Goodness.

[blamebrampton]

I won't say that it is sad to hear that Margaret Thatcher has died.

In much the same way that you hope for 'merciful release' for an ailing aged relative, it has been cruel to see her physical decline over the last few years and, should her philosophy prove correct, she is back with her much-loved husband.

And while I disagreed with so very, very much of what she did and what she believed, I preferred her to the current mob. At least you knew exactly where you stood with her, and she generally took her policies to the polls. And she was classier than Heseltine or Major.

There, three nice things said about the dead.

Now I would like my fucking milk and industry back.

Comments

[absynthedrinker.livejournal.com]

I am profoundly sad at the news of her passing, but agree that watching her decline was sadder still. As to the current mob, and the mob that preceded it, they are all in for one serious wake up call I'm afraid.

Lovely seeing you as always.

Peace,
Bubba

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I bear no ill will to Gordon Brown, but I find myself evilly hoping that Tony Blair chokes on a canape …

Is it wrong that I am happy Nelson Mandela survived his most recent illness so he can have a quiet chortle into his sleeve? It probably is.

Very good to see you, too!

[absynthedrinker.livejournal.com]

Gordon Brown! No, the gold alone forbids me from ever having anything nice to say about Mr. Brown. I don't think it's wrong but I think Nelson Mandela is probably a better man than that.

Peace,
Bubba

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I admittedly know only the historic cliff notes of what Thatcher did while she was PM, but I'm kind of taken aback by the number of people I've seen saying 'good riddance'. I know I'm an outsider and, as one person on twitter put it, have never lived in a "pit village", but wow that is a lot of vitriol. I just keep thinking about US leaders everyone hates and wondering if it will be like that when they pass. /ignorant American

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's really hard, because on the one hand, things were grim in the late 70s and I can respect her as a consummately skilled politician who was transparent and open in her policies.

But on the other hand, I grew up in a Britain where it was unthinkable that anyone save the most counter-culture person would be sleeping rough for more than a night or two and suddenly there were cardboard villages popping up that contained perfectly sane young people who simply could not get work. Industrial towns saw the labour of centuries destroyed and our manufacturing legacy exported to the lowest bidder.

She called Nelson Mandela a terrorist and welcomed Pinochet to our shores in the name of all Britons.

So for people of my generation, it's very, very hard. Because at the same time, her decline was so cruel and so public that it really is a mercy she's out of that. And she loved her husband very much and lived much longer than he did. And she was funny. But that doesn't make up for the fact that she created much of the underclass today's Tories delight in villifying, and that she did it all so quickly.

I don't think George W will have the same response. Cheney might, though is there anyone who doesn't think he's Satan? And Blair will evoke something similar, too, because before him, we usually fought for somethng defensible.

[lokifan]

Thanks for this :) I think it's important to talk about everything she did because they're still having repercussions but I am upset by all the posts I've seen today celebrating her death. It's different for me though, because I am a lefty Brit but the first PM I remember is Blair. There are a lot of bad things that happened under Thatcher that I can't remember being different.

[nathalieweasley.livejournal.com]

There is a huge difference between vehemently disagreeing with someone's politics and wishing them dead. When Chávez died in March, there were so many online posts celebrating his death as opposed to the freedom for the Venezuelan people. There was even a post with the statement "Ding Dong the dictator is dead!!" A friend and I discussed the need to focus on the positivity of the people's future. I'm sure I am committing some sort of faux pas mixing a dictator with leftist British politics but I liked the fact that your post could respect the dead while at the same time continue to oppose his/her politics.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I felt very sorry for Chavez: he had so hoped to live! Though you are right that there are some analogues in their reputations, such strongly divisive leaders.

Even while still being so angry at many things she did, I do respect her strength of mind and fortitude. Someone on Twitter summed her up perfectly for me: 'She was an astonishingly brilliant leader, it's just that where she was leading us to was terrifying.'

[nathalieweasley.livejournal.com]

Exactly. And that is really the scariest type of leader.

[theodoraleft.livejournal.com]

Far too many of her staff have reported how genuinely kind caring and courteous she was for it to be made up by journalists, ........and she clearly worked very hard.......so that's my 2 nice comments. Sorry I can't match your three, Brammers. As for getting back our milk and industry, add to that our fucking council houses and properly regulated railways and utilities! TV will be full of reminiscences I'm sure, but will anyone dare to show her completely "losing it" when a Cheltenham Housewife questioned her on the sinking of the Belgrano?
PS. Iike the term Sontag streak! Go for it! You may remember my Mrs Ghandi, which my hairdresser calls my Mallen streak; well that's beginning to take over the whole head now. Soon time to go blonde. I'm determined to be blonde once in my life.
Oh, and look after yourself, was very concerned you took another tumble. Hope all is ok.