To ask if anyone in rl has ever actually met anyone who is 'offended by a poppy?

[Whatsername17]

My Facebook feed is full of memes declaring that people are going to 'wear their poppy with pride and they don't care who they offend'. My nan is the latest culprit and I've called her out on it. Cue lots of her friends spouting racist bollocks about people not being able to sell them blah blah. My nan spouting shit about what a good heart I have because I can't see the bad in people. I'm 34. I'm not a fucking child. And breathe!

I find the number of 'poppy-less' posters who are challenged about it just amazing.

I can bearly keep the bloody thing on my lapel for more than 5 minutes (I buy at least 3 every year), and yet have never had so much as a murmur directed at me despite travelling/living extensively throughout the UK.

Some people must live in some very intolerant villages/towns/cities.

*far right, not far fright. FREUDIAN SLIP!

Wear one, don't wear one, do whatever you like. But don't expect people to do the same.

The people who fought did so for the freedom to do exactly this! Civil and religious freedom!

Nobody should be made wear one. Lots of people in Ireland North and Republic have issue with it. That doesn't make them wrong. It's their choice.

However, the implication of these darkly muttered statements about "wearing the poppy despite people getting offended" tends to be that there are groups of people who are taking umbrage at them. In far fright discourse, there's an implication that those groups are from the BME community and that they represent some kind of threat to white cultural identity,

Oh yes I acknowledge that nonsense on the other side too. As I said way upthread I think all the scaremongering increases after that single Poppy-burning muppet incident in 2011 or 2012. People with a racist agenda took that one occurrence and ran with it. As is their wont.

She does have very strong political ideas.

She also sounds like she's got the wrong end of the stick LonaRocks

Tamberlane It's quite possible that some relation of yours was in the British Forces and also very likely that some of them helped build the British Empire. Once the Irish left Europe they became fellow colonisers with the people from the bigger island.

Yes. I used to help sell them and we went door to door in our village.

One (white) couple stayed they bought the white ones and reds were disgraceful and promoted and encouraged war and violence.

I hate the thought of it ending up in a puddle

A diversion Coughing, but that's exactly what I like about paper poppies. To see their proud little faces lying on the ground, trampled underfoot after falling from someone's coat, says something to me about the sacrifice we have asked members of the armed services to make for us and the way many of them are treated after giving that service.

So I just get another one. It doesn't matter if you can't afford much. There's nothing wrong with blingy poppies, but that's the reason I prefer the paper ones.

The annual demand of people to honour our glorious dead or be called traitors is similar to what Trump is doing to people taking the knee.

I'm not American and I'm not black but I don't think those people are disrespecting the US military. I feel infuriated that this is put about by someone who dodged the Vietnam draft by claiming to have a bone spur in his heel.

But we have a similar thing every November about people who should be wearing the poppy and stories about people being abused for doing so.

.

@Battleax - my objection to it is that it commemorates people who committed atrocities against my countrymen and many others. I think commemorating the Black and Tans, the perpetuators of all the Bloody Sundays, the perpetuators of many atrocities in NI and Ireland previously, the perpetuators of the Mau Mau massacre, the perpetuators of the atrocities committed during the Boar War and on and on, without any consideration of the victims, is offensive to those who suffered during those atrocities.

That is what the poppy campaign is about. Individuals may feel differently but by buying a poppy you are supporting a campaign that advocates commemorating these people. You may wish to personally remember all victims of war but that is not what the poppy campaign is about.

Plenty of non-British UK residents are personally offended by the poppy.

Though I've never met or known one who is offended by the selling of them. Just firmly and respectfully decline to ever wear or support the wearing of them.

I think it is possible to separate the solders actions from the government. As a, possibly conscripted, member of the armed forces you did what you were told. The consequences for not following orders could be brutal.

While disagreeing profoundly with the actions of a government it is possible to see how an individual might just follow orders. Many members of the German armed forces were not prosecuted for war crimes. I can feel sympathy for the individuals. If I lived in Germany I can imagine giving money to a charity that helps veterans.

Perhaps that's just me.

I think there is big difference between government responsibility and individual responsibility.

This issue is far more nuanced. The red poppy was introduced at a time when most people in this country were white British of a different generation. In multicultural Britain the red poppy just represents something that people can't identify with and some instances something that is directly contrary to their own cultural background.

My ancestors were not British, for me the red poppy is about all those who lost their lives on all sides because if you have stories from a number of perspective you realise that regardless of which side you were on, millions and millions suffered all because of a few men.

I don't like war, but our generation is lucky, we haven't had to face what our grandparents had to. In majority of cases they had no choice. Hindsight is a lovely thing.

cosmicpineapple Is it not? It is always what my GF said

I think commemorating the Black and Tans, the perpetuators of all the Bloody Sundays, the perpetuators of many atrocities in NI and Ireland

Its not just a chance to commemorate these lads, some of the Bloody Sunday people are still living so it's a chance to offer them financial support, too. Personally, I wouldn't.

Bratsy The RBL honestly do not assist officers. The RBL was created with the purpose of supporting the soildiers and seaman plus dependants. The officers were paid better and their widows had pensions so RBL assistance was not needed. Maybe your GF thought RBL was the Haig fund?
Haig was one of the founders of RBL but RBL did not assist just officers and they dont assist officers at all now.

I feel sorry for my friend who can't wear a Poppy because she's torn. She has English and German heritage, and the poppy only represents one of her two grandfathers who died in that war, despite them both being conscripted into fighting. It's a shame.

It's a bit sad that we can't move past this and let the Poppy represent every person who died in those stupid, futile wars on all sides. Because most of the 'enemy' army didn't want to be fighting either.

But seeing as it took so long for RBL to recognise the memory of deserters, I'm not holding my breath.

@MrsDustyBusty - hopefully the pps will make the decision to prosecute the soldiers whose files are currently being examined. That would give some level of closure to victims and their families.

WIESWA aren't white and wear poppies with pride.

My white British grandfather was conscripted into the Navy, and he wouldn’t wear a red poppy.

He was very vocal in his criticism of, what he perceived to be, the glorification of his war, and the mass unquestioning following of a prescribed sentiment. He felt that everyone had a day where they made a show of remembering the fallen, but didn’t speak or act to prevent it happening again the other 364 days of the year.

I agree, and the wars which have followed his death, haven’t been fought by conscripted men and women, but by career servicemen who have been sent ill prepared and ill informed into conflicts where it can be argued that we are the aggressor.

Someone wearing a red poppy doesn’t offend me, but I prefer the sentiment of the white poppy.

Yes I have. My old boss. He was Irish and banned the staff from wearing poppies and he found it offensive to the Irish. He was a ball bag however and kicked off at me for donating money to charity as I was ‘aligning the company with a charity without permission’.

I think it is possible to separate the solders actions from the government. As a, possibly conscripted, member of the armed forces you did what you were told. The consequences for not following orders could be brutal.

Completely agree that the poor conscripted young men of WW1 can have no blame attributed to them.

The same does not apply to servicemen and women who willingly join today in the full knowledge of what the government will ask of them.

The same does not apply to servicemen and women who willingly join today in the full knowledge of what the government will ask of them.

You blame today's service men and women for modern day wars?

Can I just ask, why are the Irish (in particular) offended by the poppy?

From an Australian perspective, it's simply heavily associated with the World Wars and remembering the war dead. I had no idea there was even any debate about it until this thread.