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Wearing a white poppy

(251 Posts)
Luckygirl Tue 30-Oct-18 14:18:41

Where do folk stand on this?

I tend to avoid red poppies as the British Legion has in its time had some dubious bedfellows (arms companies for instance - Lockheed Martin for one). I can see no current evidence that arms producers are still involved in supporting the BL financially since the outcry about this in 2014. It is of concern however that they thought this might be appropriate up until then. And also my father (who served in the Far East) refused to wear one.

White poppies are produced by the Peace Pledge Union and represent, according to their website: remembrance for all victims of war, a commitment to peace and a challenge to attempts to glamorise or celebrate war.

Can't argue with any of that. But are white poppies seen as disrespectful in some way?

I would be interested in people's thoughts on this.

oldbatty Thu 01-Nov-18 18:35:02

OK......then it was conscription. Now it is a career choice. Why can't people grasp this basic idea?

Let's face it, nobody is belittling the sacrifices made in the past.

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 18:34:14

Ah so it's not insulting to say I only wear a white poppy because 'it's all about me"
Or tells me to 'stuff it'
Some people must live in a dream world if they are unaware of the conflicts we have been involved in.

lemongrove Thu 01-Nov-18 18:31:29

Without the soldiers, the innocents wouldn’t be here today.
WW2 would have been won by Germany if British socialists and pacifists had their way, and would be ruling us ( they have the EU to play with now.)Fortunately!

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 18:30:35

No we haven't EllanVannin. We have been involved in several wars. Of course we in this country haven't suffered, just the people in the countries where we have chosen to fight
Like Korea. List of wars here-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_Kingdom
Unless you count the conflict in N Ireland of course.

lemongrove Thu 01-Nov-18 18:27:58

Hear hear Buffy and Ellan

Unfortunately trisher usually resorts to insulting comments when threads are going against her posts.Then claims others cannot ‘debate’.

Buffybee Thu 01-Nov-18 18:12:01

Thank goodness we have them Ellan, ready to defend us and willing to lose their lives in doing so.

EllanVannin Thu 01-Nov-18 18:00:52

To all the pacifists------We've lived in peace since 1945. All thanks to our wonderful servicemen and women.

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 18:00:38

And yet it is civilians and not the armed forces who suffer most now.-
Civilian fatalities in wartime climbed from 5 per cent at the turn of the century, to 15 per cent during World War I, to 65 per cent by the end of World War II, to more than 90 per cent in the wars of the 1990s.

Children are not spared. It is estimated that 500,000 under-five-year-olds died as a result of armed conflicts in 1992 alone. In Chechnya, between February and May 1995, children made up an appalling 40 per cent of all civilian casualties;
So you remember your soldiers and I'll remember the innocents.

oldbatty Thu 01-Nov-18 17:56:52

*PamelaJ1 Wed 08-Aug-18 07:46:33
I have heard that the US servicemen call them MBO’s. Moving ,black objects*

This form somebody discussing women wearing burkas.

Jalima1108 Thu 01-Nov-18 17:56:25

I have heard it used and agree it is unacceptable.

It is an American term.

oldbatty Thu 01-Nov-18 17:54:08

awful phrase " collateral damage".

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 17:50:50

And the military authorities closely connected with the red poppy certainly use the term "collateral damage"
-During the 1991 Gulf War, Coalition forces used the phrase 'collateral damage' to describe the killing of civilians in attacks on legitimate targets. According to Scottish linguist Deborah Cameron,[16] "the classic Orwellian argument for finding this usage objectionable would be that it is jargon, and to the extent that people cannot decode it, it conceals what is actually going on;-
-it is a euphemism; abstract, agentless and affectless, so that even if people succeed in associating it with a real act or event they will be insulated from any feeling of repulsion and moral outrage".-

Grammaretto Thu 01-Nov-18 17:49:21

I have worn both together but after reading this thread I'm thinking of not wearing one at all.
If it offends.
Wars are going on the world over. Our governments continue to trade in arms of all kinds. It's a madness. We can still give money to victims and war veterans without a badge.

Jalima1108 Thu 01-Nov-18 17:49:10

I'm not arguing about anyone's wish or right to wear a white poppy.

However, as someone who wears a red poppy, I do object to being told that I must regard civilians as collateral damage and I refute that.
Neither would I ever glorify war - but I do believe in defence.

oldbatty Thu 01-Nov-18 17:47:00

Why do some people feel the need to argue just for the sake of it.

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 17:46:17

Being a pacifist doesn't stop you from arguing. It stops you from resorting to unnecessary violence.
And yes someone said that when I explained the white poppy

Jalima1108 Thu 01-Nov-18 17:42:52

I didn't say that
But if your post is in retaliation to someone who did, then I don't think it is worthy of you as a self-proclaimed pacifist.

gmelon Thu 01-Nov-18 17:40:50

Please ladies no squabbling not on this thread.

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 17:38:18

No more "vile and nasty" Jalma1108 that saying wearing a white poppy makes it "all about me" and advises me to stuff it.
Of course not everyone wearing a red poppy ignores civilian casualties but neither do people wearing white poppies ignore soldiers we simply believe peace is better, and war kills more than soldiers

EllanVannin Thu 01-Nov-18 17:32:56

Horses for courses----this is exactly what happens when there's a difference of opinion. Especially when it's those who like trisher have to be different to everyone else. It's of no surprise to me as they usually turn to abuse to get their point across.

oldbatty Thu 01-Nov-18 17:31:57

I have never worn one and I never will. Those young men who " died like cattle" desperately sad. Also the second World War was hideous.
It cannot be compared to those who make a choice to join the armed forces as a paid profession.

Somehow its all been jumbled together.

Gonegirl Thu 01-Nov-18 17:30:13

Never just collateral damage. Never.

Jalima1108 Thu 01-Nov-18 17:20:34

^ But I suppose for those of you wearing red poppies they are just Collateral damage.^

I am shocked at that remark trisher

Vile and nasty.

trisher Thu 01-Nov-18 17:17:43

My white poppy represents all the people in my home town who were killed in the blitz.I grew up in a town where there were bombed sites on every corner. When I see cities on the TV being bombed I remember them. Civilians are the highest rate of casualties in any conflict now. But I suppose for those of you wearing red poppies they are just Collateral damage.

Gonegirl Thu 01-Nov-18 16:57:54

I hope they rely more on medical science these days. grin