Tuesday 16 April 2013

Whose funeral? Margaret Thatcher's or the Milk Snatcher's?

so, as i'm sure you can tell, i've rather avoided the "Thatcher conundrum" thus far because i am, for once ("anonymous"- my pal from my previous posts- will be glad to here this), not sure about what i think.

*ERMAHGERDDD. what is this unfamiliar feeling? it must be the pangs of uncertainty and mixed feelings.*

But as the funeral's tomorrow... I should probably tell you some of the thoughts i have had on the topic:

Here we go....

You see, I know a few things. I know that i hate what Thatcher and Thatcherism stood for and stand for today. I know i hate that Thatcher is celebrated and damned for being a woman (what are these mysterious creatures?) rather than just for her policies. I know i hate what her policies meant and continue to mean to our society. AND i hate that i can't just hate her.

I was not a child of Thatcher. I did not have my milk snatched from me in front of my eyes (even though i probably would have been gagging over the prospect of having to drink it anyway). I don't feel like I have suffered directly at the hands of Thatcher and her regime.

But- and it's one hell of a big "but"- I know that a woman who told us that "there is no such thing as society" and that the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, the working class were all forcing their problems on society and the government should not have a state funeral- because, call it what you will, that is what it is. And it's not a cheap one- there have been a lot of reports/rumours (depending on your point of view) of a figure close to £10 million coming out of tax payers pockets. She did not unify or support the whole country. She did not help women get into power- she got in but that does not, nor ever will, mean that she was a feminist revolutionary helping other women get up the ranks and defeat the patriarchy. She solved some problems but she caused plenty as well. And we (by which i mean some individuals who have not taken into account the thoughts and feelings of the people) are going to silence Big Ben for her? hmm.

I don't feel a huge sense of elation at her death, nor would i join a party to celebrate it, but i can understand why someone would. I can understand and i can condone someone celebrating her demise because i can understand and condone someone's hate for her and because i can understand why someone would not view Margaret Thatcher as someone deserving of their grief. I am certainly not mourning her. A lot of people are saying that at this time we have to view and treat her as what she fundamentally was- a human being. But how can the average veteran of Thatcher's britain see her as a just a normal human when she is being given a state funeral, destroyed their lives and (even from a distance and indirectly) has continued to have an influence over our country?

We see her influence everywhere. It's in the fact that she is what people think of when someone says "a woman as prime minister" no matter the context. It's in the fact that her death has had such huge media coverage. It's in the fact that her death has provided a distraction from what our current tory government is doing. Even in death Thatcher is doing what she always did- providing a face for people to shout at, scream about, blame, look to, distract from when the government does something disgusting. She has always been a famous- or infamous- personality. She will always be that. She is immortal. And that is why it's so hard to think of her as a human. Because, though Margaret has died, Thatcher lives on in the memories of the people and the society that she affected. Margaret may no longer exist but Maggie Thatcher, the milk snatcher definitely does. Maybe she exists, and has existed for a long time, as more of an idea and a personality than as a person? Maybe that is what she has always been and maybe, this is just an idea, that is what people are celebrating the end of, even if it isn't really the end? We must not think of them as monsters celebrating an 87 year old woman's death but as people celebrating the Iron Lady's death- a somewhat tyrannical figure who attempted to destroy the welfare state.Who can blame those people?

So i suppose i do know what i think. I suppose what i think is just neither "WOOHOOO SHE IS DEAD!" nor  "oh dear- i shall miss her terribly" but more of a "hmmm". And, if one thing's for certain, i'm not going to stop listening to my Wizard of Oz sound track because it's morbid- be happy that at least our crumpled society has enough unity and determination to get a political track into the charts after everything it's been through!

Tip: hmmm tough one. i reckon we should all just be a bit more tolerant and sensitive to other people's views because there is such a thing as society. This is it. Welcome.

Friday 5 April 2013

Young people have brains!? say whatttt??

So i recently came into contact with some pretty horrible ageism. It was from the "young people are stupid and should only speak when spoken to" variety. Classic.

Now i'm hoping it's not just me that thinks that it is perfectly feasible for a normal young person to have a functioning brain complete with the ability to reason and form opinions of their own? After all if you are reading this blog then you have (OH MY GAWSHH) come into contact with a young person who has, i hope you will agree, some valid points of view. It's true that not all of my ideas are perfect but i wonder whose are, really?

I think we should all be encouraging young people- the people who will one day be at the head of our government and our businesses and our families- to think for themselves because if we don't who is going to think for them? Who is going to make the tough decisions about the future of the welfare state, the economy, the education system, to name but a few? Who else will take on the responsibility of the next generation of young people- our young peoples' young people?

Do we really want a future in which it is easy for a government, even for a single person, to corrupt its people with an idea held by the minority because the majority are so easily led, so willing to accept without question, so easy to mould and morph and manipulate?

If we don't want to run the risk of letting our young peoples' minds become a mush of imposed ideas and a sponge for horrible policy and disgusting views, then we should be ensuring that young people are forming their own opinions. Schools should focus on developing argument and debating skills, educating and informing people on a wide range of beliefs and viewpoints and how to approach and solve issues and actively defend their rights and opinions.

We should not be silencing our young people. They have things to say. They have thoughts and ideas. They are just as able to have and just as entitled to an opinion and to a voice to share their opinion with as someone 10 years older.  Just because they are young and have not "seen the world" does not make them stupid. There are plenty of older people who are not as intelligent, well rounded, tolerant or experienced as some of our young people. You do not suddenly hit 18, become an adult and suddenly have a mind that is so rich with ideas and experiences that your thoughts are automatically worth more than your 15 year old friend. Age is not what makes someone more informed or intelligent- a good, well-nourished, active brain is. Your years on earth do not directly correspond to how valued and valid your opinion is- if it did we would be in trouble because so many of our older politicians have also got the most outdated and ignorant views and if we're all headed that way then... my god... we should just give up now.

Tip: do not beat down young people- we have equal potential for influence, intelligence and importance, thank you very much. just remember the phrase: "credit when credit is due"- whatever age it is deserved at.

"I'm a feminist but i'm not really. lolz."

"i'm a feminist but..." is i phrase i dislike immensely- it's sitting right next to "i'm prochoice but..." and "i'm not racist/sexist/homophobic but...". Generally once i hear it come out of someone's mouth i'm already cantering up to the moral high ground waving my "down with the patriarchy" flag and preparing a rant to cut the "but"-er down to size.

The most common "buts" i hear are:

"i'm a feminist but... i don't understand how a mother could let someone else look after their child..." to which i laugh, shake my head and say "you will be homeschooling then?" and if they nod "Your child will never go to a party? or go to a sleepover?" and if they nod again "well that's... nice..."

"i'm a feminist but... people can't complain if someone rapes them or calls them 'easy' or something if they wear really slutty clothes..." to which i turn a dark shade of purple, grit my teeth and say "ah yes because obviously you should not have the right to wear what you want without being treated like a sex object! And obviously if you wear slutty clothes you clearly want to get raped! And obviously men can't control themselves around short skirts and low cut tops because they are basically brainless, sex obsessed animals! And obviously you are an IDIOT."

"i'm a feminist but... some women just need to calm the fuck down..." to which i look a little confused. "Soz but i don't quite get what you are saying about feminism vis-a-vis 'calming the fuck down'? If you are implying that some women are getting too passionate about equality then i am going to have to ask you to rethink that because i don't think you can be too passionate about defeating a system that has oppressed women based on their gender alone for centuries... if anything we need more women to fight the patriarchy with even greater vehemence! BUT if you were just making a general point about all people- not just specifically women ("coz men don't get stressed, obvs" ummm... what?)- then yeah, totes."

The above "but"-ers are part of a new wave of people who i fondly refer to as "not-feminists". They are a group of people who think that claiming to be feminist is enough and that being a feminist doesn't actually mean anything- that it is literally just an 8 letter word that has something to do with women (and some of these "not-feminists" don't even get that far, if i'm honest). It's time to make feminism mean something again to all the people who are wandering over to not-feminism. We should just, you know, nip it in the "but".

Tip #34 (i don't actually know what number we're up to- i think it's about 34, maybe 35... or 33? meh.): anyhewww i just think people should stop umming and erring and but-ing about feminism- It really is as simple as this:  http://www.areyouafeminist.com

(this is a post about how i respond to these kind of situations and how i feel about these ideas)