The Iron Lady is Dead

[DanaC]

Margeret Thatcher has died following a stroke.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155

[Beest]

lotta people will be strapping on their dancing shoes...

[DanaC]

A few years ago I'd have said I'd be one of them. But, really, what would we be celebrating? The woman lived a long life entirely insulated from any of the cost of her premiership and any of the harm and hurt she inflicted on others.

[Sundae]

Ding dong the witch is dead...

And I'm on the wagon - fighting hard to keep my balance as it happens.
I'd have raised a glass otherwise. Well, a few cans at least.

May have to go to Tesco and get some Schloer or something.

[Beest]

Originally Posted by Sundae

Ding dong the witch is dead...

This is exactly what I was going to post.

Not necassarily for me, but I know for many.

[DanaC]

As i posted on fb:

The Iron Lady is dead: Rust in Peace

[Perry Winkle]

The response I saw on Twitter was much more positive (or neutral) than I'd expected. Maybe people are being polite/restrained.

ETA: Positive as in expressing regret at her passing.

[Sundae]

Ginger Beer for me tonight.
Quite a relevant drink when you think of Clause 28.

[Ocean's Edge]

Originally Posted by Perry Winkle

Maybe people are being polite/restrained.

That's really all I hope to manage.

I'm not comfortable with expressing joy at anyone's death, but decidedly not well loved here abouts.

Still I feel for those who did love her, and are feeling the loss.

[monster]

I've said before, politics aside, she was a great role model as a strong woman. I'm glad her death was quick and private.

[be-bop]

Well I for one shall shed not one tear for the bitch... I lived through the 80's and mass unemployment, and her followers and the bastards that idolise her now are trying to fuck me over again with their current austerity measures.
We were on strike today at my work and when the news came through the cheer that went up on the picket line was to a man.
here's hoping where ever she is now it's bloody hot.

[tw]

I have mixed feelings. Because the same lady who bastardized many in her country was also the backbone that George Sr needed to overcome the idiots (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfovich) in his own administration.

She had the balls to do what was necessary in the Falklands. And accurately defined for both sides the changes between the USSR, East Europe, and the Nato nations. One could even say she started the end of the Cold War by meeting with Gorbachev and then telling Reagan that he was a man we could deal with. A bold statement in its time.

She also demonstrated what happens when a leader is in power for too long (11 years). Such leaders loose touch with reality and their purpose. Even become surrounded by people who are a dumb as Lt Col Oliver North. Being isolated in the ethersphere too long means political rhetoric dictates rather than what is better for the nation.

I cannot say enough about what she said in Denver to George Sr. "This will not stand." Every democratic nation should appreciate that attitude that, basically, defined what should have resulted in a prosperous and democratic world.

Most important, everyone can appreciate what we don't have enough of. Agree with her or not. She said it bluntly, honestly, and without any respect to adults who are still children (and therefore get emotional). I don't care so much about whether she was right or wrong. She said it and did it anyway with reasons that say why. That deserves more honor than assholes (ie George Jr, Nixon) who would intentionally lie to even massacre their own soldiers.

I also did not like many things Reagan did. But (at least in his first administration) he said what he was going to do. And said so with reasons why. IOW he was an adult who spoke honestly like an adult. That is more important than whether you agree or disagree with her policies.

[ZenGum]

News reports from Hell indicate that in the last 12 hours, four furnaces have been closed down, six pits of torment have been reduced to half staff levels, and the three upper circles have been privatised and sold off to real estate developers.

[DanaC]

Zen that was really funny!


I think it's hard, as a woman, not to admire the fact thatshe made it in what had been up until then an exclusively male endeavour.

I also admire her commitment to her own views.

But oh I hated her and always will for what she did to this country. I watched my town fall apart and die because of her and her ilk.

I've heard the argument before now that without her we would be trying to compete against China and the like for manufacturing. That she shifted the economy in such a way that we were able to move out of low grade manufacturing and into service industry and value added processing.

Maybe. Maybe. But it didn;t have to be so cruel. The war against the miners was just that, a war. It was a class war fought to the death. And the descendents of her victims still languish in the wreckage. She broke us. She broke my class. Shattered the strength of unions and working-class culture beyond repair. Ended the consensus on kindness towards those in need.

And now we buy coal from half way across the world. Our mines closed down and flooded. Whole towns died and never recovered, because there was no equivalent industry in place.

And here we are now: services aren't enough. Our economy is crippled and we are wholly dependent upon the financial industries to haul it back in line. No manufacturing base left.

I hate her and always will.