Poppy Appeal Launched

[sheddie]

Have you noticed that celebrities wear their poppys about a fortnight before they are launched to the public?Will you be wearing a poppy with pride, I know it is an individual choice, but hopefully is not just the done thing!I saw a little girl in school uniform ask" is 11p enough to have a poppy?" Then the shopkeeper had no pins.

[eleanor2]

i already bought my poppy the other day. i still can't resist putting money in the tins and not having another poppy.i think the old servicemen deserve respect and its nice to show them we care.

[Oola]

We;ve already had the poppy man around last week, lovely chap too.

[Crocus]

Hi if it's for a good cause, why not?

[Serenity]

We got ours last week when we went to Elvington Air Museum. It seemed appropriate as its an old WW air base and we were able to explain the meaning behind them and hopefully put it into context for our 7 yr old son.

[eleanor2]

good idea serenity...

[Katelb]

We had a nice old gentleman selling them at the door too and yes,I always wear it with pride since my Dad was one of airmen who never came back.
Air museums are fascinating aren't they Serenity I used to like to visit the one in Hendon when we lived in London.

[dinger]

Yes I wear with pride and think the men serving now should be given the medals they deserve.What do you think

[jazzactivist]

I'm afraid that I have to differ. I don't support Poppy Day, as I think that it just glorifies war. It was terrible that so many people were killed and injured during WW1 and WW2, and is also pretty shameful that the war injured were set to making these poppies for sale as pensions were so minimal. The poppies are probably now made unethically in China or similar. I think that it would be better if instead of remembering our war dead as 'heroes', Armistice Day is used to highlight what a waste of life war is, and we should wear either white peace poppies or black poppies instead. It is very interesting how 'nice' elderly men and women who sell the poppies become unpleasant as soon as I say that I don't support Poppy Day, and explain why. Over the years I have been shouted at, spat at, and hissed at, and had a whole box of poppies thrown at me at my door.

[sunflower]

The whole of the hospital staff where I work, pause for one minute on Nov 11th, in honour and respect of those who have lost their lives in the wars, and of course are in dangerous circumstances today. So I wear my poppy with much thought of my family, including Mom and all the other females as well as males in the family and of course my son, who will be in the Gulf by Nov 11th. xxx

[sheddie]

I shall wear mine with pride but do you think poppy day is no longer what it was? Very best wishes to your son sunflower, he has my thanks and admiration. You too as his mum.X

[Crocus]

Hi Sunflower, all the best to your son!

[keepersdaughter]

Sunflower, best wishes to you and your son.

[dinger]

You must be very proud of your son Sunflower but also a worried mum .I feel for you .

[Oola]

I think in the case of WWI and WWII it was a case of having to fight to survive and protect our democracy and freedom.

[sunflower]

Thank you to everyone xxx

[jazzactivist]

Hi everyone, I don't think that fighting in WW1 and WW2 was what we have been led to believe, and Armistice Day just prolongs the myth that war is good and useful. During both WWs there was forced conscription for young adult men, and also many even younger men and women were encouraged to join the armed forces to 'fight for our country'. It wasn't socially acceptable at that time to question why Britain was at war, and there were hgh levels of poverty just before both wars and people didn't have the access to education and the media to find out more about the situation, as we do now. If you manage to really have a heart to heart talk with anyone old enough to have been in either of those wars most will say that they feel deep down that they were conned, and the conditions were horrible - even civilian conditions here were dreadful, and for what outcome? I once watched a chilling documentary on TV about an economic agreement that was signed by America, Germany, France and Britain between the Wars and all of these countries were supposed to initiate the same policy of ethnic and social cleansing to 'deal' with the rise in Communism brought about by the Depression. However, at the last minute the other 3 pulled out, and only Germany still went ahead. Also there is quite a lot of documented evidence that Britain treated some Italian and Polish prisoners of war very badly here.

I think that war is never right, and knowing what we now know we should expect our government to hold spoken and written negotiations with other countries, and to keep out of situations that we have nothing to do with. On another thread here there is a discussion about why there seems to be a rise in violence and gun crime amoungst young people in the UK overthe past few years, but Britain being involved in war, and the glorifying of the armed forces, creates a context that gives everyone, especially young people, the message from the highest level that problems can be solved by violence. It also creates a situation where a lot more guns and weapons are available to be circulated and that, combined with the social message that killing your rivals leads to lifelong glory, is a connection worth thinking about.

To me, the real heroes are people who were and are now able to stand up against the norm and think about what is really driving a war, and then choose not to get involved except to protest. People who join the armed forces are signing up knowing that they may be killed or injured and that they will be required to participate in the killing or injuring of others, and that civilians will also be killed and injured. I hope that your son survives the conflict unscathed, Sunflower, but I hope even more that you might manage to dissuade him from remaining in the armed forces when he returns home on leave. There are plenty of other types of jobs where he can make a contribution to society if that is what motivates him.

Phew! sorry about the length of this posting.

[Pippa]

Very well written and plenty to ponder on there Jazz, a brave post.

[sheddie]

I agree well written and a lot to think about.

[jazzactivist]

Thanks Pippa and Sheddie for your supportive comments. It can feel a bit like being a lone voice at times, since we are currently living in a confusing era where wars about economic gain are being justified by governments as 'humanitarian conflicts'. It is up to us to look beneath the hype to the real costs of war.

[Crocus]

Hi, my son asked me yesterday if it's a sin to kill somebody in defence during wartimes! Why he asked me this, I don't know. I do agree that war is not right, and unfortunately war is as old as man. As Jazzactivist said, the real cost of war is enormous, both in lost lives, severely traumatised people, not to mention the financial cost.