To not buy a poppy

[Hippymum89]

Why is it more important to remember the death of a soldier who died fighting for the country (or so he believed) than the death of every other person who has died?
What about all the others who have died helping others? Were their lives less important? Or the little old lady who died in hospital at the age of 97, she didn't kill any Germans, or rescue people. She lived her life, but doesn't that count?
I think poppys glorify war and therefore murder, so I will not be buying one.

I think, possibly naively, that the OP was genuine.

I also think some posters' responses are disproportionate to the OP.

For every soldier who kills in battle there is a family somewhere who thinks of him/her as little more than a murderer, no?

I'm not British but nor am I anti-poppy. I just think people are entitled to their views without being abused for them!

People have their reasons for wearing a poppy, and people have their reasons for not wearing one. That doesn't make someone a fuckwit, moron or anything else does it?

If this was just a shit-stirring thread though, I think that's grossly disrespectful.

Cf sorry I should have worded that better. I wouldn't think less of some random person walking down the street without a poppy. I would think less if I was having these conversations in RL with some of the people on here. I would think less of you if you didn't wear a poppy because you thought all soldiers were murderers and charities shouldn't exsist etc. However if you had a valid reason for not wearing one then no I wouldn't think less of you. I just think some of the reasons that have been put forward here are ill thought out and in some cases offensive.

soupdragon Iraq was an illegal war, no?

@ldnmummy that's another reason I feel funny about wearing a poppy

I buy one because the soldiers gave their lives so that we can live in a relatively civil democratic society.

Anyone who thinks that a poppy is a sign of supporting war, or that it makes any kind of political statement, is an utter fool.

It's a charitable symbol, not a political one.

I'm anti-war, but I wear a poppy (well I actually sell them, I'm a member of the RBL), because I think it's important to remember the brave men and women who have given their lives for MY freedom.

When you go home,
Tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow,
We gave our today.

And also it's worth noting, that many soldiers during WWI and WWII were CALLED UP to do their duty for their country, it isn't like it is now where every member of the forces has chosen to be there.

I'm not British but nor am I anti-poppy

To clarify the above: I'm Irish so I have my reasons for not wearing one. My dh is English and I have no problem with him wanting to wear one.

My Granpa was a ww2 RAF veteran.
He never talked about it, he never wore his medals. He flew over Europe as a tail-gunner and served in north Africa too.

He never wore a poppy. He didn't want to remember, and he didn't think that veterans should be looked after by charity.

I know poppies aren't supposed to glorify war, but for some people, they do. I saw a child this week wearing a poppy sweatshirt. In our local shopping centre there's a stall selling poppy merchandise. That is wrong - it shouldn't be a merchandising opportunity, that sickens me.

I remember, but I don't buy or wear a poppy. Partly because of Granpa. Partly because of the pressure to do so. It seems to be the one non-negotiable charity! We give, but choose to give to international development charities. Those are the ones that might have a chance of preventing future wars.

Also - and this is personal to my family - my fil is German. His sister was born in the Dresden firebombing (a war crime committed by the British). His father spent time in a Russian pow camp. His mother was forced - literally at gunpoint - to join the Hitler Youth. I'm not sure the poppy appeal remembers the conscripted Germans who suffered, especially in ww2.

I'd not heard of a white poppy before this thread, I just buy the red one every year. If I understand, its the conscientious objector poppy then. Still honouring the dead but unsupportive of war in general.

Oh ok LB
As a matter of interest no one in my company has ever asked why I don't wear one. I do like the idea of a white one.

yes Ethel we DO understand how tax works! Unfortunately I do not have a say in how the government spends my taxes (apart from every few years at the ballot box-and even then....). However by supporting charities, I DO have a say in how my money is spent, because I can choose or not choose to support them.

So what would YOU have done about the threat of Hitler while HE was murdering innocent men, women and children? Would you have said "well thats okay" then? Please explain what the alternative would have been, cos I believe Mr Chamberlain did actually try and appease the war.

So you wouldn't wear a pink ribbon to support breast cancer? Or a daffodil to support Marie Curie? Or take part in a McCmillan coffee morning? Because, one charity shouldn't get more support than another? You have a very warped view of Remembrance Day IMO.

@Weegie My dad was in WW2. He was a very specialist radio operator. He was in the seige of Malta and then in Burma in the last days. He always wore the White Poppy. So do I, so do my kids and so does my husband (since he met my dad and talked to him about it).

soupdragon Iraq was an illegal war, no?

If it was, that doesn't make the soldiers murderers.

And it also makes no difference to the other wars remembered.

Iraq was an illegal war, no?

No.

I also didn't know about the White Poppy until just looked (have never seen one - do the RBL sell them?) - came out in 1933 and appeared due to the words "Haig Fund" being imprinted in the centre of the red poppies.

The red poppies no longer have this imprinted on them.

I think it's a shame that something being sold for a worthwhile charity is associated so closely with political ideology and opinions when it appears it wasn't intended to be a symbol of that.

Especially if people in need are being deprived of donations due to misunderstanding of this.

LDN, I completely understand what you are saying, but I don't get angry, I just remind people of the contribution of Empire and Commonwealth whenever I get the chance. It is a pity it took 50 years to build a Commonwealth War Memorial, and it is a pity that, when they did it, lots of countries like Nepal are listed but then just 'Africa', no separate countries.

I know the names have changed, but I wish they could have found some way to commemorate the astonishing contribution of certain countries or units, like the Nigeria Regiment, or the East and West African rifles. People in the UK know a lot about the Burma campaign for example, but not the fact that African regiments did a lot of the hardest jungle fighting, or that India raised the largest volunteer Army in history in the 1st World War (in total 1 million Indian men served overseas in that conflict, 74,000 died). Still, t'was ever thus. Empires are like that.

I find one antidote is the Imperial War Museum-it's good on the Commonwealth soldiers. It's also good on Korea, that terrible and largely forgotten war.

thankyou @walter

@wiley I used to wear a white poppy but after the reactions to white poppies on MN last year I stopped.

From the other poppy thread started this week:

The white poppy has been around for over 80 years. It was started in 1926 by the No More War Movement to stand in opposition to the (then) Haig Fund's poppy, and was later out into production by the Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933.

But the current organisation states its interest to "abolish the military and all that goes with it".

The RBL have nothing to do with White Poppies and receive no funding from them. If you wear a white poppy, please at least wear a red one with it. Or don't wear it on 11 November - let Remembrance Day be untainted by politics, please.

How does the British Army fighting in Afghanistan keep the British public safe? Safe from what?

I kind of get what you are saying.Being maimed and killed is an acknowledged occupational hazard in the armed forces.
But the soldiers of WW1 and 2 were conscripts and I buy a poppy in memory of them mostly

The strategy behind Afghanistan and other campaigns stems from the Nato policy that Nato will seek to meet threats at long distance, before they can menace Europe, and avoid member countries suffering the damage that results from having to fight a war on their own soil. Get them before they come over here to get us, to over-simplify rather.

Thanks LtEveDallas i would never wear a white poppy purely because i do not see the red poppy as anything political (or anything other than what it is - a charitable symbol of remembrance) so have no need to.

where do the funds for the white poppy go to?

I think white poppies are fine for Quakers and other confirmed pacifists acting out of the deepest convictions. (I've know a few of those: deeply impressive, thoughtful and brave people).

They are much more annoying when one suspects they are been worn as a bit of jejeune posturing by twits.