Have you bought your poppy?

[Techman]

It's that time of year again and November 11 is approaching. It's time to show our thanks and appreciation and respect for all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country so that we may enjoy the quality of life that we are so lucky to have.

Please don't forget to buy a poppy to help out the veterans to whom we owe so much. It's such a small thing to do that is greatly appreciated. And don't forget to shake the hand of the veteran you buy your poppy from and to thank him or her for what they did for us all. There are few WWII vets left and they deserve our thanks before they are all lost to memory.

Lest we forget.

Techman

 

[Dee]

I hesitate to say this but.... I have been in Montreal on November 11th and there was a persistent paucity of poppies... the fewest I have seen any where.

It's such a tiny thing to do it would be nice to see more every where.

 

[Techman]

That's always been a problem here, Dee. For some reason some people think that the poppy has some kind of political significance and refuse to buy one or wear one. At least this year, at least so far, I haven't heard of any reports of stores refusing to allow the veterans to sell poppies as in past years.

This has nothing to do with politics people, it's all about giving thanks. Buy a poppy. In fact buy numerous poppies. I buy at least 4 or five every year, one for each coat I wear and one for my car. Poppies are not transferable from coat to coat.

 

[Mike Mercury]

Try to get a poppy in the states or europe.

It`s been getting harder to find poppies.
I get about six. They fall apart & get lost easily.

 

[Techman]

A little history for those who need a reminder:

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare. An American YMCA Overseas War Secretaries employee, Moina Michael, was inspired to make 25 silk poppies based on McCrae's poem, which she distributed to attendees of the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries' Conference. She then made an effort to have the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance, and succeeded in having the National American Legion Conference adopt it two years later. At this conference, a Frenchwoman, Anna E. Guérin, was inspired to introduce the widely used artificial poppies given out today. In 1921 she sent her poppy sellers to London, England, where they were adopted by Field Marshall Douglas Haig, a founder of the Royal British Legion, as well as by veterans' groups in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action.
The Royal Canadian Legion suggests that poppies be worn on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible

The entire Wiki can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

I wonder how many young people are being taught the significance of this day in their schools today?

 

[mtwallet]

Absolutely! I buy several, and put one on every jacket I'm likely to wear.

Techman, I personally wear my poppy for ALL the veterans, past and present. Without the past, we would be speaking German. Without the present, we might end up speaking Arabic when we go to the public beheadings at La Stade Bin Laden.

 

[Techman]

Absolutely! I buy several, and put one on every jacket I'm likely to wear.

Techman, I personally wear my poppy for ALL the veterans, past and present. Without the past, we would be speaking German. Without the present, we might end up speaking Arabic when we go to the public beheadings at La Stade Bin Laden.

I agree with you. Don't forget that when the idea of wearing a poppy first came about, it was expected that WW1 was 'the war to end all wars' and no one expected anything to ever rival it in terms of loss of life. Unfortunately, humanity being what it is, they were wrong and now the poppy has grown to be a symbol of remembrance for all veterans who have fought for our freedoms in every war or conflict.

I find it sad that 4 people have voted that they haven't and won't buy a poppy this year and don't have the balls to explain their reasons in the thread. I should have made it a public poll but then I guess they wouldn't have bothered voting at all.

 

[Techman]

WWI and WWII weren't about who would speak what language.

No, they weren't but if Hitler had won WWII, it's pretty safe to say that German would have rapidly become the predominant language of those countries he defeated.

 

[JH Fan]

Funny historians know it all !

Yeah ! I bought my poppy ! I have one made out of gold ! Do you ?

 

[Time to Punt]

Funny historians know it all !

Yeah ! I bought my poppy ! I have one made out of gold ! Do you ?

Not sure what the heck that means.

I buy at least 2 poppies every year because I always lose the first one. I'm not sure how anyone can be so cold as to walk by an old guy who has been through war and is just asking for a donation to support other Vets and maybe a little remembrance for his comrades that died.

Some people are really thick and somehow mistake this as supporting war or the military when all it is is supporting the poor bastards who have been there and need some help.

 

[JH Fan]

Time to punt.

It means you can give a lot more than just buy a couple poppies every year and feel that you've made your great contribution to the vets.

It is so easy to judge.
If you would know my background for exemple and all the tradition in my family you would probably blush as red as those poppies.

Problem is with this stupid federal governement who for decades didn't do sh*t to really support the people who makes the real sacrifice.

This is one of the thing like the treatement made to Indians that Canada's people should be ashamed of instead of boasting that this country is 'le plus meilleur'.

As for people who thinks there is less knowledge on WWII in Mtrl than anywhere try this :
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091106/world/history_britain_germany_war_children

 

[JH Fan]

Maybe one of these days "researchers" will realize that a certain percentage of school children consider these "tests" (that don't count for grades) as jokes and purposely either choose the most outlandish responses or randomly fill in the multiple choice answers without reading the questions or responses.

When I was in grade 6 we were given a "test" to guage our knowledge of Canadian history; 3 guys in the class simply repeated the sequence ACDC on the answer sheet.

Also, multiple choice tests don't really test knowledge as there is no way to tell how many guessed on the question.

As for those students who responded that Hitler was a football coach or that Auschwitz was a theme park, I doubt many would have written those answers had they not been suggested by the multiple choice format of the "test". Those who so responded either didn't know and just guessed, didn't bother to read the question, or when seeing the silly "wrong" answers among the multiple choices, decided to pick a silly one for shits and giggles.

If a similar test were to be administered for grades after the material was taught, I suspect different results would be observed.

Sorry but even in 3009 it won't be any excuse not to know who Hitler is !
It's a very poor excuse and very poor taste !