The thick of it - Savile joke

[wavingwhilstdrowning]

I just got round to reading an addition of Popbitch from 14/10. Always nice to see just how many ways and times that the BBC protected him. This will have happened in 2005ish I guess, 6 years before he died.

Basement cracks

[TrainedByDinosaurs]

We should never forget how much the BBC knew and covered up and must call them to account every single fucking time they are protecting people or groups of people because of their ‘special’ status

[ARoombaOfOnesOwn]

I saw this too. Unbelievable, though it isn’t I suppose.

[wavingwhilstdrowning]

I just find it very painful to consider how many successful men and women, with secure enjoyable jobs, chose to laugh at the abuse of working class girls, the mentally and physically disabled. I find it easy to accept monsters exist - the acceptance of them by those like Armando Iannucci - who happily sticks his head above the parapet to speak out for 'free speech' etc is in someway more hurtful. Ester Ranzen knew what he was doing but somehow squared her acceptance of his abuse with her work at ChildLine. How does someone manage that level of cognitive dissonance?

[Justjoinedforthis]

Not sure this proof AI knew anything? Surely more like the people who took it out knew?

[deydododatdodontdeydo]

How much did people actually know? As in really know. If they knew for sure, they wouldn't have joked about it.
Lots of people knew jokes and rumours (which later turned out to be true).

[Ratonastick]

On a similar note, I watched an old episode of Yes Minister. A cabinet colleague was about to be hit with a press scandal and the Chief Whip asked if it was pretty girls or little boys? It’s the sort of little tell that makes it clear these things were known, just people thought that they were a silly foible of a powerful man rather than a devastating act of abuse against a vulnerable and innocent child.

[LobsterNapkin]

I don't think these kinds of jokes mean people were sure something was going on. There are times where people have suspicions or intuition, but no way to do anything about it. You can't go to the police with that sort of thing, nor could they do anything about it if you did. You also can't just go around making public accusations. So people say these things in an under the breath kind of way.

Nor do jokes like this mean that they didn't think it was serious if there was something going on. Not everyone gets very dark humour, or likes it, which is probably why it was cut out. But it's very common in settings where things are very serious, like the military and for some people it's part of how they deal with things that are horrible.

[museumum]

You can't go to the police with 'i think this guy is a creep' or 'i bet that guy is a paedo'. unfounded rumours.
Same goes for Harvey Weinstein, loads of actresses getting stick now for 'knowing' but very few had proof and certainly not witnesses, most just had rumour, warnings, feelings of discomfort...

[AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken]

The quote by Johnny Rotten in 1978 made it clear just how well known it was

[CaptainMyCaptain]

@Justjoinedforthis

Not sure this proof AI knew anything? Surely more like the people who took it out knew?

That's what I think.

[VaguelyInteresting]

The thing is, the rumours flew round for YEARS. Decades. But nobody KNEW anything. Not Ianucci, not Hislop, not even Johnny Rotten. They only knew what they'd heard - and what the fuck can you do with a "rumour"?

I've got journalist friends, and some of the rumours they tell me are jaw-dropping, but without proof, that's all they are, rumours. Cant be printed, cant be prosecuted.

He was a vile, vile excuse for a human, but Savile was also terrifyingly smart. That's how he got away with it - because of his Northern accent, and cheap tracksuits and eccentricities, the Establishment thought he was a benign idiot. They believed in the persona, and didn't see the person, and he 10000% played on that.

[ARoombaOfOnesOwn]

The thing is, say if AI or the TTOI writers knew the rumours were true, the BBC lawyers response to the joke would show they would get absolutely nowhere with trying to hold him to account.

[Bananalanacake]

I saw an older episode of HIGNFY where Angus Deayton made a quip about Saville liking children, can't remember what exactly, this was before Saville went on it as a guest. Wonder if they've removed that one from Youtube.

[Theunamedcat]

The guy used to seriously creep children out my cousins would tease me if I didn't do what they wanted they would write into the show so I would have to meet him and sit on his lap it gave me nightmares my mom made them stop it

I have never met him been near him etc etc but through the screen he scared me

Literally a coincidence I couldn't know a thing about him

[Twolostsoulsswimminginafishbow]

@deydododatdodontdeydo I knew, as in 100% knew. A nurse friend was a victim as a child. Her other two abusers were jailed but she was threatened with all sorts i(n an office in our local police station in the Eighties) if she tried to go after Savile. It wasn’t her who went to the police. They contacted her. She never went public, still hasn’t. Many, many knew.
I orchestrated a specific campaign around Savile’s death but it’s far too outing to put here.

[wavingwhilstdrowning]

They knew. I wrote to Ranzen and told her FGS! It's convenient to believe they didn't, but they did. And they chose to ignore it. I told the West Yorkshire Police and wrote to the DG of the BBC, the head of childrens programming, the head of culture and Ranzen on 3 occasions.
As a victim of this man the pain caused by knowing EVERYONE knew is huge. Coogan knew, and now he makes a drama about it, and profits from it. Louis Theroux had the decency to admit he "Suspected and didn't want to push it" because he was young and wanted to protect his career. The others I mention had/have huge power and chose to do nothing. To be fair to Hislop he made his views very clear in Private eye and behaved in a thoroughly decent manner to the victims who had no voice. Victims that still have no voice whilst the BBC profits from it's grotesque drama and Iannucci get's to tell funny stories about having jokes cut. These are real victims, real people and it is not fucking funny.

[User135644]

The BBC is a state broadcaster. By the establishment for the establishment.

[wavingwhilstdrowning]

@User135644

The BBC is a state broadcaster. By the establishment for the establishment.

So true. Not for working class, mentally or physically ill women and girls. Give him anything he wants at the BBC, give him the keys to Broadmoor, good old Sir Jimmy. I was recently told that 'on balance he did more bad than good'. Meanwhile rich middle aged comedians play it for laughs and mock our trauma.

[User135644]

[quote Twolostsoulsswimminginafishbow]@deydododatdodontdeydo I knew, as in 100% knew. A nurse friend was a victim as a child. Her other two abusers were jailed but she was threatened with all sorts i(n an office in our local police station in the Eighties) if she tried to go after Savile. It wasn’t her who went to the police. They contacted her. She never went public, still hasn’t. Many, many knew.
I orchestrated a specific campaign around Savile’s death but it’s far too outing to put here.[/quote]
His mate Thatcher made him a Sir. He was untouchable after that.

[Taswama]

Really sorry to hear you were personally abused @wavingwhilstdrowning . .
The Guardian long read on the journalists at the BBC who tried to do a programme after his death was very good and showed the level of cover up.
I generally like Steve Coogan, he was very good in Stephen recently, but I wish it wasn't the BBC making this.

[Scarby9]

A friend was 15 and working in a record shop in Leeds as a Saturday girl in the late 1950s when Savile was DJing in local dance halls and just starting on Radio Luxembourg.
The girls in the shop were all warned to keep out of his way.
She said he was sleazy (he used to come into the shop regularly) but never tried anything with her.

[TrainedByDinosaurs]

@VaguelyInteresting

The thing is, the rumours flew round for YEARS. Decades. But nobody KNEW anything. Not Ianucci, not Hislop, not even Johnny Rotten. They only knew what they'd heard - and what the fuck can you do with a "rumour"?

I've got journalist friends, and some of the rumours they tell me are jaw-dropping, but without proof, that's all they are, rumours. Cant be printed, cant be prosecuted.

He was a vile, vile excuse for a human, but Savile was also terrifyingly smart. That's how he got away with it - because of his Northern accent, and cheap tracksuits and eccentricities, the Establishment thought he was a benign idiot. They believed in the persona, and didn't see the person, and he 10000% played on that.

The powerful people told about the rumours didn’t go looking for evidence, they ignored it and gave him more work and power.

And friends like this provided protection

[wavingwhilstdrowning]

[quote Twolostsoulsswimminginafishbow]@deydododatdodontdeydo I knew, as in 100% knew. A nurse friend was a victim as a child. Her other two abusers were jailed but she was threatened with all sorts i(n an office in our local police station in the Eighties) if she tried to go after Savile. It wasn’t her who went to the police. They contacted her. She never went public, still hasn’t. Many, many knew.
I orchestrated a specific campaign around Savile’s death but it’s far too outing to put here.[/quote]
I went to Leeds Central Police Station and reported it (I was attacked but fought him off and escaped relatively unscathed - quite kicked and beaten - and was threatened. Told if I said anything they'd give my name and address to Sir Jimmy so he could "sort me out". It was fucking horrific.

[1Week]

What the actual fuck