Margaret Thatcher Dies at 87

[Grig]

No school is going to cover the last 30 years in a history class (Mostly due to the lack of a consensus on what happened), and certainly no school is going to cover politics outside of a politics lesson. I really see no need for people to memorise which past prime ministers are and are not alive.

Perhaps if they didn't know who the current prime minister it might be an issue..

No one has to memorize it, but to say they thought a PM had died in the 80s (when clearly she was at the height of her power then) is quite worrying.

Also, those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.

[MKR&*42]

To add to the discussion above about schools teaching 'this kind of thing'. I can't actually recall having ever being taught about Margaret Thatcher or any of her ideas, and none of my friends seem to know anything either - one of my friends only started learning about her at Government and Politics at AS Level. I had to research her myself to find out about anything to do with her

Quite a lot of school students aren't that keen to go and learn about something historical in politics if it is of no benefit to them in the exam/if it is not on the curriculum. I do think its a tad silly to not know she was a former Prime Minister and for people to have an opinion on her when they know anything about her, but someone can't be ridiculed purely because they haven't been taught about her or bothered researching.

[Grig]

To add to the discussion above about schools teaching 'this kind of thing'. I can't actually recall having ever being taught about Margaret Thatcher or any of her ideas, and none of my friends seem to know anything either - one of my friends only started learning about her at Government and Politics at AS Level. I had to research her myself to find out about anything to do with her

Quite a lot of school students aren't that keen to go and learn about something historical in politics if it is of no benefit to them in the exam/if it is not on the curriculum. I do think its a tad silly to not know she was a former Prime Minister and for people to have an opinion on her when they know anything about her, but someone can't be ridiculed purely because they haven't been taught about her or bothered researching.

All this generation cares about are computer games etc. I like to see knowing history as a marker of intelligence. If these people in the future go into politics, business etc. and don't know why X,Y and Z failed, then they will be committing the mistakes of the past.

It's fine and dandy to not know much about her, but at the very least shut up and don't comment on her when she dies. If one is to make a comment, one would expect they either lived through the period or know the history quite extensively and that is an element that disguists me.

[MKR&*42]

All this generation cares about are computer games etc. I like to see knowing history as a marker of intelligence. If these people in the future go into politics, business etc. and don't know why X,Y and Z failed, then they will be committing the mistakes of the past.

It's fine and dandy to not know much about her, but at the very least shut up and don't comment on her when she dies. If one is to make a comment, one would expect they either lived through the period or know the history quite extensively and that is an element that disguists me.

Yes this is what I completely agree with. Misinformed opinions a lot of these 'haters' seem to have based on hearsay

And it is rather disappointing that more people seem to be losing interest in history and (potentially) politics, there just doesn't seem to be any sign of the situation improving. It's just rather unfortunate law or politics isn't really compulsory at secondary school - it really should at least be conisdered because I have been asked a few worrying questions by people my age about the government and people deserve to have at least some basic knowledge of how the system works.

(Including "who is the current prime minister" @Empired; )

[jam666]

No school is going to cover the last 30 years in a history class (Mostly due to the lack of a consensus on what happened), and certainly no school is going to cover politics outside of a politics lesson. I really see no need for people to memorise which past prime ministers are and are not alive.

Perhaps if they didn't know who the current prime minister it might be an issue..

You make it sound like there are debates in schools about politics: P, but the truth is the only debate is how well can you shout down anyone with a capitalistic attitude. I call it Inter-generational Indoctrination. Schools are a well-established breeding ground for socialists who dominate a VERY large percentage of staff and reside in all tiers and ranks of the education system right from your university chancellor to your primary school teaching assistant. Am i saying the education they provide is bad? Nope it is probably very good, but it is far from politically neutral.

The problem with a left leaning educational establishment is the indoctrination of pupils with socialistic agendas that can't be debated as there is simply no opposition. If you raise your voice against it, your labelled as a rich person who hates the poor and can’t wait to destroy their lives (not quite as dramatic as this but you get the picture). This ultimately leads to what we see today with the unfortunate death of Margaret Thatcher.

There are countless numbers of youths who simply join the band wagon, who have no idea who Mrs Thatcher was or what the country was like before she came into office. Faced with a few home truths they would change their opinion. But it's not just the schools who are to blame it’s the parents. Back to the issue of inter-generational indoctrination we come as the "hate" stems from the children's parents indoctrinating them with "Thatcher is evil" without telling the child both sides of the story or even letting them make their own minds up. If your child believes this is the case after looking at the historical facts then fair enough you are free to believe what you want, but to simply jump on the bandwagon of one sided opinions is crazy and does not pose well for the future of that child.

I’ll just briefly mention the miners’ strike of the 80's. This has been appallingly portrayed by ALL media outlets (most of the media in the country is left leaning but we'll save that for another day). I'm quite fortunate to be able to have experiences from both sides (Thatcher’s and the miners), but Thatcher was ultimately correct. Strange how the left typically cry that Mrs Thatcher destroyed their lives, but what they fail to tell you is the generous pension schemes and HUGE pay outs the miners were given when the mines closed. (one example being my Great Uncle and Aunty, he received a substantial amount from being laid off in the mines that at the time my Great Aunty simply couldn't manage to spend the money which on top of this he also had a generous pension!) It appears that small fact is kept quiet by the unions as they want sympathy, but from WW2 to the time Mrs Thatcher took office, the amount of jobs in the Mining sector went from approximately 750,000 to around 250,000. With that aside you are not going to keep open a subsidized mine that isn't making any money!

As for the track “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” it’s absolutely disgraceful that the BBC decides to air even a small proportion of it when they banned God Save the Queen many years ago. Another biased decision influenced by the left.

Whatever your political view, the longest serving and only women prime minister of the 20th century has died and for that she should be respected. If you’re planning to have a party, then shame on you for not only disrespecting yourself, but also for disrespecting the country.

[Chippiewill]

The problem with a left leaning educational establishment is the indoctrination of pupils with socialistic agendas that can't be debated as there is simply no opposition. If you raise your voice against it, your labelled as a rich person who hates the poor and can’t wait to destroy their lives (not quite as dramatic as this but you get the picture). This ultimately leads to what we see today with the unfortunate death of Margaret Thatcher.

You're complaining about ad hominem whilst committing it yourself. Am I meant to take you seriously or are you being intentionally ironic?

[jam666]

You're complaining about ad hominem whilst committing it yourself. Am I meant to take you seriously or are you being intentionally ironic?

I was perhaps unclear in my statement. It wasn't an attack on you or the educational establishment, but simply a point of view of which you are free to disagree with.

I accept it may seem that I am being hypocritical in the aspect of indoctrination, but I have formed my own opinion over time that is the result of both my own personal belief and historical research (if you require them, I can give you examples of this but I felt that the need to at this moment of time is unnecessary).

[Chippiewill]

I was perhaps unclear in my statement. It wasn't an attack on you or the educational establishment, but simply a point of view of which you are free to disagree with.

I accept it may seem that I am being hypocritical in the aspect of indoctrination, but I have formed my own opinion over time that is the result of both my own personal belief and historical research (if you require them, I can give you examples of this but I felt that the need to at this moment of time is unnecessary).

You were complaining about the left position because it 'indoctrinates pupils' with the belief that people on the right are evil, which is ad hominem, but the complaint itself is ad hominem as it's attacking the people who hold the position rather than the position itself.

[Ardemax]

Thatcher's funeral cost = £10 million

"Unavoidable" cuts to Arts Council England = £11.6 million

Food for thought.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Food for thought.

Why are we paying for the Arts? I can understand people being against state funerals in these conditions, but in no conditions would I ever want to fund the arts where prats stand around looking at some god awful art. Art should be the last thing funded by the state.

Somebody made the point about funeral costs on Facebook though, and I can understand - and I put forwards a deal, let's cut the £113m a year that goes from the state into funding the Unions and we'll agree to not pay for the funeral. That's a deal I think Mrs. Thatcher would approve of.