To wear a poppy ? that is the question

R.Dub.Fusilier · 26-10-2009 05:32PM #1

That time of the year is coming around again and similar questions have been asked already but , would you wear a poppy ?

I think we should remember our fallen and those who died in WW1 etc but is it right for an Irish man to wear a poppy. The poppy is a good idea to remember dead soldiers , if you are British or living in Britain . But being Irish imo its not such a good idea.

If the poppy was confined to remembering the dead of WW1 it would be easier for an Irish man to wear one but as it take in all killed in various conflicts since then it becomes a problem to wear one. I don’t have a problem with anyone wearing one and as the years go by more people on the streets are wearing them.

While we should not forget what has happened to our country and people at the hands of various English/British governments we should not forget our dead who died in battle wearing the uniform of the British army.

I would not wear one myself , but I would wear a badge , if there was one, to remember our WW1 war dead and those who fought in that conflict. I have and do wear a Lilly to remember those who died in 1916 , War of Independence for our Freedom .

Should we have a version of the poppy or similar to wear once a year ?

Huggles · 26-10-2009 05:35PM

Well funnily enough your username caught my attention.

My Great Grandad was in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and he died in the Somme.

I will be wearing a Poppy.

goldie fish · 26-10-2009 07:18PM

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

I would not wear one myself , but I would wear a badge , if there was one, to remember our WW1 war dead and those who fought in that conflict. I have and do wear a Lilly to remember those who died in 1916 , War of Independence for our Freedom.

Pin or "stickie"?:cool:

R.Dub.Fusilier · 26-10-2009 10:19PM

goldie fish wrote: »

Pin or "stickie"?:cool:

gizmo555 · 27-10-2009 11:50AM

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

If the poppy was confined to remembering the dead of WW1 it would be easier for an Irish man to wear one but as it take in all killed in various conflicts since then it becomes a problem to wear one.

I agree - while on a personal level I would have every sympathy with soldiers killed and wounded, say, in Iraq, on a governmental level the UK's involvement in that war was a mad criminal adventure.

Also, the purpose of the Poppy appeal is to raise funds for the British Legion to do work which the UK government ought to be doing itself. Instead, it does everything in its power to minimise the compensation it pays to injured British soldiers:

The MoD provoked uproar among veterans and their families this year when it argued that compensation must be payable only for the initial injury, and not for any future disabilities resulting from appropriate medical treatment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/12/uk-court-soldiers-compensation

LordSutch · 27-10-2009 02:15PM

gizmo555 wrote: »

Also, the purpose of the Poppy appeal is to raise funds for the British Legion to do work which the UK government ought to be doing itself. Instead, it does everything in its power to minimise the compensation it pays to injured British soldiers:

Yes indeed, but did you know that all procedes collected through the sale of poppies in the 'Republic of Ireland' are kept within the Republic, for the widows & families of war veterans in the Republic of Ireland only > any annual shortfall is topped up by RBL (UK).

P.S. I will be wearing my Poppy this year, as I do every year around this time.

McArmalite · 27-10-2009 05:50PM

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

That time of the year is coming around again and similar questions have been asked already but , would you wear a poppy ?

I think we should remember our fallen and those who died in WW1 etc but is it right for an Irish man to wear a poppy. The poppy is a good idea to remember dead soldiers , if you are British or living in Britain . But being Irish imo its not such a good idea.

If the poppy was confined to remembering the dead of WW1 it would be easier for an Irish man to wear one but as it take in all killed in various conflicts since then it becomes a problem to wear one. I don’t have a problem with anyone wearing one and as the years go by more people on the streets are wearing them.

While we should not forget what has happened to our country and people at the hands of various English/British governments we should not forget our dead who died in battle wearing the uniform of the British army.

I would not wear one myself , but I would wear a badge , if there was one, to remember our WW1 war dead and those who fought in that conflict. I have and do wear a Lilly to remember those who died in 1916 , War of Independence for our Freedom .

Should we have a version of the poppy or similar to wear once a year ?

I remember reading someone suggesting we should have a green poppy of our own and the money collected going to innocent victims of conflict around the world.

R.Dub.Fusilier · 27-10-2009 07:23PM

McArmalite wrote: »

I remember reading someone suggesting we should have a green poppy of our own and the money collected going to innocent victims of conflict around the world.

if money was raised for such a thing why give the money to other people? if money was raised why shoudn't it used to help our own poor or old people?

R.Dub.Fusilier · 27-10-2009 07:28PM

Camelot wrote: »

Yes indeed, but did you know that all procedes collected through the sale of poppies in the 'Republic of Ireland' are kept within the Republic, for the widows & families of war veterans in the Republic of Ireland only > any annual shortfall is topped up by RBL (UK).

the father of my sisters husband served in the RAF during WWII and had a large family and when he found things hard (he worked hard all his life) or when children were in hospital he was helped by the BL.

McArmalite · 27-10-2009 07:42PM

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

if money was raised for such a thing why give the money to other people? if money was raised why shoudn't it used to help our own poor or old people?

I suppose you have a point there on giving the money to our own, but what do you think of having a green poppy ?

R.Dub.Fusilier · 27-10-2009 07:56PM

McArmalite wrote: »

I suppose you have a point there on giving the money to our own, but what do you think of having a green poppy ?

the idea of the red poppy was , as far as i know, that it grew on the battle fields and waste ground and i suppose the red for the blood. not sure about the green poppy but it could be a start .

arnhem44 · 27-10-2009 09:41PM

What about wearing a white poppy,these are used to remember all soldiers from all conflicts who fell.

LordSutch · 28-10-2009 12:04PM

arnhem44 wrote: »

What about wearing a white poppy,these are used to remember all soldiers from all conflicts who fell.

Yes, thats right, I remember when the white poppy became popular about twenty years ago (among those who oppose all wars), you don't see many white ones nowadays, but the 'Red Poppy' is worn because its the red one that grows on Flandres fields, where so many hundreds of thousands died.

I think I read somewhere that 'Sixty Thousand' allied soldiers died on one day in the poppy fields!

The scale of death really is off the wall ...............

enda1 · 28-10-2009 12:07PM

No I bloody well will not!

I disagree charity.

I am not going to glorify a gentleman's wargame between two failing kingdoms.

I hate the fake FAKE care people have towards these historical figures who died.

FiSe · 28-10-2009 01:10PM

I'll be wearing Austro-Hungarian and 3rd Reich Eagles as mine Great Grandfather fought on the Empire side during WWI and other close relative was killed in WH uniform during the 1st battle of Stalingrad...

I couldn't care less about politics, neo-nacionalism and ambitions of so called leaders.
I do respect ordinary people, who went through living hell and live the hell again and again throughout their life.
I will have a poppy as I do every year.

super_furry · 28-10-2009 01:12PM

I'll wear one to commemorate my Grand Father and to support the work of the British Legion, without whom, my father would never have been able to visit his father's grave in Imphal.

getz · 28-10-2009 01:18PM

i am wearing a poppy this year that was sent over from canada by british legion[canada] its a very dark red

mega man · 28-10-2009 01:21PM

if you are to commerorate the irish dead of world war 1, the poppy is not the answer unless you are British of course.
there should be an alternative day to commerorate the irish dead of foreign wars and a alternative symbol.
wearing the poppy in Ireland is provocative and rude in my opinion.
we are no longer a part of the british empire or the united kingdom. stop trying to make it out that we are.

mega man · 28-10-2009 01:40PM

whats the german equivalent to the poppy?

LordSutch · 28-10-2009 02:31PM

mega man wrote: »

if you are to commerorate the irish dead of world war 1, the poppy is not the answer unless you are British of course. there should be an alternative day to commerorate the irish dead of foreign wars and a alternative symbol. wearing the poppy in Ireland is provocative and rude in my opinion. we are no longer a part of the british empire or the united kingdom. stop trying to make it out that we are.

So what symbol do you suggest we wear to commerate the 60k+ (Irish Dead) from WWI & WWII ?

FiSe · 28-10-2009 02:48PM

mega man wrote: »

whats the german equivalent to the poppy?

Swastika

I think there is none as both wars, or any war for that matter, are taboo over there.

FiSe · 28-10-2009 03:01PM

mega man wrote: »

if you are to commerorate the irish dead of world war 1, the poppy is not the answer unless you are British of course.
there should be an alternative day to commerorate the irish dead of foreign wars and a alternative symbol.
wearing the poppy in Ireland is provocative and rude in my opinion.
we are no longer a part of the british empire or the united kingdom. stop trying to make it out that we are.

You can always put a tricolour on your jacket...

I think that this is a big problem of Irish national identity. There is no identity in, not only, this regard.
There is no official 'Independence day' there is no proper 'Victory day', although there is mostly unknown 'Commemoration Sunday' and so there is no official holiday when people could remember sacrifices of Irish soldiers who got killed and crippled during the, mostly both world, wars.

If we agree that we are living in democracy of some sort, then it should be up to individual whether one decide to wear a 'poppy' if one wishes as long as there is utter void and total silence on the Irish home front.
I wonder what exactly is provocative and rude on it?

It has nothing to do with some Empire of Evil.

Morlar · 28-10-2009 03:13PM

FiSe wrote: »

I think that this is a big problem of Irish national identity. There is no identity in, not only, this regard.
There is no official 'Independence day' there is no proper 'Victory day', although there is mostly unknown 'Commemoration Sunday' and so there is no official holiday when people could remember sacrifices of Irish soldiers who got killed and crippled during the, mostly both world, wars.

Agree entirely.

FiSe wrote: »

I wonder what exactly is provocative and rude on it?

It has nothing to do with some Empire of Evil.

It's seen as a british army tradition, comemorating the british army, which would include the auxies and black and tans and paras of bloody sunday etc. It does include the Irish who died in WWI & WWII but that is not all that it includes and for most people who have a problem with it this is where the problem lies.

I would prefer an Irish-only comemorative tradition to be developed which would remove any connotations that could in any way prevent the majority of people in the republic from openly honouring Irelands war dead if they choose to do so.

mega man · 28-10-2009 03:13PM

Camelot wrote: »

So what symbol do you suggest we wear to commerate the 60k+ (Irish Dead) from WWI & WWII ?

i suggest a flower of some sort. i would have no problem wearing it. but i will not single out the british army as a means to commerorate these dead soldiers as irish soldiers fought in other armies too during the conflict.

i think by wearing the poppy in ireland you support the british armies campaigns in all conflicts including ireland which i find very hard to stomach.

enda1 · 28-10-2009 03:25PM

Camelot wrote: »

So what symbol do you suggest we wear to commerate the 60k+ (Irish Dead) from WWI & WWII ?

How about we don't commemorate them?

Morlar · 28-10-2009 03:29PM

enda1 wrote: »

How about we don't commemorate them?

Why not ?

LordSutch · 28-10-2009 03:33PM

Morlar wrote: »

I would prefer an Irish-only comemorative tradition to be developed which would remove any connotations that could in any way prevent the majority of people in the republic from openly honouring Irelands war dead if they choose to do so.

Thats OK, but my grandfather died in the War, so for that reason I always make a contribution to the poppy appeal fund in Dublin, and I wear my Poppy as a mark of respect to him + all the others (on both sides).

P.S. Seeing as most Irish men fell in the Poppy fields of Flanders, i'm not sure any other flower would be appropriate to commerate them. The poppy seems like the perfect commerative symbol.

mega man · 28-10-2009 03:42PM

P.S. Seeing as most Irish men fell in the Poppy fields of Flanders, i'm not sure any other flower would be appropriate to commerate them. The poppy seems like the perfect commerative symbol.[/quote]

see this is the problem with the likes of you. you want the irish people to commemorate the dead of both world wars by wearing a british symbol. i repeat we are not british. can you not get that into your head?

enda1 · 28-10-2009 03:46PM

Morlar wrote: »

Why not ?

Because it doesn't mean anything to them if they are already dead. And the "survivors" are now all dead too. It's old history, time to bury it.

johnny_doyle · 28-10-2009 03:48PM

got my poppy on.

LordSutch · 28-10-2009 03:51PM

mega man wrote: »

see this is the problem with the likes of you. you want the irish people to commemorate the dead of both world wars by wearing a british symbol. i repeat we are not british. can you not get that into your head?

I always contribute to the Irish poppy appeal fund in Dublin.

To wear a poppy ? that is the question

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