If you were pressure-washing your car...

[somelemons]

...on Remembrance Sunday, and you looked up and saw all your neighbours in the entire street standing outside their houses observing the two-minute silence at 11am, would you:

A - stop what you are doing and join in?

B - stop what you are doing, out of respect for your neighbours, and go indoors for a few minutes, and carry on washing your car later?

C - carry on blasting away at your alloy wheels and ruining the silence for everyone?

Guess what my neighbour did this morning?

Surely these things only have meaning if they are truly voluntary? Otherwise it’s like the hours of applause for Stalin’s speeches; sustained by the knowledge that if you were identified as stopping before the others you and your family would suffer the consequences. It’s Little Britain at its worst. Your community remembrance is nice, until it becomes a stick to beat others with.

I’ve had to have a word with myself a few time this year about Remembrance Sunday and poppies. I’m aware that a minority of muppets are affecting my feelings about something unjustly; people posting pictures of soldiers kneeling with assault weapons across one knee and the legend “this is how real men give the knee” - (I assume they don’t have Isis fighters or Republican paramilitaries in mind when they share this) - in response to Black Lives Matter for example. I’m starting to get the same reaction to ardent poppy posters that I have to the George Cross in windows. It’s awful. I do feel there is a risk of the poppy and Remembrance Sunday being appropriated by dim bigots. We need the official Poppy appeal and British Legion to really take a lead in this. Doubtless it was inadvertent and decided a long time ago but I found the “Every poppy counts” choice for the tagline to this year’s appeal unfortunately evocative of “All lives matter.”

I probably wouldn't have even noticed my neighbours all milling around outside if I were cleaning my car.

I heard it on the news and from family and remembered the fallen at 11am on my doorstep as was suggested.

I think it’s absolutely disgusting the number of people that seem to forget the ultimate sacrifices that many, including civilians, made for the good of their fellow humans and their country during the various wars ....so people can pressure wash their cars and give no consideration to why we have the freedoms we do.

Sad really.

@PolPotNoodle

I probably wouldn't have even noticed my neighbours all milling around outside if I were cleaning my car.

He did notice. You might not want to participate yourself, and as others say, nobody is obliged to. If he'd been using a sponge and a bucket of water it wouldn't have disturbed anyone if he'd carried on; but to deliberately continue making a loud noise was downright inconsiderate.

Ironically, a couple of walkers came round the corner and into the street, saw us all, and they stood and joined in, so thank you to them.

Oh shit. Now I realise why 2 of my neighbours were stood outside. Didn't know about this and totally forgot it was Remembrance Sunday. Feel awful now.

Is he even on facebook? I don't use it, so wouldn't have known.

We were meant to be outside? I was in Tesco and hadn't realised it was Remembrance Sunday until the guy announced the two minutes silence on the tannoy. Two minutes is a long time to be standing awkwardly looking at coffee.

@Arielsgift it was on BBC news website too

I observed it inside (and only remembered because the radio reminded me).

We get threads like this every year. There was one last year banging on about how some guy in a shop had the audacity to continue a mobile phone conversation while everyone else was standing silent. It's a bit much, tbh, though I understand how the opportunity to don judgey pants and climb astride a high horse is too good to pass up for some folk.

Also, OP, he may have genuinely not had a bloody clue what you were up to. Or not noticed because he was engrossed in his task. When I was a kid, I totally forgot about a sponsored silence taking place at primary school and was completely bemused at why no one was talking to me until it ended at 9 a.m. I felt very silly once I was told about it, but I genuinely had no clue. And that lasted a lot longer than two minutes.

If it had been me I’d have stopped. However absolutely no one is under any obligation to observe the 2 minutes silence.

I didn’t stand on my doorstep and neither did any of my neighbours. They, DH and DS1 are all serving armed forces.

I'd do A or B.

Even if they weren't aware of the whole going outside thing (which I wasn't) it would be pretty obvious after a few seconds what people were doing. And so out of respect, I'd stop what I was doing. And even if I wasn't aware of what they're doing, the fact that whole load of neighbours are standing silent, well surely you'd have enough up top to be quiet as well.

Ignore the twatty responses Op.

I'd have carried on washing my car, but I would have wondered why I had a silent audience.

I haven't participated in all the group door step stuff, I think it makes people very judgemental and snipey. "Oh did you see number 5, washing his car when we were standing in silence" for example.

@BlueJava

I'd have carried on washing my car, but I would have wondered why I had a silent audience.

I haven't participated in all the group door step stuff, I think it makes people very judgemental and snipey. "Oh did you see number 5, washing his car when we were standing in silence" for example.

Exactly

@user1493494961

Ignore the twatty responses Op.

Well, the OP did ask. If she didn't want people to respond, she didn't need to post. 🤷‍♀️

It's not that hard to turn off the pressure washer for a few minutes, so I'd have done that, but if he didn't want to, I'd have just ignored him.

It just shows that he has total contempt for the feelings of his local community.

Is there a backstory here?
I didn't know this was a thing until I read it in the paper after it has already happened.

Yes he should have probably stopped but you seem incredibly worked up about this.

Ahh the virtue signalling has carried on despite the lack of poppies.

People are asked to stop and pause to remember. It isn’t a mandate and not doing so doesn’t make anyone a bad person. If he was choosing not to, it isn’t your business. If you lived next to a busy road rather than in a quiet cul-de-sac, you would have continued with your silence without a thought, despite hundreds of people in their noisy cars daring to carry on and not showing the level of respect you deem is necessary.

I’ve seen many “so sad our street didn’t join us on the doorsteps this morning” I wasn’t on my doorstep, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the sacrifice made for our freedoms. I’d also love to know what you do the rest of the year to honour veterans or is it just that once a year memorial for you?

I wouldn’t knowingly step on people observing a silence, but I’m not going to judge those who do. As I recall, soldiers didn’t die for an approved set of freedoms.

@BlueJava

I'd have carried on washing my car, but I would have wondered why I had a silent audience.

I haven't participated in all the group door step stuff, I think it makes people very judgemental and snipey. "Oh did you see number 5, washing his car when we were standing in silence" for example.

Exactly this. Just as it did with the clap for Carers.

I bet local Fb groups are rife with neighbour shaming today.

There is another one on the 11th (Wednesday) at 11am so if anyone couldn’t make today’s one they may want to observe that one.

Ironically, a couple of walkers came round the corner and into the street, saw us all, and they stood and joined in, so thank you to them.

Strange definition of irony there. Also strange to have walkers come in to a quiet cul-de-sac.

@MintyMabel

Ironically, a couple of walkers came round the corner and into the street, saw us all, and they stood and joined in, so thank you to them.

Strange definition of irony there. Also strange to have walkers come in to a quiet cul-de-sac.

😂😂😂

I had no clue this was a thing! I don't watch the news and there has been NOTHING on my Facebook feed....

If I had been washing my car I would have been looking at my car, not my neighbours houses and so probably wouldn't have noticed either, especially as I usually do it with my headphones on listening to music....

Similarly if I had been stood on my doorstep like a garden gnome I seriously would t have given a hoot what my neighbours were doing.

I go to Remembrance Sunday every year.

I also go at 11 on 11th to the local war memorial.

I stopped at 11 for 2 mins and sat in silence.

I didn’t know we welded to go outside.

I didn’t clap either.

I wouldn’t take it under my notice.

May be he will do 11 on 11th?