ApocalypseThen, that was very well put. saoirse too.
The poppy symbolism is beloved of the same loyalist bigots in Northern Ireland who like flying Para Regiment flags in Derry on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. This is the kind of bile spouted by them on Remembrance Day: [Along with photos representing the SAS, the Parachute Regiment and the UDR ] "3 regiments that played a fantastic roll in defeating the ira and defending our right to remain british. pity their hands where tied at times or the head count would have been a lot higher good times.
fuck the irish republican movement.
FOREVER BRITISH" - From the 'Carrickfergus United Loyalists' Facebook Page.
In honour of the occasion, loyalist murals sometimes get painted around Remembrance Day full of poppies, and UVF terrorists standing proudly among those to be honoured for their 'defence of the Union'. The UVF's preferred way of defending the Union was by shooting, kidnapping, torturing and murdering Catholic civilians in Northern Ireland. What heroes. This may not be as well known to the British public as the atrocities commited by the (also disgusting) Provisional IRA, but that's only because your media wasn't as likely to give airtime to murders where the victims were only Irish Catholics anyway.
People from places where they or their parents had to grow up with armed soldiers on the streets (sometimes protecting them, sometimes harrassing them, sometimes trying to kill them) are likely to understand that while some people joined the forces in the past without any choice, and today some join out of a desire to protect freedoms and serve their country, and some do it because it's a job and an income and they have few career options, there are still others who join up because they are sadistic assholes who like the idea of being issued with a gun and having power over other people. That's true of course of every army in the World. Becoming a soldier does not make a person a hero.
Yes, it's unfortunate for the good and decent and brave people who have served in the British Army (and I'm sure there are many who fit that description) that the symbol of the poppy has come, for many Irish people especially in Northern Ireland, to be associated with historical oppression and ongoing denigration of Irish civilians by some British soldiers and those who worship them here. But the fact is, that is the association that it has here, so to criticise someone like James McClean without understanding that is just plain ignorant. It isn't his fault that the poppy has taken on that meaning, it's the fault of the British soldiers who chose to fire into a crowd of civil rights protesters, and of loyalists - soooo proud to call themselves British - who like to equate the actions of WWI and WWII soldiers with the actions of people who do this (not a graphic link - it's just wiki).
I find it really heartening that James McClean has received a lot of support on the Wigan FB page, including from former British soldiers who served in NI and therefore have some understanding of the dynamics at play. The understanding response from some on this thread is also really nice to see.