A week prior to the 95th Day of Remembrance, Ukip leader Nigel Farage was papped nonchalantly wiping tears from his eyes as he visited the First World War memorial at the Tower of London. It’s also this time of year that Britain First saturate social media with neo-fascist content; gradually the topic of the Poppy is becoming a bit of a taboo.
Perhaps we as a nation have lost touch with the notion that we are not glorifying war, celebrating the Commonwealth nor condemning other countries involved in the First World War in supporting Armistice Day. The Poppy is a symbol of ‘Remembrance’: remembering and commiserating the tragic, barbaric and unnecessary loss of life that have died in futile firing lines at war.
Perhaps we as a nation have lost touch with the notion that we are not glorifying war, celebrating the Commonwealth nor condemning other countries involved in the First World War in supporting Armistice Day. The Poppy is a symbol of ‘Remembrance’: remembering and commiserating the tragic, barbaric and unnecessary loss of life that have died in futile firing lines at war.
Forget why Britain were at war. Millions of undeserving soldiers died at the hands of global conflict; many of whom didn’t have a choice. A century ago, it was compulsory for all men (bar those with the Get Out of Jail Free card of being widowed with children and a few other exceptions) to be enlisted to serve in national, most commonly military, service, unlike today where proud soldiers bravely volunteer themselves to the profession of warfare.
Between the ages of 18 - 51, sons, fathers, grandfathers and husbands were beckoned to act as a cog in Britain’s mobilised machine. Forget sociologic gender subscriptions: these men had every right to feel as though the world was about to fall out of their backsides. It was a time were you were probably only going to make it home in a telegram, and if you did survive it would be only as a shadow of your former self. Traumatising, disturbing and distressing; war left, and still leaves, psychological ruptures that perhaps only a bullet on the firing line could relieve you of. Those who were there, those who were regrettably sacrificed and those who lived to tell the tale deserve to be acknowledged in modern society; wearing a Poppy the cost of a bag of Walkers should remain a common courtesy.
However, we return to the Farage Fiasco. Along with the tsunami that Britain First have unleashed upon social media, Ukip and other right-wing extremes have bastardised the true meaning of the Poppy and its connotations.
Between the ages of 18 - 51, sons, fathers, grandfathers and husbands were beckoned to act as a cog in Britain’s mobilised machine. Forget sociologic gender subscriptions: these men had every right to feel as though the world was about to fall out of their backsides. It was a time were you were probably only going to make it home in a telegram, and if you did survive it would be only as a shadow of your former self. Traumatising, disturbing and distressing; war left, and still leaves, psychological ruptures that perhaps only a bullet on the firing line could relieve you of. Those who were there, those who were regrettably sacrificed and those who lived to tell the tale deserve to be acknowledged in modern society; wearing a Poppy the cost of a bag of Walkers should remain a common courtesy.
However, we return to the Farage Fiasco. Along with the tsunami that Britain First have unleashed upon social media, Ukip and other right-wing extremes have bastardised the true meaning of the Poppy and its connotations.
The Poppy cannot become a caricature of fascism; this is what those millions who lost their lives were fighting against. It is not an implication that war is acceptable. Some say that the scarlet Poppy illuminates all of the blood that was shed on Flanders Fields, a grim image; but poppies were one of the few plants that had the ability to grow there following the destruction of the soil. Remembering and paying respect to those fallen is perhaps the only good thing to come from the First World War. Up until recently, our nation devoted themselves to Armistice Day and the Poppy- we cannot allow fascist extremists to snatch this from our history.
Regardless of the bastardisation of the Poppy, the Royal British Legion do an undeniably grand job of providing support to serving members of the Armed Forces and their families. Each Poppy sold contributes to this care; something that cannot afford to be associated with fascism or racism. Remember those who are lost, not those who are a 21st Century lost cause. 100 years ago they didn’t have a choice.
Regardless of the bastardisation of the Poppy, the Royal British Legion do an undeniably grand job of providing support to serving members of the Armed Forces and their families. Each Poppy sold contributes to this care; something that cannot afford to be associated with fascism or racism. Remember those who are lost, not those who are a 21st Century lost cause. 100 years ago they didn’t have a choice.