Poppy sales banned at a Kamloops dollar store

[Jonrox]

I took the time to read about the white poppy myself... interesting, it was actually first thought of in 1926, and first sold in 1933..... to remember war hero's, but at the same time, as a "no more war" movement......

The whole concept has good intentions. They say red poppies signify a political stand point, which I see truth in that. Government always brainwashing kids into war.

One thing, it has always been controversial, even since the 30's. As far as I read, it was never meant for disrespect..

Imagine the craziness of the world sometimes, that people fight over such things, even as the color of a poppy. Stunning, isn't it?

Then wear your white poppy some other time, when you don't run the risk of disrespecting the men and women who fought and died for your right to wear it. Show some respect - they earned it.

[Jonrox]

No it's not. Read the history.

I've read the history. It's a slap in the face to our veterans. This is the time of year we honour those who have fought and died for us - and part of that respect comes from wearing a red poppy. Wear the white one some other time.

[Fancy]

Your opinion but I can certainly understand a decline in wearing poppies when politics play such a role.

[MAPearce]

Your opinion but I can certainly understand a decline in wearing poppies when politics play such a role.

Politics ruin everything..

Lest We Forget .......

[goatboy]

Could you imagine that? An opinion that was different than what you believed in... this is ground breaking folks

As far as I knew, opinions are really never "right or wrong".... they are just that, opinions.

Now facts are different.... but in reality, even fact can become wrong as well after time... like the earth being flat.

I think the use of " it's my opinion so don't criticize it" is used far too often to hide behind. If you feel that strongly about something that is contrary to what most believe in, then you better be prepared to defend your "opinion". Don't get defensive about taking an unpopular stance when challenged on it, justify it. Opinions are always right or wrong to the person giving it and the person receiving it.

[Fancy]

Couple of good websites:

http://remembrancedayforall.ca/?page_id=3156

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm

[steven lloyd]

The red poppy already symbolizes peace

A group of university students has started a white poppy campaign, saying the red variation glorifies war.
Nevil Hunt, November 7, 2013 11:46:57 AM

It seems some people are having trouble remembering leading up to this year’s Remembrance Day.

A group of university students in Ottawa plan to attend the Remembrance Day service at the National War Memorial next Monday to distribute white poppies; what they call a promotion of peace. The idea was spawned by a not-for-profit organization called the Rideau Institute.

OK, that’s great and all – but we already have a symbol of peace: the red poppy. The very same flower that grew like a weed in the battle-scarred landscapes of Europe. The poppy was blind – unrestricted by wartime alliances, it would grow along the trenches of the English and German alike. It was a flower that literally grew out of the blood-soaked soil of war.

Across the country, Nov. 11 has a mantra: “Lest we forget.” It means we should always remember the cost of war – the lives lost – before putting more at risk. It is not a call to arms or a celebration of conflict.

But somewhere along the way, some of us have forgotten.

‘Young people don’t want to celebrate war,’ University of Toronto student Celyn Dufay said to the Sun News Network. ‘We want to work for peace.’

But isn’t that already happening? I mean, surely, the veterans who attend the official Ottawa Remembrance Day ceremony are just itching to go back to war. They’re just itching to pick their guns back up, and relive the horrors that left many of them disabled, haunted and mentally crippled.

Just think about it, how often do you hear a veteran talking about how awesome D-Day was?

Understandably, members of the Royal Canadian Legion are upset. Not only is the white poppy group suggesting red poppies support war, its parallel campaign threatens to divert donations from the Legion’s red poppy sales, and into the pockets of historically-ignorant university students.

And by the way, the coins and bills we stuff into those donation boxes help veterans and their families get dental care and eye tests, prescriptions – even clothing and shelter when the need is great. The poppy fund also pays for an annual poster contest for children to create designs with a Remembrance Day theme – a smart idea that connects future generations with today’s veterans (too bad Celyn Dufay wasn’t involved).

What is the White Poppy campaign going to do with your donations?

Thumbing your nose at the symbolism of the red poppy is hurtful, and frankly, ignorant. Creating some sort of competitive distribution system can only cannibalize the goodwill donations the legion receives today.

The Rideau Institute and the students in Ottawa should leave their white poppies at home. Forever. But they should still attend the official ceremony in the nation’s capital.

Maybe, just maybe, it might help them remember.

http://www.theloop.ca/news/opinion/arti ... izes-peace

[steven lloyd]

... I can certainly understand a decline in wearing poppies when politics play such a role.

I feel the bile rising up the back of my throat when I see all those Conservative politicians with their poppies given their gross and shameful treatment of our veterans. I don’t know if another party would do better but I’m simply disgusted that we’d send our children overseas to fight, get maimed and even killed, and yhe just essentially abandon those that make it home.

[samsquench07]

Wars are always government driven...... Also to the previous poster..... opinions are not right or wrong to the person "with" the opinion. It depends on how strong your ego is...... I don't believe in red poppies, but I don't believe im right....... I just believe its my opinion.......and I do excerise my belief of red poppies being government, politicial driven.... I don't wear one.... no one gives me grief...

[steven lloyd]

Thumbing your nose at the symbolism of the red poppy is hurtful, and frankly, ignorant.

http://www.theloop.ca/news/opinion/arti ... izes-peace

[flamingfingers]

This is the only poppy to wear on Remembrance Day:

[Merry]

I'm trying to figure out how some people got the idea that wearing a red poppy somehow "glorifies" or "celebrates" war.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Europe that I see things differently, or maybe it's because I'm old enough to have known many folks who lived through WW2, but I have never considered either the wearing of a poppy, or attendance at Remembrance Day Services, to be anything other than a reminder of the horrors of war. And it is that very "Act of Remembrance" which is supposed to help us prevent a repeat.

When I was a child my parents insisted I and my siblings attend the service as a way of making sure we understood how deeply war had affected our families and their friends. Seeing the raw emotions exhibited by survivors attending those ceremonies made a big impression on us, so much so that even today, when there are often few if any actual survivors attending the ceremony, I'm frequently moved to tears at the memory of how those folks felt. Believe me when I say that observing such human agony in no way glorifies war; quite the opposite.

History shows us that history forgotten is often destined to be repeated. Therefore, remembering the human sacrifice caused by war is an effective way of trying to prevent war.

[rustled]

I'm trying to figure out how some people got the idea that wearing a red poppy somehow "glorifies" or "celebrates" war.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Europe that I see things differently, or maybe it's because I'm old enough to have known many folks who lived through WW2, but I have never considered either the wearing of a poppy, or attendance at Remembrance Day Services, to be anything other than a reminder of the horrors of war. And it is that very "Act of Remembrance" which is supposed to help us prevent a repeat.

When I was a child my parents insisted I and my siblings attend the service as a way of making sure we understood how deeply war had affected our families and their friends. Seeing the raw emotions exhibited by survivors attending those ceremonies made a big impression on us, so much so that even today, when there are often few if any actual survivors attending the ceremony, I'm frequently moved to tears at the memory of how those folks felt. Believe me when I say that observing such human agony in no way glorifies war; quite the opposite.

History shows us that history forgotten is often destined to be repeated. Therefore, remembering the human sacrifice caused by war is an effective way of trying to prevent war.

Great post, Merry. Very well put.

[Merry]

I've always considered myself to be a "pacifist" (although that does not mean I am a 'conscientious objector"), and when I was young I studied "war poetry" written by veterans of the First World War. Those poets were horrified at what they had witnessed, and wrote about it in an effort to prevent a repeat.

Far from "glorifying" war, they wanted people to remember all its horrors, yet they never suggested we forget their fallen comrades. Quite the opposite in fact; they wanted us to remember them and the horrible way they died in the hope that remembering would help prevent a repeat which, if successful, would then mean all their comrades did not die in vain.

One poem in particular always resonated with me, and I have never forgotten it. It is "Dulce et Decorum est" by Wilfred Owen, a soldier during WW1 who was killed in action. The title is Latin and means "It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country" but, as you will see when you read the poem, Owen was actually pointing out the irony and untruthfulness of such a phrase. Here it is:

DULCE ET DECORUM EST by WILFRED OWEN

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,---
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

This is a good example of someone who lived through the horrors of war, and wants people to REMEMBER those horrors, and the people who died. And that folks is what Remembrance Day and the wearing of a Poppy is all about. It is NOT about glorifying or encouraging war. It is about remembering all the terrible things that happen to ordinary people, in the hope that we will NOT glorify war and want to repeat it. Hence the phrase "Lest We Forget".

[omisimaw]

The white poppy was promoted as a symbol of peace.

I remember the white poppy.. you used to have a choice which one when you made your donation.
The couple at the SaveOn yesterday were a hoot!
Remember to attend the Legion or Army and Navy Club on the 11th to support the cause and have a laugh and song with a whole host of vets, Canadian and others....