CORRUPTION AND COVER-UPS
Corruption and cover-ups must be one of the largest subjects I have yet tackled and I will only be able to scratch the surface in this blog.
The subject came to me after watching the brilliant film SPOTLIGHT – which has just won the Oscar for best film. (I am thrilled about that.)
Anyway it started me thinking about corruption in high places, particularly the cover-ups that occur so often to hide any scandals. The film dealt with the Roman Catholic priests abusing children, particularly in Boston – but what became clear was that this terrible problem of child abuse is happening with priests all over the world and is being hidden from the top down – so that nothing is done about it. I think what I found most shocking was the complicity of the other organisations – the hierarchy of the Church were not the only guilty ones – but also the police and the justice system who turned a blind eye, so that the abuse was never stopped.
We have all known for many years that this child abuse has been happening, but we have rather left the Church to clear up its own mess – but it hasn’t.
Although this kind of child abuse seems most prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church, sadly it occurs in many institutions – politics, the police force, the scouts, the justice system, etc. etc. – and of course in ‘Show Business’. We have now been living for many years with the shocking scandals of Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris etc. and over this last week we have learned that the BBC were complicit in covering up these scandals.
Also last week we heard of the terrible child abuse that happened in Rotherham and the inability of the police, social services etc to deal with it. Corruption and cover-ups seemed to be everywhere.
There is always a desire for one human being to protect another, especially when they belong to a large organisation. But when someone bravely becomes a whistle-blower, they are dealt with unfairly and harshly.
The wrong-doers always seem to get away with it and this has to change. The culture of cover-up, whether it is in the BBC,the NHS, the police, the politicians or the justice system, has to stop. We can’t just leave it to investigative journalism to deal with. People who cover-up scandals should be as guilty as those who commit the crimes.
How many children would have been saved from abuse in Boston long ago, if one person had been brave enough to speak up?
I cannot leave this subject without a brief mention of the Freemasons.
This is a secret organisation which we are told is about ‘brotherly love’ and upholding high moral standards. But suspicions about their actions are rife. All too often this ‘brotherly love’ turns out to be the action of protecting your brother from the law. So the Freemasons could also be looked on as a corrupt club that looks after No. 1.
In the report written after ‘Operation Tiberius’ in 2002, it was found that underworld syndicates used their contacts in the Freemasons to recruit corrupted officers. It is a known fact that there are many in the Freemasons who work in the Justice System and the Police – not just at the grass roots but at the very highest level.
This ‘secret organisation’ must leave the general public with a distinct feeling of uneasiness. We need a fairer and more open society where nobody is too famous or too grand to be brought to justice for wrong doing. Nor should they be able to escape justice by having their crimes covered up.
I would love to hear your opinions and reactions to this blog.