Is it right to celebrate someone's death if you didn't believe in their politics

1. 94

   daydreamsposted 11 years ago

   Is it right to celebrate someone's death if you didn't believe in their politics?
   
   Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the UK, died today.
   
   Whilst Thatcher was popular with some, she was also despised by many sections of the British population, for example, due to her confrontations with trade unions, and the introduction of the poll tax. Some people have reacted to her death by saying they want to have a party...I think regardless of whether you agree with someone's politics, you shouldn't celebrate anyone's death.

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2. 89

   Georgie Loweryposted 11 years ago

   I've seen that on my Facebook page today, with graphics like "Ding dong, the witch is dead." I don't dig it. In this case, think it's in poor taste and very disrespectful.

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3. 61

   MickSposted 11 years ago

   There is a massive whitewash on UK tv at the mo, all trying to say how wonderful and kind she was, cobblers.  She is rightly known as the cow Thatcher, she destroyed the lives of millions of British workers, in an attempt to make this country into a financial service economy rather than manufacturing.  When she lost Parliamentary Privilege, she should have been prosecuted for treason.
   That being said, death of anyone is a tragedy for their families, and I wish them sympathy at this time.

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   1. 94

      daydreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think just because someone is dead, we should say they are wonderful and praise them, but at the same time holding street parties and so forth seems inappropriate, her personal influence in politics was long gone.

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   2. 61

      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Probably, commemorate, is a better word, but why on earth we would want to commemorate the passing of some one who led a greed filled era of British history is beyond me.

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4. 66

   conradofontanillaposted 11 years ago

   Celebration usually means you like something that has been born or that has been realized. A person has a body, flesh, bone and blood. A person also has mind, ideas that s/he has expounded by speech or writing or incorporated in policy. Of course, the body can be separated from ideas so that when the body expires the ideas remain. Celebration over the death of Margaret Thatcher can mean lessening by one force (speaker or symbol) that espouses an idea contrary to somebody's own. However, death of Thatcher may mean lessening of the persuasiveness of her ideas or their further reinforcement. Such celebration, even if it means lessening of persuasiveness is part of our freedoms. Whether it is right or wrong is another matter. Still that is part of our freedoms. A moral that does harm must be reviewed and corrected. For example, launching of the crusades was a moral belief by popes that the holy land must be retrieved and in the process kill a lot of Muslims.
   Perhaps many Argentinians would celebrate her death, she who was responsible for the retention of the Falklands as British territory. But many Britishers approve of Thatcher's handling of Falklands, as it gained for Thatcher respect among statesmen, it resulted in more respect and budget for the military, and accorded more elbow room for Great Britain in the European community. Thatcher got a reimbursement of excess contribution to the EEC and that was good in the eyes of many Britishers.
   History is replete with celebrations. Consider some: death of Mohammed did not mean death of Muslim; death of Jesus did not mean death of Christianity. Christians celebrate lenten, or the death of Jesus on the cross. Death of Mao Tse-tung does not mean the return of private landholdings to former landlords. Celebration over the death of Mao Tse-tung may mean approval of state ownership of land that promotes social justice.

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   1. 94

      daydreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My feeling is that Thatcher's death makes little difference to the influence of her ideology or politics, she was at the end an old woman with dementia, so I suppose there is a difference between body and mind. Thanks for helping me think about this.

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5. 72

   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   No, I don't think so. Death is the loss of life and it is a sad moment when someone dies, regardless of who they are. So much potential, lost. It doesn't matter if they made different choices, had a different life, lived in different surroundings. It is still a loss of life.

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6. 59

   Lor's Storiesposted 11 years ago

   I'm not sure by the definition of celebrate.
   I think by the time some one is dead does it really matter what their political stance was?
   Whether it be a Prime Minister or a Pope.
   If you want to celebrate by partying why ask the question because you already answered it.
   Since I'm not British I'm not celebrating Margaret Thatchers death.
   I did though respect and gather with people when pope John Paul died.
   More to the point I celebrated his life.
   Margaret Thatcher has been out of office for how long?
   It's up to each person how they mourn or celebrate the passing of an important historical figure.
   In the US we have no legal holiday to commemorate the day JFK was shot and he was our president.
   But we celebrate Martin Luther King day.
   And weren't they both worthy to have a day set aside for them?
   
   I think we need to celebrate their lives as we all do when someone dies.
   Celebrate the changes they made for humanity.

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   1. 66

      conradofontanillaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      For a powerful group in the US Kennedy's death is not cause for celebration. Kennedy attempted to assert his power to mint coins with Executive Order 11110 authorizing the Treasury. Those controlling the private Federal Reserve Bank did not like it.

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   2. 94

      daydreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Good point 'celebrate' is a tricky word. What I meant was a lot of people in Britain hated Margaret Thatcher, and some are happy that she is dead and holding parties...there is also a lot of controversy over her funeral and who should pay etc.

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   3. 59

      Lor's Storiesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Politics aside he was the president.
      I was only three.
      So I just suggested this.
      The Kennedy's always get a bad wrap and yes I know what went on.
      I'm sure everyone else though is lily white.

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7. 73

   manatita44posted 11 years ago

   Each man's death diminishes me. A heart that celebrates someone else's death is a 'dead heart' "Let the dead bury their dead' said the Christ. Each Soul is potentially divine and has something to offer. God will know what Margaret Thatcher offered, and she will be treated accordingly.
   A gloating heart is a potentially evil one and may go either way. Let us ask not for whom the bell tolls, it may toll for us one day.

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8. 66

   sarahmooseposted 11 years ago

   I agree that it is wrong to celebrate her death, but I don't feel she deserves the military state funeral she is getting either, at a cost of £10 million. The ConDem government keep claiming we need to save money, but they are willing to pay out for a funeral for a woman who started a class war when she stood against the working man and woman. And her political ideals are not diminished in any way, David Cameron has taken a lot of her ideas on board and created his own policies. Conservatives claim that the financial crisis was all Labour's fault, but as MickS says, she was the instigator for our country becoming a financial service economy, so technically the blame can be taken back to their own party.

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   1. 73

      manatita44posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I will pass on this one. There will be differing views. I am a monastic and as such I will give you answers related to the inner life. It has not escaped me, however, that all things material or inner, are ultimately a part of God's plan. Live well.

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9. 69

   ladydeonneposted 11 years ago

   No man is an island,
   Entire of itself.
   Each is a piece of the continent,
   A part of the main.
   If a clod be washed away by the sea,
   Europe is the less.
   As well as if a promontory were.
   As well as if a manor of thine own
   Or of thine friend's were.
   Each man's death diminishes me,
   For I am involved in mankind.
   Therefore, send not to know
   For whom the bell tolls,
   It tolls for thee.     
                                  John Donne
   
   Margaret Thatcher was a trail blazer.  She was highly intelligent.  She was a role model for many women. Though I did not agree with her stance on breaking the unions in the UK or her poll tax, I still admire her for her tenacity, leadership abilities, and her risk taking.  No, I do not believe that those who disagree with her political philosophies should feel the need to celebrate or be happy that she died.  We are all connected...one with each other...one with God....the Universe....and all living and inanimate things. Therefore, what happens to ONE of us happens to all of us. John Donne says it best in  For Whom The Bell Tolls.
   
   He demonstrates the connection all humans have with one another. Lines 1-4 contain a metaphor comparing all living people to a continent. Lines 5-9 contains a simile explaining that when one piece of the continent washes away, regardless of size, then the entire continent is affected. Line one emphasizes this interconnectedness with the claim that "No man is an island." Donne draws further attention to the theme with sound devices: (1) the alliteration of "death diminishes in line 10 draws the reader's attention to the notion that death diminishes all; (2) the juxtaposition of Anglo-Saxon and Latin-sounding words bring added emphasis to thee in the last line, jolting the reader into reality and answering the question "For whom the bell tolls?"  IT TOLLS  FOR THEE!
   (There is no distinction between Margaret Thatcher and me/you as  both are connected and ONE. 
                                     "Each man's death diminishes me,
                                       For I am involved in mankind."

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