Red or white?

[Doggy Styles]

The ones who wear white poppies are more interested in the occasion being about them rather than those who died in war.

This

[Paddy]

Ex-SAS soldier blasts Poppy Appeal as a 'political tool' - Wales Online

THE true meaning of the poppy is being forgotten as it becomes a political tool to support current wars, a former elite soldier has claimed.

Ben Griffin, the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat, also said the use of the word “hero” to describe soldiers glorified war and was an “attempt to stifle criticism” of conflicts the UK is currently fighting.

Mr Griffin’s claims echo an increasing body of opinion that the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal’s promotion by key political and cultural figures is undermining the true message of Remembrance Day.

The Royal British Legion began using the poppy as a symbol for fundraising in the 1920s. Money used goes to help wounded servicemen past and serving and their families.

It also marks Remembrance Day, held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to November 11, the date in 1918 on which World War I ended.

It commemorates the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians.

But Mr Griffin, who quit the army in 2005 on moral grounds, claims it has been turned into a “month-long drum roll of support for current wars”.

Griffin, who went to school in Machynlleth and Swansea, told Wales On Sunday: “This year’s [national] campaign was launched by inviting The Saturdays to frolic half naked in a sea of poppies.

“The judges on X Factor [at the request of the Royal British Legion] have taken to wearing grotesque poppy fashion items.

“The RBL would say they are modernising and appealing to a younger generation. I disagree. I think that their stunts trivialise, normalise and sanitise war.”

Griffin, now a London ambulance driver who served for eight years in the Parachute Regiment, went on: “The use of the word ‘hero’ glorifies war and glosses over the ugly reality.

“War is nothing like a John Wayne movie. There is nothing heroic about being blown up in a vehicle, there is nothing heroic about being shot in an ambush and there is nothing heroic about the deaths of countless civilians.

“Calling our soldiers heroes is an attempt to stifle criticism of the wars we are fighting in.

[BjornMorg]

Poppies used to be the commemorative simple of the loses in the First World War and following that the Seconded World War. I have always worn a poppy up until this year when it seems that it has been taken over by government propaganda promoting the legitimacy of the Iraq and Afghan occupations. I find this year’s adverts rather sickening and nothing about WW1 or WW2.

WHS