Why do people think it is disrespectful to not wear a poppy?

[Lemongrasssugar]

I understand the sacrifice and did have great relatives that were in the wars. I also have worn poppies in the past.
But why is it such a big deal if someone doesnt wear one? How does it lack respect?
Its not as of the dead are benefiting from us wearing the poppy?
As a symbol of remembrance it is fine but to impose and shame people for not wearing one sounds like some kind of religious cult.

I now only donate to charities based in England.

So Scottish people and causes aren't deserving of help then? W

RBL constantly harps on about " lest we forget" yet seems to have no issue with " forgetting" appalling breeches in human rights like this, trying to obtain any justice for the thousands of soldiers shot for " cowardice" or being gay. They happily support recruiting 16 years to military life while doing absolutely nothing to change the issues that will blight their life after service, like homelessness or mh issues.

They’re remembered here:
nucleartest.online/national-memorial-arboretum/

And here:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_at_Dawn_Memorial

The site on which they stand is a part of RBL.

You can also read more about the work they do on policy and public research here:

www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/things-to-do/campaigns-policy-and-research/policy-and-research/research-and-reports/veterans-and-the-welfare-benefits-system

The pop-in centres here:

support.britishlegion.org.uk/app/answers/detail/a_id/1473/~/pop-in-centres

And the care homes they run here:
www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/care-and-independent-living/our-care-homes

There’s information on the LGBTQ+ branch of RBL here:

www.britishlegion.org.uk/stories/why-it-s-important-to-have-safe-spaces-and-community-groups

I don't wear one. My grandfather was in the army. Suffered PTSD and it ruined his life and was a changed man. Refused to discuss it when he was refused help from the British legion. So for that reason I don't buy a poppy. It doesn't stop me remembering though

I do wear a pin one but sometimes I do forget to swap it around my clothes.

@Iamnotagoddess im aussie, the armed forces, all kinds here have a bad reputation for all i listed. We won't even start on how they deal with mental health.
The poppy thing is berated here but due to the other issues at play, I won't support.

Forcing people to wear poppies and shaming them if they choose not to is incredibly ironic considering what the soldiers in WW2 actually fought for.

I will be attending a Remembrance Sunday service — my seven year old is laying a wreath at the village war memorial with his Beaver troop — without wearing a poppy.

Should anyone make an issue of it, as a dimwit BBC producer did a few years ago when I was a talking head on an arts programme, I’m very happy to give a potted account of the last hundred years of Anglo-Irish history and why it is a divisive and problematic symbol for Irish people, especially those who, like me, have had ancestors serving in the British Army in WW1 and also had relatives killed by the same army.

Have never come across anyone making a big deal out of it. I usually put one on my coat but don't swap it around if I go out without coat.

I've never been asked or told to wear a poppy. Sometimes I do wear one, but I know nobody cares if I don't. I give money to the poppy collectors anyway, whether I want a poppy or not.

I've definitely felt pressure to wear a poppy. By a family member when I was younger, at work in a couple of jobs and in general I feel there's an expectation.

I've worn a white poppy a few times but actually that led to its own issues so I stopped wearing anything at all.

I don't discuss it unless challenged but if someone asked why I wasn't wearing a poppy I'd tell them.

I think the current poppy pride stuff is absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful. It's hijacked by thugs and fascists and I want no part in it.

Facebook banners, car poppies, even fucking trainers! I though the trainers were a joke but they weren't. I don't want to see a picture of your aunty Sharon in a Bikini in Magaluf with a fucking poppy border round it. That's fuck all to do with people who have fought and died and everything to do with bloody Sharon. Urgh.

The profits made from sales of the poppy go to help in so many ways. Obviously there are few veterans who fought in in the wars now but listening to them and what they went through for us, I feel, deserves a small donation to buy a poppy.
The sales also help soldiers (and their families) who have more recently fought.
The forces don’t only go to war. They help us in many ways.
I don’t see it as disrespectful as such but I’d like to think the majority of us would put a donation in the pot, whether we wear a poppy or not.

Im in the army and dont particularly care if people choose to wear poppies or not.

Is it the non wearing of the poppy that people have a problem with or is it the non-donating?

The stupid thing is that, for jingoistic types it is the non-wearing, not least because they have no easy way of telling whether you've donated or not. So you could recycle the same poppy year after year without donating and they'd be perfectly happy, but vice versa and they'd be telling you how disrespectful you are.

@babdoc

I don't see what the poppies being run by a different charity in Scotland has to do with the SNP, or why that means every charity outside England is unworthy or your money.

Perhaps you should move?
I don’t wear one I bought one but there is no law saying you have to wear it it’s in my car as I bought it on my way to work - I’m a nurse so would never wear it on my uniform

Maybe understand a bit more about the history of Poppy Scotland before making unfounded assumptions babdoc

The poppies in Scotland were never sold or distributed by the Royal British Legion That's why they have always looked different.

But thankfully, the relaunch from "The Earl Haig Fund Scotland" to "Poppy Scotland" resulted in an increase in donations , so not everyone has such a narrow viewpoint.

www.poppyscotland.org.uk/about-us/our-history/

I don't wear a poppy. The expectation that I should do so (as a moderately public figure) and peer pressure from colleagues bring out the rebellious streak in me and would render wearing a poppy meaningless to me.
I do not donate to the RBL because I choose to support local initiatives to help homeless veterans on the streets of my city instead.
The atrocities of war or the price of our freedom are never far from my mind, I don't need an annual dose of pomp and circumstance and a compulsory dress code in order to remember.