Black poppies not me

[Happy Daddy]

you just dont want to talk about the issue of black and asian, and may i say muslims, hindus and sikhs that died for us do you? instead hide it under a blanket of "inclusivity" it happened get over it.

 

by the way you dont sound very happy either

 

---------- Post added 09-11-2016 at 20:48 ----------

 

how can it be racist when they dont have an issue with red poppies? seems to be the only racist is the one that cannot stand the idea of a black poppy to remember those black folks that gave up their lives, and in a lot of cases, hidden

 

Revenue from red poppies goes to all ex soldiers no matter their colour,

Revenue from the sale of black poppies is apparently only for non white ex soldiers. Make all the snide comments you want, thats the facts of the case. If true then it is very racist indeed.

 

---------- Post added 09-11-2016 at 20:53 ----------

 

Well I'm no more likely to buy a green poppy than a black poppy as the red ones are still widely available, so I won't be losing any sleep because someone's selling black poppies which I'm not forced to buy.

 

You wont be buying black ones? Why, dont you feel non whites made a worthy contribution or do you feel that black ones will just be divisive and set people apart?

[ANGELFIRE1]

I'm not reducing it to 'colour', it appears only you and a few others on this thread are getting their knickers in a twist over the colour of a piece of paper.

 

 

While it may be a "piece of paper" to yourself, to others it means a great deal.

The "POPPY" is RED, not black, not white, not green, not multicoloured, but RED as a symbol of rememberance to ALL who gave their lives for us.

 

Angel1.

[melthebell]

While it may be a "piece of paper" to yourself, to others it means a great deal.

The "POPPY" is RED, not black, not white, not green, not multicoloured, but RED as a symbol of rememberance to ALL who gave their lives for us.

 

Angel1.

 

to YOU, white poppies are also symbols to "some" including funnily enough some ex servicemen that fought in wars, and want to help show there should be an end to war.

And obviously if it takes off, it might not, black poppies will be a symbol to "some" who want to show the contribution "some" black people had during conflict.

ALL the poppies are symbols, ALL poppies mean something to somebody, as a symbol. and none should be taken as an insult to the other. they are all symbols about the same thing, just in slightly different ways

[medusa]

Back in the days when I could wear a poppy in a pin without endangering my health (last year a tiny pin prick cut landed me in hospital for 3 days) I used to wear a red poppy with a white poppy alongside it. It's perfectly possible to respect those who have given their lives defending our country at the same time as being a pacifist and hoping that such deaths and war are not necessary in the future.

 

These days I just log in to the Royal British Legion site, give them a tenner for each of us and then wear my poppy bangle instead.

 

I wouldn't buy a black poppy simply because I am aware of how many hundreds of thousands of people with brown skin who gave their lives to defend our country, just like thousands of people came from all over the world to help our industry re-establish itself after WWII. I'm not sure that I need any further education about that, but I respect every person, no matter the colour of their skin, language spoken, gender or creed, who has given their lives for something bigger than themselves.

[Jomie]

According to this article the black poppy initiative began in 2010 and was created by a woman - Selena Carty. This is what she has to say about why:

 

“My parents came from the British Empire and I found that when you’re in England, they document everything through museums, documentaries and monuments,” she said. “But I felt that it wasn’t right that our representation [in the war effort] is not out there, as somebody who is a British citizen.”

 

It is telling that she uses the word 'they'. This appears to be all about the issues of identity and belonging. Black people have been in this country for centuries but our history is largely white. Perhaps the black poppy is about folk saying that they are British, want to be included in UK history, are part of our heritage and want to be acknowledged as such.

 

How many of us have ever thought about black soldiers? I certainly have, and give thanks to all of them, regardless of ethnic background. I therefore don't feel the need for a black poppy as it has never occurred to me to separate them out from the white soldiers in the first place. They are part of our history already but as the UK is (or was) largely white, and the greatest loss of life was from the indigenous population of men it is understandable that this is more commonly represented in our history.

 

It would be interesting to know how much support she has for this enterprise. Has anyone actually seen them being worn or sold? However, as long as they are worn with the red poppy then that would seem inclusive.

 

Incidentially, the Poppy Shop has a book in their store called Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War. It must be popular as it is out of stock.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Jomie

[Petminder]

According to this article the black poppy initiative began in 2010 and was created by a woman - Selena Carty. This is what she has to say about why:

 

“My parents came from the British Empire and I found that when you’re in England, they document everything through museums, documentaries and monuments,” she said. “But I felt that it wasn’t right that our representation [in the war effort] is not out there, as somebody who is a British citizen.”

 

It is telling that she uses the word 'they'. This appears to be all about the issues of identity and belonging. Black people have been in this country for centuries but our history is largely white. Perhaps the black poppy is about folk saying that they are British, want to be included in UK history, are part of our heritage and want to be acknowledged as such.

 

How many of us have ever thought about black soldiers? I certainly have, and give thanks to all of them, regardless of ethnic background. I therefore don't feel the need for a black poppy as it has never occurred to me to separate them out from the white soldiers in the first place. They are part of our history already but as the UK is (or was) largely white, and the greatest loss of life was from the indigenous population of men it is understandable that this is more commonly represented in our history.

 

It would be interesting to know how much support she has for this enterprise. Has anyone actually seen them being worn or sold? However, as long as they are worn with the red poppy then that would seem inclusive.

 

Incidentially, the Poppy Shop has a book in their store called Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War. It must be popular as it is out of stock.

 

Why would someone think about the ethnicity of a soldier, do you think that when people buy a poppy they are thinking about white soldiers or all members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty.

[boyfriday]

Why would someone think about the ethnicity of a soldier, do you think that when people buy a poppy they are thinking about white soldiers or all members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty.

Did you read the piece you responded to?

 

---------- Post added 10-11-2016 at 08:44 ----------

 

While it may be a "piece of paper" to yourself, to others it means a great deal.

The "POPPY" is RED, not black, not white, not green, not multicoloured, but RED as a symbol of rememberance to ALL who gave their lives for us.

 

Angel1.

...and others are perfectly entitled to demonstrate their act of remberance in any way they see fit, I choose to wear a red poppy which I stated in a previous post, and youre entitled to do the same not lecture people on how they choose to remember the fallen dead, a significant number of whom had been airbrushed from history.

[harvey19]

A soldier is a soldier regardless of colour, race, religion, politics etc.

All soldiers are remembered by the red poppy.

Recently there have been a newer style of red metal poppy produced with specific areas of interest included in them.

To me the way to highlight something of particular importance to a section of the community is to have that subject included in the red poppy.

[lizmachin]

Revenue from red poppies goes to all ex soldiers no matter their colour,

Revenue from the sale of black poppies is apparently only for non white ex soldiers. Make all the snide comments you want, thats the facts of the case. If true then it is very racist indeed.

 

---------- Post added 09-11-2016 at 20:53 ----------

 

 

You wont be buying black ones? Why, dont you feel non whites made a worthy contribution or do you feel that black ones will just be divisive and set people apart?

 

What about mixed race soldiers? Do they have to stand in front of a PAN color chart to see if they qualify.

 

I had always thought the Ghurkas were one of the most celebrated in the entire armed forces. Not many haven't heard of them and not many think they are white.

[Glennis]

I was always told that it was because they were the first flowers to grow on the Somme battlefields after the war.

 

That's right - poppies like disturbed soil, and so covered the battlefields.