Red Poppies

[mirrorshard]

It's that time of year again, with a poppy-seller on each corner[1], and it seems somehow morally wrong not to be supporting the war dead and their survivors. I don't disagree with this in principle, it was - and still is to some extent - a terrible human tragedy. It just makes me feel twitchy to wear something connected to war, even though this one isn't a political statement.

Now, if only they sold white poppies...

[1] http://www.poppy.org/ for those of you who are living Elsewhere and don't understand this traditional British custom of wearing a small paper and plastic poppy on the lapel at this time of year. http://www.poppy.org/About_Poppy_Appeal/History.html explains why a poppy.

Comments

[harald387.livejournal.com]

It's a Canadian tradition as well, honouring the memories of people who fought and died so the rest of us could have peace.

I'd be offended if anyone claimed that wearing a poppy meant I was a supporter of war. It's not supporting war; it's remembering those who made peace.

-K

[shuripentu.livejournal.com]

It's worth noting that the posters for the Poppy Appeal I've seen in the Underground show people who have been disabled and widowed in the recent conflicts in the Middle East. So wearing a poppy could be construed as supporting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

However, the money from the poppies doesn't actually go towards feeding troops or buying arms, just towards those who come back scarred, or the families of those who don't come back at all. Supporting a child whose mummy or daddy has died in a conflict I don't agree with is hardly supporting the conflict itself.

That and Remembrance Day has always been a day for remembering not only those who died in war, but just how stupid war is. It's a bit different here seeing as we have troops in Iraq and were one of the few countries to side with Herr Bush, but I suspect back in Canada, it's still WWI & WWII that are at the forefront of people's minds, and just how much suffering those wars (and indeed any wars) cause.