6 British police injured at party celebrating Thatcher's death

falseflagsteve,

You may have an agenda in disliking people you consider liberal or whatever...

Wow. Talk about unsubstantiated generalizations that miss the mark. Clearly, you don't know me.

Let's talk about facts: By the British media's own estimations, a broad swath of the British public has devoted a considerable amount of time and energy to revile Margaret Thatcher upon her death, couching harsh criticisms of her policies in scarcely civil qualified statements that amount quite literally to, "I don't meant to cheer for the death of someone, because that would be rude, however, I am now going to do just that."

Perhaps the disconnect between my position and your apparent stung sense of fairness is that you believe I speak only of riots and street parties. That's partly my fault for not being more specific in my general disgust, but also yours for making the assumption.

Let me clarify: I find it highly offensive and in no small degree infantile that such a significant portion of the English population (again, not my words, but those of British media, including the BBC), particularly those old enough to ostensibly know better, would celebrate in any capacity the death of Thatcher for the reasons given by her detractors -- i.e., they feel she caused them some manner of economic harm through her domestic policies -- particularly when those same people form the backbone of the parliamentary democracy that gave her explicit permission to enact those very same policies over the course of not one term, but three.

Thatcher may not have been a popular leader at home. But she was no Pinochet. She was no Hussein. And she was certainly no Hitler. To place her in the same category as some of the more notorious villains in history, as if her elevation to the position of Prime Minister --- three times --- came at gunpoint and on the backs of the disenfranchised, is utter nonsense and in no small degree childish.

The power she wielded was the power of democratic mandate. So for these folks to rage against her policies 30 years later, as if none of these folks had any part whatsoever in the democratic process that gave her than mandate? Well, you'll just have to forgive me if I find the inherent hypocrisy and piss-poor taste of these highly visible and vocal celebrations stomach-churning.

LFRA, Up to 6 million people rioting ir having street parties would be considered a small minority of the British public. Though the amount rioting and partying in streets would unliely be 10% of that 6 million figure. You may have an agenda in disliking people you consider liberal or whatever but i like to deal in the facts and my initial post has not been discredited by anyone.

falseflagsteve,

A "small minority" you say? Right.

A brief glance across the web at the number of articles specifically addressing Thatcher's death and the subsequent parties that sprouted up across the UK in its wake is more than enough to discredit your optimistically generous regard for what is very obviously more than a "small minority" of Britains.

JeffLee, again you show you do not get it at all. Thatcher sold of tons off social housing that was not replaced. i also know a few who bought their house but that means nothing at all. a problem you have and alo mamy Americans is this Liberal and Conservative rubbish. Neither side support anyone except themselves, they do not care about you or me. Thatcher was an extreme version of a sociopath but Blair was far worse and the sheep loved both of them for a while. that is the problem, those who believe in right and left and all that. Instead of seeing reality they see what the man on the telly or in the newspaper tells them, anything lse is a loony conspiracy theory.

Gentrifiaction has hammered and destroyed local communities

Err, home ownership also flourished under Thatcher. So many members of the "local communities" you speak of increasingly started to own their own homes from the 80s onward. I know, I've known a few. That was one big driver behind gentrification. The other was growing affluence stemming from the blurring of lines of the class system.

Mind you, old Labour and the lefties strived to maintain the 19th century class system and keep the working class in its place. That's because they were able to promote and channel dissatisfacation over the class distinctions for their own advantage. That's what really scared them about Thatcher and the new conservatives.

@Sail I've always respected your posts even though I usually disagree with your politics. However, your comment on Glaswegians not really hating Thatcher made me burst out laughing on the train. To take one example, Thatcher's implementation of the Poll Tax in Scotland ( many Scots felt they were being used as Guinea pigs ) saw some truly awful civil unrest and her legacy has seen the Tories reduced to fighting for one seat, yes one, in the entire country. Labour MPs have been 'instructed' to refrain from inflammatory or disrespectful remarks ( although some will not toe the line ) and local newspapers generally don't have editorials entitled 'Ding, dong the witch is dead'. Believe me, even the most ardent Thatcherite wouldn't argue that she is regarded with overwhelming hatred in the areas you mentioned and in the same way is revered by those who benefitted from her administrations.

@JeffLee. Gentrifiaction has hammered and destroyed local communities and turned many into sterile "Starbucks" zones where the ex locals can work at minimum wage gated communities prevail. They may look "nice" to you and other son the outside but thus us the crap that started with Thatcher that continues to destroy the places the working man lives, Soon they will be too far from the cities to afford to commute to the well paid jobs, but it is ok, the places look nice and there are trendy cafes about.

Some people will never get what we are annoyed about.

Do you know anything about Brixton? Glasgow? Leeds? Rotherham?

For myself I can safely say a lot more now by having my curiosity piked by the questions. As an outsider who always admired Ms. Thatcher I have to say the past hour or so has been pretty educational for me on the "Iron lady" and her legacy she left Britain. I went to the local papers in the cities you mention to see what they were saying. In Brixton I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the local MP that represents the Brixton area wasn't to pleased with this stunt mentioned in the article and it seems the majority of folks there are really a good decent lot. A excerpt below:

Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham, told Brixton Blog: “Holding a party to celebrate the death of any person is totally wrong and in extreme bad taste – to do so in respect of Baroness Thatcher on the day of her death is utterly disgraceful.

“The people organising this dreadful event do not speak for or represent the people of Brixton, the overwhelming majority of whom will have nothing but sympathy for a family that has just lost a loved one.”

http://www.brixtonblog.com/windrush-square-party-to-celebrate-the-death-of-margaret-thatcher-in-brixton/11265

Glasgow didn't seem to care for her at all but just reading the Glasgow paper it came off to me as more of a traditional Scotland wanting really nothing to do with England thing and longing to get her independence back than a real true hatred for her. This caught my eye more than anything for that region:

During her 12 years in office Mrs Thatcher shifted the political axis to the right across much of Britain and yet in Scotland there was an instinctive reaction against her policies.

Indeed, Scottish devolution, having failed to take hold in 1979, did so in 1999 in what many saw as the result of a cumulative reaction against Thatcher-inspired policies.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/thatcher-passing-of-a-political-giant-loved-and-hated-in-equal-measure.20745673

Leeds it seems has the Yorkshire Post at the local newspaper going back to the 1700's. They summed it I think the best:

When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 we were a nation ruled by unions, where the lights went out with every new dispute and rubbish piled up on the streets in a winter of discontent.

When she left a decade later, being in business was fashionable again and owning stocks and shares – and your own home – de rigueur for a generation of self-made yuppies. But the coalfields were gone.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/businesstalk-thatcher-s-legacy-for-yorkshire-and-leeds-s-oldest-broker-1-3134233

And Rotherman the paper is called the star and it had the most detailed in depth and really balanced reporting on her and her legacy I ran across. It was actually a pleasure to read what is starting to become rare acts of real journalism anymore. They provided the reader all the facts pro and con so they can make up their own mind.

In the view of her many admirers, she thrust a strike-infested half-pace Britain back among the front-runners in the commanding peaks of the industrial nations of the world.

Her detractors, many of them just as vociferous, saw her as the personification of an uncaring new political philosophy known by both sides as Thatcherism.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/video-margaret-thatcher-is-dead-aged-87-1-5564154

Do you know anything about Brixton?

Yeah, used to pass thru there, as well as nearby Catford, Lewisham, etc., in the 70s and the region was a complete dump. Somewhat improved and a trendy spot to go (The Brixton Fridge, yeah!) by the mid 1980s, and it has since been gentrified and now has a proud and strong identity. So that's your definition of "destroyed"? Your perspective is astonishingly ignorant.

These areas are not Notting Hill 'champagne socialists' The pics showed them drinking champagne. They were even shaking the bottles and spraying the fizz all around. Notting Hill in the 70s, by the way, was also a bit of a dump and dangerous. Then from the 1980s it started to become trendy, particularly among young people who were becoming newly affluent and started moving in.

@JeffLee 'I guess they bought their champagne with pounds' Astonishingly ignorant post. Do you know anything about Brixton? Glasgow? Leeds? Rotherham? These areas are not Notting Hill 'champagne socialists'. They had their communities destroyed and many divided in a bitter split between those who crossed the picket lines through fear of seeing their families thrown into poverty and those who stayed on strike. Many of those areas are still among the most deprived in the UK. Please don't caricature people you clearly know nothing about.

I just happened to meet 2 Brits yesterday and they also hated her, yes even after she died. So there has to be more to her than most none British actually know about??

Only liberals would cheer someone's death just because they were political opponents.

The world is seeing just how classy the UK really is.

RR

The loony left lives. I guess they bought their champagne with pounds, and not euros. Lucky for them.

What is really sad is the Labour party actually had to issue a party-wide memo reminding its staff and members (including standing/incumbent members of the House) to remain respectful because they don't trust them to have the common decency to restrain themselves. The unions and other left wing socialist organizations have been whooping with joy and high-fiving themselves in their reaction: George Galloway saying "tramp the dirt down on her grave" for one.

Utterly tasteless.

Goes to show you how illogical, thoughtless and looney the left truly are. No politician is perfect, certainly Thatcher wasn't, but she loved her country and she wanted the best for her countrymen. As in America, the liberal politicians with their social and in Britains case, the unions were the absolute worst thing that could have affected the country. When you have a terrorist sympathist like Galloway making those kinds of asinine remarks goes to show you how low the far left will go. Had it not been for her, England was on a downward spiral that would have almost certainly put it on the 3rd world map. Like she once said, "socialism is great until you run out of the others persons money" she was tough and that's what England needed. The term "Iron lady" was given to her by the former Soviet Union and with good reason.

Walk through of Economy under Thatcher Government in 4 charts - http://www.miguelangeldiez.com/2013/04/09/thatcher

Pathetic human beings, maybe just pathetic beings.

It's the UK. This kind of stuff happens all the time. Just usually it's in relation to sport.

Uncivilized.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2305760/Margaret-Thatcher-death-party-The-Lefts-chorus-hatred-Champagne-streets.html

her polices were awful, the changes she made were damaging and her legacy equally unsavoury. having said that, celebrating her death is just ridiculous. you can openly dislike her, even at a time like this, but revelling in it all is rather sickening.

The questions I would ask the revellers would be simple. Do you vote? Do you protest against an electoral system which renders your vote meaningless and allows filth like Thatcherism to disfigure your communities? There are better ways for us to ensure that our grandchildren won't have the occasion to celebrate the death of someone who destroyed and debased their communities.

The British lefties show class.... not

How many of those 'revellers' were actually born when she was in power? Some of us were affected by her government's policies, as I was, but I don't want to dance on her grave, or even gloat over her sad passing.

A mini-riot with people arrested and injured on the streets of Britain? Just like the Thatcher years - the iron lady would be looking up proudly!

English Mob Mentality at work again. Thatcher has been out of power for decades and people still want to treat her like she's the reason their lives are the way they are today. I guess SOMEBODY has to be the scapegoat for people's failures so it's all the better when the scapegoat is dead and can't defend herself.

George Galloway saying "tramp the dirt down on her grave" for one.

Just a tweet from a twit.

Good riddance is my thought. A staunch supporter of apartheid she was, she peed on the lower and middle class..where to stop? Tasteless you say, try deep hatred and loathing of somebody who wrecked the futures of so many lives.

@LFRAgain; Please refrain from stereotyping a nation of people due to actions of a small minority.

Ah, the English - keeping things classy.......

What is really sad is the Labour party actually had to issue a party-wide memo reminding its staff and members (including standing/incumbent members of the House) to remain respectful because they don't trust them to have the common decency to restrain themselves. The unions and other left wing socialist organizations have been whooping with joy and high-fiving themselves in their reaction: George Galloway saying "tramp the dirt down on her grave" for one.

Utterly tasteless.

RR