The death of Margaret Thatcher has elicited a global deluge of glowing coverage about her life and legacy. Rupert Murdoch described her as a “great leader” and a champion of freedom. The Australian says she’s the “first lady of liberty“. She’s been portrayed as the prime minister who singlehandedly rescued the UK economy from oblivion and, who gave the Brits confidence in themselves, and who won the Cold War, cementing the dominance of the Free World.
Those who have strayed from this hagiographic script, like Bob Carr, and the protesters who popped champagne corks in Trafalgar Square, have been roundly criticised. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop accused Carr of a “graceless attack“:
“His decision to make these claims after her death is a crude attempt to slur the reputation of one of the 20th century’s most outstanding leaders,” she said, ordering him to apologise.
Well, we’re not stopping those who wish to remember Thatcher in the fondest of terms while glossing over her waging war on Argentina, sending thousands to the dole queue and calling Nelson Mandela a “terrorist”.
In turn, we defend the right of people to speak out about the darker side of Thatcher’s legacy. Carr has every right to raise this conversation he had with Thatcher. Should we really sanitise and censor the debate on a highly influential former prime minister?
Just because someone has died, and because they were frail and vulnerable in the years before their death, is no reason to censor the truth. Overlooking the flaws of a major figure in public life does a great disservice to history.
If Thatcher really was the bastion of liberty she is being held out to be, surely it is appropriate to defend the freedom of critics to report on and discuss her legacy in robust terms. Guy Rundle offered a nuanced take in Crikey earlier this week.
And for the Andrew Bolts of this world, who are raging against any anyone who dares remember the Iron Lady with anything but fawning adulation, we’ll be watching what you write when Gough Whitlam dies. Will there be uniformly positive coverage then?
Your editorial today completely misses the point about Bob Carr’s cheap shot at Margaret Thatcher. Bob makes a comment about what was said in a private meeting only after the other party has passed on and is therefore in no position to refute the allegation or provide context. This shows no grace and smacks of cowardice. By the way I don’t think you can say Thatcher waged war on Argentina – I thought they were the aggressors and Britain was only defending her citizens and territory. I wonder what Australia’s reaction would be if another country invaded the Christmas Islands? Talk? That is about all Bob Carr has ever been good at. His record compared to that of Thatcher is insignificant and irrelevent.
I thought Glenda Jackson made a damn fine speech on Thatcher in the house of commons.
Lots of fire in the belly.Here is the video.
http://t.co/Q46geWzbTg
Burt: there’s no absolute right to have your conversations stay private after you’re dead. It’s too late to refute any allegations or provide context; you’re a corpse. If you disagree, take it up with the 400 or so people that Jimmy Saville preyed on when he was alive. I think they’d find your words of “in no position to refute the allegation or provide context” slightly hollow, don’t you think?
It sounds like Carr showed a lot of grace when talking with Thatcher. Did you know his wife, who is Malaysian-born, was in the same room when the “unabashedly racist remark” was uttered? She was out of earshot, I’m glad to say, but it showed some self-restraint not to lose anger or storm out of the room?
paddy: Jackson’s speech was a good one.
Pinochet divided his country too, did they give him a ceremonial funeral?
Burt Chris, consider what would have happened if he’d said it while she was still alive.
Personally, I remember being at a London cinema in 1979 watching a Saatchi & Saatchi pre-election ad for the Conservatives (google it.
It made Saatchi’s famous _ and it made me pack my bags for this wide brown land; a decision never regretted, particularly when one day passing a TV shop in Sydney and catching out of the corner of my eye police on horses wielding sticks upon a massive crowd of ordinary people. It took me a few seconds to realise with horror it was taking place in my former homeland.
Vale England.
But I suppose I have something to thank Thatcher for.