Does anyone where a poppy?

[A Canuker]

Is this starting to become a thing of the past? Given that memorial day is fast upon us I have noticed that most people who I pass don't seem to have one on. Any thoughts on it all?

I tried to edit my horrid spelling for the title, but seemed to fail. Sorry to all that it might drive razy.

 

[lasbar]

Some people do wear poppy without really understanding the powerful message between this symbol and i found that more annoying than somebody without one....
The Poppy is becoming in the UK a bit of a fashion accessory...
Ask average Joe about the origins of the Poppy as a symbol and few would link it to the Flanders slaughter!!!!
We're in an image-led society where form is more important than substance,where in some cases (not everybody) wearing a poppy is replacing learning ,understanding their own history....
What is important is to apprehend the immensity of the WW1 slaughter and so many others!!!!!!!
I spend my time listening to people talking about the poppy thing as a fashion statement or "must have " like the irritating charity thing popping out every week that you must enter to be part of the group....
I love history and i would sincerely prefer if people will take the time to read and understand the first world war slaughter rather than buying it because it looks good or patriotic...
Sorry for the rant but that is really getting on my nerves...

 

[tiecollector]

Is it really any surprise these days that nobody knows anything about history? What are some other flowers that would look good? Gerbera Daisy

Carnation

 

[Professor Branestawm]

I wear a poppy less with pride than with humility.

That said, I'm happier that the British Legion is getting donations from people that don't understand the significance of the poppy than if they weren't getting the donations at all.

 

[Bandwagonesque]

The poppy cannot become just a simple fashion accessory, or the "in thing this season". It's not a LiveStrong or Make Poverty History bracelet, a Product Red credit card, or a pink ribbon... it has a deeper, more meaningful history than all of those recent campaigns.

I rock the poppy... but I donate to rock it.

 

[lefty]

Bit off topic, but for those who don't know...


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

From the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

lefty

 

[Jared]

In Canada I'd say a large majority wear a poppy on Rememberance Day (if nothing else to give thanks to getting the day off work) - the question is how soon before that to start wearing one. The Canadian ones are attached by a straight pin, which falls out very easily, so unless you're willing to jury-rig something else to keep it on, you'll need a new one at least every couple of days. (Conspiracy theorists say this is to sell more.) It was a joyous occasion a few years ago when they switched from green to black centres, because the green&red didn't look good with anything. (Conspiracy theorists say they changed to make sure people weren't saving their poppies from the previous year.) Although we really can't complain, because the shape of the Canadian poppies is much more elegant than those in other Commonwealth countries. I've also considered wearing a white poppy...

 

[Fabro]

They started appearing last week in downtown Vancouver, and I've been noticing people from the legions selling them. Over the next 10 days they should become very common downtown, esp. among business people. I'll pick one up on the way home tonight.

 

[gorgekko]

I wear one every year, starting about 10 days before Remembrance Day. I'm happy that the Canadian Legion made the move back to the black center.

 

[fkl118]

I usually start wearing mine at the beginning of November ie. today.

I think poppy-wearing is only popular in Canada. I notice that most people wear one, at least in Toronto.

 

[whoopee]

Originally Posted by fkl118

I usually start wearing mine at the beginning of November ie. today.

I think poppy-wearing is only popular in Canada. I notice that most people wear one, at least in Toronto.

Pretty popular in the UK and some other Commonwealth countries.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by tiecollector

Is it really any surprise these days that nobody knows anything about history? What are some other flowers that would look good? Gerbera Daisy

Carnation

An orchid would look nice.

 

[Connemara]

I don't see myself wearing a red poppy, but a white poppy for peace is a noble proposition.

 

[lasbar]

That was exactly the point i was trying to make...
Wearing a poppy must be done ,not under peer pressure or simple social etiquette but as a mark of respect for the millions of British,Canadian ,Belgian ,French ,American,Italians,Russians,Austro-hungarians ,Turks , Germans (and others) soldiers and civilians,having being killed during WW1....
The poppy is there to remind us the sheer horror and stupidity of that conflict and many others...
It doesn't matter if the Poppy is red ,white or pink as long as we remember and learn with humility from the shadows of the past...
Just go to Verdun ,Ypres ,Le Chemin des Dames,The Somme battlefields and you will be silenced by the sea of wooden or white crosses reminding us the sheer madness of world wars...
Youngsters as young as 16 are resting there, and many others who sacrified their lifes for an ideal ,most of them completely forgotten by people more worried about reading celebs stories or football pages in the tabloid press..
Go to the smallest village in Britain ,Germany or France and have a look at the local remembrance site....Look in silence at the names and the date of birth following them and that is more powerful that any well-made documentaries on that matter...
2,3,4 brothers ,father and sons,cousins ,we must remember that behind every single name is laying an human tragedy...
My grand-father who lost his hip ,his innocence and many friends in Verdun used to tell me stories about human nature,sheer courage , dignity ,humility or sometimes cowardice and shame ...
He used to tell me that people used to see the medals,the physical injuries not the invisible wounds,the sleepless nights and facing people who did not understand what he went through...
We must not turn a deaf ears to Stories about listening from the trenches to people as young as 16 dying slowly and calling their mums in French ,English and German,stories about putting bullets through friends skulls to stop their agony, stories about hundreds of thousand healthy people killed for strategical or political reasons during Verdun ,the Somme or the Flanders offensives...
There are no words strong enough to be remind us how important it is that future generations listen to that kind of stories and do understand that war is not only about pomps ,medals and heroes welcomes.
The irony ,so well underlined by the Blackadder serie IV,of this slaughter ?
Soldiers came back mortally wounded ,mentally and physically scared by what they had seen and it only took 20 years after Versailles to start a new world conflict...

 

[neyus]

Originally Posted by lefty

Bit off topic, but for those who don't know...


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

From the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

lefty


Hey I was going to post this. I wear a poppy during remembrance day