....to ask what you think of white poppies (Remembrance-related)?

[PlumpingUpPartridge]

I had been dimly aware of the existence of white poppies but hadn't really given them much thought until DH mentioned them this weekend. I checked out the website and saw this:

linky

I liked this quote:

"In 1933 the first white poppies appeared on Armistice Day (called Remembrance Day after World War Two). The white poppy was not intended as an insult to those who died in the First World War - a war in which many of the white poppy supporters lost husbands, brothers, sons and lovers - but a challenge to the continuing drive to war. The following year the newly founded Peace Pledge Union began widespread distribution of the poppies and their annual promotion."

I am very happy to express my admiration and respect for those who died in wars, but I don't particularly want to see any more wars. I don't know what the alternative is, but I'd like to see more effort go into finding it.

I've been sifting through the threads and noticed some anti-white poppy feeling (along the lines of 'it's disrespectful'). I didn't grow up here so don't have childhood experience to guide me on this. Please can you tell me what you think of it and, if you think it's disrespectful, why?

I'm not a journalist by the way, just curious and trying to be impartial

sorry for bad typing and autocorrect juggling 12week old post jab grumpy baby .

I haven't seen anyone here do that, ginger, perhaps you'd like to say where that happened.

I was the person who posted about being jostled into a road when wearing a white poppy and receiving comments about it. By squaddies. Inebriated ones at that. Because another poster questioned why anyone would feel concerned in a squddie-rich environment. A bunch of drunk squaddies is not the same as most people, the general public are not drunk squaddies and even if every single squaddie behaved badly (which of course they don't) then that would still only be a tiny minority of people in this country.

The fact that you hadn't heard of the white poppy doesn't surprise me in the slightest. It doesn't say anything about the general public though.

I have posted at length about how proud I have been at some of the stuff our servicepeople do. I find it incredibly moving that many countries in the world look to our servicepeople to help them out when Bad Stuff happens. That is not incompatible with being against militarisation and wanting an end to war. Nor is in incompatible with wanting to pay tribute to all victims of WWI including women, civilians, the bereaved etc which was one of the original aims of the white poppy (and one which the british legion belatedly claimed to adopt but which was not the original aim of the red poppy).

Even if I didn't wear the white poppy I would not wear the red poppy because of the association with the Haig Fund. That does not mean I don't think the charitable (as opposed to the propaganda) work of the BL is not valuable and needed, it clearly is.

"I don't give a shot what you wear like I've said over and over again, what I object to is people calling red poppy wearers war mongerers, war apologists"

Good. Because nobody has.

It would be nice if thy could refrain from using terms like the following to whit poppy wearers- "Disrespecttfull and distastefull
Bad taste
Smugness, naivity and disrespect
loathe silly white poppies
Smug and santimonious
White poppy is absolutely abhorent
Like a protest banner at a funeral" - but hey ho.

There was a nice point on this thread where we all seemed to agree that people involved in the military service (+dependents and families) don't get enough care or consideration from their government and that we appreciate the good work they do to maintain us in our daily lives. That was a good bit.

Unfortunately we seem to now have descended into hostility.

I'll try summarising:

1a) Poppy-wearers of all types sometimes make assumptions (often incorrect assumptions) about the other types. We should all try to not do that.

1b) Wearing anything other than a red poppy on 11th November is taken by many to be a sign of disrespect/politically motivated. In at least some cases, it isn't. Please withhold judgement until you're certain.

2. Military service-people don't get enough care from their government and charities pick up the slack, thus (sadly) increasing the likelihood that the situation will persist as it's not desperate enough for the govt to be embarrassed into action. Not sure how to resolve that one or if it's even possible to do so.

Please add your own summations if you feel so inclined.

Fairy - that is what they are paid to do, is it not? Many people are broadly happy to see tax money spent on the forces because of all those things. They would not be happy to see funds devoted to the forces if those things didn't form part of what they do.

Even if I didn't wear the white poppy I would not wear the red poppy because of the association with the Haig Fund.

Which is back to where I started.

Ginger nobody has done that. And FYI nobody minds you disliking them either. Even though you clearly thought it worth pointing out.

the general public in Britain are pretty passive, even if they disagree with you they are going to just fake interest say "how interesting, yes I understand" then walk away and pull a cat bum face and bitch.

A group of white poppy wearers once threw pigs blood at a group of forces family members in a garrison town about 2 years ago anf called them murdering bastards or something along those lines, that's when I first heared of it. since then I've met maybe one or two who wear one but have said nothing about it.

I have to say my general opinion and view point from Thai thread is that there are a elect few who care not about today's armed forces and think they are all "bad people" who commit atrocities, that's my opinion and how I've felt reading through some of these posts and yes it's upset me that I think I have to watch the father of my child deploy to hazerdous situations for people to think so little of the work him and thousands of others do. it understandibly hits a very personal nerve.

I do not believe that white poppy wearers would do that.

I certainly wouldn't do that. Not least because I'm a vegan. And not mad.

Nobody in this thread has said all servicepeople are bad people who commit atrocities. Your opinion is irrelevant since it isn't supported by the facts.

Genuine white poppy wearers are pacifists, of course they wouldn't do that.

You can believe what you want.

And scroll further back, that's the general undertone from some comments.

anyway time to step away from this now, it's going round in circles.

my last point will be, wear what you want in the grand scheme of things nobody cares, serving men, women and their families have far more to worry about than what a minority do on remeberance day/weekend. The same sentiment is expressed to the minority who burn poppies at the 11th hour, it didn't matter and will not matter in the grand scheme of life.

I've been on this thread from the start. It's really not the 'general undertone'.

I would be appalled at people burning poppies as I'm sure would most other white poly wearers. That would definitely be disrespectful. And horrible symbolism too.

Rabbit no, my husband isn't paid to do that, at all. He is paid to keep aeroplanes maintained and to be in charge of the team of men he works with of his trade. He is paid to write their assessments (mainly at home, at the weekend because there isn't time or space at work to do it). He is soon to be paid to do a different job, involving a lot of travelling, because he has been promoted. However, he could be called upon to do any of those jobs and he would do it with good grace.

I made the point because so many, on this thread and others, have said they don't support the modern military, they don't support the "career armed forces" and they don't see the point of an armed forces.

"A group of white poppy wearers once threw pigs blood at a group of forces family members in a garrison town about 2 years ago anf called them murdering bastards or something along those lines, that's when I first heared of it. since then I've met maybe one or two who wear one but have said nothing about it. "

2 years ago? It should be easy for you to find all the pass reports of this incident and link to them. Or I'll do it. Which town was it?

I don't think it is on to tell ginger her opinion is irrelevant. That is incredibly rude!

I agree with her, it has become the undertone of this thread.

And any evidence that connects white poppies with the burning of red ones would be good too.

Because we wouldn't want any unsubstantiated accusations floating around, would we?

i wonder if people who way they don't support the armed forces object to there help in a crisis?
like now with the Ebola one?
or when they are called in to help in a disaster zone?
I wonder if the people who are so anti wearing a poppy, remember that with out the armed forces we night not even have the choice.

I would love to see the reaction of some of the posters on here, if their DC came home saying they were joining the forces!

Don't be silly, it's not rude at all. The 'opinion' of someone with clearly poor reading comprehension about the contents of a thread which are available for all to see is irrelevant if that 'opinion' is that it contains statements that it doesn't actually contain. There is a trend in modern life for people to expect to be able to get away with saying any old bollocks by suffixing it with 'that's my opinion' as if that makes saying something factually inaccurate magically ok. It doesn't.

Rabbitt "poor reading comprehension".....If I was precious I would probably take that as a jibe to my dyslexia but I'll rise above it.

Cheers.

you claim to be reading things in a thread that just aren't there. Dyslexia doesn't cause that (I should know, I have a dyslexic DS). Please don't start excusing making things up by citing dyslexia - I don't want other dyslexics being tarred with the brush of being fantasists. Or worse.

Google hasn't proved useful in uncovering media reports of the pig blood atrocity. Hak, have you had any better luck?

I've been looking for ages - nothing.