How could it be otherwise?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/stevefriess/how-the-nra-built-a-massive-secret-database-of-gun-owners
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Russell Brand on the Death of Thatcher
I just read Russell Brand's essay on the death of Thatcher: http://bit.ly/ZOXybC
I have no idea who this man is, other than a celebrity and comedian. I've never seen his work. I wasn't impressed with much of his essay, either: its similes and metaphors are a bit tangled and needed some more combing before publication, but then again this is a piece of journalism that needed to be published now. I'd rather have it too snarled than so straight as to be meaningless. Goodness knows we see and hear enough of THAT twaddle every single day.
I want to share a few snippets, though, that resonate with me, as I think of the death of this person, and the unseemly ways her fans and foes have responded to the news.
" . . . if you opposed Thatcher's ideas it was likely because of their lack of compassion, which is really just a word for love. If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one's enemies."
I had never heard, before this week, that she publicly stated that there is "no such thing as society."
"Norman Tebbit, one of Thatcher's acolytes . . . said when the National Union of Mineworkers eventually succumbed to the military onslaught and starvation over which she presided: "We didn't just break the strike, we broke the spell." The spell he was referring to is the unseen bond that connects us all and prevents us from being subjugated by tyranny. The spell of community."
"Barack Obama, interestingly, said in his statement that she had "broken the glass ceiling for other women". Only in the sense that all the women beneath her were blinded by falling shards. She is an icon of individualism, not of feminism."
And here's a good paragraph, sparked by her being shown on the news walking arm in arm with Pinochet, and standing up for him:
"It always irks when rightwing folk demonstrate in a familial or exclusive setting the values that they deny in a broader social context. They're happy to share big windfall bonuses with their cronies, they'll stick up for deposed dictator chums when they're down on their luck, they'll find opportunities in business for people they care about. I hope I'm not being reductive but it seems Thatcher's time in power was solely spent diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most. I know from my own indulgence in selfish behaviour that it's much easier to get what you want if you remove from consideration the effect your actions will have on others." (italics added)
That is all.
I have no idea who this man is, other than a celebrity and comedian. I've never seen his work. I wasn't impressed with much of his essay, either: its similes and metaphors are a bit tangled and needed some more combing before publication, but then again this is a piece of journalism that needed to be published now. I'd rather have it too snarled than so straight as to be meaningless. Goodness knows we see and hear enough of THAT twaddle every single day.
I want to share a few snippets, though, that resonate with me, as I think of the death of this person, and the unseemly ways her fans and foes have responded to the news.
" . . . if you opposed Thatcher's ideas it was likely because of their lack of compassion, which is really just a word for love. If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one's enemies."
I had never heard, before this week, that she publicly stated that there is "no such thing as society."
"Norman Tebbit, one of Thatcher's acolytes . . . said when the National Union of Mineworkers eventually succumbed to the military onslaught and starvation over which she presided: "We didn't just break the strike, we broke the spell." The spell he was referring to is the unseen bond that connects us all and prevents us from being subjugated by tyranny. The spell of community."
"Barack Obama, interestingly, said in his statement that she had "broken the glass ceiling for other women". Only in the sense that all the women beneath her were blinded by falling shards. She is an icon of individualism, not of feminism."
And here's a good paragraph, sparked by her being shown on the news walking arm in arm with Pinochet, and standing up for him:
"It always irks when rightwing folk demonstrate in a familial or exclusive setting the values that they deny in a broader social context. They're happy to share big windfall bonuses with their cronies, they'll stick up for deposed dictator chums when they're down on their luck, they'll find opportunities in business for people they care about. I hope I'm not being reductive but it seems Thatcher's time in power was solely spent diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most. I know from my own indulgence in selfish behaviour that it's much easier to get what you want if you remove from consideration the effect your actions will have on others." (italics added)
That is all.
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