To remind you all of this BEFORE the Poppy becomes a divisive symbol

[OneAmusedShark]

That in the First and Second World Wars, literally hundreds as thousands of black and Asian people fought for Britain.

They answered the call, as volunteers, to fight in the trenches side by side with white British soldiers.

Soldiers from Africa, the Caribbean and what is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs…
they all did their bit.

Winston Churchill is on record praising them. He said “The bravery of Indian soldiers, both Hindu and Muslim, is unparalleled in the history of warfare”,

Don’t forget also the Eastern Europeans who fought the Nazis alongside us,
especially the Polish airmen.

And remember this, when the Americans came over with their segregated units,
and tried to impose segregation in local pubs and cafes near where they were stationed, Churchill refused to assist them.

Remember the Battle of Bamber Bridge where white US military police tried to stop black troops from drinking in certain pubs, and the local British population sided with the black troops.

So if you’re white British, next time you see someone of African, Caribbean or Asian heritage, just remember that their Grandfather or Great Grandfather or Great Great Grandfather may have fought alongside yours in WW1 or WW2.

When we wear the Poppy,
we remember ALL of them and give thanks for their sacrifice.

It’s a shame people are happy to let it become ‘a signal of the right ring’ rather than keep it as intended. Bit like the Union Jack. The more people go on about it being right wing, the more it becomes so. It’s pathetic and lacking in any foresight whatsoever.

That’s a bit rude.

Well how do you propose we stop it then? Because it is what it is. Whether you like it or not.

Many many people now associate it with the Far Right. It’s not ‘pathetic’ it’s social commentary on what’s actually happening.

What a weird post.

Anyway I find the only thing divisive are the Poppy Fascists who get riled up at people not wearing one.

Good thing about Australia when I lived there was how reasonable they were about the whole poppy wearing.

I think a fair few don’t. I remember when Laurence Fox (I know, probably a poor example) whined about it being “woke” that a World War II drama featured an Indian soldier.

Not really. The number of MNers I’ve seen over the years showing their ignorance of things like the Holocaust and blaming that on what they did or didn’t learn at school. That’s just unacceptable ignorance in an adult. Libraries are free for all. Plenty of documentaries on TV. Facts and figures at your fingertips on the phone being used right now.

Ignorance is a choice for the majority.

3 out of 4 who voted thought it wasn’t unreasonable to remind everyone of this.

Freedom not to wear a poppy...I think not

www.dailymail.co.uk/tv/article-15256493/itv-backlash-gmb-poppy-kevin-mcguire-charlene-white.html

You do realise that Irish people also fought in the wars, do you not?

Yes indeed.

Google 'Royal British Legion Cash reserves'

then google 'homeless UK veterans'

something's not right, for sure

Unlikely to want to support present-day British Army personnel though, which is what you are doing when you purchase a poppy.
ETA if you could do the remembrance part without the supporting the British forces part, there wouldn’t be any issue.

You are remembering the dead and why/ how they died. We are in danger of giving the corporate sector the right to define everything when it is just the vehicle for things - I know it boils down to money on one level but that’s not the only level we live on. We do it for the people in society who have lost others, too so they don’t feel it was in vain. Might seem sentimental or disingenuous to some but to others it really is important- if you are Irish you have the months mind which serves a similar purpose doesn’t it? To remember someone once they are gone? Of course, it’s a personal thing but as the soldiers died collectively for the country it’s commemorated collectively with the poppy.

I do not think the poppy is a symbol of war at all. It is a symbol of respect and honour for those who served their country. I am ethnically Indian. I had one uncle who died serving in the British army and a great grandfather executed by the Japanese for feeding the British on their retreat in Malaya. I am proud to have volunteered for poppy collections in the past and will do again when I have time.

Certainly. Let me point out that this is not the ‘Gotcha’ you clearly think it is.

In the case of the surviving two of my four great uncles who fought in WWI (two died on the Somme), two had the pleasure of watching their home city centre burned to the ground and looted by British army forces, many of whom were WWI veterans, only two years after the armistice.

In the case of my great uncle John, who lived to be a very old man, he also lived to see a British army regiment firing on unarmed civilians as they were running away, on a civil rights march in Derry on Bloody Sunday. It is probably fortunate he didn’t live long enough to see that they got away with it, despite the justice system (eventually) concluding that they did not believe themselves under threat, and that they knew their targets were unarmed.

He would have thought an Irish person wearing a poppy was deluded.

There was no shortage of British military atrocities in Ireland, so many Irish people wouldn't wear one. Their own relatives may have been in the war (as were mine), but the poppy doesn't distinguish between them.

Its well known in forces circles that many charities like to take in money far more than they like dishing it out 😉

@BreadandCircus a fair point, albeit a tad one-sided 😉

Do you have evidence of these events OP or it is just hearsay?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2e89eqnvo

We will remember them!

I think many people don't know this OP. I'm well aware because my father was a medic in the war and worked alongside Sikhs, Muslims and people from the Caribbean. Each year I attend a memorial service for different nationalities that fought and died in the war. On Tuesday I will be attending a Sikh service that I have graciously been invited to.

The poppy was choosen as the symbol of remeberance as it was the first thing to grow again on the battlefields of World War 1. It was a World War; by definition it involved and affected peoples from around the world. It commemorates in order that we never forget the horrors of war and aim not to allow it to happen again. Which is of course divisive only if you are a warmongerer.

I wear one to remember my grandfather who fought, and survived, WW1. The horror he must have seen as a teenager and young man, I can't comprehend. Even harder to comprehend is how he went on to lead a good, honest and happy life.

Trying to make the poppy divisive is a miserable reflection on those who attempt to stir up outrage for a symbol that is intended to be a reminder of how precious peace is. Lest we forget.

After seeing some of the absolutely outrageous comments on social media this week I think this year will be my last year wearing one. I will always remember them but I don’t want to be associated with that sort of person.

Ridiculous posts like this make the poppy divisive. Who ever said that the poppy represents white soldiers? No one Iknow . It is just a way of remembering ALL those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UrH6eekWBEM

This sort of thing needs to be rolled out much more widely.

Are you going to address the point of what the poppy has gone on to represent - a general support for armed forces even when we have been the aggressor and a symbol of military endorsement?