h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

HonestIago: I totally agree with your point about wearing the most basic poppy. Fancy ones miss the point that the people who have died in wars are normal people.

The normal ones for me signify the utter waste of life, there is nothing fancy or special about getting shot or shooting others to stop yourself being killed...it's mostly luck no matter how good your over all tactics are as war reqires people to be killed.

I'm not suprised that Warsi wore a large poppy she's not above using any method to get the upper hand and push herself and her own agenda.

I like the ambigiuty in not wearing one as well. I am sure some people will look badly on you or tut and shake their heads when you walk past a poppy seller and not give them anything...because you gave quite a bit the day before. And yes, I can feel that un-warranted embarrassment that I feel people will be judging me..but it's getting less these days...I know what I have done and that's the important thing.



As opposed to wearing a normal one which would have been the size of her brain.

>Wearing one just to be seen wearing one is just wrong and is more disrepectful than not wearing one for whatever reason.<

I disagree. My view of wearing a poppy is that you are a walking advert to encourage others to give to the British Legion. I just watched the march past of veterans at the cenotaph service. Many of these ex soldiers had limbs missing, blindness, mental health problems. They depend on help from the British Legion.

As a country you choose to either have an army or not. If you don't some Hitler may come along at any moment in history, and invade your territory. Then you depend on the help of some other country's army.

My view is if you choose to have an army, knowing full well the people who serve in it may have to give the lives or get horrible injuries, you shouldn't whine and winge about spending one week of the year wearing a poppy. It's really a very small thing. The tv people wearing them is a big encouragement to get others giving money.

My view of tv presenters who won't do this small thing? Politically correct p***ks.

It's not about whinging or whining. To an extent it's indicating a number of things a) some people wear them to be seen wearing them b) others wear them to 'encourage' people to give...if people have to be reminded to wear one then thats a huge gap in the educatoin of people in this country...thats the root cause to be solved and wearing a poppy will not solve it.



I don't think so...it's just something that is expected at that time of year.

As has been borne out by this thread...it's more thought provoking and makes people question the reasons why if some people are seen not to wear one.



And to stop that one has to educate people properly. We have 'Bonfire night' but there are many who have no idea why we burn a Catholic on top of a pyre or set off fireworks. It's the education that is missing rather than ensuring people wear the symbol.

Wearing a symbol is easy and takes no thought...educating people of the reasons why takes time and effort but would have more of an impact in remembering the people who have fought for us and also realising that it could easily happen again. The reasons why the first and second world wars started along with other wars should be taught in schools especially WW1 because it was a complicated mix of local politics and then more European wide treaties of countries with agreements to help each other out in times of conflict which escalated it...along with a bit of pure need to conquer a few neighbouring countries that was thrown into the mix due to the treaties.

Well I went and did my usual bit at our local memorial..Which I wish to add is the ONLY religious service I always attend.

There were fewer old boys than ever BUT I was so heartened to see that there were more youngsters than ever representing so many youth organisations.They out numbered the adults.

Thankfully the rained cleared up for the duration of the service but I'm only just warming up.

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It is part of the school curriculum for year 9 students(13-14)and is a major part of the History GCSE syllabus.

I stand corrected, thanks.

Although I wouldn't be suprised if all one has to do is write an essay about how it must have felt being in an air raid as everything seems to be about how people feel rather than facts...sorry, in a grumpy mood today...

I think an important point is that soldiers are *public servants*. They serve the democratically elected leaders that all of us vote in. They don't get to pick and choose which wars they should give their lives or bodies to.

They represent *us* If we don't like the wars we send them to, we should change the bloody system. Ultimately it's all our responsibility when a soldier dies.

You think *true* democracy exists in this country?

Well it's a form of democracy, and presumably the majority of Brits agree with it or there'd be riots in the streets.

What should we replace it with then?

We are British..we don;t do that sort of thing these days...we just maon..which is why we get the government we deserve.



We shouldn't replace democracy we should just have people who understand democracy in in power rather than people who just want power.

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I regard the History GCSE as the hardest of the exams at present because it calls for students to look at a variety of sources and to make judgement calls about sources that have rather more obtuse vocabulary than many students have acquired.Very many just don't read a wide enough selection of good quality reading material and as a consequence they have a very much smaller vocabulary store than previous generations.

innit

what langige you talking about younsters dont speak they text

>> and presumably the majority of Brits agree with it or there'd be riots in the streets.

Well, a million of us marched in opposition to Blair and his war. That is one in 60 or so of all people of all ages, so much nearer 1 in 30 of those of us over 18 and who are able-bodied.

I'm on my third poppy this year. Your logic is too convoluted for me 3dots. I think it's a good cause and I wear the poppy because I personally feel uncomfortable and an ingrate if I don't wear one.

Ben

Ben dear - when chancellor Schröder kept us out of that stupid war it was the first time solodiers and civilians wewre of one mind:!

He was a nincompoop and his wife was a spoiled brat, but he kept Germany out of a war nobody needed.

Sorry about the typos - turning the light on might be a good idea.

>Well, a million of us marched in opposition to Blair and his war. That is one in 60 or so of all people of all ages, so much nearer 1 in 30 of those of us over 18 and who are able-bodied.<

I said riots in the streets. Not a totally peaceful march of a million followed by Blair's democratic re-election by the whole country.

That march was about the war in Iraq, not about the system that sanctioned it. If we want our leaders to behave differently the whole system has to change...and from what I can see not enough people are angry enough about the system to change it. We've maybe made a start because of the anger over MPs expenses.

I certainly saw very real anger expressed during the Poll Tax demo. I saw people looting, I saw people throwing bricks at fancy rich cars, I saw the South African Embassy alight, I saw the police horses charging the mob. And that mob included nice women with push chairs, not just the usual suspects. British people can turn really angry when they care enough. But clearly as yet they don't. It's often said that, that demo started the end of things for Thatcher.

My view is fairly Orwellian 'Animal Farm'. Whatever system we have will end up with the same type of people in charge.

>Whatever system we have will end up with the same type of people in charge.<

Plus ca change...

>> That march was about the war in Iraq, not about the system that sanctioned it.

Thank you for explaining that to me. And there was me thinking it was about Blair over-ruling the will of the people and lying to parliament and the nation and taking us into an unsanctioned and unmandated illegal war. How silly of me to get it so wrong.

>> I certainly saw very real anger expressed during the Poll Tax demo. I saw people looting, I saw people throwing bricks at fancy rich cars, I saw the South African Embassy alight, I saw the police horses charging the mob.

You are confusing violence and anger, Effers. In what conceivable world would it have been appropriate for people to loot, throw bricks at cars, and set light to an embassy in a march against an illegal war?

Mrs Zen



That's one reason I don;t wear one as I keep losing them.


< I wear the poppy because I personally feel uncomfortable and an ingrate if I don't wear one>

Which as I have said above isn't the reason for wearing one.



Compliments, compliments..and you a married women.



Wearing a poppy will never stop wars...it will never stop men, these days, either brave enough to join the services or desperate for a wage to join the services.

I am certainly not...and most people who do not wear poppies are not saying no one should not wear poppies but some people wear them and some people do not. I doubt for many decades to come that there will be a dwindling of people wearing poppies...Bliar has seen fit for that...I welcome the time when no-one truly has to wear poppies becauase it will mean the end to conflict(shyeah right).

However, please do not deny the fact that I as someone who chooses not to wear a poppy has not had tears in my eyes over the past few days while watching programmes about the last people to die 120seconds before the WW1 armistice and even more for the German officer who was shot after the armistice for simply approaching a group of Americans to tell them they could have the houses they were evacuating...a being shot because those Americans had not heard of the armistice.

A piece of plastic and red paper will not bring him back...my tears will not bring him back... ... ... ... ...