# When Margaret Thatcher dies, will you... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 16, 2009, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925 "2009-06-16T10:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/1 "2009-06-16T10:02:09Z")
a) mourn? b) celebrate? c) care? One for the UK Dopers and other interested parties: The former PM is [still in hospital](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8100253.stm) and while she may recover from her current ailment she’s 83 years old and becoming increasingly frail. I know that a lot of Brits have had their “Ding dong the witch is dead” parties planned for a long, long time, but Thatcher has been out of office for 20 years now. Does the flame of hatred still burn so bright? Will there still be a queue to dance on her grave? Or, like Nixon, has her legacy been somewhat redeemed with the passage of time? [Mods: I started this in the BBQ Pit in anticipation of a, er, free exchange of views but feel free to move as appropriate] ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/2 "2009-06-16T10:21:44Z")
Well, I know what Elvis Costello will be doing. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/3 "2009-06-16T10:33:10Z")
Wondering where his career went? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/4 "2009-06-16T10:34:36Z")
A awful lot will dance on her grave if they had a chance. I’m one of them. Her policies in NI helped fan the flames of an already fucked up situation. Her policies on unions and homosexuals was terribly damaging. She was the main non-Irish figure of hate and scorn for my generation(born 1971). Others will view her as a person who pushed very needed reforms through and took the pain that was required to take. I’d guess that a lot of Americans won’t understand the level of hate against her. Either way, love her or hate her, she was a political collosus of the late 20th century. I’ve heard people try to say that Palin is like Thatch which is one of the most laughable things I’ve heard in a long time. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGEBLcKD3Ec) ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/5 "2009-06-16T10:43:49Z")
a) No. b) No. c) No. The only impact her death will have on me will be mild annoyance at all the newpaper and telly coverage about it.\* \*Similarly, while I’m hardly a royalist, I really hope ol’ Liz is immortal. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/6 "2009-06-16T10:52:34Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > A awful lot will dance on her grave if they had a chance. I’m one of them. Her policies in NI helped fan the flames of an already fucked up situation. Her policies on unions and homosexuals was terribly damaging. She was the main non-Irish figure of hate and scorn for my generation(born 1971). > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGEBLcKD3Ec](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGEBLcKD3Ec) I’m about the same age as you, I dislike Thatcher and her legacy, but won’t really care one way or the other when she dies. Like the OP said, she’s been out of office for around 20 years now. What’s really sad is that Blair and Brown seem to be carrying on her policies and the country is still a mess. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/7 "2009-06-16T11:13:07Z")
It’s sad when anybody dies. But it’s important to learn from history. Thatcher was incredibly determined and hard-working. She had to cope in a ‘man’s world’ (as politics was incredibly sexist then). However she never listened to advice and only changed her mind when the situation became disastrous. She didn’t like competition and so her successors were weak. She split the country over several issues (miner’s strike, poll tax) and we need to avoid having a leader like her ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/8 "2009-06-16T11:13:51Z")
I’ll be sad to see her go. She was the greatest UK PM of the 20th Century, (yes including Churchill.) ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/9 "2009-06-16T11:24:28Z")
The unions in Britain needed to be broken, and economic reform was an imperative, but there were times when she was far too blunt, and she wasn’t great on Northern Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/10 "2009-06-16T11:26:38Z")
One thing I heard that did pluck my empathy string quite hard was that apparently due to dementia she finds out her husband is dead every day as she forgets that he is. That is very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis\_Chimney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/50afbb/32.png) [@Elvis\_Chimney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis_Chimney)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/11 "2009-06-16T11:49:01Z")
I grew up in Glasgow in the 80s, and my dad was a steelworker, so you could argue that I’d have plenty of cause to celebrate the demise of the evil old witch. The unfortunate thing though is that not only are we still surrounded by Thatcher’s legacy, but barring a miracle we’re also about to re-elect the Tories. As disillusioned as I may be with the current Labour party, I really can’t stand the thought of that shower of bastards getting back into power. When her black heart finally stops beating in the shrivelled husk in which it lives these days, I might raise a glass in celebration - but it’s hardly going to usher in a bright new post-Thatcher dawn. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/12 "2009-06-16T11:55:35Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > I’ll be sad to see her go. She was the greatest UK PM of the 20th Century, (yes including Churchill.) I find this interesting. What were her greatest accomplishments? Standing up to Hitler seems like a tough act to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/13 "2009-06-16T12:23:47Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > One thing I heard that did pluck my empathy string quite hard was that apparently due to dementia she finds out her husband is dead every day as she forgets that he is. That is very sad. Yikes. You know, there’s a movie in there somewhere. Not necessarily about Thatcher, but I could see that as a hell of a premise for some aspiring writer out there. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis\_Chimney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/50afbb/32.png) [@Elvis\_Chimney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis_Chimney)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/14 "2009-06-16T12:31:50Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yikes. You know, there’s a movie in there somewhere. Not necessarily about Thatcher, but I could see that as a hell of a premise for some aspiring writer out there. Maybe Ken Loach could do a film about an ex-miner with Alzheimer’s who finds out every day anew that Thatcher is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/15 "2009-06-16T12:41:22Z")
So when she croaks, you gotta give the Falklands back to Argentina? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/16 "2009-06-16T12:43:06Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yikes. You know, there’s a movie in there somewhere. Not necessarily about Thatcher, but I could see that as a hell of a premise for some aspiring writer out there. 50 First Dates was pretty close anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/17 "2009-06-16T12:56:00Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Well, I know what Elvis Costello will be doing. > [@Alessan](#): > > Wondering where his career went? Well, they gave him his own TV series a few months back, and his new album has already scored his highest U.S. chart placing since 1980. Yeah, he’s worried. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/18 "2009-06-16T12:59:43Z")
I, for one, will be shocked when Margaret Thatcher passes away. Mostly because I thought she died 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/19 "2009-06-16T13:00:13Z")
I love Meg. She’s a big hero I want to see her again and again. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925/20 "2009-06-16T13:03:28Z")
I just hope she doesn’t die during my vacation. Reagan died during my trip to Vienna, and since the only English-speaking TV stations in my hotel were CNN and BBC, that’s all that was on. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-margaret-thatcher-dies-will-you/499925.md?page=2)