white poppys?

[fluffles]

i like the idea of a white poppy for peace but i want to check - does the british legion or service soldiers find them offensive?

i would like to remember all victims of war and make a statement for peace but i don't want to offend the current or past forces.

can somebody let me know?

thanks.

p.s. see www.whitepoppy.org.uk/ for more info...

Don't

service soldiers???

sorry, that was supposed to be either serving soldiers or service personnel - came out as a combo of both!

Don't.

The red poppy does not glorify war or any other such claptrap - it merely reminds us of the sacrifice made by serving personnel.

If you are worried, why not wear both red and white? I've seen that last year and liked the idea

Don't - the red poppy just recalls the poppies in Flanders where so many died in the Great War.

What makes you think the HM Forces don't want peace anyway? They don't glorify war - they know how unpleasant and inglorious it is.

I'm not in the services but I don't like white poppys. A poppy is about remembrance, not making a political statement.

What Ewe said... and everyone else who said don't.

It's a red poppy - or none at all.

The act of remembrance is used every year to legitimise war though (not glorify), by reminding us of those who died to protect our freedom,which somehow blurs with those who are risking their lives right now to protect American oil interests.
I dont wear red poppies any more. Have never worn a white one either.

This is a bloody rubbish idea imho

nighbypnight - what a very uneducated view.

I like white poppies, and wear one. I too think red poppies are part of the glorification and legitimisation of war. I can support charities for ex-servicemen and women without wearing a symbol that reveres war.

Also, if I were someone from the forces I would find it insulting that the fund is named after the incompetent General "Butcher of the Somme" Haig responsible for so many needless deaths. Explain what is so "uneducated" about that please?

I was making reference to American Oil Interests by nilbymouth.

Hurling insults is a sign of being uneducated, I would say, as is mangling peoples's names.

Uneducated because it is a one sided opinion and this topic is not about opinion.
Poppies are about the loss of life during the Great War (and subsequent others). To say it is part of the glorification and legitimisation of war or anything to do with Haige is uneducated in that you are saying that they died for nothing - that their deaths were a waste. I'm sure their families would thank you for that. Who cares about your opinion of war - this is about men who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country - real men, with families who believe their son/father/uncle/grandad has done something noble - and are allowed to grieve with pride and honour - not needing whinging gits, with no experience,spouting about their poxy beliefs.

Oh goodness me. I am entitled to get pissed of with generalisations/personal opinions.

Wear a red poppy for the reason it is meant to be worn - if you wish.

If you don't - don't wear one.

Well I am afraid I do think it is a simplistic argument to suggest that wearing a red poopy glorifies war.

General Haig did lose more men than perhaps was necessary to acheive the objective, but it is absoloutely certain that whoever had been in charge WWI would have seen human carnage on a scale unimaginable to us. History has been a harsh judge and it is only now when some of the documentation is finally being released after being held subject to the official secrets act that Haig can truly be analysed. And in present day terms his reputation is being restored - at least amongst historical scholars.

As to the poppy glorifying war - the poppy as a symbol of human sacrifice has been with us for eons, certainly documented since the time of the Napleonic war.

The present day popularity of the poppy as a symbol of rememberance was stirred by the WWI poem 'In Flanders Field.'

A response that was made by an american poet sums up why the wearing of the poppy does nothing to glorify war and indeed seeks to remember the sacrifice of young lives and to try and ensure those memories mean that we honour their sacrifice by living in peace.

Fear not that ye have died for naught.
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom?s light shall never die!
We?ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders? fields.

Of course you could argue that we have not learnt the lessons of Flanders Field and in that case we are now in more dire need of of the true symbolic meaning of the poppy than ever before. I wear mine with pride.

Or even wearing a red 'poppy'

Yes, opinions do tend to be one-sided. That's just a long-winded way of saying that you don't agree.

Look at the next remembrance day, you'll see small allusions to recent conflicts that are NOT about defending our country. You cannot pretend that these don't exist.
By mixing these in with the story of people who did die to defend their country, the government is legitimising all their wars. There is nothing uneducated about understanding that. But it sounds good to throw the word around, doesn't it.

So you don't view Al Qaeda as a threat to the West?

Urm. We are still defending our country! Afghanistan is very real war, that needs to be won.

x posts. Can't type quickly when eating a bowl of cornflakes!

British Forces are not autonomous.

British Forces choose to serve their country.

Their country democratically elects a Government.

That Government is given the power to make unilateral decisions about the deployment of our Forces.

The Forces go, they die and get maimed, they serve their country.

Their country should honour their sacrifice.

Their country do not agree with what the Government did in their name.

The country elect a different Governemnt.

Re teh poppy glamourising war: I think that when you stir people's emotions, you are pulling them away from logical thought. The government certainly uses poppy day to push the legend of the heroic soldier. Once our emotions have been stirred in this direction, it becomes impossible to criticise what the heroic soldier is doing today. In other words, it becomes harder to criticise the government, because by doing so we are "undermining the morale" of the heroic soldiers.

h - nope. I dont. And we all know that we will never win in Afghanistan.
And if everyone supports the action there, we'll be waiting until the cows come home before the soldiers do.