Poppies

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 09 Nov 2011, 23:38

oh yeh I met some very interesting people one little welsh man who was wearing a caterpillar club badge on his lapel I remarked about it and he said I was the first person who had ever known what it was .
He had been shot down a couple of times once picked up at sea the second time he evaded from Germany to Spain .
I met some interesting old lady's quite a few who wore sweetheart badges, quite a few of those were war widows and they were mighty fine and had quiet dignity, war is a sad thing

Snail · Post by **Snail** » 09 Nov 2011, 23:52

Soldiers are treated like shit, during and after. I donate, but usually don't bother wearing the poppy. As Jonny2mad says, these guys are treated very badly. Your stance on specific wars shouldn't stop you donating. many ex-soldiers need help. it doesn't matter why they joined, or the particular conflict they fought in. so buy a poppy anyway, ludwig and others. the royal british legion helps a lot of very needy people. Forget about the hype and propaganda.

Snail · Post by **Snail** » 10 Nov 2011, 00:09

Money from the red poppy is used for British service personnel. Profits from the white poppy goes to the peace pledge union to fund future campaigns. And doesn't go towards helping the victims of war, as many people assume. Is this true?

Ludwig · Post by **Ludwig** » 10 Nov 2011, 00:29

I do agree Snail that soldiers are exploited, and suffer.

Then, so do millions (billions?) of other people - and they receive a lot less cash than British ex-soldiers. In any case, my money won't stop soldiers being treated like shit.

(I don't plan to buy a white poppy either.)

In the end, it's nobody else's business who I give money to.

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 10 Nov 2011, 00:44

well if enough people donated it most likely would stop a lot of ex soldiers being treated like shit .
I mean if you had some billionaire who came with a pile of money and said right this is for wounded ex service men , wounded ex service men could be really helped, the poppy appeal raises about 27 million which isn't very much
With a lot more money they could do a lot more

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 10 Nov 2011, 08:24

Isn't is something of a scandal that ex-servicemen need a charity?

Ludwig · Post by **Ludwig** » 10 Nov 2011, 09:25

jonny2mad wrote: well if enough people donated it most likely would stop a lot of ex soldiers being treated like shit .
I mean if you had some billionaire who came with a pile of money and said right this is for wounded ex service men , wounded ex service men could be really helped, the poppy appeal raises about 27 million which isn't very much
With a lot more money they could do a lot more

What can I say, except that there are things I care about more.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 10 Nov 2011, 09:54

My parents didn't fight but were seconded into secret back room war work. That is how they met, so I should be grateful for that!

I did give money to a red poppy collector but I don't wear a poppy - it is no longer a remonstration against an uncaring government, it is more a nationalist symbol of loyalty. It has too many resonances with 30s Germany.

Far more ex-service men suffer mental health problems than suffer from wounds received. War, and being a soldier is a brutal business. My Wife's friend's husband topped himself last month. He was an ex-serviceman, and a lifelong alcoholic.

DominicJ · Post by **DominicJ** » 10 Nov 2011, 11:56

The RBL doesnt just help those with missing limbs.....

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 10 Nov 2011, 11:58

The White Poppy for Peace Campaign wrote: Quote from one of our members Mark Maguire.....The compulsory nature of red poppy wearing and its sole purpose of remembering the dead of the UK armed forces, very pointedly ignores the main casualties of war - civilians. This is no acciden...t and the institutionalisation of the red poppy throughout the fabric of life in the UK has a very political agenda: the support of war as a mechanism for settling differences. War is simply a robust way of pursuing foreign policy objectives. The red poppy is one of the means of lining up the people behind such objectives: it is the 3 line whip issued to UK citizens!

JavaScriptDonkey · Post by **JavaScriptDonkey** » 11 Nov 2011, 21:02

So why has every RBL club I've ever been in been little more than a private drinking club?

Alcohol has ruined far more lives than war in the last 50 years.

As it happens I buy a red poppy and then don't wear it. There are lots of people in need but I object to it becoming a social imperative to 'support our boys'.

You volunteered and bad things happened. Bad things also happen to civilians. Get over it already.

DominicJ · Post by **DominicJ** » 15 Nov 2011, 08:45

More UK citizens than soldiers are harmed in war?

I'd love to see the evidence for that....

Blue Peter · Post by **Blue Peter** » 15 Nov 2011, 09:25

DominicJ wrote:More UK citizens than soldiers are harmed in war?

I'd love to see the evidence for that....

I don't think that the claim used the qualification 'UK'. Think about Iraq, there have been over a million excess deaths (mainly citizens), whereas only a few thousand soldiers have been killed,

Peter.

DominicJ · Post by **DominicJ** » 15 Nov 2011, 09:38

But the RBL doesnt claim to "save the world", merely look after British Soldiers.

Blue Peter · Post by **Blue Peter** » 15 Nov 2011, 09:45

DominicJ wrote:But the RBL doesnt claim to "save the world", merely look after British Soldiers.

There's no mention of the RBL in the quote,

Peter.