The sordid reality of the sex abuse hysteria that has pervaded the mentality of Western and Northern culture over the past 35 years often reaches depths that tear apart many things once considered beautiful and life-affirming.

Case in point: The beautiful and memorable hit song "Clair" by Gilbert O'Sullivan that topped the American music charts in 1972. Specifically, this song was a heartfelt ode to Clair Mills, who was the 3-year-old daughter of Gordon Mills, O'Sullivan's manager. He used to babysit for Clair during her early years, and the two became very close, to the point where Clair used to tell him, likely quite innocently, "I want to marry you, Uncle Ray" (Raymond is O'Sullivan's real first name). This very sweet music video was put together for the song by the owner of the YouTube fan channel for O'Sullivan's oeuvre of work, and it's comprised of professionally shot footage of O'Sullivan and the real Clair Mills enjoying each others' company which was filmed to promote the hit single when it was released in '72 (this was before music videos were in vogue, and nearly a decade before MTV).

For those who were born from the early 1980s onwards, it can be very difficult to imagine a world without a sex abuse hysteria that set such strict boundaries on all levels between the generations. Because of that, when I recently heard "Clair" played on an oldies radio station (I love Internet radio!), after smiling at the wonderful lyrics and wonderful sense of nostalgia it evoked in me, my beam faded as I thought, "You know, I think people born within the era when the sex abuse hysteria first became such a trend would actually consider this beautiful song 'creepy' and accuse O'Sullivan of being a 'child abuser.' No way could a lovely song and promotional material like this ever be released today without being looked at with suspicion, and likely the record label releasing it receiving a boycott."

Well, sure enough, when I looked up this song on O'Sullivan's YouTube fan channel, the comments were full of such malicious attacks. The frequency of these attacks got to the point where the owner of the channel, who has actually been in friendly contact with the real Clair Mills as of 2010 (soon after first uploading the video), put this message on the song's page:

PLEASE READ THIS - Recently I have been corresponding with Clair Mills herself - a privilege to chat to such a lovely person . She has asked me to share this message with you all regarding the negative and dis-respectful comments this song often recieves -

"Sorry you have to read the awful posts about the song Clair."
"I was a toddler !!!!!! Please feel free to tell them that from me.
He is also a very kind and lovely man who I adore still to this day and I would ask them kindly to refrain and respect our wishes"
- Clair Mills - December 2011

PLEASE NOTE - Clair is very fond of this video - it holds a lot of happy memories. She occasionally reads the comments on here. With that in mind, if you wish to leave her any nice personal messages I`m sure she would be delighted to read them. There will be no replies - Clair is a very private person - but the chances are she will read them . Any inappropriate or offensive comments to Clair WILL BE REMOVED BY ME so don`t waste your time!

Now granted I'm no fan of censorship, but these comments are clearly trollish attacks that serve no purpose but to beat the fans of this song, not to mention O'Sullivan and Clair, with the bigoted and hateful attitudes that the sex abuse hysteria and accompanying industry has saturated the collective psyche with over the past three and a half decades. Whether or not all of these commentators truly believe in these malign attacks, or are simply stirring up shit the way trolls famously do, the point remains that the trolls would have no real ammunition in the first place if not for all these years of the hysteria. And nevertheless, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if many of these nasty commentators truly do believe the accusations they make which despoil not only the love that O'Sullivan and Clair have shared with each other for so long, but also the fond memories of so many fans who recall enjoying that song and smiling whenever they heard it back in the day. That is, before the birth of those comprising the subsequent generation, which does not recall living in an era without the hysteria, discovered the song and proceeded to shit all over it with their bigotry.

Thankfully, several of these fans spoke up about this attitude in the comments. A few good examples follow (please don't judge me or the commentator for the poor grammar and spelling one often finds in such comments):

Cyber Polo:

How imbecile and abnormal could be a person to think this song is about child abuse? Im thrilled and shocked beyond words. Came here because I love this song and can't avoid cry always I heard it and find a "disrespectful coment warning"? My God. Is this the way the people are thinking and acting today? Thanks God I have my own copy of "Clair" in the harddrive and a nice pair of headphones, to escape all this madness and stupidity any time I need. Thanks so much dear Clair and the beatiful Uncle Ray.

Lourdes Barria:

I just want to thank Gilbert and Claire for the beautiful moments this song gave us. It reminds me of such beautiful memories when I was a little girl myself. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Jim L:

Lovely.. thanks for sharing this and for the explanation.

It's unfortunate that society today has made rules out of the exceptions in that any relationship between an adult and a child becomes suspicious.

rainyjane10:

It is sad that our world has gotten so jaded that people would have unkind thoughts about this beautiful song and video.. There was a time when such a relationship would be cherished. Anyone who has ever been an aunt or uncle for the first time can remember that little mis-beat in their heart the first time they met their niece or nephew and the first time they take you hand and say I love you. I feel sorry for the people who see otherwise in this video - obviously they never had a Clair or an Uncle Ray in their lives and that makes me sad. For me I will cry every time I hear this song and remember my Uncle Ted and my niece Micki. Thanks for sharing Clair.

Don't get me wrong, many of these defending commentators, if not all, wouldn't approve of truly romantic feelings between O'Sullivan and Clair back then, but I think that is beside the point of their defense. The main point is, they recall an era where it was possible to see such a strong emotional bond between a man and a child to be beautiful rather than suspicious, inappropriate, or "creepy." This shows how the sex abuse hysteria has effectively robbed the world of a lot more than just the potential for mutually beneficial consensual romantic relationships between adults and children. It also demonizes the many beautiful intergenerational friendships, likely much more common than intergenerational relationships with a romantic component, that can be formed between men and girls. It causes loving men like O'Sullivan to come off as "creeps" or "dirty old men," and loved and adoring girls like Clair be labeled as "victims of abuse."

I think it's a damning indictment of the pervasive nature of the hysteria that an amazingly beautiful song like "Clair" could be seen as negative by so many people, and that a similar ode could never be produced today.