I just watched the Between the Sheets episode with yourself and I am wondering if you can go into more detail of why you found Margaret Thatcher to be an inspiration?
I’m Scottish, from a family of miners, so my view of her is a one sided. Generally interested. Thatcher had common sense and stood her ground in what was traditionally a man’s arena, even when people were trying to assassinate her. Was she perfect? No. Was she hated? Yes. But she had a tough job, and I think she gave it her best shot.
— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) March 13, 2019
Wow, that is woefully ignorant of Chris to admire a homophobic, racist, and nasty politician just because she was a woman.
If he was looking even a little harder for strong influential women in British politics he would have found better examples of strength despite adversity.
Diane Abbott, Angela Raynor, Nicola Sturgeon, Caroline Lucas to name a few. There are currently 195 seats held by women in Parliament. Do some research and stop damaging the brand with these half-arsed accolades to an undeserving despot.
Giving it your best shot in a tough job only goes so far.
For example, police officers have very tough jobs, and most officers give it their absolute best – but if your best isn’t good enough and you shoot and kill an innocent person, you don’t get excused under the argument that you gave it your best shot. If you don’t make the grade, you shouldn’t have a gun and badge.
It’s hard to sympathize with Thatcher being someone with a tough job trying to do her best, because she volunteered for that job. And it’s hard to forgive her failures and inadequacies, because they literally caused many innocent lives to be ruined or destroyed. Other people paid the price for her mistakes.
And then there are her choices which are beyond mistakes, and are instead acts of unmitigated cruelty, immorality, and even evil. Thatcher did some truly monstrous and unjust things, and stood by those decisions with a dogged stubbornness and arrogant refusal to consider her “principles” might be wrong.
There’s an old Scottish saying – “A wise man wavers; a fool is fixed.” Thatcher believed she knew best in most every situation, rarely admitted fault, and brushed aside criticism, even as her policies and decisions hurt people before her eyes.
There may be some inspiration to be found in Thatcher, in the same sense that one can find Napoleon inspiring. But one must also simultaneously balance such inspiration with an equal dose of skepticism and criticism.
To invert and paraphrase a certain geeky quote, “We can admire her and be against her all at the same time.” Thatcher may have done her best, and we can admire that fact, but at the same time we need to reject her actions and the flawed-at-best thinking that led her to take them.