(no subject)

[slemslempike]

I’m quite confused by this story. Basically, Ekklesia, a Christian think tank has said that wearing a red poppy is not as Christian as wearing a white poppy. What’s really puzzling is the British Legion response:
The Royal British Legion, which runs the annual Poppy Appeal, said his views were misguided and a white poppy would only confuse the public.
"The colour has become an internationally recognised symbol," said Brigadier David Wills, the Legion's director general.
"If you start to dilute that recognition by bringing in other colours, I don't think people will fully understand what they are buying the poppy for."
But there’s already a white poppy appeal to commemorate the victims of war while affirming pacifism. So it’s not bringing in other colours, it’s using another one (which has been going since the 1930s). Ekklesia (the think tank) also have a different take on the symbolism of the colour: the red poppy implies redemption can come through war, whereas a white poppy would suggest redemption through Christian belief. That’s not what the existing white poppy means. The PPU (who run the white poppy campaign) were quite strongly linked with Christianity, but (from their website) “Although Sheppard always argued from deep Christian conviction, he insisted that all were welcome who signed the pledge, whether from a religious or humanist standpoint”. I do realise that yahoo news is hardly the best way to read a story, but still. Confusing.

I have just had the conversation that I generally end up with in places of work, about drinking. Not alcohol, although that does crop up, but tea. I don’t drink tea. At all, as I can’t stand the taste. I also don’t drink coffee very often, and it never occurs to me to have some. Not drinking hot drinks at work is a source of great anxiety for people, and one of my officemates is puzzled by it. Interestingly, I am English and she is Korean, so while I often feel like it’s a national character thing, this wasn’t so much. I had to reassure her that I drink water because I feel like it. Then she asked if I hated chocolate, because I seemed very healthy. I looked at my “chocoholic” mug. Then I explained that I liked chocolate very much, and I wasn’t on a diet, or avoiding caffeine, and I wasn’t “being good”, I was just drinking water. Because I like it. And I also liked chocolate, a great deal.

Comments

[lsugaralmond.livejournal.com]

I was also confused by that story, mostly because I had no idea that white poppies were available as an option, I've never seen one. And besides, aren't the red poppies supposed to be about remembering the people who died, not commemorating war, so I don't really see the need for a different coloured one for pacifism anyway.
And I really don't get the Christianity argument. Is bizarre.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I've very occasionally seen white poppies on people, and I knew that they existed, and I was pretty sure that they weren't religious, although I had to google to find out. I think that because it's the British Legion running the red poppies, it's not anti-war, so there is perhaps a distinction needed for people who want to say that they are anti-war, but not anti-those who died. Possibly. The article has confused me too greatly!

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

Aha, since I'm a Green and a peacenik, I move in circles where a red poppy would get a raised eyebrow - see them all the time. The symbolism is, I believe, that it's remembrance drained of the bloodiness, hence white.

That said, I don't have a poppy at all this year.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

That's what I've heard, but the idea that the poppy is red because the bloodiness is somehow being sanctioned or celebrated confuses me - I thought it was kind of because the Flanders field poppies were sort of... red.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

Someone I dislike vehemently is always gung-ho about the white poppies, so I've heard of them, but probably never gave them a fair chance. But, having said that, I think having a special poppy which proclaims 'I am against war!' only creates a stupid false dichotomy, because I'm fairly certain that people who wear red poppies are not all out there cheering Tony Blair for getting us into Iraq, but if white = peace then you're not allowing red = peace.

If you're a pacifist, then you could wear a peace badge next to your poppy.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

"The idea of an alternative poppy dates back to 1926, just a few years after the red poppy came to be used in Britain. A member of the No More War Movement suggested that the British Legion should be asked to imprint 'No More War' in the centre of the red poppies and failing this pacifists should make their own flowers."

From the PPU website. The red poppies are not specifically against war, and it could be argued that they are about commemorating those who died with an unspoken "...so we could win" at the end. They're part of a culture of war as inevitable if regrettable. The white poppies are for a culture of peace.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

Quite a few people wear both red and white poppies, if that makes more sense to you? A peace badge, I think, is a bit different and more current-events-oriented. The white poppy is a tradition held to by people who lived through the world wars.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

I think I am more confused than before, given slemslempike's comment above.... red for remembrance and commemoration of those who fought, and white for a culture of peace?

The only white poppy wearers I know of were all born well after the wars, and I was getting the sense that it was new and trendy and hijacking an established symbol. Which is clearly not the case, so I amend my previous annoyance.