The Skriker Actor Packet

Margaret
Thatcher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Her Own Words...
"...the unconditional supply of social benefits to those who were thought
incapable of coping undermined the incentive to work and undercut the family
unit. It promoted habits of idleness and delinquency. It permitted singleparenthood
to become a financially sustainable, alternative way of life... [this]
dependency culture weakened society as a whole."
"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to
understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it.
'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.'
They're casting their problem on society. And you know, there is no such thing as
society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no
government can do anything except through people, and people must look to
themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after
our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the
obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an
obligation."
---- Thatcher talking to Women’s Own Magazine (October 31, 1987)
Thatcher’s policies, though perhaps we!"intended for her political
goals, made large assumptions about one’s access to “home” and
“family.” For young people, especia!y runaways like Josie and Lily ""
“home” was not an option. Most likely the product of broken homes
and struggling parents, they have been le# to fend for themselves. How
are they to create a “home” or fulfi! the necessary “obligations” whe$
denied access to the ski!s and training that would enable them to do
so? Josie and Lily, by no fault of their own, are condemned to carry
the burden of these unjust policies and ultimately perpetuate the cycl%
of damage.