Poppy wearing Page 2

Quote: AJGO @ November 11 2011, 2:38 PM GMT

Absolutely. And as poppies commemorate loss of life due to war since WW1, I personally don't find it smug for people to wear white poppies as a way of signifying thanks to those who fought, while at the same time mourning that there is justifiable or indeed wasteful war.

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But it is as I understand it a 'Pacifists' poppy. If we were pacifists we'd all have a greater knowledge of the German language right now. Not all wars are wrong and we may need to fight one's in the future. It says on their site that they believe there is a better way to solve conflicts than wars. Sometimes not I'm afraid.

I've been wearing a puppy on my chest all day.

My shirt is covered in dog shit and I've been punched 3 times.

I'd be interested to know their other ways .As much as we'd all like, I don't see the day when everyone sits down with a cup of tea and talks about their "disagreements" like grownups.

I've not heard of the white poppy before now and I have to say I'm not sure I understand why they wear them. I don't think the red ones glorify war. As mentioned not all wars are wrong but I think most people would agree that in a perfect world we wouldn't have any. Whether the war is justified or not, it is still sad that people die.

We don't really do the poppy thing over here. I think we tend to show our appreciation every day -- just go to an airport and see the applause, seat upgrades and free meals/drinks that uniformed troops receive.

That said, I've already been thanked 7 times today for my service and it's only 9:30 in the morning.

Quote: DaButt @ November 11 2011, 3:29 PM GMT

We don't really do the poppy thing over here. I think we tend to show our appreciation every day

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Gosh, it's amazing how America is better than Britain in every single way, isn't it?

You're definitely superior in smartass comments.

Hehe.

Quote: reds @ November 11 2011, 3:18 PM GMT

I don't see the day when everyone sits down with a cup of tea and talks about their "disagreements" like grownups.

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Things could change as a result of the advances in communications. We've already seen how Arab revolutions have been organised using things like mobile phones, who knows what else might happen? What if soldiers of opposing sides got together online and decided not to fight despite their orders? If enough of them did it, what could the generals do? Just as likely there would be different sorts of war, maybe with fighting between PC & Apple-users.

Quote: Nogget @ November 11 2011, 2:53 PM GMT

Ultimately, you cannot judge what a person thinks just by the colour of the poppy they wear.

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Actually you can. Especially if it was the eejit who spouted such sanctimous claptrap on R5 breakfast show this week.

However, I went to Trafalgar Square today. Bit bored through the Strictly Dancers, no idea who the pretty blonde bloke was (something to do with Downtown I was told afterwards), frothed at the mouth along with many of service personnel at the message from Comedy Dave as to how much we should value the armed forces (Yeah right. Reinstate the cuts and let us have our aircraft carriers back. Stop the redundancies...Sorry), but the point of it was two minutes to reflect. A mere 120 seconds to say thanks to those aren't here anymore and shake a few hands of the veterans who were there. It's incredibly powerful when London stops. Not just people but traffic comes to a halt.
And I will do it all over again on Remembrance Sunday because whether you are a pacifist or not, we owe these people.

It's more than just poppy wearing.

We are constantly beaten over the head with how brave 'our boys' are and how we should have pride in them.

Most of us do - and always have, but the way people are made to feel guilty if you don't show admiration and respect 100% of the time sticks in my throat.

Why only recently has this started? Why not 15 years ago? Or after the Falklands War?

As a symbol of remembrance and respect I fully support poppy wearing. There will always be arses who use the occasion to promote their own skewed beliefs, they should be ignored if possible.
I bought 3 from my local butcher, no pins supplied of course because that would be tantamount to handing a small child a samurai sword and telling them to go practice their juggling.

A few years ago everyone started the 2 minute silence in Woolworths while I was part way through pouring some sweets into a pick'n'mix bag. I had to stand with a half full scoop hovering in the air, like a plonker.
It's much better being at home when it happens.

Quote: TopBanana @ November 11 2011, 5:40 PM GMT

It's more than just poppy wearing.

We are constantly beaten over the head with how brave 'our boys' are and how we should have pride in them.

Most of us do - and always have, but the way people are made to feel guilty if you don't show admiration and respect 100% of the time sticks in my throat.

Why only recently has this started? Why not 15 years ago? Or after the Falklands War?

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And how come it's taken the English football team 66 years to make a fuss ?

We make a fuss about EVERYTHING these days. Christmas lasts about 4 months; hoo ha about Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes; Easter eggs in the shops before New Year begins; hype about Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day; and they've even started bloody Grandparents' Day (don't they have their days with mothers and fathers?). Are we so sad and unhappy with everyday life that we have to have constant celebration?

You know it's taken over when The X Factor has a serving soldier on. He must have thought he was a shoo-in on sympathy grounds.

And, WTF is it with 'The Soldiers' releasing an album? It's all for charity, yeah, yeah....