Declension wrote:
I think there's something a bit icky about the idea that you should never speak ill of the recently departed.
It makes sense if they are somebody that you knew personally, and you are at their funeral or something. But the rule should not be extended to public figures. Public figures, especially politicians, can have a huge effect on the world. By saying "you're not allowed to speak ill of Margaret Thatcher", you're basically saying "you're not allowed to say that Margaret Thatcher's policies were bad". They are inseparable.
No, by all means people should criticise her policies and her legacy. People don't have to be ultra-respectful whilst they're doing it either
I personally wouldn't want people to retreat into fake mawkishness over my death. I would want people to be honest about my faults.
Big difference between that and wanting to jump on someone's grave, to hold massive street parties, to smash up Barnardo's and to threaten my funeral.
I suppose even some form of 'celebration' that could be partially understood if Thatcher had died in, say, 1986.
Last edited by Tequila on 16 Apr 2013, 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.