Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?

The American Comedian Steven Wright once said:-  

It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to have to paint it.

Which is as pithy and as accurate a definition of human perception as you are likely to find in any of the hundreds of philosophy books crowding the shelves of your local bookshop.

Perceptions, of course, change over time and his comment came to mind recently as the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile allegations rumble on, engulfing an increasing number of celebrities both old and new.

It must be said that no-one has been convicted of anything yet and all remain innocent until proven guilty, which is quite right and proper. Although I’d be willing to bet that any number of scriptwriters are tapping away, just waiting for some sort of verdict, so that they can be the first to submit a treatment for a bio-doc to all the major production companies.

The closest thing to any sort of public comment to date has been:-

Things were different back then.

Perception, you see, which, to paraphrase Monty Python, is the real life equivalent of saying:-

It’s a fair cop, but society is to blame.

Now, I’m no historian, but I’d be willing to bet that ‘things were different’ back in the 14^th century too. In those days, a favourite method of extracting confessions was the Thumbscrew, a charming device where the fingers of the hand were inserted in a metal clamp with a screw on top, which, when turned…well, you get the picture.

So, if you happen to be a celebrity anxiously awaiting that knock on the door, you may well take comfort in the fact that ‘things were different back then’, but now they have changed. For the better.