Are we all supposed to be surprised that Margaret Thatcher is as divisive and horrible in death as she was in life?
We cats sure aren't. Thatcher was no friend of the British people — no friend of anybody's, actually, except perhaps Saint Ronnie Reagan. But since we're lucky enough to live in America and not the UK, the worst thing about Thatcher's life and passing for us is that we're getting bombarded by photo after photo of her with you-know-who. Ugh.
But — soft! What protest from yonder scepter'd isle breaks? It seems a whole lot of plucky anti-Thatcherites have started a campaign to drive the classic "Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead" song from The Wizard of Oz up the charts on British iTunes and the BBC's top five. They've succeeded so well that now, the BBC is caught in the midst of a censorship scandal — bowing to pressure from outraged Tories and playing only a few seconds of the song when it reports the story.
The Guardian compared the Conservative government to Communist China and hurled brickbats at the BBC. "Can it show The Wizard of Oz again?" the paper asked. "Can it only run the film after the 9 p.m. watershed? Must the announcer warn: 'This children's story contains Munchkin choruses that some viewers may find offensive'?"
We cats say, gee. Instead of a dignified send-off, which a truly towering and beloved leader (or a non-towering and lamebrain leader with a great PR campaign) would have received, Thatcher's death and funeral will be forever paired with political correctness, censorship and the term "ding dong." Or, to paraphrase the Munchkins: She will be a bust (be a bust) (be a bust) in the Hall of Shame.
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