On Why I'm Not Celebrating the Death of Margaret Thatcher.

[danieldwilliam]

I’m no supporter of Margaret Thatcher or her ideology or her methods.

The reforms she wrought that were beneficial were done in a way that was deliberately divisive and harmful. The reforms she wrought that were harmful she did gleefully, reckless of the lack of national unity. I refuse to support an ideology that is founded on increasing inequality.

I find I can still remember all the words to “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. Out! Out! Out!”

The death of an old, rich woman in an expensive hotel at the age of 87 long after she has done what she wanted to do with and to our country, long after she had won three General Elections mainly as a result of the Left being too pig-headedly stupid and arrogant to do a power sharing deal between themselves, long after she ceased to be even a figurehead for her own party, being publically mourned by the second Conservative Prime Minister since she left office is nothing to celebrate.

It’s a victory lap.

For her.

Comments

[coughingbear]

I agree, and yet - if you are partly referring to the people having parties, what do they do instead to express visibly their dissent from the narrative that's everywhere of 'Thatcher put the great back in Great Britain' (& ended the Cold War, & all the other stuff)?

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I am mainly refering to people having parties and singing songs from the Wizard of Oz.

In the short term I quite like the Don’t Hate, Donate narrative. Granted, that might not be visible enough in the short term.

And people have the option of objecting in many ways to a state funded funeral. I think the visual image of thousands and thousands of citizens turning their back on her funeral cortege would be very effective.

I’m not against people expressing distaste for the woman or her politics but being glad that she’s dead is, I think, to miss the point. There isn’t anything for her opponents to be happy about in the manner of her death. She died in the way she did because she won and we lost.

[coughingbear]

I like Don't Hate, Donate too, and think Alex is brilliant for setting it up. And it's had some media attention, though not a lot. But I think the street parties are a (rather traditional) way of expressing rejection of her policies. Her death's an opportunity to have that heard. Yes, people might object at the funeral but that's not until next week - the story is all over the place now. (Though tbh, I think I would struggle to be that rude at a funeral - I mean, I don't want to go to any of the parties, but I think I'm more put off by that, perhaps because there will presumably be some people who are actually bereaved at it, in among the ludicrous pomp.)

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I can see the possibilty of a riot at her funeral.