The GOS says: I feel it incumbent upon me to at least mention the death of Margaret Thatcher, so ...
When she was in power I, like many others, loathed her. I still do disapprove of some of the things she did. It was she who, for purely political advantage, set the Global Warming ball rolling in the first place. Her privatisation of the railways was unnecessary and done in such a way as to maximise profits for tier upon tier of shareholders at the public's expense.
Her manner and appearance were always against her: however much work the PR gurus did on her, she was frumpy, awkward, sounded at the same time hectoring and insincere, and walked funny. But I was younger then. With age comes wisdom, and it is now possible to see that, while unwholesome, she was a leader of remarkable stature.
I have been surprised and angered by the tasteless celebrations of the left over her death. If I still harboured any left-wing delusions I suppose I might allow myself a wry smile at the news, or even a sense of relief, but this tide of yobbish hatred for a senile old woman is tasteless and embarrassing. I feel ashamed to belong to the same nation as these louts, and suspect that in the long run this will do the Labour Party damage. One can but hope.
Plenty has been written about Thatcher's legacy, but the best précis I have seen was posted on Facebook by Les Savine ...
Things Margaret Thatcher DIDN'T Do:
1) Abandon the Falkland Islands to the Argies
2) Cow down to the IRA
3) Allow 200,000-plus immigrants into the UK every year (it was between 13 and 50 thousand)
4) Institute the Human Rights Act, thus allowing murderous scum & terrorists to live here with no chance of kicking them out
5) Roll over and allow Europe to dictate what we can and can't do
6) Run up huge debts by spending money the country didn't have and getting our credit rating reduced
So before you sit there slagging her off (especially those who weren't even born when she was Prime Minister) take a look at what has happened to our country since she resigned.
OK, that's simplistic. But perhaps simplistic isn't such a bad way to think. People who tell you "Ah, but it isn't as simple as that - you have to bear in mind ...." are usually saying "don't think that, think what I want".
Perhaps that was Thatcher's greatest quality: she thought simple. She was motivated by one guiding principle - "Sod you, mate, I'll do what I want!"
And that's not such a bad way to run your life, is it, when you think about it?
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