To think wearing a poppy is not mocking the war dead?

[BoobleBeep]

This article is basically saying that people shouldn't wear poppies because they are mocking the war dead and can have no idea of what it was like during the war

And I disagree, I was wondering how others felt?

If it was mocking the war dead then it wouldn't be worn by ex servicemen would it?

Loads of bollocks. They are a symbol of rememberance.

Knobs ! They are v v v stupid !

Absolute load of bollocks.

Rubbish. Robert Fisk loves being controversial.

Oh yes, those British Legion folk have no bloody idea what wars are like.

So, what, we should just ignore the war dead and not remember them in any way because we haven't experienced war ourselves? What a bizarre concept. Idiots.

I think people are forgetting that lots of soldiers have lots their lives since the 1st and 2nd world wars. Poppies are not used just to remember those who lost their lives years ago, but to remember all those who have recently lost their lives in Afganistan,etc.

I heard someone telling a group of pre-schoolers today that poppies were to help us remember a war that happened a long long time ago. Personally I disagree.

Wouldn't be worn by current service men either if mocking war dead .

I think he was trying to imply that people who wear it in this day and age don't really know why they are wearing it and that they don't understand the sentiment

What an idiot.

I think to say that is very patronising. I'm only relatively young but still fully understand why these things matter and feel very strongly about how important it is to educate future generations.

Some ex-military people object to poppies because they think it glorifies war; quite a lot of those who were soldiers in WW1 think it was a disaster and should not have been fought. They are entitled to their opinion, as are those who feel that wearing poppies is honouring the dead.

I wear a poppy, and hold a 2 min slient on 11th nov and rememberence sunday for everyone thats lost a life in war be WWI, WWII, farklands, Iraq and Afangistan. These people have put lives before others.

"quite a lot of those who were soldiers in WW1 think it was a disaster and should not have been fought. They are entitled to their opinion"

• there are no known surviving veterans of WW1, the last died in Australia last year.

I wear a poppy.

However:

I was walking down to the cenotaph in my town today, and I found myself thinking, this is getting like the Vietnam 'War' in the USA, where soldiers and their fighting were praised to the hilt for political purposes and yet in reality the same soldiers lived in hell and inflicted hell and came back from conflict in bits - psychologically, socially, finacially and medically - and precious few cared.

Wear a poppy - but please make it matter to the men and woman who find themselves in dire straights and who don't fit into the 'hero' stereotype so easily any more, young or old.

That's all.

Of course war is not glorious, that was just a line spun by propaganda to encourage people to fight and to keep up morale, but I still think we should remember the massive loss of life... sacrifice that is so utterly terrible to think about sometimes that we also remember that fighting should be a last resort, to protect and defend. We learned about the First World War in history at college, and I often cried in class at the stuff we learned... when I wear a poppy it's to remember why not to think war is glorious, because people laid down their lives, and still do... my brother today is remembering a fallen friend, and I remember the change in my brother after he had been to war.

penguin just because they are dead now doesn't mean they never expressed the centiment. My G-Granddad was career military and WWI was his last "war". For the rest of his life he maintained it was an abomination of a war with no respect for the men at the front lines.

FWIW I wear a poppy for rememberence because its about the men at the front who gave everything for a belief in something

What a knob! My db has done 2 tours of Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan and is due to go again in January, he would not dream of not wearing a poppy. My ds will also be marching at the local cenotaph ceremony with his army cadets, he wears a poppy and a wrist band.

I wear a poppy to remember those brave men from previous wars - many of whom had no choice but to go. I also have friends serving in Afghanistan and feel that this supports them in a small way.

However, most of all I wear it to support the work of the British Legion. They offer the kind of help, and financial and emotional support to ex servicemen and women that our government fails to do. As a nation we let these people down badly when they leave the forces and we should be ashamed.

What an arse, and there were plenty of first world war veterans who wore the poppy with pride.

He can go sit on his and swivel a bit. So what if we're not old enough to remember the Great war. Many soldiers have died since then, and whatever our views on the wars they fought in, it does us no harm for us to reflect on the sacrifice they made and the British legion does a lot to help those left with life changing injuries and scars, both physical and mental.

My Dad is dead now and he always wore his poppy. He knew dam well what it was like he was there.

Of course I don't fully know what it was/is like to be at war but it does not mean I cannot empathise with those who have and it definitely does not mean I cannot try and contribute to the charity who is trying to help the survivors of war.

I think the blanket BBC poppy wearing probably does include people who may not otherwise wear a poppy and don't give deep thought to the meaning behind it and I think it would be more controversial for people not to wear a poppy so in some ways that makes it more meaningless. I think it starts too early as well - really today and rememberance Sunday is about right for me - maybe for a total of a week for BBC newsreaders.

The sparkly poppies on strictly strike me as a bit odd and closer to mocking the war dead. Not quite sure what to make of them tbh - not really offended but I don't think they are quite right either.