ASAS I was trying to explain to someone the other day that the view of the authorities in those times was that scousers were troublemakers, drunks, violent, workshy, etc. The city was struggling and run down, there were no jobs and, as a Liverpudlian, I often felt looked down on because of where I came from. My father was made redundant in his late 50s and could never expect to find another job. It breaks my heart to think back on the hardship and attitudes he faced as an unemployed scouser and some of the discriminatory comments made at him. It is hard for young people today to believe the bigotry and abuse which was everyday currency then.
Thatcher and her people hated Liverpool because it didn't roll over and, as is becoming increasingly clear, she used the Police as her enforcers. I cannot begin to express my disgust for that government. Even in the weeks after the disaster, Liverpool was referred to as "the pity city" because of the strength of the grief and anger with no thought as to why because, in those pre-internet days, most people accepted what the authorities said was true