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.

The OP is asking exactly that! She is asking that people who don't observe the silence to stay home, just so that her performance of the silence is respected.

She could try sticking her fingers in her ears and closing her eyes for two minutes if it matters that much to her; or even going somewhere like a cenotaph ceremony where she can properly contemplate the war dead,'s sacrifice for more than two minutes AND have the two minutes' silence she demands. But that would probably inconvenience her more than she thinks the war dead are worth.

They're probably just carrying on with everyday life in everyday settings, not making a point at all. Unlike those standing around for two minutes in front of Zara trying to think hard about the war dead.

The OP (as I have said several times on this thread) is unreasonable to ask any such thing, because anybody with enough respect for others to stay at home on Remembrance Day could far more easily just refrain from making noise for two measly minutes. If they can't do that then we have to accept that they don't have respect for others and will just do whatever the fuck they want, like people who make loud shouty phone calls in the quiet carriage.

If the OP happens to be working on the till in a shop at the relevant time then she can't do any of the things you are helpfully suggesting.

Fine, don't maintain the silence but at least have the manners to accept those who do. Are those people exercising their 'fought for freedom of choice' so entitled that they expect to be served during the silence?

Yea gods, thank you!
If those pompous poppy fascists actually cared about results and not performance, they could have channelled all that energy they spent into bulling TV presenters into wearing poppies into lobbying for proper pensions and healthcare provisions for ex-soldiers instead.

I don’t think it hurts anyone to give a couple of minutes thought to those that sacrificed so much. 🙂

Not everyone who chooses to wear a poppy or observe a two minutes silence is a 'pompous poppy fascist' FFS. I choose to do both and respect the right of other people not to. That's respect doesn't seem to work both ways unfortunately.

The OP can, then, on her lunch break, go to a cemetary or cenotaph and have her own personal two minutes of contemplation. If she can be bothered. It doesn't have to be programmatic.

Or the OP can observe the silence at 11am along with everyone else and entitled twats can realise that the world doesn't revolve around them. How hard is it to wait for 2 minutes FFS?

People are talking about it being performative, but if that’s how you look at it then anything and everything is performative…

why have attend a funeral? You can say goodby quietly on your own. The person is dead, they won’t know if you are there.

Why sing happy birthday? It’s too performative, you can just say happy birthday privately if you really want to.

It wouldn’t kill people, no. However British armed forces have killed innocent civilians, hence why a few people on this thread are relentlessly trying to get their point across.

If it’s not something your family has experienced, or something you don’t know much about, that’s fine. However don’t expect other people, whose lives have been impacted in one way or another, to make sure they don’t interrupt your silence in a public setting.

This.

It is the people wanting to stand stock still to 'observe' who are imposing on others. Be careful with your use of 'entitled twats' because again, that door swings both ways.

You may not agree with those who won't conform but unless we're preventing you from doing what you want, kindly extend the courtesy. We don't want or need your eye-rolling, or 'blocking' us from getting to shelves or any number of the disrespectful things that you (general, not aimed at you) do to express your displeasure. Get on with your two minute devotion and leave everybody else alone.

Well, the OP is entitled enough to suggest everyone who doesn't observe ahould stay home. If itvreally means so much to her to have her two minutes at 11/11/11, all she gas to do is sray home. But no, let the world bend around her.

Which I disagree with. People shouldn't have to stay at home, but they should understand that there will be people observing the silence and they may not be served during that time.

My grandfather parachuted out of a burning plane and spent the rest of the war in a Nazi prison camp because he thought it was important to defeat Hitler.

If I want to observe the two minutes' silence to remember him then I will, and anyone disturbing me during that time will get very short and very public shrift from me at 11:02.

Get your point across some other time.

Her suggestion is directed at people who are incapable of shutting the fuck up for two minutes.

Unfortunately they won't stay home for the same reason they won't STFU for two minutes.

But it can't work both ways. If I'm working in a shop and observe the 2 minutes silence I'm not going to serve anyone for those 2 minutes. Many people seem to think that it's not acceptable to have to wait (which is why I referred to them as 'entitled twats' as waiting appears to be beneath them).

Ok and as I’ve said on this very thread I don’t think anyone would have an issue with the silence if it was for WW1 and 2 veterans.

It’s not up to you, or anyone else, when I get my point across.

Will you give short shift to family members of those executed by the British Armed Forces on Bloody Sunday!

They could be right next to you!
Take a thought before you assume we all love the British Forces.

I don’t observe the silence, but I respect the fact that other people do. For instance, I wouldn’t demand to be served if the person serving was observing the silence. I’d just wait quietly with my own thoughts.

I’m really not that bothered about some random persons opinion of me, especially if they use terms like “epic twat” as insults 😂

People are talking about it being performative,^

But for me being performative was the BBC dishing out poppies to an audience. If every single one of them had put their £ in a British Legion tin and bought one, and thought about what they were doing, I would have had no problem. It was just turning it into a costume prop which annoyed me and to me showed a lack of respect.

But I do now think we have almost forgotten what people went through in WW1 and 2 and in politician's minds it's become a bit of a glorification of war.

In my defence I’ve never suggested I would demand to be served etc, I wouldn’t do that during a silence or not. If I was having a conversation, I would continue.