Very few people wearing poppies this year?

[YippieKayakOtherBuckets]

Anyone else noticed this?

I was in some very busy parts of London today and saw maybe half a dozen people wearing poppies in total. I’m watching Question Time now; the panel are all wearing poppies (the Plaid Cymru representative is wearing a red and a white poppy side-by-side) and at a glance I’d say less than a quarter of people are wearing them.

Is this primarily because of Gaza or did the trend start a while ago? Are people who used to wear poppies now choosing not to? I know this probably sounds very journalisty but I’m not, I promise. I’m really struck by what feels like a dramatic cultural shift in the last ten years or so.

My Grandad was only 18 when he died in Normandy. His whole life ahead of him.

He was married at 18? How young his widow must have been, and widowed whilst pregnant or with a very small baby. That must have been awful for her.

I am a grown woman without any issues of social judgement but I appreciate your input.

I’ll take that at face value. Thank you.

To be honest I don't know the details. Just what my Dad told me and he didn't tell me much, all I know is he was named after him and he visited there once. But the thought of an 18 year boy going through what he did is just awful. I don't even know if he knew if he was going to be a Dad, it was never spoken about. My youngest son has his name as his middle name too.

The mother wasn't in our life.

I've worn white and red together in the past, but don't have a white one this year.

A lot of my family were in the Merchant Navy, and I have several relatives who have laid the wreaths for the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets at various services. The emergency services lay wreaths too. So it isn't just the armed forces to think about.

Not here - work in large secondary school and all the staff I've seen are wearing a poppy.
Card payment at stall in local Waitrose.
Students who are in cadets are in full uniform today and we're holding full school assembly shortly. Lovely and as it should be.

That is such an important point.

So many lost their lives in war service that wasn’t military and are also remembered by the poppy.

Very much this for me.

It's a combination of the above plus how the poppy has unfortunately become associated with right wing nationalists, and how utterly hypocritical it seems at this moment for the government and media establishments to be talking about "never forgetting" while sitting and watching, in many cases perpetuating narratives to the benefit of, or indeed outright vocally siding with, a genocidal apartheid state elsewhere as it inflicts atrocities.

as it should be.

Exactly what turns me away.

@AFieldGuideToTrees I’m glad I’m not the only one whose stomach did a little turn there!

Ugh, God yeah, l thought it was just me. Why are cadets in uniform a good thing in a school? It’s just promoting war.

Id be very unhappy if my child was in that school.

As an adult I don't wear a poppy. It's been hijacked by the far right

Yeah, fuck that.

I've never worn a poppy. It's just not something I feel I need to make a statement about, even though it's also not something I feel any reason to make a statement against either.

Certainly, thinking about my work colleagues, I've never seen anyone wear a poppy either, that I can remember, ever, not just this year. Again, maybe just not a cultural norm in our industry.

But many of us now work from home and I don't really wear anything special if I'm not going out, other than to do the school run. So I suspect that does play a part.

As a general rule though, I don't buy poppies or support poppy sellers year to year because it's such an environmental waste, all that plastic. I know my kids just bin them after a few days. We have some fabric ones, but who knows where they are and I just won't re-buy every year. I'm happy to turn up to an event though and give my presence, without the buying of 'stuff' though.

I have to say, it’s strange how things change. I remember 16 years ago when Dd was a baby, saying in here that l didn’t want to wear a red poppy.

I got absolutely slaughtered. But now more people are saying it.

Its the far right, military aspect that’s stopped me.

3 out of 4 people in my town had them on when I went out yesterday. YABU @YippieKayakOtherBuckets

@mindutopia
There are fully paper ones this year. They're nice.

This isn’t AIBU and I didn’t ask if IABU but ta.

In your eyes maybe, but just for the sake of accuracy there are plenty of poppy wearers, buyers and even dare I say it veterans are anything but "far right".....

If you want a slice of how (or perhaps that should be "who") veterans and serving military are remembering, have a look at Fill Your Boots (@ militarybanter on twitter)

He's spent all week tweeting memoriams (DMed to him for that purpose by all and sundry). I was struck by how many were for those who were taken by their demons/lost their MH battle. Veteran suicide rates don't get talked about much. I think he's doing a good thing in mentioning them openly alongside others

(And yes, before someone asks, one of those tweets was a memorial to Olivia Perks)

I haven't bought one for a few years, no reason other than I got out of the habit.
I do think there's fewer people wearing them nowadays too, I used to feel a bit embarrassed if I went out with a different coat on that didn't have my poppy on as everyone else seemed to have one but it never crosses my mind now.

Do they release figures each year about how much money was raised and how many poppies sold?
It'd be interesting to see if there is a decline.

Yeah, gotta get those kids conditioned to sign up whilst they're still too young to question it, right?

@mpsw

Hi, I certainly think there is a problem with a some users of the poppy emblem on the right but it does look like this thread has taken a strange turn…almost as if there’s a bit of a pile on being attempted in an effort to almost shame people into not wearing the poppy and maybe even undermine the charity.

Many of us contribute to the RBL when we have the chance because of the good work it generally does, and wear the poppy as a mark of respect/remembrance of those who died whilst serving…I was lucky enough never to see active service myself but I do know someone who was killed on operations and lost several colleagues in peace time in training related accidents….

Many others have similar reasons and it’s certainly not worn by any people I know as a badge to indicate they have some sort of inclination to march down Whitehall singing the Horst Wessel song…

It's entirely up to individuals whether they wear a poppy or not. I would not judge anyone for doing so or not doing so.

I just think it's a bit sad that the original reasons as to why a poppy is worn has been forgotten and it is now seen as virtue signalling or indicative of a particular political opinion or even in support of war which is so far from the original intention. I suppose this was bound to happen as the survivors of WW1 and WW2 died out.

The younger generations certainly seem more tolerant on the face of it but in reality I am not sure that is the case. They are quite prepared to make assumptions about those who choose to wear a poppy or hold views which may be different to theirs and seem unwilling to understand that people have many varying reasons for doing so.

I think when you have no connection to anyone who was involved in either of the world wars and have never been in a position where you have been conscripted into the army it is difficult to understand the original sentiment behind poppies and they are seen as irrelevant and, to some, glorifying war.

I wear one as do most of my friends, family and colleagues.

It is personal choice and I don’t think anything less of those that don’t wear them for whatever reason.