White Poppies

I've never seen or heard of white poppies.

i know they've been sold around the city, but vets were/are extremely upset about it.

To me poppies just mean remembering those who gave their lives in combat during the war that was to end all wars. I never thought that by wearing one I would be supporting the concept of war itself or making a bold politic statement, it was purely sentimental. Now you're making me think too hard about it, thanks :p pfftt

Wearing a red poppy doesn't really assert support for war. Remembrance is far different from the whole throw yellow ribbon on your SUV/"support the troops" line.

The soldiers that died didn't make the wars they fought in, politicians did. The poppy as a symbol recognizes the tragedy of war. Not to mention that during WWI and WWII a lot of the war dead were conscripted.

And while you can never change the past, recognizing the utter futility of most wars by remembering the losses, seems like one of the strongest antiwar sentiments that one can make.

That being said, if I ran into a box of the white ones in Vancouver, I'd probably sport both for the next couple of days.

i wrote "pacifist" on my poppy w/ a sharpie. It was a poppy i found last year on the ground and kept around.

Poppies ARE pacifist symbols. There's nothing to think about. They are a symbol of Flanders in Belgium which saw the bloodiest fighting. The ground was so ripped up afterwards that only poppies could grow there. How remembering how bloody and terrible war is by wearing a poppy can glorify war is beyond me. Wear a poppy for goodness sake. I'm from the UK so maybe this means more to us than you as all our grandfathers fought in the war - but even so.... (And by the way, the money for your poppy goes towards meals on wheels and other senior services.

Ok, I'm totally anti-war, especially this illegal manufactured war we have just now, but you've raised my hackles: You "don't buy that line about protecting my freedom".

The classic smug Canadian attitude in action - acting nice, but not doing anything constructive, just complaining. (Canada's terrible environmental record is another example of this.)

If fighting for the freedom of people who were facing a power that was systematically conquering Europe - wiping out Jews, homosexuals, intellectuals, and anyone else who got in their way - isn't worth fighting for, what is? Buy a poppy, you don't even have to wear it if you're so worried about what the "cool" (ie ill-informed) kids will think.

For me wearing a poppy is a dilema:
my father, as a sixteen year old was drafted and fought in WWII. Was wounded,
and was taken prisoner. Served in a work camp in Siberia for two years. Why Siberia? Because he was a Hungarian born in Transylvania. As we know Hungary was on Hitler side. That puts my father on the wrong side of the war. Does that make him a hero or the enemy? Was he a fascist or just a teenager who was a victim of circumctances? Should I wear a poppy or duck when I see the veterans selling them? Maybe wearing a white poppy would make me feel better.

Jim, your comment about how it "means" so much more to you because your grandfathers all fought in it doesn't really sit well with me. Canadians fought in World War 2 as well.

Also, stop making sweeping generalizations about Canadians. It destroys any credibility you might have in an argument.

hey mom! thanks for commenting.

the red poppy doesn't just mean "never again" for me, it also holds an implicit message about militarism. that it is unfortunate but necessary. which is the same message we're now getting about afghanistan. which is why the white poppy emerged. to say war is unfortunate and not necessary. and Jim, i don't agree that WWII was just about saving the people in concentration camps, that's just the story we're given so we feel morally superior. atrocities happen all over and we don't step in. war is always about borders and money and resources and power. and we are always told it's about freedom and liberty.

Poppies as a symbol of Rememberance Day seem okay with me. I don't think it's about what you support, one way or the other. I think it's about remembering. Remeberance. That doesn't seem charged one way or the other. How we feel about those memories is another story, IMHO.

Poppies...there were a lot of them in the open fields where my mother and her parents together with a few thousand more had to flee in June 1944 after their houses were destroyed by bombs dropped from Canadian warplanes.You know the saying: one man's hero is the other man's terrorist. I'm the other man.I live here in Canada a refugee from the communists who took over my country with the help of the liberating rapist red army.
Today is my friend tomorrow is my foe, who cares as long as we can sell and use our weapons. And that is the sad truth.

The Peace Pledge Union - who came up with the white poppy idea- spent 1940 sharing platforms with fascists and anti-semites. It's leaders Morris, Ben Greene and the Marquis of Tavistock were out and out jew haters. Objectively pacifists always end up on the side of the bullies and murderers. Read some history.

My husband fought in WWII, and celebrated his 21st birthday on his way back home. He was "recalled" for the Korean War, and Viet Nam. He hates war, but if he hadn't fought along with so many other brave men and women in the first one... we would all be speaking German now and poppies would probably be banned.. then you would want one!! I just wanted to paint a white poppy field for my bedroom wall because it symbolizes restful sleep... which I could use!! Why does everything have to be so political? Wear a poppy, don't wear a poppy... but NEVER disregard the sacrifice made by OTHERS for YOU!