[arista]

Feck You Windsor
I do not wear one.


http://news.sky.com/story/1578184/wi...t-wear-a-poppy



Video report

[bots]

i whole heartedly support the armed forces, but I will never again wear a poppy.

[Niamh.]

Listen to Barbara Windsor telling people what they have to wear, you feck off Barbara

[Cherie]

Maybe she should put her money where her mouth is and stand on a street selling them then, personal choice Barbara which is what conflict has gifted us.

[DemolitionRed]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i whole heartedly support the armed forces, but I will never again wear a poppy.

Why would you never again wear a poppy?

[Northern Monkey]

I wear one but i would'nt ever go to Babs for fashion advice

[bots]

Originally Posted by DemolitionRed

Why would you never again wear a poppy?

because I don't agree that the services should have to rely on charity, and the longer that people continue to contribute, the less likely that government will be forced to accept their responsibility. Of course I want servicemen and families treated well, but charity is not the solution.

[Tom4784]

I donate money to the charity but I refuse to wear a poppy, It's a symbol that's become less about remembering the dead and more about saying 'Oh, look at me, I'm wearing a poppy, aren't I wonderful and kind?' and belittling anyone who doesn't think the same. Every time someone on Facebook shares a picture of a poppy with the caption 'THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN TAKEN OWN X AMOUNT OF TIMES, SHARE THE HELL OUT OF IT' I die a little inside.

I like poppies and what they stand for, but I simply hate people for turning them into a self absorbed status symbol.

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

because I don't agree that the services should have to rely on charity, and the longer that people continue to contribute, the less likely that government will be forced to accept their responsibility. Of course I want servicemen and families treated well, but charity is not the solution.

I never looked at it that way, it puts a whole new light on the issue.
Thanks for that bitontheslide.Good point really.

[Firewire]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I donate money to the charity but I refuse to wear a poppy, It's a symbol that's become less about remembering the dead and more about saying 'Oh, look at me, I'm wearing a poppy, aren't I wonderful and kind?' and belittling anyone who doesn't think the same. Every time someone on Facebook shares a picture of a poppy with the caption 'THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN TAKEN OWN X AMOUNT OF TIMES, SHARE THE HELL OUT OF IT' I die a little inside.

I like poppies and what they stand for, but I simply hate people for turning them into a self absorbed status symbol.

I agree. I always donate but never wear one.

[Will.]

saggy Barbara...

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

because I don't agree that the services should have to rely on charity, and the longer that people continue to contribute, the less likely that government will be forced to accept their responsibility. Of course I want servicemen and families treated well, but charity is not the solution.

..I kind of don't have that faith in the Government if I'm honest, even with charity donations, some ex service people end their days in poverty...

[MB.]

Alternatively, do what you feel is right for yourself (and allow others to do the same), stick to your beliefs and make sure you establish the difference between paying respect in an individual way and wearing a paper flower for a week or two

[Livia]

Alongside the soldiers (and sailors and airmen and women) who die leaving dependants and the ones who are terribly physically injured and need support forever, there are those who've developed mental illness as a result of their service and mentally they never really leave the battlefield. Lots of those with mental illness end up living on the streets. They have been failed generation after generation.

But hey, if remembering these people annoys you because some people wear the poppy as a status symbol, then you opt out. Never mind the millions who wear them as a show of support... you focus on the few airheads who think wearing a poppy gives them some status. And when you do choose not to wear a poppy, remember that it's the British Forces who've fought for your freedom to turn your backs on them.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

because I don't agree that the services should have to rely on charity, and the longer that people continue to contribute, the less likely that government will be forced to accept their responsibility. Of course I want servicemen and families treated well, but charity is not the solution.

And what should those ex-service people who need support do while we're waiting for the government to step up?

[smudgie]

I wear my poppy with pride.
Not as a ruddy status symbol or whatever, but to show that I remember the people that have fought and died for this country, alongside those that survived but still suffer.
I bought the ceramic poppies as well, I also have direct debits paid into the charity twice yearly. This is my main charity as they helped my dad towards the end of his life.
Silly for Barbara to whinge in about others refusing or not wanting to wear one though, it is all down to personal choice.

[Will.]

[Kate!]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I donate money to the charity but I refuse to wear a poppy, It's a symbol that's become less about remembering the dead and more about saying 'Oh, look at me, I'm wearing a poppy, aren't I wonderful and kind?' and belittling anyone who doesn't think the same. Every time someone on Facebook shares a picture of a poppy with the caption 'THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN TAKEN OWN X AMOUNT OF TIMES, SHARE THE HELL OUT OF IT' I die a little inside.

I like poppies and what they stand for, but I simply hate people for turning them into a self absorbed status symbol.

[2]

Wearing one is like proclaiming I've done my bit.

[bots]

Originally Posted by Livia

And what should those ex-service people who need support do while we're waiting for the government to step up?

The government should commit a certain level of funding which matches/exceeds that raised by the charity, then as the charity is phased out, the government funding takes up the slack

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by Livia

Alongside the soldiers (and sailors and airmen and women) who die leaving dependants and the ones who are terribly physically injured and need support forever, there are those who've developed mental illness as a result of their service and mentally they never really leave the battlefield. Lots of those with mental illness end up living on the streets. They have been failed generation after generation.

But hey, if remembering these people annoys you because some people wear the poppy as a status symbol, then you opt out. Never mind the millions who wear them as a show of support... you focus on the few airheads who think wearing a poppy gives them some status. And when you do choose not to wear a poppy, remember that it's the British Forces who've fought for your freedom to turn your backs on them.

I donate money. Wearing a plastic poppy is not going to fix any of those problems, they do nothing, it's the money that matters. I do not need to wear a poppy to respect the armed forces, I don't feel the need to show off to other people and if they judge me for that then they need a hobby.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Livia

Alongside the soldiers (and sailors and airmen and women) who die leaving dependants and the ones who are terribly physically injured and need support forever, there are those who've developed mental illness as a result of their service and mentally they never really leave the battlefield. Lots of those with mental illness end up living on the streets. They have been failed generation after generation.

But hey, if remembering these people annoys you because some people wear the poppy as a status symbol, then you opt out. Never mind the millions who wear them as a show of support... you focus on the few airheads who think wearing a poppy gives them some status. And when you do choose not to wear a poppy, remember that it's the British Forces who've fought for your freedom to turn your backs on them.

THIS^.I wear a poppy,not because I want to be looked on as kind etc,I wear one as I am proud of our soldiers ,the same as I wear a yellow daffodil for the McMillan nurses and ribbons for cancer,I'de like to think that a show of support may encourage others to support charities too. It's easy to blame the government for everything,but sometimes it doesn't hurt ( or maybe it does)to have a good look at ourselves.

[Amy Jade]

I have a poppy on my coat, not so people think I am amazing or caring, it's because in my mind we live as good a life as we do because so many sacrificed themselves for us - I don't judge those who do not wear one but I know people who think they're too tacky to wear, that I do judge.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I donate money. Wearing a plastic poppy is not going to fix any of those problems, they do nothing, it's the money that matters. I do not need to wear a poppy to respect the armed forces, I don't feel the need to show off to other people and if they judge me for that then they need a hobby.

Good for you Dezzy, you donate and you choose not to wear a poppy. That's your choice. However, I have never known anyone who wears a poppy as a status symbol despite all my years with attachments to the British Army in one form or another. Most people wear them with pride. I hope I never encounter the people to whom you refer.

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

The government should commit a certain level of funding which matches/exceeds that raised by the charity, then as the charity is phased out, the government funding takes up the slack

That's never going to happen, is it. While they're still having to go out and shake a tin cup for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, the government ensuring our troops get the care they deserve is never going to be a priority. So that being the case, we have to step up and support them ourselves.

[kirklancaster]

I wholeheartedly agree with Livia and Kaz.

There may be a small element of society who DO wear a poppy as some sort of 'Status Symbol' but that is no more a reason for the rest of us to justify NOT wearing one, than it is to disown the flag of St George because the thuggish National Front or some other sicko extremist faction has adopted it for their own nefarious purposes.

While it is always commendable to donate to our ex-servicemen's charities, in these troubled times, when our very existence as a nation is under threat - from within as well as from without - and when our own politicians are seeking to further decimate our threadbare armed forces and leave us even more defencless, and when more vitriol is levelled against our military than it is against the evil terrorists who they are risking life and limb to defend us against, it is NOW more than ever, highly essential to actually put our support for our armed service boys and girls on PUBLIC display and to 'Stand Up and Be Counted'.

Whenever the Right Wing Extremists march and protest, the intelligent among us KNOW that they are a minority and that the vast silent majority of the British are not xenophobic, racist thugs.Whenever British Muslim fanatics parade their support for ISIS on our streets, we KNOW that they are in a minority, and that the vast silent majority of British Muslims are peace-loving moderates who are proud to be British.

But how much more satisfying would it be, and how much of a kick-in-the-teeth for such extremists if that majority STOPPED being silent and SHOUTED their support for what they believed in - even if it was only by the wearing of a little emblem which silently, historically, but categorically is universally recognised.

So, I will continue to - both donate - and wear my poppy with pride.

[Lostie!]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I donate money to the charity but I refuse to wear a poppy, It's a symbol that's become less about remembering the dead and more about saying 'Oh, look at me, I'm wearing a poppy, aren't I wonderful and kind?' and belittling anyone who doesn't think the same. Every time someone on Facebook shares a picture of a poppy with the caption 'THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN TAKEN OWN X AMOUNT OF TIMES, SHARE THE HELL OUT OF IT' I die a little inside.

I like poppies and what they stand for, but I simply hate people for turning them into a self absorbed status symbol.

Spot on.

The self-righteousness of some people about it is ridiculous.

Also, she might want to remember her trysts with gangsters, extramarital affair and 5 abortions before judging others simply for not wearing a poppy. I know which I think is worse.