Poppies!

[Eofaerwic]

Why would someone pin the California poppy on themselves? Since they are not the poppies used in remembrance, that would be the Corn/Flanders poppy.

I've visited said Flanders fields, Ypres in particular. I'd say it's an experience that everyone should have, especially if they consider war to be somehow 'cool' or desirable. It may sometimes be necessary but it should never, ever be something to be desired and the rows upon rows upon rows of graves and hearing the Last Post (still played, every single evening) drives that home like nothing else.

[Skibereen]

We also have Children in Need every year which I'd say is the second most high profile charity appeal.

It says a lot about a country that a charity for children is lesser than a charity for the military. And that it has a charity for the military at all.

Yes, it does say a great deal about the graditude people hold towards those who have given so much, even to those who dont appreciate it.

[Cubic kms]

We also have Children in Need every year which I'd say is the second most high profile charity appeal.

It says a lot about a country that a charity for children is lesser than a charity for the military. And that it has a charity for the military at all.

Yes, it does say a great deal about the graditude people hold towards those who have given so much, even to those who dont appreciate it.

Who protects those children? The army does

[The Pan-Soviet Union]

Yes I like and do take part in the poppy appeal, but I was reading a very interesting post by someone who objects to it not long back. He was saying that the poppy appeal is being abused as to promote the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and because the poppy appeal was originally supposed to be neutral he refuses to buy a poppy. Ive not looked into that yet but it was an interesting viewpoint, he was in no way against armed forces etc.

I completly understand that fellow's viewpoint.


For years I have worn a poppy every year, as what was a statement of "Never again" to the slaughters of WW1 and "Never forget" to the loss of life in WW2 and to support the veterans of both wars.



But now, I feel this noble cause of the red poppy is being hijacked by politicians and other sections to support the war in Afghanistan, and all mention of WW1 and WW2 and it
veterans and horrors seems to be blotted out for this pro-Afghanistan War agenda.


I find this new pro-war agenda in regards to Afghanistan hijacking the poppy appeal to be the very antithesis of what the poppy appeal was, that being "never forget" and "never again". It seems to be this openly rabid pro-war stance that I just find repulsive and actually quite scary.


I saw a newsreader yesterday complain about the England manager Fabio Capello not wearing a poppy and getting quite worked up about it and demanding to know why.....


I just think this bullying of people to wear a poppy for this new agenda of supporting the Afghanistan war unquestionly is dangerous and rather fascist in nature.


I'm seriously debating for the first time ever whether to wear a poppy. This new rabid pro- Afghan war agenda the poppy appeal does now has made me do so.


I just think the poppy appeal should not be used for such an agenda. It's actually quite disgusting.

[The Pan-Soviet Union]

It may sometimes be necessary but it should never, ever be something to be desired and the rows upon rows upon rows of graves and hearing the Last Post (still played, every single evening) drives that home like nothing else.

Well said.

I'll never forget visiting Menin Gate ( excuse spelling), where the last post is played each evening at the dying of the light beneath the arch where many of those lost are named, and where traffic and people halt to remember and never forget.

[Barzan]

Yes I like and do take part in the poppy appeal, but I was reading a very interesting post by someone who objects to it not long back. He was saying that the poppy appeal is being abused as to promote the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and because the poppy appeal was originally supposed to be neutral he refuses to buy a poppy. Ive not looked into that yet but it was an interesting viewpoint, he was in no way against armed forces etc.

I completly understand that fellow's viewpoint.


For years I have worn a poppy every year, as what was a statement of "Never again" to the slaughters of WW1 and "Never forget" to the loss of life in WW2 and to support the veterans of both wars.



But now, I feel this noble cause of the red poppy is being hijacked by politicians and other sections to support the war in Afghanistan, and all mention of WW1 and WW2 and it
veterans and horrors seems to be blotted out for this pro-Afghanistan War agenda.


I find this new pro-war agenda in regards to Afghanistan hijacking the poppy appeal to be the very antithesis of what the poppy appeal was, that being "never forget" and "never again". It seems to be this openly rabid pro-war stance that I just find repulsive and actually quite scary.


I saw a newsreader yesterday complain about the England manager Fabio Capello not wearing a poppy and getting quite worked up about it and demanding to know why.....


I just think this bullying of people to wear a poppy for this new agenda of supporting the Afghanistan war unquestionly is dangerous and rather fascist in nature.


I'm seriously debating for the first time ever whether to wear a poppy. This new rabid pro- Afghan war agenda the poppy appeal does now has made me do so.


I just think the poppy appeal should not be used for such an agenda. It's actually quite disgusting.

You make many valid points, and I agree with all of them, except for you decision to equate poppies with Bush/Blair/Brown-era wars. But please don't forsake the poppy just because those grubby politicians have co-opted the symbolism as propaganda for promoting their wars of choice. The veterans from the World Wars do not see the poppies that way. When one goes to the ceremonies in Victory Square, the politicians are sitting in chairs under canopies while the actual veterans are standing in the rain. The veterans still wear their uniforms and their poppies. I feel disgusted watching those smug bastard politicians in their comfort though.

[The Pan-Soviet Union]

You make many valid points, and I agree with all of them, except for you decision to equate poppies with Bush/Blair/Brown-era wars. But please don't forsake the poppy just because those grubby politicians have co-opted the symbolism as propaganda for promoting their wars of choice. The veterans from the World Wars do not see the poppies that way.

The thing is that it's not just the politicians, but the poppy appeal itself, which seems to have stopped the "never again" and "never forget" sense of the poppies and taken on this pro-Afghan war agenda.

Perhaps it's because the poppy appeal considers any publicity as good publicity, but it makes no attempt to distance itself from the pro-Afghan war agenda, which uses returning troops for this agenda.

When one goes to the ceremonies in Victory Square, the politicians are sitting in chairs under canopies while the actual veterans are standing in the rain. The veterans still wear their uniforms and their poppies. I feel disgusted watching those smug bastard politicians in their comfort though.

Hear Hear.


Still infuriates me to think about Bush and Blair at D-Day commemorations, standing feet from the dead, talking about justice and freedom as if they had a clue with their hypcritical leers.


Annoys me to think Brown and his cabinet even likening Afghanistan to The Battle of Britain....


I did buy Poppies, in the end. But the true meaning of the poppy must be taken back from the callous who will the young to die in needless foreign ventures, and back to it's true meaning: To remember the dead and the maimed, to support their families, and certainly not to unquestiongly support war as some great jolly where lives are discarded as "the sacrifice we must make" by idiotic donkeys who sacrifice nought but decency.

[UNIverseVERSE]

Yes but righteous or not, these people put their life on the line to protect the political beliefs of the majority of people in society. Hence veterans should be respected no matter what and also why they should be the responsibility of society.

Not necessarily. There's nothing intrinsically good about protecting people's beliefs. Veterans who fought because they passionately believed in the tenets of Nazism, for example, wouldn't be due respect for that.

I wear a poppy. But I don't wear it because I feel veterans, armed forces, or warfare need to be respected. I wear it because I feel a duty to help those I can, such as those injured by fighting in wars, and I wear it because it remembers the cost of war, and reminds me of its evil.

Anyone who demands that I wear one to show respect for what veterans did can go fuck themselves, because I have no respect for killers. Anyone who demands that I wear one to show support for the armed forces in their ventures today can go fuck themselves, because I do not support those ventures.

[Sidebody]

If you joined the army in peace time, you might have thought it'd be an easy ride 'til you got out. Not exactly a great point, but relevant(ish)

I'll concede; perhaps it was an overstatement, but when anyone is grievously injured to the point of unemployability, due to consequences out of their control, I'd say they (and, let's not forget, their families) deserve a little support. Especially when the killing part is dumbed down so recruitment uses online games to hook new recruits, thus dehumanising any future enemy (they are just part of the Game).

Hearing from my RoI counterparts makes me jealous. I'd probably get beaten up if I wore a poppy in certain parts of Belfast. Though it does not take much to provoke that response here.

Do you feel that murderers who claim computer games contributed to their crimes should be given laxer punishments?

Yes I do agree that anyone who is injured to the point of unemployability should be supported. I don't agree that people should contribute to a charity that only supports servicemen who are injured to that point. They should be contributing to charities which support such people no matter what their prior jobs were.

I can understand some communities in NI not wanting to contribute. They've had their fair share of shit treatment by the British Army

[Dakini]

My poppies tend to be free (found on the ground). The ones I pay for always get lost within a day.

[Dakini]

It's illegal here to pick California poppies.

You bastards.

it's also illegal to pick blue bell flowers in UK too.

But do we U.S. Americans have a holiday that involves plucking your precious blue bells in quantity and pinning them to our sweaters?

(No, really, do we? I don't know anything about my country, but that sounds kind of cool)

Nobody uses real poppies. In Canada they're felt with a straight pin (which is why the things always get lost).

[Barzan]

It's illegal here to pick California poppies.

You bastards.

it's also illegal to pick blue bell flowers in UK too.

But do we U.S. Americans have a holiday that involves plucking your precious blue bells in quantity and pinning them to our sweaters?

(No, really, do we? I don't know anything about my country, but that sounds kind of cool)

Nobody uses real poppies. In Canada they're felt with a straight pin (which is why the things always get lost).

Yeah, I do with they'd use snap-back pins, but I understand that they're trying to save money.

[Blouman Empire]

Yes. They weren't mindless automata. They are not without culpability.

Almost siggable, one of the more amusing things you have written.

[Mad hatters in jeans]

We also have Children in Need every year which I'd say is the second most high profile charity appeal.

It says a lot about a country that a charity for children is lesser than a charity for the military. And that it has a charity for the military at all.

Yes, it does say a great deal about the graditude people hold towards those who have given so much, even to those who dont appreciate it.

Who protects those children? The army does

[img]snip%20pic%20of%20soldier%20with%20grenade%20launcher[/img]

but who protects the soldiers?

[Dakini]

It's illegal here to pick California poppies.

You bastards.

it's also illegal to pick blue bell flowers in UK too.

But do we U.S. Americans have a holiday that involves plucking your precious blue bells in quantity and pinning them to our sweaters?

(No, really, do we? I don't know anything about my country, but that sounds kind of cool)

Nobody uses real poppies. In Canada they're felt with a straight pin (which is why the things always get lost).

Yeah, I do with they'd use snap-back pins, but I understand that they're trying to save money.

You know, I'd pay proper money for poppies that don't stab me all the time and fall off my coat. Where "proper money" is defined as more than a quarter, but less than $5. Actually, if I could buy a poppy that was $5 but wouldn't stab me and would last a couple of years, I'd pay it.

[Barzan]

It's illegal here to pick California poppies.

You bastards.

it's also illegal to pick blue bell flowers in UK too.

But do we U.S. Americans have a holiday that involves plucking your precious blue bells in quantity and pinning them to our sweaters?

(No, really, do we? I don't know anything about my country, but that sounds kind of cool)

Nobody uses real poppies. In Canada they're felt with a straight pin (which is why the things always get lost).

Yeah, I do with they'd use snap-back pins, but I understand that they're trying to save money.

You know, I'd pay proper money for poppies that don't stab me all the time and fall off my coat. Where "proper money" is defined as more than a quarter, but less than $5. Actually, if I could buy a poppy that was $5 but wouldn't stab me and would last a couple of years, I'd pay it.

I usually give them a loonie for one.

[Mad hatters in jeans]

You know, I'd pay proper money for poppies that don't stab me all the time and fall off my coat. Where "proper money" is defined as more than a quarter, but less than $5. Actually, if I could buy a poppy that was $5 but wouldn't stab me and would last a couple of years, I'd pay it.

I don't know about you, but we also have clip on poppies, or ones with longer stalks so you can leave them in a shirt pocket or similar without fear of them falling out.
Unless you try a handstand of course, these designers are getting really sloppy these days.

[Dakini]

It's illegal here to pick California poppies.

You bastards.

it's also illegal to pick blue bell flowers in UK too.

But do we U.S. Americans have a holiday that involves plucking your precious blue bells in quantity and pinning them to our sweaters?

(No, really, do we? I don't know anything about my country, but that sounds kind of cool)

Nobody uses real poppies. In Canada they're felt with a straight pin (which is why the things always get lost).

Yeah, I do with they'd use snap-back pins, but I understand that they're trying to save money.

You know, I'd pay proper money for poppies that don't stab me all the time and fall off my coat. Where "proper money" is defined as more than a quarter, but less than $5. Actually, if I could buy a poppy that was $5 but wouldn't stab me and would last a couple of years, I'd pay it.

I usually give them a loonie for one.

I usually find them on the ground.

And usually the boxes say they want a quarter, so that's what I give them? I'm a student, I don't have much of an income.

[Dakini]

You know, I'd pay proper money for poppies that don't stab me all the time and fall off my coat. Where "proper money" is defined as more than a quarter, but less than $5. Actually, if I could buy a poppy that was $5 but wouldn't stab me and would last a couple of years, I'd pay it.

I don't know about you, but we also have clip on poppies, or ones with longer stalks so you can leave them in a shirt pocket or similar without fear of them falling out.
Unless you try a handstand of course, these designers are getting really sloppy these days.

I've never seen a clip on poppy. I think once I saw a place that was carrying the straight pin with some sort of backing, but I didn't have any money with me at the time and I've never seen them since.

[Barzan]

I usually give them a loonie for one.

I usually find them on the ground.

And usually the boxes say they want a quarter, so that's what I give them? I'm a student, I don't have much of an income.

I didn't know there was an amount on the boxes... I guess I'm not that observant.

[Dakini]

I usually give them a loonie for one.

I usually find them on the ground.

And usually the boxes say they want a quarter, so that's what I give them? I'm a student, I don't have much of an income.

I didn't know there was an amount on the boxes... I guess I'm not that observant.

They might have different boxes in different places... or maybe I have it mixed up with other boxes that are at cash registers that do have amounts. *shrugs*

[Mad hatters in jeans]

I've never seen a clip on poppy. I think once I saw a place that was carrying the straight pin with some sort of backing, but I didn't have any money with me at the time and I've never seen them since.

Maybe if needed the poppy can be attached to the shoulder, where it involves less contact with sensitive breasts on men and women.

[Dakini]

I've never seen a clip on poppy. I think once I saw a place that was carrying the straight pin with some sort of backing, but I didn't have any money with me at the time and I've never seen them since.

Maybe if needed the poppy can be attached to the shoulder, where it involves less contact with sensitive breasts on men and women.

Well, usually mine goes on my coat. It stabs me when I go reach across my chest for something or if it starts falling out and reenters the coat or just whenever it feels like stabbing me. It would be worse if I wore them on my shirt or transferred them to my shirt when I took off my coat.

[Mad hatters in jeans]

Well, usually mine goes on my coat. It stabs me when I go reach across my chest for something or if it starts falling out and reenters the coat or just whenever it feels like stabbing me. It would be worse if I wore them on my shirt or transferred them to my shirt when I took off my coat.

Could try sticking it through an ear lobe. Although i'm not sure how far your loyalty toward poppy wearing extends.

[Dakini]

Well, usually mine goes on my coat. It stabs me when I go reach across my chest for something or if it starts falling out and reenters the coat or just whenever it feels like stabbing me. It would be worse if I wore them on my shirt or transferred them to my shirt when I took off my coat.

Could try sticking it through an ear lobe. Although i'm not sure how far your loyalty toward poppy wearing extends.

Meh. I keep actually forgetting to put them on this year. I usually just put some tape on the end to keep them from going to far/stabbing me.