Poppies and minutes silence

Status
Not open for further replies.
Adi2Dassler said:
As I said initially, I always want to participate in the silence, and whilst I do not wear a poppy, I always contribute money to the Haig Poppy appeal.But I say that with the caveat of I'm thinking about the soldiers who put down their lives in whatever far flung place, but also all the innocent victims of war in these places.I still stand by the assertion that Iraq is no better off today, and that Afghanistan will become the Taliban strong hold within 2 years of withdrawal there.And my disgust of politicians who made the choice to invade these countries rises to boiling point each November.
Click to expand...


You don't seem to get the point that Remembrance Sunday is nothing to do with the reason that people went to war, it's solely about the people who, through no choice of their own, gave their lives fighting in the various conflicts. All of the conflicts would have been unnecessary had rational people sorted out the mess before the need to take up arms.
 
Let's not forget that a long with the minutes silence all those shirts with the poppies on will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to TRBL, a charity which helps all service personnel unlike a well supported other service charity.
 
As an ex serviceman I always attend the Armistice Day service and if anyone who has been to it will tell you the silence is not just to reflect on those who have lost their lives in the service of their country but also all those who have suffered as a result of war.

War is an act that should only be taken as a last resort but as humans (even politicians are human) that judgement is sometimes wrong and misguided.

Please don't forget, it was the predecessors of the servicemen and women in places like Afghanistan that fought for your right to speak against what the current forces may be sent to do.
I will speak out against anything I consider unjust in the decisions to send in troops, but I will never forget those who suffer as a result of the decisions - both servicemen and civilians, and will always pause to reflect both on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day itself.
 
sweatysock41 said:
As an ex serviceman I always attend the Armistice Day service and if anyone who has been to it will tell you the silence is not just to reflect on those who have lost their lives in the service of their country but also all those who have suffered as a result of war.

War is an act that should only be taken as a last resort but as humans (even politicians are human) that judgement is sometimes wrong and misguided.

Please don't forget, it was the predecessors of the servicemen and women in places like Afghanistan that fought for your right to speak against what the current forces may be sent to do.
I will speak out against anything I consider unjust in the decisions to send in troops, but I will never forget those who suffer as a result of the decisions - both servicemen and civilians, and will always pause to reflect both on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day itself.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree 100%.

In a democracy we can all disagree with political decisions made on our behalf and can express our disagreement. However, the military forces are obliged to carry out those actions whether they, as individuals, agree or not.

The rest of us should, therefore, never forget sacrifices made in our name.
 
chrisd said:
I was at Selhurst Park on Saturday. They had a Forces guard of Honour with remembrance wreaths and the minutes silence was absolutely strictly observed by our fans as well as the visiting Everton supporters

Football fans can do the right thing when they want!
Click to expand...

As they did at Stamford Bridge; the Chelsea pensioners were out with the teams and the silence was also strictly observed.

I would never want to enforce the two minute silence on anybody because then it loses any meaning as an act of respect in my opinion. It's not much to ask of anybody to honour the sacrifices that many, both living and dead, made for the freedoms we now enjoy. I know it's a job I could never have done and I take my hat off to all those who have served.
 
I really don't see the need for the minutes silence at football games.There is a time and place for remembrance and at a game of football isn't the place for it IMO.

For those who disagree can I ask why it hasn't been shoehorned into other sporting events like the horse racing,golf,darts hell even theatre on the Saturday afternoon.

As per usual Ali my team are getting pelters as Ross County decided for whatever reason not to hold one on Saturday and it's being surmised that was due to our 'history' despite the fact last year at McDairmaid it was observed as it should be.The main ones greetin are our 'friends' across the city who IMO have turned what should be a time to remember into a total sash bash over the last few years and pay their 'respects' in a way that I can't agree is the way those who fell should be remembered.

There is a time and a place to remember and football stadiums on a Saturday isn't one of them for me.
 
Remembrance Day is a time I think about the poor soles that gave their bodies and lives in many wars but especially WW1. The terrible waste of brave lives for what was no more than political gesturing by the ruling classes.

I tend to think on some of the lines from 'The Green Fields of France' especially: "Here in this graveyard that's still no-mans land the rows of white crosses in mute witness stand, to mans blind indifference to his fellow man and a whole generation lies butchered and damned"

[video=youtube;p_mBJgsaxlY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_mBJgsaxlY[/video]
 
Dodger said:
I really don't see the need for the minutes silence at football games.There is a time and place for remembrance and at a game of football isn't the place for it IMO.

For those who disagree can I ask why it hasn't been shoehorned into other sporting events like the horse racing,golf,darts hell even theatre on the Saturday afternoon.

As per usual Ali my team are getting pelters as Ross County decided for whatever reason not to hold one on Saturday and it's being surmised that was due to our 'history' despite the fact last year at McDairmaid it was observed as it should be.The main ones greetin are our 'friends' across the city who IMO have turned what should be a time to remember into a total sash bash over the last few years and pay their 'respects' in a way that I can't agree is the way those who fell should be remembered.

There is a time and a place to remember and football stadiums on a Saturday isn't one of them for me.
Click to expand...

Only one sporting body in the UK continues to respect Remembrance Day.

ACU, the governing body of Motorcycle sport in UK, still does not sanction any events for that day and has not for over 90 years.
 
Dodger said:
There is a time and a place to remember and football stadiums on a Saturday isn't one of them for me.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with that.
The Sunday Service has been demeaned and lost a lot of it's meaning over the last 10 years by people who do not have a clue what it is all about. And worst of all, people trying to seek commercial gain out of it.
 
Dodger said:
Any idea why? And do you think this is a poor stance or not by the other sporting bodies?
Click to expand...

I believe that it was originally as a mark of respect for the number of Despatch Riders killed in WW 1, many of whom had been competitive motor-cyclists.
Subsequently it was felt that forsaking one day's sport was not a lot to ask as a mark of remembrance for all who had served.
 
Dodger said:
I really don't see the need for the minutes silence at football games.There is a time and place for remembrance and at a game of football isn't the place for it IMO.

For those who disagree can I ask why it hasn't been shoehorned into other sporting events like the horse racing,golf,darts hell even theatre on the Saturday afternoon.

As per usual Ali my team are getting pelters as Ross County decided for whatever reason not to hold one on Saturday and it's being surmised that was due to our 'history' despite the fact last year at McDairmaid it was observed as it should be.The main ones greetin are our 'friends' across the city who IMO have turned what should be a time to remember into a total sash bash over the last few years and pay their 'respects' in a way that I can't agree is the way those who fell should be remembered.

There is a time and a place to remember and football stadiums on a Saturday isn't one of them for me.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the Staggies were keen to avoid something like this:

shameful_zps5d9947bb.jpg
 
Kellfire said:
Enforced silences don't work imo because it is impossible to expect everyone to respect the same things.
Click to expand...

I think some things I do expect people to respect. People putting their lives on the line for our freedom is one of those
 
We had an announcement at work at 11 for two minutes' silence and in the middle of it, some total retard came up and started asking me a question. He then repeated it when I ignored him. Even when the silence ended and he had everyone staring at him, he still didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Still, if you don't have *******s in life, you don't realise who the good people are.
 
Liverpoolphil said:
I think some things I do expect people to respect. People putting their lives on the line for our freedom is one of those
Click to expand...

But a lot of the dead military lost lives as we tried to enforce our values on those who didn't want it in the first place or as we supported fairly despicable regimes. It's not as cut and dry as you make out and many will not forgive or forget that not all those who died did so for a good cause.
 
Kellfire said:
But a lot of the dead military lost lives as we tried to enforce our values on those who didn't want it in the first place or as we supported fairly despicable regimes. It's not as cut and dry as you make out and many will not forgive or forget that not all those who died did so for a good cause.
Click to expand...
I presume as you said we, you include yourself in these enforced values. As a member of the army for 22 yrs and been the member of a regiment that lost some great lads in Iraq and Afganistan, I am proud to be able to give as many minutes as it takes to remember those who paid the ultra at sacrifice. For service personnel it is cut and dried. The people that this country voted for send us off to do a job and we do it to the best of our ability. Whether we feel that Iraq was a con and Afganistan an unwinable trip never enters into the equation.
 
Old Skier said:
I presume as you said we, you include yourself in these enforced values. As a member of the army for 22 yrs and been the member of a regiment that lost a some great lads in Iraq and Afganistan, I am proud to be able to give as many minutes as it takes to remember those who paid the ultra at sacrifice. For service personnel it is cut and dried. The people that this country voted for send us off to do a job and we do it to the best of our ability. Whether we feel that Iraq was a con and Afganistan an unwinable trip never enters into the equation.
Click to expand...

I personally don't wear a poppy but I do understand and support the silence but I do question its use in things such as football and the like.

And I didn't even mean Iraq and Afghanistan, I meant further back.
 
Kellfire said:
But a lot of the dead military lost lives as we tried to enforce our values on those who didn't want it in the first place or as we supported fairly despicable regimes. It's not as cut and dry as you make out and many will not forgive or forget that not all those who died did so for a good cause.
Click to expand...

How far back are you talking here ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top