Two minutes silence and refusing to serve customer

Astonishing amount of people on here who think it is ok to continue serving. It is about stopping and giving two minutes thought to those who fought for us. What a disrespectful lot.

The further away we get from WW2, the more strident the poppy police seem to get.

It was never the case that people were expected to pull their cars over or stop walking down the street.

That is new and getting silly.

And as I said above, those who died in WW2 died so that we would not be dictated to.

Yet people think it's ok to dictate that everyone stops what they are doing.

I don't share the view that poppies are a political symbol.

But I am torn between remembrance for those who were conscripted to fight for their country, and those who joined the Services as a career option. They were not forced, but have obviously been asked to do rather horrible things - whether that's having to go to Northern Ireland when it was very dangerous, or having to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan so that Georgie Porgie could finish what his dad didn't finish in the first Gulf War. That is different. That was not to save our way of life. In any event I think Help for Heroes has raised plenty of money to help more recent veterans. Though I'd like to know why there isn't more help for their mental health problems, given the huge warchest raised a few years ago.

And if you work in a retail outlet near a railway station, I think you need to assume that people will be in a rush to get a train. You don't know what the purpose of that lady's journey was, and if she's in a hurry she's in a hurry and you serve her. I don't care if it's 11am on 11/11. The shop should completely close if it's not going to serve people.

Itsgonnabeacoldone My grandad exactuly the same. Wanted to forget avout the war and what he's seen. But there are plenty of veterans who want to come together, support each other and remember their friends. After all for most the best support comes from being with other who have faced the same. Everyone is different. That's why we shouldn't judge or impede people's freedom to act as they want.

YANBU - I also work in retail and at 11am we all stood together away from the tills so it was obvious we were not serving at that time. You did the right thing op, would you be allowed to move away from your till if in this situation again?

But since you don't give a damn about the customer's train and are so sure that you are in.the.right; why are you asking if you are being unreasonable when you clearly don't think so?

She wanted a Mexican wave.

You were right not to serve her. She was being ignorant and should be ashamed.

My granddad served and he would rather just forget it all and get on with life. He would have wanted serving during the silence and not be reminded.

I've read all the posts on this thread now. All completely expected and par for the course. I really agree with RagingFeminist at 0648 this morning.

There are so many people who seem to do nothing more than observe for 2 minutes and that's it.

Longest - yep - I covered that in my later post. Saturday was 11/11 - The actual anniversary.

WildBluebelles I agree with you. My point being is that troops are simply brainwashed. On the ground things are more black and white. Make no mistake many of these people are barbaric. The bigger reasons for being there in the first place gets lost in the thick of it went you are dealing with people who commit such atrosities. I would also add seeing the human face of the enemy makes a difference.

The military is a tool of state. We have one of the few militaries that can project force globally. It's a powerful tool. It will do the job asked of it to its best ability. It's vital that we hold our politicians to account to ensure their use of this force is wise, necessary and just. We still live in a world where there need for the gun.

Has anyone said they are the equivalent of Mother Teresa for keeping their gob shut for two minutes? If I sit quietly minding my own business how am I virtue signalling? Some people will latch onto anything to make it about them and their causes, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we think is best despite that - why should far right groups get to set the debate as to how people remember the war dead?

Collective acts have power in themselves and a two minute silence does not glorify war in itself. If op was a surgeon or a train driver or air traffic control or something than yes it would not be sensible to halt for two minutes. But it was a shop, she could have easily needed to put a till roll in or clean up a spill or swap with a colleague or a million other things that would take two minutes and the woman would have been in the same situation but without upsetting anyone.

Undercoverbananait was Saturday.

The silence has happened every year for almost 100 years

well, there was a 60 year or so gap in the middle.

The twats on the Daily Fail seem to have picked this up as DS has just read out this post from their website 👿

A few years ago i was wandering through a shopping centre with a friend

The announcement came that in five minutes there would be a minute silence

My friend and i carried on walking but everyone in our vicinity stopped

We carried on for another 30 seconds or so, saw that everyone had stopped and some people were looking at us and we stopped as well

Then an announcement came on saying that the one minute silence was starting

I would stop in a shop or workplace

I wouldn't stop driving or drying myself or doing the dishes

I dont judge people whether they stop or dont

was in Costco and everyone stopped for 2 minutes also. As previously said its to reflect on the sacrifices of the wars so well done OP for sticking it out

Because it brings out all the people who want to describe how well they observed it and how good they are

That was the Saturday one. I was good and ready for the Sunday one.

It happens twice unless the 11th is a Sunday. She could have observed the other.

But since you don't give a damn about the customer's train and are so sure that you are in.the.right; why are you asking if you are being unreasonable when you clearly don't think so?

Im not sure. This weekend I have visited the local memorial, made a donation tobBritish legion, always put change in the collection boxes I see, read the poignant stories from service men old and modern. Reflected on the sheer enormity of it all.

But then at the time of the 2 minute silence i was in a gym changing room and yes I carried on changing. I didnt speak though nor did anyone else.

You cant force reflection amd grief into a convenient time. Lots of people cant observe it.

Its harsh to judge the woman late for her train. You have no idea in what other ways she observes remembrance day.

I was in Waitrose this morning.

There was a 10 minute warning, explaining that staff would be observing the silence, then another 5 minute warning.

At 11, there was an announcement and all the checkout staff got up from their tills and stood in the aisle. The whole shop was still and silent for 2 minutes before the announcement to thank everyone for joining them.

Your customer was unreasonable, Op, not you. The silence has happened every year for almost 100 years. Her lack of planning is her own problem, not yours, and 2 minutes should have made no difference at all.

There seem to be plenty of people who think that the 2-minute silence is 'doing their bit' for Remembrance, judging other who don't observe.

There are some really pompous attitudes out there. I think of those who gave their lives quite often, not to a timetable and completely unobserved by anybody. I'm not swivelling my head looking at anybody else or fixated on 'shushing' non-observers but I've seen just that - shush-ers who take it on themselves to disrupt other people standing quietly, to shush somebody else. It's pathetic.

OP your store should have made it clear so that customers were aware that checkout service would stop for those two minutes. If they didn't then that's part of the problem.

Customers can still use the self-service presumably if they want to go about their business?

1DAD2KIDS I fully appreciate that. My issue is not with the soldiers or with the Royal British Legion in any way. My issue is with the governments who start these wars and directly and indirectly fund the groups that the soldiers then end up fighting. My issue is with the lack of support the government gives to the people it sends into battle and their expectation that the public should fund it through charitable donations.