White Poppies

[classic33]

WHITE POPPIES ARE FOR PEACE
The idea of decoupling Armistice Day, the red poppy and later Remembrance Day from their military culture dates back to 1926, just a few years after the British Legion was persuaded to try using the red poppy as a fundraising tool in Britain.
A member of the No More War Movement suggested that the British Legion should be asked to imprint 'No More War' in the centre of the red poppies instead of ‘Haig Fund’ and failing this pacifists should make their own flowers.
The details of any discussion with the British Legion are unknown but as the centre of the red poppy displayed the ‘Haig Fund’ imprint until 1994 it was clearly not successful. A few years later the idea was again discussed by the Co-operative Women's Guild. In 1933 the first white poppies appeared on Armistice Day (called Remembrance Day after World War Two). The white poppy was not intended as an insult to those who died in the First World War - a war in which many of the white poppy supporters lost husbands, brothers, sons and lovers - but a challenge to the continuing drive to war. The following year the newly founded Peace Pledge Union began widespread distribution of the poppies and their annual promotion.

 

[Spinney]

Mod message: please try to stay on topic. [aimed at the posts just above Classic33's]

 

[Spinney]

[QUOTE 2758314, member: 259"]Which topic? [/quote]
White poppies, see the title of the thread.

 

[classic33]

Taken from:
http://www.ppu.org.uk/down/WhiteContext.pdf
"Today much of the hostility towards white poppies evident in the 80s when the British Legion refused to appear in the media with a PPU representative has gone. It has been replaced with the view that the red poppy stands for peace as much as the white. This begs the question of what peace is and how best to achieve it.
Today by honouring the men and women who went to fight in Irag and Afghanistan one is surely buying into a war-accepting belief system which is precisely what the white poppy rejects."

Are we really dishonouring those who chose to fight, by the wearing of a Red Poppy?

 

[Paul.G.]

On the subject of white, what ever happened to white dog poo? I used to see it everywhere when I was a kid, kind of miss it in a very strange way.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

On the subject of white, what ever happened to white dog poo? I used to see it everywhere when I was a kid, kind of miss it in a very strange way.

We are talking about white poppies, not white jobbies!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

On the subject of white, what ever happened to white dog poo? I used to see it everywhere when I was a kid, kind of miss it in a very strange way.

I imagine it is something to do with a change in how most dogs are fed these days. Our dogs have always had dried food and never once have I ever seen them produce white poo.

I await an expert opinion on the matter, but until that time, lets get back to white poppies again before Admin has another word with us.

 

[slowmotion]

I could be mistaken, but I think that if a column of soldiers, eight wide, marched at a brisk pace past the Cenotaph, it would take a fortnight for the UK dead of WWI to march to their graves.
Have you driven through northern France past Arras and Vimy, and all those places with distant faintly familiar names? There is no need to stop, you can just look out of the car window as the tiny cemeteries wizz by on your way to a skiing holiday, but you feel you are driving on dead mens' bones. Tiny fields of white gravestones every few minutes.
A red poppy just "tips your hat" to them. For whatever reason, they died more bravely than we will.

 

[slowmotion]

This is all a bit civilised. Where have all the aggressive, argumentative CC members gone?

fark off

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

f*** off

Yeah! P**s off you War Glorifying, Poppy Mafia, Emotional Fascism apologist!!

 

[slowmotion]

...and another thing....

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

...and another thing....

..... Do you think we are all so stupid that we are only capable of remembering for 2 minutes each year, having to stand still and in silence regardless of what else we happen to be doing at the time, like painting the garden shed or cleaning the drains out or something clever like brain surgery or even something dangerous like being chased by a crazed axe murderer (would the crazed axe murderer also stop in their tracks, cartoon like? Its a risk you'd have to take!)...... As well as the mandatory wearing of stupid fake flowers just to show our 'grief'??

Really??



..... Better?

 

[classic33]

This is all a bit civilised. Where have all the aggressive, argumentative CC members gone?

They've had the warning to keep the thread on-topic. Some seem to have forgot that part.

 

[slowmotion]

Our "grief" doesn't matter. Some people "emote" on Facebook or Twitter and feel "bad" about stuff. "Grief Lite".
It's only about remembering and respecting people who died.

 

[classic33]

I never thought it was about showing our grief, for two minutes, one day of every year.
I thought it was as much about showing our respect to those who had died or been injured fighting so that we may live the lives we live now.
We can count Northern Ireland in that part as well as more recent killing outside the barracks of Lee Rigby

Also those who whilst not fighting, who lost their lives
"About 1 million houses in Britain were destroyed or severely damaged during the Second World War. About 40,000 civilians were killed."
http://www.carlscam.com/chester/gwrmem.htm
http://www.forum.familyhistory.uk.com/showthread.php?p=144967
http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/html-files/derby-midland-railway-casualties.htm