1. Lest we forget what happens when you pay too much attention to
what the tabloids and your government tell you, and not enoughto the
people involved.
As I watched the programme The Miner’s Strike and Me last night, I was deeply touched
to feel the emotions still so high with all of the people involved. It is still so strong in the
families and communities today, where the after effects are still felt and the anger and
resolve of the people still so strong.
Let us not forget that this turned into a very real battle, one which was unfairly fought
from the start, between ordinary people in a struggle for their livelihoods and the future
of their families and the government hell bent on doing everything in their power to
stop them.
This included, withholding vital information that confirmed what their plans were from
the beginning, watching families starve and freeze and communities ripped apart
knowing how it was going to end. Bribing the metropolitan police with bonuses to act
aggressively, then blame that aggression on the Miners and print it the papers the next
day. (Yes, they literally waved money in the faces of Miners and any reaction was met
with a beating in the back of a Maria.) Nice guys! And let us not forget bringing in of the
military to help with distribution of stockpiled coal if necessary.
All these plans already laid out! It was and is to many, a disgusting display of power,
control and pure malice. It was a public display by the Tories to show off their peacock
feathers and bright red baboon backsides, to put the proletariat back in his box.
But just let me explain that The Miners were fighting for their ‘jobs’ and not to
overthrow a government, that seemed to be the idea of Scargill, not of the fathers and
husbands who felt so threatened and backed into a corner, that all they had left was to
come out fighting. This my friend was the only reality at the time!
But put up a fight they did, for a seemingly minority of people, on par with what they
were up against, they put up the fight of their lives and truly rattled the Iron Lady’s cage
and after the programme last night, it sounds to me like they would do it over again if
they have to. It’s these types of people we need more of today. Let them be the lesson
we all need to stand up and make our governments take notice of our needs for a
change. It seems that we have forgotten our true worth and have adopted a blasé
attitude to the modern day struggle for equality and reason.
Lest we forget that it was this defeat that paved the way for the self serving, yuppie
types and corporate minded, dog eat dog way of life today. (How’s that going for you by
the way?) Where the very rich get even richer and the poorer do not stand a chance of
getting the same equal treatment. That right was taken away back in the 80’s and has
paved the way for the untouchable 1% so regularly talked about these days, to gain
momentum. The 1% that own pretty much every property on the monopoly board and

2. off the backs of the hard workers but chose not to share it fairly and equally with the
people that help them reach this status. Keeping them dirty rich whilst throwing
crumbs to the mere mortals that do all the work to keep them there. The ones that rip
you off and laugh in your face as they do it. It’s a Thatcher’s wet dream!
Whatever you think of the Strike or of Thatcher and the stories surrounding these
events, nobody can disagree that what took place was wrong, very wrong and should
not have been allowed to continue on for such a long period. Even if you agree that it
was the right move in the long run, then think about how it could have been made better
for the families involved by possibly substituting other forms of employment instead of
mining, if the mines had to go. How the transition could have been placed on a more
equal basis.
There was NO substitute made or even offered because it seems we were not
considered to be that important. Whole villages were left to rot and are still in a state of
disrepair even today. Apologies if that pisses me off just a little. As I see that it was
more important to prove a point, move on and make England a more green and pleasant
power yet again.
But I for one will always be proud to be a Coal Miner’s Daughter. I will always see those
times as a coming together of a humble people and the community spirit that it
enflamed. I will never forget the help and diplomacy of everyone in other countries that
joined together at that time and the camaraderie that ensued. To all those Miner’s
Wives that taught me how to stand up for what was right and paved the way of the true
feminist in my eyes.
This is what the Strike means for me, when you take the politics and the power games
out of it, this is what is left. Even though some events were not pretty and there are still
some regrets. I will be forever proud of this!