Tag Archives: remembrance sunday

Why do so many on the left hate the poppy? Isn’t it obvious?



poppy, remembrance, politicsMy blog post of yesterday provided an interesting but sadly inevitable reaction from some of my more vocal left-wing social media followers. 

Yet as I waded through the usual annual vitriol accusing it of being racist, pro-war, etc, etc, it occurred to me that much of their disdain for the poppy stems not from the idea of remembrance or even the fear of causing some outdated imperialistic upset, but because of something much more fundamental.

For the more I read, the more obvious it became that the reason why so many of them seem to have an issue with the poppy is because they regard it as being right-wing. And perish the thought that they could or would show any kind of support for anything which doesn’t sit within the ‘left is right and right is always wrong’ idealism which underpins everything they think.

In many ways, this is why so many of them have been screwed up by the abuse scandal currently rocking, well pretty much everything.

For whilst the socialists have happily ranted at Trump or May for anything they could consider even remotely dodgy (and it didn’t even have to be true) they now face the quandary of having to react to the fact that so many of their own are being exposed as being ‘at it’.

This is especially true of the entertainment industry where they’re now even turning on their own such is the fear of being dragged into some scandal or other. Speaking as an interested observer, I have to say that this almost Stalinesque implosion is highly amusing to watch although I have to say that the hypocrisy we’re seeing from certain quarters is beyond shameful.

However, to return to the more important issue of remembrance, speaking as both a veteran, a patriot and as someone who firmly believes that the poppy is and should always be firmly beyond politics, I would urge those on the left who have an issue with the poppy to think about what it actually represents as opposed to what they think it does.

Because the truth is that the poppy is a symbol of remembrance and that’s all it is. And left or right, we all owe the men and women who’s names are engraved on stones and monuments around the globe the courtesy of affording them a little respect by honouring their sacrifice.

@dougiebrimson

romance, life, love, beer, sexAs some of you may be aware, I’ve been beavering away on the sequel to Billy’s Log for some time now and am currently publishing extracts online in ‘Billy’s Blog’.

Please click here to visit and if you enjoy it, feel free to spread the word!

football, soccer, comedy, cost of football, manchester united, liverpool, derby, watfordJust in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

poppy, remembrance, right wing, left wing, Britain First, veteran, army, RAF, Navy, Cenotaph, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football

 

Never mind FIFA, Theresa May’s the wrong ‘un when it comes to Poppygate.

remembrance sunday,poppy,football,fifa,faLike many people, I’ve been somewhat irritated today by the news that FIFA, that most honourable of institutions, has refused permission for the teams to display Poppies on their shirts during the World Cup Qualifier at Wembley on Armistice Day.

Inevitably, a sizeable chunk of the nation went ballistic at this news whilst the British press, another honourable institution, have been almost rabid in their condemnation of football’s governing body. And to be fair, I had my say as well.

However, as the day has gone on I have mellowed somewhat on the subject of Poppygate and to be fair to FIFA, I have actually been able to see their point. After all, we are brought up with the poppy and understand exactly what it represents but not everyone overseas is familiar with it as anyone who has ever spent Nov 11th in either America or Russia (for example) will know only too well. 

Therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that whoever received the request from the FA simply responded as they would to the potential use of any symbol (OK, I’m being generous but let’s be honest, someone screwed up somewhere). It’s also not unreasonable to assume that inevitably, some kind of compromise will be reached and that this most special and poignant of days will be suitably marked. As of course, it must be.

The result of course, is that Poppygate will simply fade into the background and become yet another non-story of the kind which the British press are prone to create these days in a desperate effort to deflect attention away from something else.

But, there was one comment today which really got my goat and as the day has gone on, I have become more and more angry about it. It was made by Theresa May during Prime Ministers Questions today and was this:

poppygate,poppy,FIFA,football

Now I am a big fan of our PM but in this instance she is out of order. Bang out of order in fact. Because to use a phrase from the good book, ‘let those without sin cast the first stone.’

If we didn’t have veterans living on the streets, if we didn’t have veterans committing suicide because their mental health issues aren’t being addressed, if we didn’t have veterans scrabbling around for help from the NHS and if we didn’t have a Marine languishing in prison after being unjustly convicted of murder, then she would have a right to say what she did. But we do, so she doesn’t.

So here’s a message for Ms May from one veteran speaking on behalf of many veterans: If you’re going to tell someone to get their own house in order, especially when it’s made in the context of the military and veteran community, make sure that yours is squeaky clean first. Because I’ve got news for you, you have some serious tidying up to do before the UK is going to pass that particular inspection. 

@dougiebrimson

sex, lads romance, love, vibrator, george clooney, fart

football, soccer, comedy, cost of football, manchester united, liverpool, derby, watfordJust in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

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