12/16/2023 0 Comments Meaning of the remembrance poppyThis explicitly mentions honour and seems to imply both gratitude and admiration for those who are being honoured. The Royal British Legion used to say that the poppy is a, “symbol of Remembrance and hope” but they now say that “Remembrance honours those who serve to defend our freedoms and way of life”. There is more evidence than we have space to discuss here, but consider the following. Over time, however, the poppy has come to express gratitude, admiration, and honour. When the red poppy was first used to remember those who died in war, the main emotional message sent was one of grief and sadness. But isn’t the poppy simply supposed to be a symbol of remembrance for those who have died for the British Army? How does this disrespect the people of Derry? This depends on what the poppy means. On McClean’s view, wearing a poppy would be an act of disrespect to the people of Derry. It would be seen as an act of disrespect to those people to my people. … for me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles – and Bloody Sunday especially – as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII. It is just a part of who we are, ingrained into us from birth. Please understand…that when you come from Creggan like myself or the Bogside, Brandywell or the majority of places in Derry, every person still lives in the shadow of one of the darkest days in Ireland’s history – even if like me you were born nearly 20 years after the event. …īut the Poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me.įor people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different. … I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the Poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II I would wear one. I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars – many I know were Irish-born. Let’s first consider McClean’s explanation for why he doesn’t wear the poppy: Is there anything wrong with pressuring people to engage in commemorative practices in this way? We will argue that such pressuring is wrong, and that the reason for this is that it can involve a distinctly emotional form of harm. Despite explaining his decision in detail, McClean has faced yearly negative reactions in the media and the general public, including hate mail and death threats. These killings were acknowledged as “both unjustified and unjustifiable” in 2010 by the then British Prime Minister David Cameron. On Sunday 30 th January, 1972, the British army killed 13 unarmed civilians, wounding a further 15, who were on a peaceful protest. McClean cites the Bloody Sunday massacre, which took place in his hometown of Derry, as a key reason for his decision. The Northern Irish footballer James McClean also chooses not to do so. Snow is not alone in choosing not to wear the poppy. Snow is referring to the phenomenon of pressuring others to wear the red poppy – that is, pressuring others to engage in a commemorative practice. So much so that in 2006, the news presenter Jon Snow wrote that: “There is rather unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there – ‘he damned well must wear a poppy!’”. Despite this, many people in the public eye have been criticized for not wearing one. According to the Royal British Legion, the makers of the red poppies, wearing the poppy is not compulsory. In 2018, over 50 million pounds was raised from sales of the red poppy. In the United Kingdom, the red poppy is worn to remember those who have died fighting for the British Army. “ Remembrance Sunday 2012 – Image 30” by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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