Poppy Middle Class Death Cult

The_Valeyard wrote: »

MeatTwoVeg wrote: »

I don't wear symbols, but fair dues to anyone who wants to wear one in Ireland, a lot of Irish people have served in the British Army.

The Easter Lilly on the other hand is basically stating that you support terrorists and state subversives.
I'd have nothing but content for anyone I'd see wearing one. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be a thing here, I've seen far more people wearing poppies than Lilly's.

Wha?
Lot of places in the world would view the British Army as terrorists and State subversives.

beach_walker wrote: »

sondagefaux wrote: »

Looks like FIFA isn't going to back down on England and Scotland wearing poppies judging by this decision against the Republic of Ireland:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/fifa-charge-fai-for-wearing-1916-commemoration-jersey-35188038.html

It looks like England and Scotland are going ahead with it anyway

The Football Associations of England and Scotland say they will defy a ban on players wearing poppies when the teams meet on Armistice Day.The FAs will let players wear black armbands with poppy emblems and are willing to accept any punishment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37853386

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I have worn the poppy because I had Irish relatives who died and were injured in WW1 and WW2, but if anyone ever mentions to me that they disapprove of it, I tell them that I wear it to commemorate those events alone, and not in any way as a general statement of support for the British army's activities before or after 1914-1945.

I wish the poppy were officially confined to the two major wars of the 20th century, instead of pertaining more generally to the actions of the British army, which are frequently monstrous, and belligerent, and are perhaps even illegal. If there were an alternative symbol I would probably wear that.

[font=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]What do White Poppies stand for?[/font]

White Poppies are worn in the run-up to Remembrance Day every year by thousands of people in the UK and beyond. White Poppies have been worn in this way for over eighty years. They are distributed by the Peace Pledge Union (PPU).

There are three elements to the meaning of White Poppies: they represent remembrance for all victims of war, a commitment to peace and a challenge to attempts to glamourise or celebrate war.
...

We want to remember British military dead, but they are not the only victims of war. We also remember, for example, civilians killed in the bombings of London, Coventry and Belfast, and in the bombings of Dresden, Hiroshima, Baghdad and Kabul.

[font=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Stand up for peace

White Poppies symbolise the conviction that there are better ways to resolve conflict than through the use of violence. They embody values that reject killing fellow human beings for whatever reason. Nearly 100 years after the end of the war to end all wars we still have a long way to go to put an end to a social institution that even in the last decade has contributed to the killing of millions.[/font]
From economic reliance on arms sales to renewing and updating all types of weapons, the UK government contributes significantly to international instability. The outcome of recent military adventures highlights their ineffectiveness and grim consequences.
The best way to respect the victims of war is to work to prevent war in the present and future. Violence only begets more violence. We need to tackle the underlying causes of warfare, such as poverty, inequality and competition over resources. A temporary absence of violence is not enough. Peace is much deeper and broader than that, requiring major social changes to allow us to live more co-operatively.
[font=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]
Challenge militarism

A message originally associated with Remembrance Day, after the first world war, was never again . This message slipped away. In response, White Poppies were developed in 1933 by the Co-operative Women's Guild to affirm the message of no more war .
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Many of the activities around Remembrance Day are detached from any meaningful attempt to learn the lessons of war. Arms companies allow their staff to pause work for the two minutes' silence. Politicians who plough billions into nuclear weapons lay wreaths at the cenotaph. Arms dealers sponsor Remembrance events even while their work makes war more likely.

In 2014 for example, the British Legion Young Professionals' ball was sponsored by Lockheed Martin, one of the world's largest arms companies. Lockheed Martin plays a major role in manufacturing the Trident nuclear weapons system. Each Trident missile is capable of killing far more people than the 888,000 people represented by the Red Poppies that were displayed at the Tower of London at the time.

Working for peace is the natural consequence of remembering the victims of war. If, for example, we were remembering the victims of road accidents, we might well do so by working to prevent further road accidents. This logic, which would apply in other areas of life, is rejected by those who seek to misuse Remembrance Day to promote militarist values that only make war more likely.

Read Frequently Asked Questions - and answers - about White Poppies.