Uni work-Poppy appeal

This has nothing at all to do with the rest of my blog, but what the hell, I'll put it up anyway :)

White versus red- the poppy appeal

The red poppy is a symbol of remembrance worn on 11 November, but some people feel it is out dated.

Pacifists have suggested it is inappropriate to wear a red poppy. They believe the symbol promotes war and that it is acceptable to kill for justice.

Instead lobbyists such as the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) said: “There are better ways to resolve conflicts than killing strangers” and so encourage wearing a white poppy on remembrance day.

The Royal British Legion has said to the BBC “A red poppy is not about glorifying war, it is a recognition of human sacrifice” In their opinion, any poppy has value.

News coverage portrays the white poppy as a new idea, but the campaign has actually been around since 1933.

Red or white?

Despite the PPU promoting white poppies, it is rare to see people wearing them. This might be due to their general unavailability.

This reporter has yet to find anywhere that sells them other than the PPU website, and many people are not aware that there is an alternative.

Rose Winterby, 37, Twickenham, had never heard of them.

“I haven’t seen them anywhere”, she said.

Father Jerry Devlin, from St Marys Chaplaincy in Twickenham had heard of the white poppy but felt “the red poppy is more appropriate as it is a nationally recognised symbol, and the white one sometimes offends veterans. They feel it discredits their comrades who lost their lives”.

Are poppies a thing of the past?

It is common to see the elderly wearing poppies, but younger generations do not seem so keen which suggests there is no longer a place fro remembrance in modern society.

Ben Forteath, 21 a student disagrees “of course we should remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. It’s not just soldiers in the great war we remember but all the wars - even Iraq”

Steve McQueen’s ‘Queen and Country’ is a modern form of remembrance. He immortalised those who died in Iraq by putting their faces on postage stamps.