The White Poppy in Voices Windward

In 1921 the American Legion, an organisation whose soul aim is to celebrate the military and all their endevours created the “rememberance poppy”, the holding of a red poppy to remember the poor bastards who died in The Great War (or the First World War as they call it) and it was soon co-opted by the British and pushed out across the Empire.

It stands on paper as an act of stoic pride and greif for the millions of souls sent to slaughter by an artistoratic and merchentile elite to die in a forgotten war, the money raised by the Royal British Legion (who are it;s defacto bannermen) is used to help the poor lads coming back from todays wars.

Honour the soldier, the warrior the dead… etc etc etc

But it doesn’t mean that anymore does it? Some time again, perhaps around the Falklands War, prehaps even before this simple act of memory and respect was co-opted and utilised to promote the state and it’s might. Shoving the Military and the civil worship and fear of their might down everyones throat, not just in the cubs and elders on ever corner raising money from the people (because after they get broken to government doesn’t care anymore) but in the vast parades glorifying conflict, fighter jets that bomb civilians flashing red poppies to remember our poor lads as parades of imposing BRITISH MIGHT march down the street telling us to be proud as they beam it across the globe so that communities we have little knowledge of can grit their teeth and acquiesce to the drills, reflecting in concern in the way we didSoviet displays but only we sit there in glee becuase these are OUR BOYS.

They ain’t my boys.
The troops out there are volunteers, the elected to get paid to swear alliegence to a crown and commit shock, awe and murder in far off lands so the media could gush about how they are protecting us.

The funny thing is, unlike some parts of the tepid left, I do acknowledge the honour of the warrior, and I do feel for the blind souls who sign their life away to be forgotten. I have a deep pride in connection to my land (The British Isles collective), our music that permeates the world, our coy manners and slack tongues, I’m proud that we are multicultural nation of emigres who find unity in compassion, who in 1833 spent 40% of the entire budget to free every slave across the empire, who were vital in the formation of the League of Nations and the UN Peacekeeping forces. (These are broad strokes and I know the finer details and realities but in regards to umbrella concepts ....) I am proud of my nations, and I am proud of their militaries when they react to defend and to protect, when they save lives during natural disasters and use their abilities for the benefit of the people.

But that red poppy doesn’t stand for rememberance anymore, it stands for the glorification of force, for war, for death and saying it doesn’t is akin to the xenophobes who squeel with how “being concerned over immigration” isn’t racist, correct on paper but we all know it’s truth.

It stands on the shirt of every celebrity, a badge of alliegencew, don’t wear one for a moment and you are scorned, like America and their Stars and Stripes it becomes the little emblem of pseudo facism, a lie that has usurped the truth, death with a liberty mask as war is sanitised and kids get to climb on saracens and dream of being the hero.

The red poppy flies in Northern Ireland as a symbol of control and oppression as campaigns ramp up to remove it as a “political icon” so that footballers can wear it and it can exist perminantly in the peoples eye.

Each year for the past few I have made my own “White Poppy” in is in the tradition of remembering all of the falled in war and to foster a world of peace.This year I have decided to actually buy a pin.

From the PPU website:-

“White Poppies recall all victims of all wars, including victims of wars that are still being fought. This includes people of all nationalities. It includes both civilians and members of armed forces. Today, over 90% of people killed in warfare are civilians. “

Yet persistantly White Poppies are deemed the most offensive article each year, as memorials are trashed and people take all manner of grief. The same people who wish to honour those who “fought for peace and liberty” take a hostile and aggresive attitude to a simple act of rememberance and display of hope for a better world, a peaceful one.

This is the 90th year since the idea was first brought about by pacists. The White Poppy came about in 1926 to remember all of the dead after The British Legion made it clear the Red Poppy spoke only for the British militaries loses (and only those in combat) The first ones were sold in 1933 by the Women’s Guild and the Peace Pledge Union distrubuted them the following year.

So I urge you to think beyond all the banners and chests swelling with pride. Think for the dead, the german soldiers who lay in flanders, the Iraqi mothers and the Afghani fathers, the children of Korea, The Yemens who fought for liberty and the poor souls who our bombs drop on today.

My Poppy is White, I wear it to remember the fallen in The Great War. The 11 million soldiers whether they fought for The Triple Entente or The Central Powers and the 6 million civillians who did nothing to desearve their cruel fate.

I wear it for the fallen our conflicts since… for the casualties in the:-
Estonian War of Independence
Latvian War of Independence
Russian Civil War
Turkish War of Independence
Third Anglo-Afghan War
Irish War of Independence
Somaliland campaign
Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920
Adwan Rebellion
Ikhwan Revolt
Great Arab Revolt in Palestine
Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine
S-Plan
Second World War
Northern Campaign
Greek Civil War
Indonesian National Revolution
Operation Masterdom
First Indochina War
Corfu Channel incident
Anti-British National Liberation War
Korean War
Anglo-Egyptian War
Mau Mau Uprising
Jebel Akhdar War
Cyprus Emergency
Suez Crisis
Border Campaign
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Dhofar Rebellion
Aden Emergency
Nigerian Civil War
Troubles
Falklands War
Lebanese Civil War
Gulf War
Bosnian War
Operation Desert Fox
Kosovo War
Sierra Leone Civil War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
Libyan Civil War
and indeed The Cod Wars.

I wear it to give moments to those who died in numberless wars before we thought to give memory to the dead.

I wear it especially for the people of Syria and across the Levant, who are trapped inbetween facist governments, fanatics born of the wests last war, colonials from the east and south and the hateful allies to the north. I wear it for every soul we shall never know the name of that will die at the end out of drones and special operatives.

Till there is no more war.