I'll begin by saying I think the Royal British Legion is a respectable charity, and the poppy appeal is immensely successful for them as a fundraising tool. I think is fair enough if people wish to wear them out and about or in their jobs (presuming its safe to) as a personal sign of remembrance. HOWEVER I am very much against the shaming of people who choose not to wear poppies. I've heard some quite vile comments flung at non poppy wearers - people calling them "disgraceful", "shameless", "dishonorable" etc...we are meant to be remembering the war and celebrating peace - how is attacking someone for their personal choice not to wear a paper poppy "honorable"? Perhaps ironically, it reminds me of the despicable actions of the white feather brigade in WW1. Also, if you turn on TV right now every single celebrity, presenter and TV contestant is adorned with a poppy prior to them being put in front of the cameras (be it on a comedy panel show, presenting the news, or sitting on a chat show). I personally think this "mandating" of poppy wear completely defeats the purpose of the poppy 1. because it is about celebrating the freedom the fallen have provided for us (having to conform is hardly a good metaphor for that freedom) and 2. because it should be a personal choice to wear the poppy (hence self-reflection) - having it stuck on by a stranger in the dressing room is meaningless. Naturally any celebrities who choose not to wear the poppy can expect to face a bit of a backlash. Sigh.
I don't wear a poppy. Not really in the mood to explain why not, but suffice it to say I agree with you.
For me wearing a poppy is about showing my respect for those who have served to give us freedom. Heck, my aunt (now retired) was in the military. I've been wearing a poppy since the day after the Ottawa shooting.
Well that is your personal view and thats fine. Its when people begin conflating that wearing the poppy = respectful, and not wearing the poppy therefore = disrespectful that problems arise. The fact is a non-poppy wearer can be just as respectful to the soldiers of the past as a poppy wearer, even more so. Particularly if the poppy wearer has just been forced to wear one for a TV appearance with no time or desire to think about its meaning.
I have a poppy on my jacket, but I don't wear my jacket all the time, obviously, and people keep saying "why don't you have a poppy", which annoys me, because I do :/ It's getting a little out of hand if I'm honest. So what if I'm not wearing a poppy? It doesn't mean I don't respect those who lost their lives.
Every time I've tried to wear a poppy its ended up falling off within about 5 minutes anyway. My mother told me she was thinking of buying one the other day but the people selling them were in conversation with each other making racist/generally offensive comments so she was put off.
I don't wear a poppy, pray, participate in silences, or even wear purple specifically on a certain day. Okay, that stuff might raise awareness(?), but I'm just as determined to solve problems as most people. It should be a choice to wear poppies. Not an obligation. I have no problem with other people wearing poppies, as long as they don't judge me for not wearing one, because they're judging a book by its cover. Yeah, I agree with what you said about people on TV
Many in Canada wear the poppy, but there is no social pressure to do so, and if any of our celebrities are seen to not wear one, I haven't heard of any backlash (although I would be surprised if our Prime Minister and other government figures didn't wear it). I do wear the poppy, but I also try to recite by heart (every year I forget a few lines) that haunting poem, In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae, a Canadian doctor who treated soldiers on the Western Front during World War I. In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. All of us owe a debt to those that died, and also to those who survived and who live with us still. How we express it should not be a cause for further controversy, and I think we are sensible enough here to know that.
I don't understand why people don't wear poppies. I see people out and about who aren't wearing them, but I have never properly known someone who doesn't wear them. I wear a poppy and fully support the Royal British Legion, our veterans and somewhat similar charities like Help For Heroes and Hounds For Heroes. This time of year makes me feel like my insides are being pulled on. I have lost loved ones to war, and I support the men and women in our military in every way I can, not just wearing a poppy because it is politically correct to do so.
Yeah. They died fighting for our freedom, and not so we could be forced to wear these stupid, meaningless, bits of paper every year. Forcing me to wear them is disrespecting them more than not wearing a bit of paper. Plus, very few people wear them out of respect, more out of conformity, which is why I say that they're meaningless.
What exactly don't you understand? How a person can fail to buy a charity poppy? How they can possibly be inwardly reflective without wearing an external adornment? Ultimately people choose not to wear them for a number of reasons. This is exactly the sort of thought process I was describing. At the end of the day its a cheap bit of plastic and paper which usually ends up in a landfill post-November. Its not exactly like failing to wear one makes you a Neo-Nazi. I think there is definitely a peer pressure/conformity element involved in many cases, or people wearing them as a form of "self-promotion" (as its a visible sign that you've given to charity). Contrary to popular belief not all poppy wearers wear them for honest reasons.
Well done! I always wear a poppy, and I wear it with great pride, as do most of my friends. How can I not have the utmost respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom I have today?
I kind of like the use of poppies. In the US, they have a similar "patriotism test" with flag lapel pins. You always see President Obama with one because the Republicans are quick to give him flak that he's unpatriotic.
I may try to do that. The poem is very strong, and I've visited the place where it was written, which makes me feel a tad stronger about it. I guess that would work.
Isn't it a bit like doing the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, except it's been going on for much longer? It's for a great cause, and buying poppies raises a lot of money for the British Legion (or other charities outside the UK,) but I agree that it's just as much about wearing the poppy as supporting a charity and remembering those people who died in WWI. There's nothing wrong with buying a poppy and not wearing it, and, let's be honest, there's nothing wrong with not buying a poppy at all.
I try to wear a poppy becase I think it is very important to wear a poppy I most of the time can't becase 1. I self harm and having a sharp pointy thing on my clothes in normaly a bad thing and 2. Wenever I get a poppy it always falls off e mis later and I can never find it after that D:<
Agreed. The poppy itself doesn't make the individual respectful or disrespectful, it's the individual themselves.
