to get DD a white poppy to wear at a remembrance service?

[GallumDrawnAndQuartered]

She is 14 and has been selected by the school to represent her house at their service.

DD is vehemently pacifist and anti-war.

Rather than her get in trouble for refusing to go (which is what she is planning on doing) would it be unreasonable for her to go but to wear a white poppy instead of a red one?

Oh right well if you are currently Iraqi and living there then I take it back. If you have lost someone in this pointless war based on LIES..then wtf are you defending it for?

No they dont because they make stupid comments which show they have no understanding of the politics of the region whatsoever. They dont know of UK involvement prior to the war. Skeleton didnt even know that Saddam was put into power by the British!

Picesmoon the feeling is mutual. If you cannot see a problem with the invasion of Iraq you must lack compassion.

Bog off!

I am not defending it, you are just on a bandwagon. Are you seriously suggesting that only an Iraqi person knows more than you about Iraq?

Pisces, I agree with your post of 22:12.

I actually can't imagine taking anyone seriously for the nth time on this thread who tries to justify Saddam Hussein's regime on the grounds that you could always get a dentist. It's so utterly facile and stupid.

No that post was aimed at Guacamole

If you are not defending it then why are you coming here being confrontational about it?

I feel very strongly about the shitty foreign policy in this country because it is quite evil. If everyone was not so blase about it then it may become more difficult for us to go around the world killing innocent people.

Nobody was justifying saddams regime but that country was no where near as fucked up then as it is now. Again..who put Saddam in power in the first place.

Appletrees - you have completely misinterpreted my comment about dentistry. Perhaps deliberately (which is very shoddy), perhaps not. I don't know.

There was a functioning infrastructure in Iraq before we destroyed it.

If regime change was the reason why we invaded Iraq (it wasn't) then America has a long history of regime change without involving their own or other country's troops. Just take a look at Latin America.

And who trained and armed the Taliban?

yes to fight the communists..ah earwicga..we waste our time here. Its pointless leave them to it..they clearly dont give a shit as its not on their own doorstep.

It was a deliberate attempt to not understand your comment re dentistry. They just come on spouting glib sarcastic comments that have no basis of argument other than to try and pick holes in what people are saying.

Ah well, people of the future will be able to see things more clearly. Let's hope they learn.

It was an eye-opener for me to read about all our previous wars on Afghanistan. Seems nobody learnt from them.

I have learnt a lot from this thread. I didn't know there was so much opposition to the white poppy. Or that there was so many misunderstandings about what both the red and white poppy represent. For that reason I would ensure I wore both in any Remembrance Day situation and not a white poppy alone.

And WingDad - I don't blame you for what has happened. It's not you that sets foreign policy. You just have to get on and do the best of it.

It's such a terrible thing that our armed forces have been drawn into two such terrible wars and not doing the humanitarian work that is another part of their role. I have a friend who was posted to 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia. The stories he tells me are quite terrible but he and his troops really did make a difference. As have the armed forces all over the world.

If patrioism means calling 14 year olds cunts then I want no part in that.

Ok SkeletonFlowers. But patriotism means (according to Wiki) is a love and devotion to one's country. Criticism isn't unpatriotic.

I wonder if you would explain why opposing war is unpatriotic? Or perhaps you mean something else that I am not understanding?

Actually, if I was going to be offended by any colour of poppy, it would be the purple ones.

I deplore the suffering of animals as much as the next woman, but calling then "gallant" is an anthropomorphic step too far. And an insult to human heroes, IMHO.

Some people are offended by red poppies. Others are offended by white poppies. Some are offended by no poppy at all.

Having the freedom to choose is something we should all be thankful for IMVHO is something we should all defend - even if it causes us offence.

Has anyone on thread said they were offended by red poppies? Genuinely don't think so - apart from one extreme - and possibly mischevious poster