*Raises hand*

Please Sir, may I ask a question? I'm in my late 30's and was therefore about 16 when Mrs Thatcher stepped down. I don't have much recollection of what she did in her time in office -a bit about stikes perhaps.

So to have such strong opinions on Mrs Thatcher you must be;

A) A fair few years older than me in order to have experienced her time in office
B) Have studied politics or just read around the subject to have some knowledge of her performance as Prime Minister, after the event
C) Be jumping on the 'Thatcher is Shit' bandwagon so you can hang out with the cool kids

Or is there a D)?
(jono_h, Wed 4 Jan 2012, 21:18, 4 replies)

D) You lived in fairyland autism until you turned 16, only being aware of yourself and your immediate surroundings.
E) They've just made a movie about her recently and they even managed to make Meryl Streep look good compared to Maggie.
I am of a similar vintage & I can (vaguely) remember quite a few of the cunty things that Dennis's Husband did.
EDIT: & I didn't even live in the UK.

Also I think there should be a "Thatchers' Grave Defilers" Yahoo Group! Grave-pishers ftw!
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Wed 4 Jan 2012, 22:15, closed)

To be honest
I was 15 when thatcher got her arse kicked out of number 10. I knew why I hated her then, and I know why I hate her now. I guess I was just paying attention.
(cs1ca, Wed 4 Jan 2012, 22:16, closed)

Fair enough, I guess I was having too much fun with Transformers and Ninja Turtles.
(jono_h, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 7:58, closed)

We'll take that as
a 'C' then.
(username failed moderation, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 8:37, closed)

A, unfortunately
I am not a hateful person. I try to bimble through life with a gormless grin and a hamster-cheeked cheerfulness. But having been young in the 1980s, I reserve a special dark place in my heart for the architects that disastrous time. Thatcher and her minions did more damage to the fabric and morale of this country than Hitler ever managed.
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 9:22, closed)

I'm 34,
and can remember writing an article on the poll tax riots and how they might end Thatcher's years as PM, for a piece of English homework (it shared news space in my fictional paper with a spudgun incident, both hard-hitting stories), whilst at secondary school.
Given that I was pretty ignorant regarding politics/current affairs, you must have been spectacularly ill-informed. Did your parents switch off the TV whenever Ben Elton came on?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 9:35, closed)

No, I had access to the news on Tv and papers but I personally wasn't politically aware enough in my teenage years to be able to form an opinion of Thatchers years.

If you fall into category A or B then fill your boots with the Thatcher hatred. Falling into category C seems a bit silly.

As for the concept of Poll tax was it really all that bad? Surely a system of taxation where households pay for 'general' services such as bin collection, with an element of individuals paying for 'people' services such as libraries might work.
(jono_h, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 10:58, closed)

I see.
You're one of the "I don't have children so why should my tax money be spent on schools" mob, aren't you?

I was astoundingly politcally ignorant, in my youth, but not picking up on the anti-Thatcher sentiment of the time is quite an acheivement. Go you.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 11:16, closed)

No, I have kids and have no problem paying for schools, libraries, social care, emergency services, etc. I was just suggesting an alternative form of taxation that may be more transparent than throwing all services into a bundle and charging by the household. Use it as a discussion point and come up with your own ideas.

And my original point was that picking up on the anti-Thacher sentiment of the time, rather than making your own reasoned decision (which I don't feel I can being as I was far to young to remember her 'early' years), is stupid.
(jono_h, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 12:09, closed)