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“... if it is about MZB, I’ve seen several articles about her abuse of her children, and all were pretty firm in condemning her.”

That is now, now that she is dead. I was active in SF Fandom in the 70’s and to a certain extent in the 80’s, while she was still alive and a leading light of the feminist movement in SF. She had her own Convention, DarkoverCon, based on the fandom for her Darkover Books. I met her there, shared space with her tables in the Dealers’ room. In those days, this was just not talked about. Literally. No one could or would say anything even hinting that such incidents, or even rumors of accusations of such incidents, even existed. Popular Feminist F&SF authors like her were not just above criticism, they were beyond criticism, on a literary and personal sense.

I can’t say that the same was not true in the coin-collecting world, in which her husband Walter Breen was a major figure. I was a coin collector/dealer around 1980, although much less deeply involved than in SF Fandom, and no whisper reached me of any scandal attached to his name either.

The shadow world of homoerotic pedophilia and pederasty had its own ways of keeping its secrets, and they were as dark and powerful and vicious as the secrets themselves. But mostly they relied on our normal persons’ reluctance to believe that anyone, least of all someone we might admire for a good reason, could possibly be that vile.

In those days, this was just not talked about. Literally. No one could or would say anything even hinting that such incidents, or even rumors of accusations of such incidents, even existed.

Thanks for sharing this, I've read several articles about Bradley's abuse (including one by her daughter), but I was a kid back in the '70s and '80s. Were there rumors or reports or even police charges against Bradley back then?

I'm much more familiar with R. Kelly's ongoing abuses and his ability to evade punishment for a few reasons - it was impossible not to hear R. Kelly's songs during my teens and twenties (and some of them were very good), he's faced legal charges several times, and his crimes and behavior have gotten massive amounts of attention.

And yet, this pervert is still free - it's only now, decades after some of his most well-known and documented acts of pedophilia and child pornography, that he's finally receiving some measure of public shaming over them.

But mostly they relied on our normal persons’ reluctance to believe that anyone, least of all someone we might admire for a good reason, could possibly be that vile.

I should add to my previous reply that the support that Michael Jackson and R. Kelly have received, especially from the black community, definitely support your statement.