poppies

[joe-90]

If the German football team wanted to wear a Swastika to remember their war dead - would we say OK?

 

[noseall]

If the German football team wanted to wear a Swastika to remember their war dead - would we say OK?

The swastika is illegal in Germany.

A poppy is just a flower and will grow anywhere.

 

[ABCwarrior]

Didn't Jon Snow refuse to be harassed into wearing one while reading the news a few years ago? Quite right.

I can see why people would want to for loved ones lost through conscription, and especially white ones for those strung up in no mans land for being conscientious objectors.
But since conscription ended anyone who joins the forces knows that it's their choice, they are not there primarily to learn a trade or do a cushy 21 yrs with a top pension- they're first and foremost HIRED KILLERS ....

I personally would not wear a poppy these days, I wouldn't want to be seen to be endorsing our recent illegal wars in the last decade where naive soldiers are used to further corporate greed and told it's a war on terror(which by definition can never be won).

Ironic given that the blood red poppy is the symbol of remembrance, and then think what else the poppy is used for and how since our invasion of Afghanistan and removal of the Taliban who kept production down to minimal levels, the vast majority of the worlds now massive heroin problem now comes from there. So for any of you with a friend or relative struggling with smack addiction in the last decade, maybe you should remember this first and foremost....

 

[joinerjohn]

I'll put ABC Warrior down for a white poppy then.

PS the reason the poppy is red is because after the guns fell silent, it was the first flower to show, due to the fact that the seeds can remain dormant in soil until disturbed.

 

[ABCwarrior]

Yeah, white it is....! Maybe my views are also shaped by the fact my grandad on my mums side was Polish. He escaped Krakow and made his way down through occupied Europe into the Adriatic then around to France, joining up with Sikorskys army and up to Britain apparently, then was stationed here in Fife until D-Day and went back for that. He never wanted his medals and never told us any real detail of what life was like. He just wanted to forget the war and never even took his medals, must have seen some sh*t...

 

[Blasphemous]

...since conscription ended anyone who joins the forces knows that it's their choice,

Obviously! They 'JOINED'!

they are not there primarily to learn a trade or do a cushy 21 yrs with a top pension- they're first and foremost HIRED KILLERS ....

Is that how you refer to your Grandfather? A Hired Killer? Very strange.

I personally would not wear a poppy these days, I wouldn't want to be seen to be endorsing our recent illegal wars in the last decade where naive soldiers are used to further corporate greed and told it's a war on terror(which by definition can never be won).

So they either know they're not there primarily to 'learn a trade or do a cushy 21 years with top pension' or they're 'naive'... Which is it?

As for the 'war on terror', what definition states that it can never be won?

 

[Blasphemous]

Yeah, white it is....! Maybe my views are also shaped by the fact my grandad on my mums side was Polish. He escaped Krakow and made his way down through occupied Europe into the Adriatic then around to France, joining up with Sikorskys army and up to Britain apparently, then was stationed here in Fife until D-Day and went back for that. He never wanted his medals and never told us any real detail of what life was like. He just wanted to forget the war and never even took his medals, must have seen some sh*t...

My father was part of the Special Air Service during WWII. He only mentioned the war once. I was a young boy of about 8. I recall there being a war movie on TV (can't remember which one), and a scene where WWII broke out. I asked him what it was like at the outbreak of the war. He replied that they were listening to the radio when the news came. There were young men there just like him. Some cheered, some looked worried. He said he never understood the cheering. He found it worrying. Other than that once, he would never talk about the war until his pal came to visit. He only ever visited us once in a while as he lived up in Scotland. I recall my father's face light up when he came to visit. They were great pals. I remember I used to try and listen into them talking in the lounge but was ushered away by my mother. It's the only time I know of him talking about the war. He never took his medals either. I've thought about trying to trace his military history but have always held back as I think if he didn't want us to know what happened then I should respect that.

All of that leads me to my regret that you refuse to wear a poppy. If for nothing and/or no one else, wear one for your grandfather. He deserves that mark of recognition surely?

 

[sooey]

As for the 'war on terror', what definition states that it can never be won?

Any sensible definition.

 

[Blasphemous]

As for the 'war on terror', what definition states that it can never be won?

Any sensible definition.

Come on then... show me.

 

[sooey]

Well if you want to "win" the war on terror against the moslems for instance, you'd have to eradicate every moslem on the planet. Because for every one you kill, you'll create two more wannabe terrorists.

 

[Blasphemous]

Well if you want to "win" the war on terror against the moslems for instance, you'd have to eradicate every moslem on the planet. Because for every one you kill, you'll create two more wannabe terrorists.

Why do you think that every Muslim is a terrorist?

 

[sooey]

Why do you think that every Muslim is a terrorist?

Of course not. But how do you think the average Iraqi for instance views the western powers? And that's after we've got rid of a terrible dictator for them. Then you've got the Iranians, Afghans, Saudis and christ knows who else. They've all got plenty of reasons to hate us, so how the hell do you think that a "war" on terrorists, who can strike anytime, anywhere, can be won?

 

[Blasphemous]

Why do you think that every Muslim is a terrorist?

Of course not. But how do you think the average Iraqi for instance views the western powers? And that's after we've got rid of a terrible dictator for them. Then you've got the Iranians, Afghans, Saudis and christ knows who else. They've all got plenty of reasons to hate us, so how the hell do you think that a "war" on terrorists, who can strike anytime, anywhere, can be won?

I think you're guessing a LOT.

 

[sooey]

I think you're not thinking.

 

[Blasphemous]

I think you're not thinking.

I 'think' we'll agree to disagree.