Will you be wearing a poppy?

[thingsthatmakeyougohmmmmmmmm]

To support the work that the Royal British Legion do.

Nobody around here seems to be wearing one.

What the fuck???

@BethDuttonsTwin @3dogsandarabbit I don't want to describe exactly what's on Facebook as it could be outing, but there is a definite correlation between the posters who share GB News, racist memes, sectarian shite and are berating the council for paying all public servants too much money. They are the same ones who have #lestweforget and poppies plastered all over their profiles.
It's absolutely classic right wing stuff, to appeal to tradition and patriotism. It is poisoning Remembrance Day.

@ismu and I imagine the Venn diagram of that and Daily Mail readers / commenters is practically a circle!

Red and white together. On the day only.

That doesn’t surprise me at all. Sorry that happened to you.

Of course I will it’s such a small thing to say we will not forget. It’s not about politics now it’s about then.

I have voted Labour all my adult life. The poppy has been hijacked by wicked right wingers. If we don’t wear a poppy they win.

I agree, my Granddad served in WW2 and always wore a poppy, it was to remember those who hadn't come home and remember that we should never have these kind of Wars again.

I feel instead of that, it glorifies war now, and I don't want to be part of that glorification and nationalism.

I'll wear a (red) poppy on Armistice Day and on Remembrance Sunday. I don't wear one on other days, mostly because I tend to lose/damage them.

I don't tend to really pay attention to who else does or doesn't wear a poppy tbh. I think the issue with wearing white/purple/other non-red ones is that lots of people don't know what they signify.

I genuinely don't understand why remembering has to involve wearing the poppy. And why anyone not wearing a poppy is assumed to not care about, or remember those who fought.

It's become a performative thing recently, that everyone has to demonstrate their part in or they're not 'being respectful'. And I don't get it.

I think the only time I would think it wrong for someone not to wear a poppy is if they are attending a formal Remembrance event (specific parades, services, Cenotaph, Albert Hall) where they really are part of the dress code.

No. I'm Irish and our history with the British military is complicated.

I'm 57, my younger sister is 52. My papa was born in 1892 and was obviously old enough to fight on WW1. My oldest uncle was born in 1914. As I said earlier, 2 uncles and 2 aunts served in WW2. Obviously my aunt's didn't take part in combat but served in the WRN and the WAAF. My other papa wasn't born until 1907. He was a child during WW1 and didn't fight in WW2 but worked making detonators for bombs in the explosives factory a few miles from here.

Every one of them had trauma.

My siblings and I are the last generation of our family to have direct contact or relationships with those who served. All these years, all that trauma and the world has learned nothing.

@Crazycrazylady

I hadn’t really thought that wearing a poppy was specifically about British military although I appreciate Royal British Legion is (obviously) British. Is there an equivalent ceremony / recognition for troops of Irish regiments / military who have been killed?

There is a national day of commemoration now (on the Sunday nearest 11th Jul) for all Irish people who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Commemoration

It's definitely not a big deal though, we have a very different relationship with our military than the UK - presumably a result of being a young, neutral country.

I always wear a poppy but never until a couple of days before Armistice Day.

I wear a poppy, always have. My maternal grandparents, great aunts and uncles were all involved in WWII, some of those uncles were Japanese PoW, so it still feels relevant to me.

Some paternal family members served in WWI and were killed in action, but in WWII they were miners, so none of them saw action.

I don't feel as though my wearing a poppy is virtue signalling, I wear one because service men and women served their country, and I believe that deserves my remberance.

@Coolhwip that kind of thing makes me really angry, I’m so sorry

Agree with all of this!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

That's exactly what I see too. I don't think it would be outing for either of us to say more about what we read, because I think this is repeated all over the country on local Facebook pages.

It is poisoning Remembrance Day.

It really is. It certainly has for me.

Eh?

Thank you for confirming that.

I will happily defend my opinions robustly but downright lies are something else.

I was and remain shocked at a lot of the posts and opinions expressed here.

I just happen to think that the least we can do is remember those brave men and women who fought and died or were maimed in the service of our country, and I am disgusted at the attitudes of some people towards them.

It is sad that such a statement even had to be released.

Wearing anything is a choice.