Legendary

A legend died this week.
Margaret Thatcher, the formidable female Prime Minister of England from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8 following a stroke, aged 87.
Immediately, as may be expected for someone of her status, tributes poured in from around the world.
But amidst the sentimentalities were also the cries of those glad to see her go – she was, after all, a deeply divisive figure due to the program of economic and political reforms which she embarked on upon taking office. Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein called her “shameful”.. Worse has been heard though, such as the decision by the Student Union of Melbourne University to celebrate the Iron Lady’s death (a decision which has prompted backlash on campus and amongst the student community).
But what struck me about all of this was not the depth of animosity towards Thatcher, even now, more than 20 years after she introduced her radical policies. Nor was it the fact that people felt strongly enough about the issue to announce it so soon after her death.
Rather, it was purely the fact that a single person, hailed as a hero by some, was considered the exact opposite by so many others.

Anecdotally at least, everybody has a hero – someone they admire and look up to. Obviously, this makes heroes subjective, in that we are all drawn to different people for different reasons.
Hitler is one such example. His popularity in Germany is something that many of us, with the benefit of hindsight, struggle to understand these days. In Germany during the 1930s, when people were struggling to find food to subsist on, Hitler represented hope and change, and indeed promised to restore the greatness of the German nation, which citizens perceived to have been undermined during the First World War. His policies towards Jews and other minority groups were largely overlooked by the nation, which was desperately in need of a hero.
Allison and Goethals in their book, “Heroes: What They Do and Why we Need Them”, explore the notion that people need heroes. They find that people identify with figures who are virtuos and noble, yet relatable. They may overcome almost impossible odds – as an example, they give Amelia Earhart, who broke flying records. Another English Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, is also used as an example of a hero, for inspiring his people to fight against Hitler and his army in their darkest hour. Psychologically, humans are social creatures, and drawn to people like us – hence our attraction to people who represent the ordinary made extraordinary, such as Earhart. Perhaps that explains our linked fascination with comedic superheroes; people like Clark Kent, who during the day are nothing particularly special, but who at night fight crime, catch the bad guys and get the girl. Heroes prove that anything is possible, if you put your mind to it; a nerdy looking reporter can score the hot girl of his dreams, by putting on a cape. Heroes give us something to aspire to and admire. They are proof that there is still virtue, nobility and goodness in the world.

It is this that seems to inspre such strong reactions when figures such as Margaret Thatcher pass. We realise just what sort of in impact they made, and are able to truly measure their legacy. By this legacy, we can calculate a person’s worth, and it is often based on this that we conclude whether they qualify as a hero. Does the Iron Lady qualify as a hero? Certainly, to some; but others, some in Ireland, some in the slums of England, some in university campuses in Melbourne, consider her to be more of a villain, having hurt many through events attributed to her policies and reforms.

Margaret Thatcher put her mind to the job, and stayed to true to her beliefs (another ‘heroic’ trait), pushing through policies that were disliked by some. Some Britons held her in high regard, while others did not. Other superheroes have also faced this – hence the never-ending cue of supervillains.
And yet, perhaps in the end it is not about who likes you and who wants to see you dead. After all, the sheer number of responses to Thatcher’s death, whether positive or negative, simply goes to show how much of an impact she has had on people around the world during her life and her stint in office. Undeniably, she made an impression.
And isn’t that what heroes do?