I WROTE to this paper last year about the misappropriation of the poppy by right-wing movements in the UK. This year I was impressed to see that Cambridge University students resisted a call by Conservative members to enforce Remembrance events on their fellow students.
Of course the right-wing press have been driven into a frenzy. Their readers are apoplectic. What else would we expect?
I truly admire the position taken by Stella Swain and her fellow students. They will have known in advance about the fuss and fury their decision would cause amongst the far-right radical groups such as Conservative Progress and the rantings of frothing Daily Mail readers and the eternally angry Daily Express mob. They are standing up for the very same freedoms that their detractors are claiming are being discredited.
Ms Swain and her compatriots have taken an exemplary stance against the fanatical British nationalists who demand that their every waking moment is spent in Remembrance mode.
The whole meaning of the poppy symbol has been switched from reminding us of the futile waste of human beings and their lives in tragic wars to being a glorification of Britain and Britishness. The poppy has literally become a recruiting tool for the armed forces and anyone who does not subscribe to the faux, teary-eyed promotion of service to queen and country is treated as a pariah.
Even the Mayor of Cambridge, James Palmer, has chipped in with his tuppence worth of bile, slighting the university for bringing great shame upon itself.
Taking a step back from this maelstrom, I am reminded of a story I saw recently of a man named August Landmesser. He is now known as the man who refused to give the Sieg Hiel Nazi salute that was mandatory to show loyalty to the Fuhrer, the party and the nation. There were serious consequences for his actions but he refused to be carried along by the mass hysteria of the crowd.
What if more people had thought for themselves and looked at their situation critically? What if there were more “Landmessers” standing arms folded, defiant against tyranny?
Over the next week we will be subjected to more of this ugly British nationalism. I no longer pay the BBC licence and so I will not have to suffer jumped-up little newsreaders grilling members of the public as to why they are not sporting a poppy. I will not have to read the incensed, furious fulminations of right-wing nationalist newspapers spewing their outraged nonsense. Neither will I sit back and watch them attack and harass those students who have taken back the meaning of what the poppy symbol really stood for.
I will be writing to the Mayor of Cambridgeshire to express my support for the students and to remind him of what the core values of this world-renowned institution state: freedom of thought and expression, freedom from discrimination.
Ian Greenhalgh
Edinburgh
THE Remembrance Debate over white poppies has brought to the fore the usual small-minded petty patriotism and jingoistic nonsense from the political right.
Many of us descended from those senselessly send to their deaths in the Great War wear multiple remembrance symbols this season.
Like many outraged family members, I give to the Salvation Army, to Combat Stress, and to charities promoting conflict resolution at this time of year.
However, the Hague Fund, which runs the Scottish Poppy Appeal, will never see a penny of my money under any circumstances, and the reasons for that are deeply personal.
LJ McDowall
Ayrshire
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel