Where: National War Memorial
When: 11th of November, 2010
Time: 12:30 pm
What: Come and protect the National War Memorial from desecration
The ‘White Poppy Campaign’ is out in force again: Ian Harvey of the Ottawa White Poppy Coalition announced that they are planning to lay a wreath of White Poppies at the National War Memorial this Remembrance Day.
They have done it last year, and the year before that….
….after the official ceremony, of course. More precisely, at 12:30 pm.
Why?
Vince McDermott reports in the National Post:
“The red Legion poppy, in my opinion, represents the nostalgia and romanticizing of war,” said Ian Harvey, an activist in the Ottawa White Poppy Coalition. “We should remember that you don’t have to go to war to get peace.”
The ‘White Poppies for a Culture of Peace’ website explains their philosophy:
How many people is it acceptable to kill, or maim, or chase out of their homes, so that we can live in comfort?
WHERE DO I BEGIN?!?!?!?!?
I, for one, will take the advice of a caller to the Lowell Green show on CFRA today. I will come to the War Memorial, this Remembrance Day, and stay until 12:30. When these people attempt to desecrate the memories of all those who sacrificed of themselves so that we may live, I will stand in their way. Peacefully, but firmly (and not necessarily quietly…).
Hopefully, enough of us will come to form a protective wall.
If these ‘White Poppy Coalition’ people truly believe in the principles of non-violence, they will not attempt to use force against us: either the force of their own hands or the force in the form of civil authorities.
The Veterans have done for us.
Now, it is time for us to do for them!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 
November 3, 2010 at 13:01
Interesting — you are of course aware that one of the things those Vets did for you was to defend your right to freedoms like, oddly enough, the freedom to hold and voice differing opinions.
Nothing respects that effort like trying to preventing others from engaging in it.
Xanthippa says:
Of course I do.
And I would NEVER do anything to try to prevent them from wearing their white poppies!
However, if someone tried to convince me that the are showing respect for our veterans by urinating on the National War Memorial, I would also attempt to stand between them and the monument….
I do not advocate any action to BAN the white poppies. That would be, as you correctly point out, oppression – and very much the sort of thing our veterans fought against!
I do not advocate violence of any sort against those attempting to lay the wreath.
I will, however, not stand by and watch them insult the veterans (while claiming their action is ‘respectful’) without speaking up against them!
November 3, 2010 at 15:23
I don’t think I have my language quite right, but I’ll take a stab at adding my two cents ….
Mr Harvey is technically correct in that “you don’t have to go to war to get peace”. However, what is not said is the type of peace that is achieved, for not all types of peace are equal. Peace of the grave. Peace by submission. Peace by slavery. I hope that these are not the types of peace that Mr Harvey wants. The peace that we have enjoyed for so long was made with a down-payment of many lives and has the eternal price of vigilance (which requires something to back it up). As much as we may wish it otherwise, there are those who seek to see us dead, enslaved or in submission.
I was taught that it was not the idea of peace that we were honouring or remembering, but rather those who fought so that so that others would not have to and those who came home to build the peace. It is up to us to maintain (and expand upon) what was built, but not to forget the terrible cost that was paid along the way.
In that light, this white poppy bull-plop is despicable.
Xan says:
You have said it PERFECTLY!!!
November 8, 2010 at 05:19
You should know that the ‘white poppy brigade’ as you’re calling them on this page are NOT against remembering the undeniably huge sacrifice that soldiers and war veterans have made, and the white poppy is their way of remembering the dead and their sacrifices, but also of adding the hope and will that in the future such sacrifice can be avoided and peace achieved.
Just because you are anti war doesn’t mean you don’t recognise the sacrifice of soldiers, and it can in NO way desecration to lay flowers to show your respects on rememberance day, whatever their colour.
Xanthippa says:
War is terrible.
But, sometimes, it is necessary.
Even the evil of war – with all the horrible suffering and deaths war causes – is lesser of the evils facing us.
THAT is why the sacrifice of our soldiers matters – and THAT is what we are supposed to remember on Remembrance Day.
Simply claiming one is ‘anti-war’ is kind of missing the mark.
The ‘white poppy’ is a symbol of the righteous arrogance which those who fail to understand that just because war is ‘terrible’ does not mean it is always ‘wrong’ or that it is not sometimes ‘necessary’. That it is, at times, the lesser of the evils facing us.
The people who fought for us – they understood.
They put their lives above such silliness and ideological prattle.
And yet, SOME people still don’t ‘get it’.
And THAT is what the white poppy symbolizes – and THAT is why it is so insulting….
But, I should know better than to feed the trolls…..
November 3, 2010 at 19:17
I wonder if the a$$clown I’ve been doing the back and forth on in Jays comments will even be wearing a poppy:
http://jaycurrie.info-syn.com/blazing-catfur-sued-lucie/#comments
The choice comment of all, considering this week of Remberance, was:
“Despite what you guys at the mess might tell each other, soldiers are neither the source, nor the guardians, of our fundamental freedoms. Those freedoms were won and are protected by civilians: lawyers, teachers, union members, hell, even politicians.”
Xan says:
Rights are ALWAYS won on the battlefield!
Why?
Because unless one is prepared to use force to defend one’s rights, these WILL be stripped away and leave one in slavery of one form or another.
November 3, 2010 at 23:14
I have served in the Canadian infantry for many years, and have lost good friends overseas.
I would not interfere with people who wish to place the white poppies near the memorials, unless it was legally forbidden for them to do so. We are all free to act like idots in this country until it interferes with the lives of others. The legion, who has legal rights to the poppy image should sue the white poppie crowd and that would be the end of it.
If the intention of the white poppie is to honour the civilian dead during wars, then I think it is a noble, yet misguided effort.
If the intention is to symbolize peace at any cost, then I would suggest that those people read a history book, or google Neville Chamberlain.
Xanthippa says;
First of all, I would like to thank you for your military service.
My post was written in the heat of anger: it is worded much stronger than it, perhaps, ought to be. I would certainly not start a fisty-cuffs at the War Memorial.
However, I would consider a peaceful protest against the Ottawa White Poppy Coalition’s planned action to be a proper response.
As for what the white poppies signify: if the leader dude’s words that he wants to ‘remind us that we don’t need war to get peace’, a few minutes of googling clearly establishes that the white poppies symbolize that ‘war is bad’ and ‘must be avoided at all costs’…
And I do intend to tell them just how wrong Chamberlain and his ilk are!
(When you get to be my age and realize that the one thing you are really good at is nagging, you might as well go with it… So, I intend to go up there and nag them a bit. I will certainly not be silent as they spit on the memory of the best among us – those who were willing to lay their own lives down to protect us.)
November 4, 2010 at 07:24
I agree the pacifists are entitled to hold their views but I don’t share the infringement for commercial purposes on the backs of those made the ultimate sacrifice.
They can’t find some other way to publicize or raise money for their causes. At 12:31 with a garbage bag the white poppies laid on monuments can be collected by civic minded citizens to reduce littering.
I am also confident if civic minded citizens were to hold signs next to these publicity seeking pacifists with “I’m with stupid” pointing at them those pictures would become less valuable in their promotional campaign to generate sales.
I am confident those pacifist won’t be armed or too violent.
Xan says:
You have hit the nail on the head!
I have also thought about, perhaps, bringing a handful of red markers and colouring the poppies in….
These people are selling WHITE poppies – and keeping the money for their causes, while the whole point of the RED poppies is to raise money for our veterans and the families of our military guys and gals. In a very real sense, these people are taking the candy from military families’ children!
And they pretend that this is somehow ‘honouring them’…
Shame, shame, shame, shame!
My past experience with ‘show pacifists’ is that they ARE willing to use violence – but only when the danger to themselves is minimal. These people (at least the ones I have met in the past) are both cowards and hypocrites….
November 4, 2010 at 15:51
Looks like you and I mark November 11 differently, Xan. You insist on freedom, but not for those who would symbolize peace. You are focused on remembering the Price paid for peace, a price paid for in blood by soldiers, and in the time of the World Wars largely the blood of soldiers, but don’t respond to the mention of civilian casualties, who have paid the same price of death as a cause of war.
I mark both Remembrance Day and Armistice Day. I remember those who have lost their lives in war; I remember the lives of soldiers who fought for peace, for their country, and also for those who did not fight, civilians,, but who lost their lives to war nonetheless.
But I also honour Armistice Day, the original intent of November 11, the day when war ceased, when there was once again hope that war would not continue, that lives would not be lost.
What threat to your freedom is the symbol of peace lain alongside the symbols of sacrifice, Xan? They go together, and when I say sacrifice without peace is pointless, peace is the raison d’etre of the sacrifice of the soldiers who lost their lives.
We who wear white poppies (and as a result of this blog I will wear one this year) are not anti-remembrance. We are not anti-sacrifice. We merely think and feel that remembrance and peace go together.
(note to the person who referenced Neville Chamberlain: the appeasement events of the Munich Pact are often touted as a “if you are not with us, you must be for Munichesque appeasement” I don’t defend the Pact, nor Chamberlain–the historians are mixed, and I have no opinion, one way or the other–but it is not one or the other. It is a logical fallacy to reduce history to the actual events, as though those were the only options or that the appeasement “caused” Hitler’s aggression, rise to power, or starting the war. We now know since the documents were opened 30 years later that it was a very mixed game, that many options were considered, some that “might” have led to war in 1938 when Britain was even less prepared for it, and so on. Not being pro-war does not mean that one is a give-in appeaser. Neither Gandhi nor Jesus appeased, but neither sanctioned war or violent resistence. Chamberlain is not fully relevant to this discussion).
Xanthippa says:
Did you not read what I wrote?
Or did you fail to grasp the meaning of my words?
I honour peace – and appreciate it.
But THAT is not what Remembrance Day is about.
It takes guts to willingly go and place yourself in harm’s way and fight in a war.
Sure, it sucks to be a victim of war! But being a civilian who is unfortunate enough to be caught in a war is very, very different from choosing to take up arms to protect your family and your country – and, often, those very civilians who are caught up in a war, and whose only kinship to you is that they are also people!
Remembrance Day is NOT about remembering ‘the victims or war’.
Remembrance Day is about setting aside one day of the year to honour those who did NOT have to face the horrors of war, but did anyway because they chose to protect us all!
Many Canadians volunteered for difficult service, laying their own lives on the line, so that more civilians would NOT become victims of war.
That choice they made – that is what sets them apart from the rest of us.
That is what makes them so special!
It is THAT specialness we honour by wearing a red poppy on Remembrance Day.
Remembrance Day is not about war and peace: it is rather about recognizing this specialness of those men and women among us who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that we may live.
By including others, even ones who suffered greatly you are taking away from their specialness: THAT is what makes your position so disrespectful!
I am not saying you shouldn’t honour these others – or that we should not remember the victims of war. Not at all – we should. But on Remembrance Day, we thank our Veterans and our military for putting our lives above their own!
As for Chamberlain: your absence of an opinion speaks volume!
And, yes – many people, some of my family members included, died as a direct result of Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler. Many died as an indirect result….
Let me give you a few of the details…
Czechoslovakia – the Western part, composed of Bohemia and Moravia, was perhaps THE most industrialized part of Europe prior to WWII. Their specialty was heavy industry, steelworks: manufacturing of machinery and motors and such. The population was highly educated and the engineering industry there was more advanced there than even in Britain. THAT is why Hitler wanted it.
Czechoslovakia had mutual defense treaties with other countries, including France and England. When Chamberlain had that infamous meting with Hitler, he (and France) promised to re-neg on that mutual defense treaty with Czechoslovakia: if Hitler chose to invade it, the countries which promised to help Czechoslovakia defend itself would not live up to their contract.
Hitler invaded: he created a separate state in Slovakia with his puppet government, and a ‘Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia’ in the West. Many people died as a DIRECT result of this.
Then he proceeded to use the existing industry – with the population as forced labourers – to build tanks, war planes and ammunition. Only after Hitler had used the Czech factories and his new slave labourers to strengthen his army, only then did he invade Poland!
Had Chamberlain not appeased him by handing over the one part of Europe that was capable of building a lot of war machinery very quickly, Hitler’s army would not have been anywhere near as strong as it was at the beginning of WWII. Thus, many more people died as an indirect result of Chamberlain’s appeasement.
And that is just one facet of many of this historical crime against humanity!
Perhaps you should be less proud of not holding any opinion on it one way or the other – as you yourself claim – on this event and think of all the thousands of victims of war this one meeting alone created! If you truly DO care about ALL the victims of war, you would value their lives more than this!
Or, have you forgotten THEM?
November 4, 2010 at 16:41
Any suggestion rational people are pro-war confirms the useful idiot position.
Too slow to act thousands die.
Rwanda, Armenia, Kosovo, Darfur.
You serve no useful purpose on November 11, 2010.
You are entitled to push your commercial activity, as fellow citizens are entitled to clean up your litter and voice their displeasure of useful idiots on November 11, 2010.
November 5, 2010 at 15:23
I do not get the whole “white poppy is commercialism” thing. When the Sun had a front page article on the controversy, I googled Ottawa White Poppy Campaign (Coalition?–I used the term from the Sun), and I went many dozens of google entries before fining something other than news reports on the Legion’s reactions. Then, when going further, I could find no commercial activity anywhere, not even donations, for white poppies. I made my own last night, (thanks, Xan) as I would have to order from the UK, and as far as I can tell, that is to pay for costs alone. Those who think the white poppy is commercial please inform of your sources; I really don’t buy it.
Xan,
My late stepfather, whom I had known for some thirty years, was a veteran. My mother is still on the board of the Ladies Auxilary of her local Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans, of which she has been a member for over 40 years. I attend many functions myself. I know personally very many veterans. Never, in my five decades of life not my associations with veterans, have I heard as much emphasis that November 11 as limited to Remembrance of Soldiers without what they were fighting for, which was peace, as well as freedom.
Sure, that is a big part. But I never hear this from Veterans themselves; so manyy veterans have become pacifists in the intervening decades since they were soldiers (CBC Ottawa, Nov 3, 2010). Peace and the desire for peace always has had a role. From the first Armistice Day, mothers and wives clamoured for peacemanking. In the 1950’s Canada became a pre-eminent peacekeeper for the UN (something that has really slid this decade).
Why do you want to limit Nov 11 to Remembrance only? The Commonwealth changed the name from Armistice Day to Remembrance Day after WWII because Armistice was no longer enough (WWII ended in May, 1945). With more recent conflicts, and greater international understanding, Remembrance is no longer enough. Wars increasingly kiil many more civilians than combatants. In WWI, there were fewer civilian deaths than combatants. In WWII civilian deaths outnumbered that of combatants nearly 2:1. By conservative estimates, civilian deaths to US military deaths in Iraq since 2003 are 25:1 or higher. (Wikipedia numbers in all cases)
Only remember the fallen soldiers on that day if you want to. I want to remember all the fallen.
– I am not going to read the blog on this topic any more – you can email if you want me to see any reply.
November 4, 2010 at 08:34
Interesting, that the very thing that allows these White Poppy wack jobs to place a wreath at the War Memorial in Ottawa on Rememberance Day is the fact that our soldiers (Canadian and Allied forces) fought against the Germans during WWII and won; thus allowing them (the white poppy wack jobs) the opportunity to act so distastefully in the first place.
November 4, 2010 at 09:51
This is how the culture war is lost, through small changes in meaning…a subtle change from remembering sacrifice for freedom, which is not free…to an anti-war and pacifist ideology. This needs to be opposed. Since i live in ottawa, i’ll be sure to go to the ceremony as well to see about this.
Xan says:
YES!
Not only is this an insult to all our vets and our military families, it is a sneaky attempt at social engineering, plain and simple!
Like you said: this needs to be opposed.
And while I do not propose any sort of violence, a peaceful protest is the least we can do. I look forward to seeing you there!
November 4, 2010 at 11:19
“Xan says: Rights are ALWAYS won on the battlefield!”
Yes and yes. I’ve often wondered why even hardcore feminists are willing to cave in to Islamofascists, and declare burkas and FGM to be “cultural” expressions we’ve no business banning. Some have even declared, in my presence, that they themselves “would have no trouble living under Sharia law”. I was flabbergasted by this until I reflected later that feminists never fought and died for the freedoms they now enjoy. No sacrifice, no appreciation.
Xan says:
You said it: no sacrifice, no appreciation….
The whole point of Remembrance Day is for us to remember that good people DID make the self-sacrifice, that they DID lay down their lives to protect us from those who would oppress us!
This is the one day when we remember their sacrifice.
That is not so much to ask.
November 5, 2013 at 01:17
I will never willingly live under sharia law …My parents ,brothers and one son and daughter all have made sacrifices to keep us free from losing our freedoms and our rights to practice our own (for me Canadian )culture Now each thing I treasure Like Remembrance day are being subtley changed and manipulated in to less than what they stand for… I will honour the sacrifices made by all the military people who CHOSE to fight to protect my rights and freedoms !!!!…I hate war but it is sometimes necessary! I also will remember all the civilians and innocent children who died but not on Nov 11th that day is for our soldiers !!! I will work hard for peace and would support the white poppy IF they were to choose another day !!! NOV 11 IS FOR OUR VETERANS only you can choose any other day for Day of Peace and wear your white poppies then
November 4, 2010 at 12:28
Interesting how many WWII and Korean War veterans have become pacifists in their later years.
November 11 is not only Remembrance Day, but also Armistice Day, the day active war ended, the day military peace was attempted. As we remember our fallen so must also continually ask how we can work for peace.
The red poppy symbolized OUR dead, originally the British (and Commonwealth) dead. The white poppy symbolizes the fallen from all sides, for after all, it is not the soldiers who start the aggression they die in.
Moreso in a time when Canadian soldiers are dying in Afghanistan, but are dying alongside Afghanis, including thousands of Afghan civilians. The red poppy does not stand for them–the white poppy does; it is inclusive.
The white poppy is, like white funeral palls, a symbol of hope, and if there is ever to be “War No More” as many WWI vets proclaimed in 1918, it will have to be through efforts of peace.
In this blog, you have not engaged at all in reasons for your prevention of a Peace Wreath on the other side of the cenotaph. You say you are outraged, but the reasons are not at all clear.
You have invited me (I have not in the past) to join the white poppy campaign on the 11th, and have dared white poppy wearers to try to lay a wreath, which you will physically stop, and dare those wearers to not get by you. This sounds aggressive, and I wonder if our forebears who fought against German or North Korean aggression would really understand what you are doing.
Please, how is a symbol of peace desecration? Would a white dove be better? An Olive branch?
I invite you to remember not just Canadians who have fallen, but those from all sides, and especially for civilians who have fallen due to the ravishes of military activities. And I invite with you, at 12:30 next Thursday, to stand for peace, and stand with those who would remember that soldiers fought for peace, not war.
Xanthippa says:
Remembrance Day is about remembering the sacrifice of those who put their lives on the line to protect us. Many of them died doing it. Honouring their sacrifice on this day is not too much to ask for.
Anything that takes away from that is an insult.
These were and are exceptional people who are willing to put their bodies between us, the civilians, and those who would do us harm.
Remembrance Day is when we pause and reflect on just how exceptional these men and women are.
How selfless.
And just how much gratitude we owe them!!!
While ‘peace’ and ‘inclusivity’ are all very nice concepts, they are not what Remembrance Day is about.
Peace is what we live every day of our lives when we live in freedom.
But, on Remembrance Day, we remember the people who had to die on the battlefield in order to win us that peace!
Changing the focus from remembering this, on Remembrance Day, in any way shape and form, is insulting and demeaning to them and to us all.
Only an ignorant person or evil person would do that.
Implying these brave men and women’s deaths were pointless and worthless by trying to ‘remind’ us that ‘we don’t need war to have peace’ – that is arrogant poison!
If this is not clear to you, I do not know how to help you.
November 4, 2010 at 14:21
The white poppy is only a few years older (5) than the red poppy. It is NOT commercial, nor a charity–from what I have read today to purchase one must send to the UK and the cost is for the poppy, not profit.
Many of the women who formed the Women’s Co-operative Guild which popularized the white poppy lost husbands and sons in the Great War. They are not anti-remembrance, and neither am I.
My way of remembering our forebears, and the peace and freedom they fought for is to work towards peace. If they leave a legacy, it is not so that people will glorify them without commitment; it is that we work towards a better society, where freedoms and peace are cherished, where we work towards the ideal goal of someday not sending our sons and daughters to war.
Without peace, war is pointless, and those self-same soldiers may have died in vain. Let us pledge peace as well as remember those who fought for it.
Xanthippa says:
I remember and honour peace every day of my life by living it the way I do – by insisting on freedom.
Remembrance Day is about remembering the PRICE which had to be paid for that peace, not the peace itself.
That price was paid in blood.
THAT is why the poppy we wear on Remembrance Day, to show that we remember and appreciate this price which was paid for us by others is BLOOD RED.
If you still don’t understand the difference, I pity you.
November 4, 2010 at 13:29
Putting it briefly, Ian Harvey is an idiot.
I do not debate such an ignorant claim, because that puts it on an equal platform.
Xan says:
I do not intend to debate him. I agree that would be pointless.
I intend to show up there simply to demonstrate to our vets and our military people that I do not condone his behaviour.
And, I will nag at him and his ilk. Not debate – nag.
November 5, 2010 at 07:52
White Poppy wiki article:
“The white poppy is an artificial flower used as a symbol of peace, worn as an alternative or complement to the red poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day.”
“The Royal British Legion has no official opinion on the wearing of white poppies, stating that it ‘is a matter of choice, the Legion doesn’t have a problem whether you wear a red one or a white one, both or none at all.'”
“Those who promote the wearing of white poppies argue that the red poppy also conveys a specific political standpoint, and point to the divisive nature of the red poppy in Northern Ireland, where it is worn mainly by the Unionist community. They choose the white poppy over the red often because they wish to disassociate themselves from the militaristic aspects of Remembrance Day, rather than the commemoration itself.”
ctv.ca article:
At least one soldier, Maj. Peter McRae, said he has no problem with the colour difference.
“I’m not the least bit offended by people remembering in any way they choose to remember,” he said.
remembrance day wiki article:
“Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a Commonwealth holiday to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War.”
Legion website:
Major responsibility for the perpetuation of “REMEMBRANCE” in Canada through the Annual Poppy Campaign reminding Canadians of the 117,000 men and women who gave their lives in the wars and military missions around the world.
Since inception in 1926, Legion strives to secure adequate pensions and benefits for veterans and their dependants.”
The Legion distributes the red poppy to collect funds for its own purposes, the White Poppy Coalition distributes white poppies to collect funds for its own purposes. There is no difference. Any perceived difference would be due to the Legion’s mistaken impression that they can represent the wishes of the fallen soldiers. The dead cannot vote, except in the states apparently. The dead cannot speak. The dead cannot have a say. They are dead and can only be remembered.
I see no particular problem with remembering the fallen civilians of war on the same day as the remembrance of our fallen soldiers. I am not an addlepate and am capable of performing both functions during the same 24 hour period. It is not a difficulty to contribute equally to both causes. We were the nation to invent the concept of PeaceKeeper, a concept that has greatly reduced conflicts throughout the world to bring us the low per capita violence statistics our civilization currently enjoys. It would be foolish to disrespect the message of the white poppy in a Nation and on a day where Remembrance begins with the tolling of the Carillon in the Peace Tower. I will wear my red Poppy to symbolize my remembrance, I will wear it proudly. And yet their is still some room on my lapel for another..
Remembrance is not just for the 2 weeks prior to November 11th, remembrance is for always.
Xan says: Thank you!!!
However, the ‘white poppy’ undermines the validity of the red one.
My aunt is a Canadian peacekeeper. Many of the people I have, over the decades, employed were peacekeepers (whatever the laws are, I gave our vets a preferential treatment when hiring than any other persons – at one point, one of my companies employed almost 100% Canadian veterans!). And I knew each of them well and I actually took the time to ask about this: each and every one of them was seriously offended by the white poppy campaign.
That is enough for me…
How many vets have you run your position by?
Yet, I have been told by both past employees and veterans whom I consider to be friends (and the ones I am related to) that giving a platform (even by opposing their message) to the white popy folks undermines what they our veterans – the people we honour during Remembrance day – do and die for. So, I will not comment on this further…
Ever…
November 5, 2010 at 09:27
I didn’t bother reading all the comments. Most are polemic and not worth the waste of time. My point is simple, everyone has the right to express themselves both the white poppy types and the red poppy type the actions of the white poppy coalition are not desacration they may be objectionable but not desacration. The red poppy types are about peace from another aspect that we remember and do this inane activity no more. If you start a fight on the national war memorial by impeding the white poppy coalition from laying thier wreath you are desacrating the place and the event. Fighting on a grave is deplorable I don’t care who starts it just let them lay thier wreath and if you so object remove the dam thing later. If you start a fight at this event I will be the first person to call the police on YOU.
November 6, 2010 at 05:03
Red Poppy = remembering.
White Poppy = Political Statement.
Which one is more appropriate?
Xan says:
THANK YOU!
FOR PUTTING IT SO CLEARLY!
AND, FOR LIVING IT.
THANK YOU!
November 9, 2010 at 12:51
[…] than actual, ahmmmm, journalists; The origin and nature of human rights; Plans to desecrate the National War Memorial on Rememberance Day …. […]
April 2, 2011 at 21:50
[…] now coming to a cenotaph near you, Leftist revisionism will re-invent the peace dividend by hijacking what has come to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice: the White […]
November 10, 2011 at 00:39
The white poppy campaign, especially during Remembrance week is pure insult to the war vets and the tradition of honoring what they did and died for, so that later generations would have peace. And sadly, generations later, many have forgotten this and instead want to rewrite history or hide from it because somehow, it offends.
My mother lost several of her uncles who went, fought and died.
The real problem is that our society now is drunk on its freedom earned in blood by previous generations but now this current population of spoiled and over indulged brats have no inkling of what so many had to endured in the past to pave the way for them to sit around and whine about how unfair the world is them.
I’m so sick of this white liberal guilt crap that is just ruining our society.
Pretending that violence and war is somehow an affront to our society, ignoring the countless wars and conflicts between competing nations and groups of people since time began, doesn’t change the fact that most of the world isn’t like us. People in Canada, having spent their lives here just don’t get this.
Not this current generation of mostly white liberal types that keeps dumbing the whole system down.
Most of the world is poor. They are poor because nations like us got rich off their resources and labour. Most of the world lives in conditions so foreign to the average North American that it would likely cause them to cry themselves to sleep if they actually had to live it.
Most of the world lives in countries where they don’t have the rights and freedoms that we obviously take for granted and where so many of us show no appreciation for how lucky we are to live in a place like Canada where you can openly complain about the government and not have to worry about being taken away somewhere and treated viciously.
The list goes on and on. There is no end to this nonsense that’s basically a movement to give away everything about our society, paid for by previous generations of hard working people who made sacrifices by a bunch of people that feel that somehow, no one can ever be offended because on one should ever have a moment of being uncomfortable.
Xan says:
Yes – you are right!!!
The red poppy campaign is about respecting those who died to protect all of us and our inalienable rights.
The white poppy campaign is about blurring the lines between right and wrong, about respecting those who died for what is ‘right’ and the submission to whatever ideology is dominant simply to avoid conflict.
The two are NOT the same and to suggest so is an insult to every sentient being and an addition to injury to ALL of our veterans!!!
November 5, 2013 at 01:18
Todd I agree with you !!