If you don’t want to observe two minute silence- don’t be out

[Mokel]

Every Remembrance Sunday and Nov 11th, when I worked at retail, we did a tannoy announcement with 5 min, 2 min before to inform customers that the store will be observing the 2 min silence. Then another to start it.

Every time there were customers who kept talking. Plus one time a woman in her 50s shouted “why can’t anyone serve me some fucking fags?” Everyone just looked at her. Some had the courage to say how disrespectful she was once the silence ended.

If you are unable or refuse to observe the silence at 11am today or tomorrow, please don’t be in a public place.

Absolutely fine for a car to drive down an open road.

That's unwilling, not unable.

You make a choice to go to a funeral though don't you. You wouldn't be expecting it in a shop and I've never experienced a two minute silence in the middle of shopping to be honest.

Never heard of a driving ban at 11!

I don't think its reasonable to impose a 2 minute silence on supermarket shoppers who cannot be obligated to participate - not everyone agrees that its the right way to commemorate the sacrifices made.

What about the staff who have to work? Why do some people think they are so important that they can’t wait 2 minutes for staff to observe the silence? By all means choose not to participate, but don’t expect to be served if a member of has.

This is an absurd comment.

You can’t really enforce this on people should they choose to not participate.

Two minute silences have existed in most UK supermarkets for decades.

No, nobody can force selfish people to be unsefish, you're correct.

If people don't want to observe it that's up to them. They have the right not to. I admit I didn't today. But then they have no right to disturb the people who do want to observe it. Fag Woman had plenty of warning, she could have just carried on with her shopping or whatever until it was over or bought her fags before it started!

Through a remembrance parade?
I'd stop.and wait or avoid the area/road if I knew it was on.

and if I was in a shop I certainly wouldn’t have expected that normal service would stop or that I’d have to wait until 11:02 to be served, to be honest that just seems performative.

Well if the shop announces they're observing it and not serving for those 2 minutes, what exactly are you going to do?
It might be performative to you, but it's what's going to happen, and the shop owners/management have every right to decide that's what's going to happen, because they're the ones running it.
I suppose people could always have a 2 minute rant about shit customer service with a captive audience, or wait and then probably spend way more than two minutes winging about it to the staff 🤷🏼‍♀️

@StarSlinger agree, no issue with driving down an open road. I was surprised that someone so remembrance orientated (Poppy and England flag on the car) had missed the time to reflect with the rest of the country - particularly with the reminder of the war memorial and about 200 people around standing in silence. I guess everyone does it their own way.

Of course. The freedoms I enjoy today are because people have fought for them in the past. Not always in wars.

Bloody well said.

@DieStrassensindimmernass many cars drove through during and either side of the two minute silence. It was the poppy emblazoned one that surprised me.

Pausing for two minutes surely wouldn’t have held them up greatly.

Yes.m but your choose not to acknowledge those who did fight in wars.

I'm going to take that as a no, and that you know exactly why some in the UK lived with the potential loss of liberty and actual (not just the threat of) war. And why that means some will never take part in remeberance - whether because they lived that or because they stand with those who did.

I find it sad that any drove through tbh.

They close the road next to the war memorial here. It’s lovely, so peaceful.

"Two minute silences have existed in most UK supermarkets for decades."

It's only something I've noticed in the last maybe 6/7 years to be honest. Maybe even more recently than that

I always observe it and either attend a service or watch Remembrance Day on TV. But I hate the way it’s become performative and part of the culture wars. I don’t care if a footballer doesn’t wear it. It’s the right wing version of virtue signalling and I hate it’s been hijacked this way.

Sainsburys where my friend works - they get communications sent from HQ. They include pausing serving customers if they have a large transaction on checkout or explain to customers that won't serve until silence has ended, sign out self scans (hearing do you wish to continue in the middle of the silence is bad), turn down volume down on terminals/handsets used for food courier orders.

If any customers moans about having to wait, then they should be ashamed of themselves

Exactly this. All those posters who are waffling on about the choice to observe the silence or not would do well to remember the reason they live in a free country and enjoy that choice is entirely due to the sacrifice of the men and women who gave their lives to ensure that freedom continued. It's hardly torturous to show a bit of respect for 2 minutes.

How do you know that remembrance Sunday remembers anyone who fought to keep @EdithBond free, and not quite the opposite?