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.

Very few people in public wearing poppies.
Yet it seems that most people who appear on TV interviews in the studio are wearing poppies.
So I guess that either people who appear on TV interviews are the kind of people who wear poppies or they have someone who hands them a poppy saying "You don't want to be seen on TV without a poppy, what will people think" despite most people not wearing poppies, so it's probably "you don't want to be seen on TV without a poppy, what will the people who are wearing poppies think?"

Honestly, there probably is something in that. By the same token, I still have a Help for Heroes wristband knocking around somewhere. When I bought it, it felt like something that both supported injured service people and also criticised the government that were failing to support them after sending them into a pointless and potentially illegal war. Now it feels like it’s been co-opted by the same band that go around yelling about poppies and I don’t wear it.

What’s ironic is that the shouters are no more respectful than anyone else. I remember years ago being in London on the 11th, at a conference in a central venue. We stopped at 11 for a 2 minute silence. But all we could hear was two clashing protests screaming and swearing at one another outside. One was against the Iraq war but the other was meant to be supporting veterans etc, and they were screaming and chanting swearwords all the way through what was meant to be a respectful silence for the people they claimed to support… just a load of thugs out for a fight and using that as an excuse.

This is the exact problem I’ve had myself.

I never have change on me and I’ve noticed people saying the same thing as they walk past the stands.

I had to make an effort to remember to draw money out, get change and then buy a poppy because I just kept forgetting and only remembered as I walk out of the store.

I haven’t really noticed if people were wearing them as they often have coats on.

I know I’ve not been wearing one as often as I would, not because of any particular reasons but I just kept forgetting to buy one and then I kept forgetting to put one on or I’ll wear layers and so it’s not always on show.

I haven't seen any for sale anywhere I've been.

I've seen them being sold in lots of places around here. I also did door to door poppy sales in our village last week and had a very successful morning.
I have been out without my poppy a few times as I swap coats depending on the weather!
Those saying they never have any change now - we had a QR code on our poppy tin, so cash alternatives are available.

I’ve also noticed fewer poppies this year.
I stopped wearing them a few years ago when the messaging from Remember the horrors of war to Support our boys.

This is very true.

The attitude of some people is disgusting and they seem to associate you caring about this country with wearing a poppy.

I used to not openly wear a poppy for this reason.
I found I was wearing one to show other people and worry if I forgot it one day, which was ridiculous so I used to wear one but wear it so it wasn’t obvious.

Whenever I got nasty comments in the street about how disgusting it was that I wasn’t wearing a poppy and didn’t care about the country (yes really) then I’d open my coat slightly and reveal that I was.

I don’t know why I’d do it but I found it hilarious that these grown men would target me and then have nothing to say when I proved them wrong.

Yes i ve noticed this, v few selling or wearing & if they do, its the small metal badges.

I think as the war generation dies out and it becomes increasing obvious we haven't learned anything from WW2, people will ignore Armistice day.

According to the DM, half of people will wear a poppy

One in two adults will wear a poppy to commemorate Remembrance Day, with Baby Boomers more than twice as likely to display one than Generation Z, Ipsos poll reveals | Daily Mail Online

I don't see this - I wonder if people say they will wear a poppy when asked in a survey because they worry about being judged by the person doing the survey!

I haven’t really noticed less people wearing them but personally I stopped wearing one a few years ago. There was a weird period, maybe 10 years ago now, where it almost became a political stick to batter people with, if you didn’t wear one you were practically a terrorist and that’s when I stopped.

Although that said I’m now a leader with the local rainbows unit and take part with them in the local remembrance parade and obviously need to wear a poppy for that but it is the only time I do wear one.

This govt is just trash. It feels establishment to wear one. We are supporting Gaza.

I respect all of those who died and feel very sad about the war. I don’t really like wearing a poppy though so don’t make an effort to get one. For me it has started associating with British nationalism and and people who I really don’t like. Sad to say.

The pressure to wear one made me uneasy and there were always comments about how good the war was.

They are given one before they go on air. Another of the reasons I don't wear one any more, the performative nature of it. I can remember the fallen without having to show everyone else that I am, mindlessly putting one on doesn't mean anything.

I've noticed there are less and less sellers. You need to make a special journey to search for one - I've been trying all week as DC are in parades on Sunday and I can't find one. Whereas in the past they were in the streets and in every shop.

I stopped wearing one when they became the property of flagshaggers.

l hate the way stuff pops up with poppies and soldiers and the flag of St George. The far right have hijackedit and turned it into something else.

I was never totally comfortable with red poppies but would wear white. But it’s the right wing hijack that’s turned me right off.

I usually but at least one. It usually falls off.

Tbh I think it's reputation has been damaged. They remind me of people who say "lest we forget" all the time whilst also at the same time voting for policies that allow immigrants to drown in the sea. Seems like they have indeed forgotten.

It’s definitely the FB poppy twats that have put me off wearing one for the past few years - posts basically saying| “These heroes died to save you, you miserable undeserving fucking bastard, wear your poppy! Most people won’t share this post.” (Cue lots of people sharing the post)

I don’t wear one for similar reasons to others. The red poppy only commemorates British armed forces deaths. The idea that we should all stop to think about war but not think about civilian deaths or how the UK may be involved in wars of aggression rather than defence feels uncomfortable to me.

Also when people on Mumsnet have explained why they think people should wear a poppy they’ve talked not just about remembrance but ‘respect’ and ‘disrespect’. I feel that can slide into ’always respect and support our armed forces’ when sometimes terrible things are done in our name and hard questions need to be asked.

I wore a white poppy for a couple of years because it signifies remembrance of all deaths in war but stopped because I’m not a pacifist against taking up arms in all circumstances so that felt wrong too.

I think the perception of many people that poppies are as much about signalling patriotism and support for the establishment as remembrance is from the enforcement of poppy-wearing on the BBC etc. Quite ironic in the intolerance of dissent that it shows.

I spent a few hours poppyless, shivering in the Nombember drizzle, herding Cubs and hissing into their ears at last year's parade. I remembered and reflected, and supported a new generation in understanding Rememberance. Those actions matter much more than whether I happened to pass a poppy stall a week or so before. If I'd had a poppy, the chances of losing it and battering it so it wasn't avaliable was pretty high.

I tend to reflect on the World Wars and the horror that conscripts went through. Senselessly in WW1 and for the protection of society in WW2. I don't feel so moved by modern wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan and don't have family connections to them. Now in my 40s, I didn't grow up with surving veterans. My relatives tended to be off-generation, in essential roles or had already died (in once case by suicide substantially triggered by war experience and brain injury). There was a civilian generational trauma from those who lived through it, and my oldest relative has childhood memories of WW2 including being bombed out twice.

Last week's Strictly was a good example of performance poppies. Is is really a respectful act to wear a diamanté poppy while performing a rumba? Some poppies clearly got knocked off or taken off during the course of the show and replaced. It's not practical, people's minds are not reflecting on the horrors of war (if there's a themed pro group dance, that's a different matter) and it is pure virtue signalling.

The jury is out on whether I wear a poppy this year... I have sent DS out with change for the school sale and instructed him to get 3 paper poppies for Sunday as well as enough for the items he wants. It's a high risk strategy...

I donated online this year and I did have a metal poppy from a previous year but the back fell off so I am not wearing one.

I never knew about the qr code! Since I don't carry change I don't tend to go that close or read the boxes as I just think "I'll grab one next time".

I don't want to pin one to my puffa, it will leave a mark. DDog is wearing his though - one of the reflector ones.

They all take card payments here.

I completely agree.