Poppy on kids sports kits

[HelenHen]

This seems to be a big thing now, but seems very unfair.

How can a kid choose to not wear a poppy if its being handed out by their coach before a game?

Not everybody chooses to wear a poppy, for whatever reason... many people do and that's totally ok... but it seems harder and harder for kids to make the choice.

I'm so sorry that you didn't bring your DC up to respect others, and instead expect them to follow your dogma. But that's on you. I've done right by my kids.

@HelenHen "My children will probably end up just wearing them though they really don't want to."

well it wont harm them to wear a sign of respect to others who have died for the freedoms they enjoy, and when we were kids we had very little option about anything in life, and in the main, things like wearing a poppy or going to harvest festival or singing Christmas carols did none of us any harm.

kids have to do things sometimes, if there is no real risk to them, then that is how it is.

Oh fgs. this life is going to be AWFULLY hard for her isn't it?

Tough tits and suck it up, its a sticker on a t-shirt on part of a sports kit.

Not at all. She knows she can wear it if she wants. She doesn't want to. It's not that I'm not letting her.

But can you not see how saying they have to do these things goes against the supposed ethos of the poppy?

I think it did do you harm, because here you are repeating what you were told as though its gospel, with nary a thought for others who don't and cannot think that poppies are a "sign of respect to others who have died for the freedoms they enjoy". Of course you were harmed. You've been brainwashed into thinking that what you were told was the one and only truth.

As for singing Christmas carols when you're not Christian...I can't even start with that one.

If it's just a sticker it doesn't matter if anyone wears it, surely?

"well it wont harm them to wear a sign of respect to others who have died for the freedoms they enjoy"

Firstly, you know nothing about who died for THEIR freedoms 😂 please, really, don't embarrass yourself by going down that line.

Secondly what kind of argument is that though? You go on about freedom, and then seem to insist they just wear it? How bizarre!

Keep your energy to fight the big and necessary stuff.

Wait til the shirts are sponsored by Coke or McDonalds…

No, it’s simply ignorant to not understand why some people living in the UK wouldn’t want to wear one.

There’s an awful lot of history in these islands that is being wilfully overlooked by some in this thread.

Exactly... it's just a sticker... why is everyone getting so hysterical about how important it is to wear the sticker, and demanding others just do it.

When you have kids, it's all necessary

If she didn't care, I wouldn't bother.

Exactly, I studied both world wars extensively, and I have tons of empathy for those who were caught up in it all, but I've never worn a poppy. Doesn't mean I'm ignorant or disrespectful or anything of the sort. My reasons are my own, and that's fine.

Suck it up? Are you serious? And you talk of freedom?

Unbelievable.

Being respectful of others surely also means the recognition that not everyone will share your opinion?

You mean the companies that sponsor major sporting events like Wimbledon, the Football and Rugby Cups, the Olympics, etc?

Few complaints about them sponsoring those events.

From what you have said, the team are not demanding that your child wears the poppy, they are just offering it to your child.

If you or your child feels strongly about wearing it, just say no. This is your right, as you have pointed out.

What is it that you actually want? Presumably if your child is old enough to have an opinion about wearing it, then they are also old enough to say no thank-you?

Making it the default can make the kids who say no stand out, and it doesn't always go down well as you can see reading this thread.

Respecting other people means recognising that they won’t always share your opinions, and that’s ok.

I can't think of any reasons why someone would/should refuse. It's like saying you don't want to support anti-racism campaigns.

Ok but poppies are for anyone who has died in service, not just the World Wars.

That would be the answer to your question in your previous post!

It’s actually not like that at.
There are several reasons someone may choose not to wear a poppy, not least being Irish or from the north and not wanting to support, particularly financially, the British armed forces.

Yes, I know that and didn't say any different? I was just pointing out that you can have empathy for the people involved and not wear a poppy.

The money raised by poppies doesn't go to the armed forces though, it goes to veterans.

I was a service child so I feel really strongly about poppies (and always will).