savile?
• Top Authors.
• Privater Hörfunk im Balanceakt zwischen Werbetreibenden und Hörern (German Edition).

Furedi reworks his favourite themes: He always has some sensible points to make: Disrupting our sentimentality about children is no bad thing. Words such as "trauma" get used so much they are stripped of meaning. So to rehearse all this during the Savile revelations is an odd mirroring of what is already happening, and Furedi, instead of challenging dominant thought, mostly reinforces it.

As more and more women came forward, the shock that people felt about the extent of the abuse and the kind of access Savile was given was real enough. It was not mere imaginings. Then a bout of odd self-flagellation by the BBC occurred.

The reality of sexual abuse was eclipsed by a panic about the management of key institutions. Was "liking" young girls a part of the culture that we cannot retrospectively impose our standards on? In this febrile atmosphere, Furedi claims, a "moral crusade" was begun.

The context was the perceived "culture of sleaze" in our institutions. But to me it was clearly a huge exercise in displacement, in which the "victims", soon enough, were not the girls raped at 12 but highly paid TV executives, with their jobs at risk.

It was easier to discuss this. Those who had bravely spoken up soon became forgotten again. Furedi does exactly the same thing, and sidesteps the "victims" completely. He shows no interest in them, Savile or the culture in which this abuse was prevalent, beyond some Peter Hitchens -type mutterings about "the 60s". He takes us through other child abuse panics such as Cleveland and Orkney, and discusses "the narrative of abuse" Why?

Do we doubt that Savile did these things? He sees a society that invests too much in children but distrusts its own institutions, arguing there is no point in trawling though history for victims, thereby pathologising all child-adult relationships.

There are no actual voices of victims here because Furedi is against the affirmation of victimhood as an identity. Or perhaps because he couldn't bring himself to talk to actual people. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving….

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Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust examines the sociological meaning of the sudden transformation of Jimmy Savile, the cultural icon, into the personification of evil. The epidemic of scandals unleashed by the Savile Scandal highlights the precarious status of relations of trust. The rapid escalation of this crisis offers insights into the relationship between anxieties Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust examines the sociological meaning of the sudden transformation of Jimmy Savile, the cultural icon, into the personification of evil.

The rapid escalation of this crisis offers insights into the relationship between anxieties about childhood and the wider moral order.

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This exploration of the emergence of a moral crusade explains why western society has become so uncomfortable with the exercise of authority. This is a work of public sociology that seeks to explore the social dimensions of a cultural drama as it unfolds. Through situating this scandal in a wider historical perspective this study outlines the distinctive features of a 21st century moral crusade. Hardcover , pages. Published March 19th by Palgrave Pivot first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust , please sign up.

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