Do you celebrate or mark armistice, rememberance, veterans days?

Lark

Lark

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Do you celebrate or mark these occasions? Or do you feel strongly that celebrations, commemoration and marking these occasions is wrong?

I've been thinking about this lately because of all the activity on facebook as a lot of people mark rememberence day in the UK, its pretty polarising, there's people who for thought through reasons have objected to the poppies or commemorations, recognising that it honours not just the people who fought in the two world wars (and I think a lot is being done to rehabilitate the first world war as a good war and not simply imperialist madness which wrecked europe and set the stage for communism, nazism etc. etc.) but all subsequent campaigns, including things such as the bloody sunday massacre of demonstrators by security forces in northern ireland, but its generally soliciting not very thought through responses of disdain.

Today I saw a post by the Blackadder facebook feed, Blackadder is a UK TV show in which a character who appears in different epochs tries to better himself and avoid being killed, he appears in a lot of different contexts, french revolution, world war one, courtly pawn, and is essentially the "middle class" or "middle manager", he has a man servant who he mistreats and is one of the "great unwashed", and superiors who are pretty reprehensible themselves. One of the best was the world war one series but its been roundly condemned as liberal propaganda. Anyway, their update actually said in rememberance of the VICTIMS of conflict and war, past, present and future.

That was actually a message that I could relate to, more than any patriotic or militaristic overtones.
 
I don't support any official one because I see many soldiers as being victims of the war machine themselves.

These days don't have that emphasis as much and the charities being collected for don't seem to either so I don't take part.

If there is a minute silence happening I'm not going to start shouting though. I find it sad to think about and soldiers are still just people really.
 
I wear a poppy throughout November and I will observe a moment of silence. I believe that people who see the idea of Remembrance Day and the symbol of the poppy as glorifying war are misguided. Here in Canada certainly the emphasis is on honouring the people, mostly young men, who were just ordinary citizens but sacrificed their lives to fight a war far away believing that it was their duty to protect innocent people in Britain and Europe.

My great-uncle was part of the liberation of the Netherlands and I am very proud of that. The Dutch love the Canadians because they know that many sacrificed their lives to deliver them from the horrors they went through under the Nazis. My great-uncle was wounded in the war and survived but he eventually died about a decade after the war as a result of the wounds he received during the war. I spent a few days a few years ago with another great-uncle, his brother, who was also in the war but in Italy. He didn't see direct battle but this man is one of the smartest, kindest and most wonderful human beings I know and I am proud to honour him for doing his duty. The soldiers didn't create the war and they didn't direct any of the actions of the war but they were brave and did their best to stop the war.

I am proud of our Canadian soldiers and I do not believe for one second that honouring them today has anything to do with glorifying war.
 
Cornerstone said:
I don't support any official one because I see many soldiers as being victims of the war machine themselves.

These days don't have that emphasis as much and the charities being collected for don't seem to either so I don't take part.

If there is a minute silence happening I'm not going to start shouting though. I find it sad to think about and soldiers are still just people really.
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I agree very much that soldiers are victims of the wars and conflicts, cannon fodder.
 
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

As with his earlier poems, "In Flanders Fields" continues McCrae's preoccupation with death and how it stands as the transition between the struggle of life and the peace that follows.[10] It is written from the point of view of the dead. It speaks of their sacrifice and serves as their command to the living to press on.
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No. People are surprised I don't wear poppies or do all that kind of stuff. If people want their moment of silence at 11:11 then I will participate out of respect for them but I take no meaning from it.
 
Nope, I pay respect to people, including veterans, on a daily basis; I don't need one day out of the year to remind me to not be a war-mongering shitheel.

e: It's like christmas reminding people to be charitable and valentine's day reminding people to show their love. You don't really need it.
 
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Considering that I am the AL Historian yes, although I look forward to the day when there is no more need for such organizations.
 
No, and I wish stores didn't close on days like this, because I need milk and eggs..
 
No. I think the rhetoric surrounding remembrance day is dishonest and backwards. It seems like people are trying to justify killing lots of people in stupid wars by reframing them as 'fighting for our freedom'. It always struck me as bullshit, especially since nationalism caused all these wars anyways.
 
I think its hypocritical horseshit

I watch people like david cameron the british prime minister parading around on TV with his poppy while at the same time he is supporting wars and violence around the globe

the UK has an art instilation at the tower of london at the moment where thousands of poppies are spilling out of the castle and into a moat like a river of blood

The UK is one of the biggest arms dealers in the world and has been in perpetual warfare now for hundreds of years yet it has the barefaced audacity to pretend as a state that it gives a fuck about the victims of war

It's all bullshit and it makes me sick

if people want to pay respect to the fallen then they shouldn't wear poppies they should oppose all wars

tower-of-london-poppies-1024x682.webp
 
It is always said that Canadian soldiers were very strong and valuable. If this is true, I wonder where their drive and power came from.
 
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