Fuck Off, Thatcher..!
So, it's been an odd old week, for anyone unaware out there, Britain has lost an old Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, at the age of 87.
This is unlike any other British 'establishment' figure has been dealt with that I can remember, sure people didn't like Princess Diana, but not many openly LOATHED her, this is the case here.
Toni described the mood in Manchester on Monday as: "It was obvious which people knew of her death, they had smiles on their faces or were talking on the phone or with other people, with smiles on their faces!"
Meanwhile, the news media tries desperately to suppress the deep and widespread detestation that a lot of the UK populace holds for her and her ideas - the Poll Tax, costing many areas of the country most of their jobs (while not creating any to replace them), anti-gay policies, not giving schoolchildren free milk, the list goes on...
Channel 4 had a live discussion today in Easington, Co Durham, an old pit town in the North East. It had to be prematurely ended when a woman in the background began shouting her objections over the local Tory MP sent in to defend Thatcher and her policies, it all seemed rather uneasy and you got the feeling that the Tory MP's car may have been vandalised by the time he left the establishment.
There's a camp over here saying 'respect the dead', while there's another saying 'why should we paint a woman so openly reviled in life as a saint in death?'
Personally, I'm with the latter camp, would we be looking for the positive sides in Hitler, for instance, if he lived to a grand old age? Did we look back in fondness when Augustin Pinochet passed away? Or do I care more for the feelings of the relatives or for the many more people who were negatively affected by her leadership in the past or to this day?
Easy answer, I'm afraid.
I do expect protests at her funeral and I do expect that many minutes of silence this weekend will be anything but reverent. Do I support this? Yes, that is freedom of speech in action.
Yes, it does seem that David Cameron is weaving into the new Tory fabric many Thatcher-ite philosophies and her policies have indeed outlived her withered body but the Tories got in during 2010 with just 37% of the actual vote, I sincerely doubt their popularity has increased since then.
If the left-ier parties don't get in at the election on the back of this, they need kicking. Or at least need to take note of the Benefits of having a sense of humour:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-could-reach-number-one-following-margaret-thatchers-death-8566042.html
Margaret Thatcher - RIP? No, she can fuck right off!
This is unlike any other British 'establishment' figure has been dealt with that I can remember, sure people didn't like Princess Diana, but not many openly LOATHED her, this is the case here.
Toni described the mood in Manchester on Monday as: "It was obvious which people knew of her death, they had smiles on their faces or were talking on the phone or with other people, with smiles on their faces!"
Meanwhile, the news media tries desperately to suppress the deep and widespread detestation that a lot of the UK populace holds for her and her ideas - the Poll Tax, costing many areas of the country most of their jobs (while not creating any to replace them), anti-gay policies, not giving schoolchildren free milk, the list goes on...
Channel 4 had a live discussion today in Easington, Co Durham, an old pit town in the North East. It had to be prematurely ended when a woman in the background began shouting her objections over the local Tory MP sent in to defend Thatcher and her policies, it all seemed rather uneasy and you got the feeling that the Tory MP's car may have been vandalised by the time he left the establishment.
There's a camp over here saying 'respect the dead', while there's another saying 'why should we paint a woman so openly reviled in life as a saint in death?'
Personally, I'm with the latter camp, would we be looking for the positive sides in Hitler, for instance, if he lived to a grand old age? Did we look back in fondness when Augustin Pinochet passed away? Or do I care more for the feelings of the relatives or for the many more people who were negatively affected by her leadership in the past or to this day?
Easy answer, I'm afraid.
I do expect protests at her funeral and I do expect that many minutes of silence this weekend will be anything but reverent. Do I support this? Yes, that is freedom of speech in action.
Yes, it does seem that David Cameron is weaving into the new Tory fabric many Thatcher-ite philosophies and her policies have indeed outlived her withered body but the Tories got in during 2010 with just 37% of the actual vote, I sincerely doubt their popularity has increased since then.
If the left-ier parties don't get in at the election on the back of this, they need kicking. Or at least need to take note of the Benefits of having a sense of humour:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-could-reach-number-one-following-margaret-thatchers-death-8566042.html
Margaret Thatcher - RIP? No, she can fuck right off!