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.remembrance. - 11/8/2007 5:28:25 AM

RCdc

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Remembrance day is upon us and I have held a couple of conversations with people about wearing a poppy. My couple of questions (which came up) are -

Do you believe that you are made to feel guilty if you do not wear one?
Do you feel it is inappropriate to wear and sell a poppy in schools - since most do not allow religious articles or jewellery?
Do you feel as though you are making a statement by purposefully not purchasing or wearing a poppy?

I have one friend states that it is more a personal thing than making a public statement, so if she donates - it is like publically announcing it.

And yes, I do wear a poppy. I do so to support those that gave their lives and to contribute to their families who are often forgotten by the MOD and live in poverty, or struggle in everyday life.
the.dark.

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/8/2007 5:44:18 AM

meatcleaver

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I always buy a poppy, several in fact, I find it difficult to walk past a poppy seller and not put money in the box. Remembering soldiers and paying towards those that are in need is not approving of the wars the stupid politicians had them fight in. Of course I never knew them but I had four family members killed in WWII and three in WWI so like many people, its a personal thing.

My great uncle who fought all the way through WWI said 'We should have turned round and shot the bastards that sent us to war.' a sentiment I approve of. Wars aren't the fault of the troops and they shouldn't be condemned but remembered for their bravery (even though my great uncle said they were all stupid, including himself). It is the politicians that should be condemned.

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/8/2007 6:22:01 AM

Celeste43

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Poppies aren't religious. If I see someone selling them, then I buy one. Usually I wind them on the antenna of the car so I can find it again in a mall lot easily. But I've never gotten hassled for either wearing or not wearing them which is as it should be. Freedom of choice.

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/8/2007 6:29:21 AM

RCdc

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Celeste43

Poppies aren't religious.

Yes - they aren't religious. However, in this current climate where schools are suspending or expelling children for wearing jewellery or religious symbols because of conformity, uniformity or health and safety reasons, does anyone question why a poppy is deemed as acceptable and offered in schools, or have teachers wearing them?

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/8/2007 5:42:03 PM

ownedgirlie

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I'll answer No to all three of your questions. People should do what they're comfortable doing. I remember having spent night after night in my Dad's hospital room as he was dying of cancer, and then some schmuck at work got on my case for not wearing some rubberish (as opposed to rubbish) cancer bracelet. In this Freedom of Choice country, we have a choice as to what we support and how (within limitations, of course).

Buy a poppy or not. Not everything is a statement, in my opinion. Personally, California Poppies remind me of my grandmother who passed just a few years ago. When we were kids she'd take us up on the hills in the Bay Area peninsula, and plant poppies along the hillsides. Whenever I see them, I think of her :)

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/8/2007 5:57:42 PM

twistedwillow

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No, I don't feel pressured to wear a poppy ( or other rememberance items ) or made to feel guilty for not doing so.
No, I don't think its inappropriate to wear them at school, I believe our ( in my case Australian )school children need to learn and understand what rememberance is, and appreciate what our diggers did for us.
No statements made, I don't do it to make a statement I do it support those who supported us with their lives.

And just for the record I do not buy poppies or anzac pins or any such, instead I donate the cost of the item to the seller, ever since I found out that for say every 2 dollar poppy you buy the veterans only get about 5 or 10 cents from it ... the rest goes to the supplier. I prefer my money to go the veterans, every last cent of it.

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/9/2007 3:27:15 AM

LadyEllen

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I always end up buying a half dozen this time of year - mainly because I keep losing them, but hey whats a few quid? How I feel when I have lost one is similar to how it must feel to suddenly realise, half way down the street, that one has no clothes on.

Poppies in schools are a must - and they should go along with a school remembrance ceremony and accompanying lessons about the whole thing so that kids get to learn from an early age why our world is as it is and why their lives are as they are. I see no reasons in this for any ethnicity or religion to get upset about it (so long as we discard the Christian overtones), since certainly in the two world wars, all religions and ethnicities took part through the Empire in our cause. And I see no reason for anyone to require exemption either for moral grounds - it is not a celebration of war (which would be a disgusting spectacle) but a remembrance of those who fell - even the most conscientious of objectors could surely take part in remembrance of those who died to make the world where they can object?

As for purposely making a statement by not buying or wearing a poppy - yes, I can see that - the problem being though, that very few are going to ever get to hear what that statement is, and most are as a result going to assume ignorance rather than some alternative means of marking the time. I also think that this is one time of the year when we can all take part regardless of affiliations and beliefs - and that is important too, to showing that despite all our divisions we are one.

E

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RE: .remembrance. - 11/9/2007 8:11:20 AM

Goddess20

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I always buy a poppy, ALWAYS! And if I didnt I would feel terrible.

And where I work in vanilla land (depending on my shift, day or night) I tend to raise money, with the boxes. I was getting people to put their pound coins in, £5ers, £10ers for a lil paper poppy. the end of the day we opened it up, naughty I know, in 10 hours I raised over £1000 for doing nothing but smiling sweetly at this great british public.

The best thing was me and another woman kinda went into competion to see who made the most in a day, she made less than £100. I was so proud I won, lol!

But the point is it shows how britain wants to remember and support the vets that fought for us, so yes schools should be allowing kids to wear them, work places should allow them to be worn and (if they want to) should get a few of the boxes and sell them too.

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