Thatcher has gone ...

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She did nothing good for her country, Why must we hold politicians on a pedestal above the general population, this I do not understand.

I never said it was her fault, but she was lucky that she had no real opposition during the 80s.

As I remember it people seemed to love Tony Blair up until he went all dewy eyed for George Bush

Get your bloody facts right it was the anti-poll tax campaign that got the ball rolling to get rid of her. Anthony Meyer was both against the poll tax and for joining the ERM & challenged her first. Also the resignations of "managed decline" Howe and Lawson helped with her downfall, tho those two lacked to balls to challenge her, it was Heseltine! Her cabinet didn't have the guts to take her on it was backbenches that did.

someone on one of the anti-thatcher facebook groups posted this which made me chuckle.

"Just watched Return Of The Jedi. Disgusted by the distasteful scenes at the end where everyone is celebrating the death of Emperor Palpatine. He may have been divisive, but he was strong and he made decisions and stuck to them, and I think he should get a bit of respect. He was, after all, a little old man who died, when you remove any other context whatsoever."

Damn straight, Batman.

^
Funny stuff.

When did calling into question the taste of celebrating a death become equated with gags and censorship?

Her death has triggered a huge wave of British people purchasing the song 'Ding dong the witch is dead' which is on the soundtrack of the wizard of Oz movie.

The BBC, among other channels are considering ignoring the fact that the song is in the charts to appease the sensitivities of Thatcher supporters. Hence they are being called out on freedom of speech violation.

The song is in the charts because some mindless little twats thought it would be fun to try and piss on her funeral, and started a campaign to force it up the charts.
If you think that ignoring this tasteless little stunt for what it is can be called a "freedom of speech violation" then you're failing to reach even the low standards you've previously demonstrated.

Calm down. I don't understand why you're directing this sanctimonius waffle at me.

First and foremost, I was answering Dox's by stating what was happening. I didn't infer that I inherently agreed with the idea that it 'constituted a freedom of speech' violation. I think at worst its a gross double standard. If a song celebrating the death of Chavez, Bin Laden, Gadaffi or Hussein had made the charts no one would care. At least not by the hackneyed media.

Secondly, Thatcher made an indelible negative impression on a large part if not most of British society by alienating and marginalising so much of it. It would be unresponsible reporting to simply ignore this sentiment simply to protect the feelings of the other section of society that finds it appalling. Caricatures of Mohamed, anyone?

I reckon what the BBC did on their chart show was worse than just playing the song. Because if they had just played the song and said nothing else of it those listeners who were unaware of the campaign and why the song is in the charts would be none the wiser. Instead they have given the campaign more publicity and drawn peoples attention to the fact that Thatcher was hated by enough people for them to waste their money on an old song from an old musical.

Actually, I think the BBC should broadcast the song on repeat for days on end... and when the song is on everyone's lips, then they should ask:

- Is this the way you treat the longest serving UK prime minister in the 20th century, who was thrice democratically elected?
- Is this the way you treat the first female elected head of government not only in the UK, but in all of Europe?

... These achievements will stand out in history long after both her proponents and detractors have forgotten about her policies regarding coal mines, unions, Pinochet, Apartheid and the Poll Tax.

All the the "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" action will achieve is to serve as yet another in a long line of boring reminders about how petty and small-minded people can be...

... And to paraphrase Band of Brothers: We salute the rank, not the woman.

Mindless? Little twats? That's some pretty strong language coming from a mod. I'm pretty sure Alex hasn't enunciated an official WP stand on the premiership of Mrs. Thatcher.

This "tasteless little stunt" represents the firmly held political convictions of a substantial number of the British people. People who feel that according Baroness Thatcher the honour of an official funeral--an honour accorded to no other Prime Minister other than Winston Churchill--is inappropriate. Even the Daily Telegraph--no bastion of Liberalism, that--maintains that an official funeral is out of line.

The BBC is a public institution. It is judged by different standards than private broadcasters. And one of those standards is journalistic neutrality. This is news, whether you agree with it or not.

Those achievements are not anything to remember. Queen Elizabeth 1st had more power than Thatcher ever had.

I think Thatcher will be remembered but she will be remembered in more detail than the way you suggest, and it will be her policies that will be remembered, both good and bad.

I was/am expressing a personal opinion in PPR as a WP member on an activity occurring outside of WP.

That spiteful little stunt annoyed me intensely because it was inappropriately timed to coincide with her funeral.
An appropriate timing would have been when she left office because it would have made a perfectly allowable/justifiable attack on her actions as a politician during her time in office - and not at the time of her death, 23 years later, when it becomes nothing more than a vindictive personal attack.

As for the BBC, who I believe recognised it for what it was - they were placed in the unenviable position of either apparently supporting a personal attack on the woman, glorifying her death and helping to publically inform her grandchildren and other family members that she was a witch - or of suppressing the reportage and playing of the thing in the chart show. Neither is acceptable.
So (I read) they did the traditional BBC "middle-of-the-road" fudge of playing 15 seconds of the song and attaching a news item explaining their stance.

The people strongest in their personal vindictiveness are actually mostly not people who remembered or who actually demonstrated against her time in power. I've read a lot of people (some of whom are still quite left-wing, others who have changed their political opinions since, and even some of the miners directly affected by her closing the pits) and they just see this as being disgusting and disgraceful. Thatcher the Prime Minister and political figure more or less died off in 1990. Since then, she's faded out of politics and into ill-health and dementia for many years.

I'd understand it if Thatcher died during her reign in power. Then, I'd see more point in celebrations (even if I disagreed with them), as the people responsible might well think that some of her policies would be reversed. But not now. Time has moved on. They should be angry about the policies of present politicians and not gloating over the death of a woman who has been out of power over twice the length she's been in it.



That doesn't really please anyone. It feels like they're stifling free speech and allowing the Thatcher-haters to have their day. I'd rather they played the song in full, devoid of context.