I suppose I'm not really surprised that yet another thread has partially descended into political rhetoric. Equally, I wouldn't expect everyone to join in unconditional celebration of the life of a great political figure and (as has been said) one of our very few true statesmen as some, clearly disagreed with her policies - that's democracy and fair enough. She was, above all, a patriot who recognized the poor and declining state of Britain and was prepared to stand up and do something about it.
If you really believe that any reasonable politician would deliberately try to destroy British industry then I would suggest that you have been taken in by people with nefarious political ambitions. For example, our coal industry was already unviable and the Trades Unions wanting to increase miners' pay was simply pricing themselves out of an already tenuous market, becoming dominated by countries with resources that were easier to extract and lower labour costs. If she hadn't stood up to Scargill, the outcome would have been no better.
But we all want scapegoats and I am slightly amused that some people are taken in by those all-to-familiar phrases such as, 'This strike is entirely the fault of the Government.' It was entirely the due to the greed and power-seeking Union leaders and the members that were stupid enough to believe in a cynical, socialist attempt to overthrow a right-wing Government.
My point? There are plenty of ways to view her past, her achievements and her failures, but it's not often a death is announced here on PPRuNe only to be followed by posters stepping forward to dissect the deceased life and works. There are about three other recent announcements of this type on the forum at the moment; I wonder why those of you that feel the need seem to think it's OK to pick over Lady T's bones when you wouldn't dream of doing it in the name of others. Maybe it's a time to put your political fanaticisms aside for a moment and think about the good in people, even if it's just for a while. You don't have to jump up and down in salutation, but you might consider how appropriate it is to be so abjectly critical so soon after her death.
Military aircrew and associated personnel forum. Show the appropriate level of respect.
Last edited by Courtney Mil; 9th Apr 2013 at 20:24.