It is definitely in poor taste, but I am fairly neutral to it. I would have preferred it to be Elvis Costello's "Tramp The Dirt Down" that had been downloaded en-mass, as it's a little more subtle and a far better song than some musical soundtrack rubbish. There are lot of people who strongly hate Thatcher for her actions in the 1980s and as a democracy, the charts/history should reflect that - no matter how wrong it seems.

 

It is a protest against the establishment proclaiming her as some kind of saviour as much as against Thatcher herself - that Daily Mail front cover from Tuesday *Shudders*

Edited April 10, 201312 yr by Doctor Blind

It is slightly distasteful, but that's democracy for you.

 

I'm just glad that the UK Charts will be getting a lot more attention this week from the wider world as a result.

Revelling in anyone's death is hardly "trying to sully something so beautifully democratic", it's pitiful and a sad reflection of society today. As has already been said - she has family - why do you believe it is acceptable for their grief to be amplified in this way?

Perhaps if the press had been a little more balanced then this "pitiful and sad reflection" wouldn't be so in demand. And if she had shown a little more consideration for other peoples' families then again, this may not have been so amplified.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not actively advocating downloading the song - I'm merely defending peoples' right to do so if they wish. I personally think their time and money would be better spent trying to eradicate her legacy if they hate her so much.

Now I don't know much of her politics and personal views and whatnot, but making a campaign celebrating Margret Thatcher's death is disgusting. It's not as if she was pure evil (despite what people may think), she wasn't a murderer, she wasn't a child molester, she was a woman who just so happened have different ideas. Either way you look at it, she must have done a great deal of good for the country, however little or much.

 

For the record, her policies contributed to plenty of deaths. Suicide rates rocketed when she was in power.

 

I actually think this song doing well is mostly a reaction to the media making out she was some universally-loved saint. I think it's notable that it only actually went Top 10 on iTunes more than 24 hours after she died. I think at first most people who hate her were indifferent to her death, but became increasingly pissed off as her supporters tried to paint her as some hero and tried to gloss over the destruction and harm she caused.

 

I wouldn't buy it myself, but I can't blame anyone else for doing it; after all, she showed no compassion for the lives she ruined so why should anyone else show compassion for her. People who base their disgust on this song doing well on the premise that "it's not like she was evil" ignore the fact that to many people, she was.

I won't take part in the debate about Thatcher because I'm not British and I don't live in the UK. It doesn't mean I don't know about her politics, because I went to something called "college" and I read a lot about politics in general.

 

I would only say that, from a non-British point of view, it sounds a bit sick to celebrate the death of someone with a song and it doesn't look like something civilised people would do. That's basically what people living outside the UK would think of this whole story. I get that people have big issues with the way she handled the country, and they probably have all the right reasons for that, but this whole campaign sounds quite disgusting and lacks dignity.

I actually think this song doing well is mostly a reaction to the media making out she was some universally-loved saint. I think it's notable that it only actually went Top 10 on iTunes more than 24 hours after she died. I think at first most people who hate her were indifferent to her death, but became increasingly pissed off as her supporters tried to paint her as some hero and tried to gloss over the destruction and harm she caused.

 

This is exactly what I think - having had to endure the past few days of endless praise from the media. It is a protest against that and it should be heard. They could have used a FAR better song to do it with though.

For the record, her policies contributed to plenty of deaths. Suicide rates rocketed when she was in power.

 

I actually think this song doing well is mostly a reaction to the media making out she was some universally-loved saint. I think it's notable that it only actually went Top 10 on iTunes more than 24 hours after she died. I think at first most people who hate her were indifferent to her death, but became increasingly pissed off as her supporters tried to paint her as some hero and tried to gloss over the destruction and harm she caused.

 

I wouldn't buy it myself, but I can't blame anyone else for doing it; after all, she showed no compassion for the lives she ruined so why should anyone else show compassion for her. People who base their disgust on this song doing well on the premise that "it's not like she was evil" ignore the fact that to many people, she was.

That hardly makes her a murderer! :lol: Bluntly put, but she didn't tell them to kill themselves.

 

Apparently, the BBC haven't been making out she was a good person (I haven't seen anything personally but that's so I've been told). *I* didn't ignore the fact some people think she was evil, so I presume your speaking in general. But just like some saw her as evil, some did see her as a hero.

I don't know a lot about Thatcher nor her policies as I was born three years after she went out of power so I'm not gonna attempt to debate about her. I don't find this campaign appaling as I can accept that some had some had a strong dislike towards her, but from a neutral perspective, I find it very distasteful.

 

I don't see what this will achieve? Justice for those whose lives she made harder? Its not exactly going to change any of what she did. I would've maybe understood more if she had died whilst in power or something, but she was, at this stage, a dying 87 year old woman whose policies/ideas are still alive and well to this day . I can't see what it will give people who's lives were influenced in a bad way by her to see this song so high up the charts. Its just pointless. I'm not saying she deserves a hero's obituary or lauding by the press, but she doesn't deserve this.

 

However, that is a minor gripe and the main thing I find so distasteful is that I bet that lots of the people downloading this are people who had no idea who Thatcher was and are just jumping on the bandwagon - that is plain hideous full stop and anyone who does that should be ashamed.

Edited April 10, 201312 yr by Chez Wombat

And I do somewhat understand it more as a respose to the likes of the right wing tabloids like Danny's said, but the general premise of it is just not something I can approve of.

I would only say that, from a non-British point of view, it sounds a bit sick to celebrate the death of someone with a song and it doesn't look like something civilised people would do. That's basically what people living outside the UK would think of this whole story. I get that people have big issues with the way she handled the country, and they probably have all the right reasons for that, but this whole campaign sounds quite disgusting and lacks dignity.

 

How about when Iraqis celebrated the death of Saddam Hussein, singing and dancing in the streets?

 

 

She was the most hated person in this country since the end of World War II, this kind of reaction was inevitable. Some people have been waiting years or even decades to celebrate this moment - it is a "campaign" with far more depth than a Facebook page behind it.

 

Perhaps if the press had been a little more balanced

 

I genuinely do not understand this statement. There are scores of negative articles about her on the Guardian website and on plenty more newspapers. The opinions of Morrissey, Ken Loach and the likes have been amply reported. Several others newspapers have called her divisive, harsh and uncompromising. Clearly the right-wing press (especially tabloids) is painting her as a hero, because this is what she was for their readers. But that is just a portion of the media and we are far from North Korea-style mourning...

I genuinely do not understand this statement. There are scores of negative articles about her on the Guardian website and on plenty more newspapers. The opinions of Morrissey, Ken Loach and the likes have been amply reported. Several others newspapers have called her divisive, harsh and uncompromising. Clearly the right-wing press (especially tabloids) is painting her as a hero, because this is what she was for their readers. But that is just a portion of the media and we are far from North Korea-style mourning...

 

I agree with this, I think its been pretty balanced. I haven't read many newspapers but the TV coverage has been ok. The BBC and Channel 4 news are very left wing in general and pointed out a lot of the "bad".

How about when Iraqis celebrated the death of Saddam Hussein, singing and dancing in the streets?

 

Well, Husseim was a tyrant, he lead wars and genocidal campaigns, he oppressed his country for about 3 decades.

The death of Saddam Hussein closed the book of an awful era for the whole population. It's quite not the same thing...

Celebrating death is just disgusting beyond compare. Even if she ruined the country, how does celebrating her death, which many are grieving (children, grandchildren, friends, other family members), change what she did? I'd understand if people were campaigning for an apology during her lifetime - so once again how is this going to change anything? It just shows how vile humanity can be.

I couldn't decide between 'appalling' and 'just distasteful', in the end I plumped for the latter because poor taste is how I've described it in previous posts. But it's pretty sick really. I can understand how many people won't shed any tears because of what she did to their communities but that's no excuse to actively 'celebrate' the death of another human being. It's not a 'joke' and it's certainly not making a 'political statement'. Sadly this makes Britain look rather nasty in the eyes of the rest of the world. Unfairly of course because it will just be a few 10s of thousands from a population of 60 million doing it, but that's the impression it will create.

Edited April 10, 201312 yr by Col1967

I agree with this, I think its been pretty balanced. I haven't read many newspapers but the TV coverage has been ok. The BBC and Channel 4 news are very left wing in general and pointed out a lot of the "bad".

They aren't truly left wing in any way I recognise, they are merely to the left of the government.

 

There may well have been critical articles in the likes of the Guardian that were critical of her, but take one look at the headlines and you realise that they were at least attempting to acknowledge both sides of the argument - their right wing counterparts certainly didn't manage that.

The campaign itself can be comfortably described as lacking in compassion, feelings or any kind of respect for a family going though a difficult time. Perhaps if Thatcher hadn't conducted herself in exactly that sort of manner in her political career maybe the society that she claimed never existed would exercise a bit more compasion in her death. You reap what you sow.

 

As for the feelings of her family. I doubt they really care. They knew how hated she was by many and everybody who lived through her reign knew this kind of response was coming. I'm surprised people are surprised by it.

I think many who didn't live through the 80s are aware of her reputation and equate the current government as being similar in some way too. I've heard a few teenagers make casual remarks but when anyone over 40 says the same sort of things you can genuinely feel the venom in it. Many of us just want the world to know how they and many others felt they were discarded and treated with contempt by a woman who benefitted those voices are usually the loudest.

 

Personally I think comparing Thatcher to the Wicked Witch of the West is far too comedic to do justice to her legacy. And I expect the Witch would be offended too

the only good thing about this campaign is that Liza Minelli will make a few bucks out of it.... i'm.sure she.needs.every penny...

I think it's distasteful. I understand that many people over the age of around 40 are happy that she is dead, and if I'd been alive when she was running the country, I might hate her as well. As it is, I can't say I particularly like her. However, I still think buying something like that is in very poor taste when the woman has just died - or, buying it just to get it into the charts. It's not fair on her family and friends who have just suffered a loss and for them to see that people are happy about her death is only going to make things worse. I'm not saying she herself didn't deserve it, but to make fun of someone's death is just something I don't agree with. If it had been a more tasteful song that people were buying, I wouldn't be so against it, but this is just laughing at the fact that somebody has died.

 

Just to clarify though, I have nothing against the people who suffered because of Margaret Thatcher buying this, as they have every right to be happy. But there are sure to be some people (and I don't know how many) who are just jumping on the bandwagon and going along with the campaign when they don't really know anything about her, and I think that's just plain wrong.

the only good thing about this campaign is that Liza Minelli will make a few bucks out of it.... i'm.sure she.needs.every penny...

Liza Minelli? Why? :unsure:

 

Voted Amusing of course. It's a shame Judy Garland is not credited though. Motion Picture Cast Recording? Oh, well...

Edited April 10, 201312 yr by Jason