Why I Won't Wear a Poppy

[AlexChris617]

@TatankaTracker It also preserves your right to spew overly-patriotic bile, like you just have. I'm a pacifist, and I don't support the military, period.

[Noranapps]

I don't wear a poppy either, mainly cuz I don't know why I should, or why i shouldn't. I don't believe that my history textbooks hold a fraction of truth and reality, and I wont stand for or against something that I don't know much about.

[ferritcity]

Well said young man. A person who is switched on.

[PRRCanada]

AMEN!

[Azroeneira]

im a little on the fence about the war subject but great video and great points, made me think.........

[AlexChris617]

@tomd2103

U mad?

[racingislife2011]

the poppy is a symbol of the carnage of war,and pointlessnes of it, i see it as a symbol of peace and that war should be avoided, not simply remmbering the people from your country as "the good guys". that is what the poppy means to me.

[lilvixenchica]

Interesting i am not a pacifist at least i do not label myself as such as i am a Marxist and believe if revolution needs to happen and violence is the only answer then violence needs to be taken but i think this is an interesting opinion

[AquariaSpirit]

OMG! I didn't know that there were other pacifists in the world other than myself!

[kellystone84]

I don't wear a poppy either. Those who died are fools cause they died for nothing. Nothing is worth dying for.....Nothing!

[samthemacman]

Hear! Hear! I am a Canadian and served 8 years in the CF in the 1970's and 1980's. I am now a pacifist and have witnessed first hand what the evils of patriotism and nationalism do to our young. We are constantly manipulated by government and the government continues to use the military as an extension of politics forgetting that to "remember" means that we should just as readily "never again" resort to violence to solve our problems.

Thanks for posting your video.

[riddikulusmusic]

I have lost six members of my family to the war on "Terror" within five years. That is why I wear a poppy, to remember THEM. A lot of my family died in World War 1 and 2, the reason we have this day and on Remembrance day in this country (Britain), we also remember those of other nationalities who died, whether they were allies or not at the time. I wear a poppy, and have been brought up to wear it as, a remembrance of EVERYONE who has been killed at war, fighting or not. Whoever they were.

[samuelbshaw]

What a load of bollocks. 

[AlexChris617]

@samuelbshaw

If you don't actually have anything constructive to say, why bother commenting?

[usuixxmisaki]

@AlexChris617

i agree with you.

i agree with your speech.

[MCH1984]

@AlexChris617 Can you spell 'irony'?

[AlexChris617]

@MCH1984

I fail to see any irony whatsoever. Maybe you misunderstand the definition of irony -- many people do.

[MCH1984]

@AlexChris617 Of course you fail to see any irony in your statement; you're an idiot! I mean that in the nicest possible way, naturally :)

[AlexChris617]

@MCH1984

And you find name-calling productive? What is your real point?

[MCH1984]

@AlexChris617 Don't cry love, I'm sure you'll get over it in due time ;)

[AlexChris617]

@MCH1984

Honestly, I don't understand what you're saying at all. If you'd like to explain it, that would be nice. Otherwise I can come to one of two conclusions about you:

a) You're a troll

b) You're uneducated and you don't know what "irony" means.

[MCH1984]

@AlexChris617 You can't understand what I'm saying because I'm not speaking to you. Not terribly bright are you? Forgive me for stating the obvious.

In answer to your latter pointless rabble perhaps this will enlighten you. Irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.

Still confused? Bless your tiny mind.

[AlexChris617]

@MCH1984

Yeah, you're a troll. Blocked.

[13374444444444444444]

You are ignorant. NAZIS = BAD, Brutal Dictators = BAD, Extremists that blow up little girls because they try to get an education BAD. War = sometimes necessary to protect your "right" to not wear a poppy.

[AlexChris617]

@13374444444444444444

I pointed it out in my video, if you hadn't noticed. It's to prove a point.

[jtstacy9]

I don't even want to think about how much money my country spends on military (shudders). Can I please please move to Canada??

[Gunderson002]

Also, during World War I, there were really no 'good guys'. Both sides were fighting, as Lenin put it, an 'imperialist war'. Although it was still better that the Allies won and not the Central Powers.

[Gunderson002]

I respect your decision, but I'm sick of this "violence is never justified" attitude. Most of the time, it isn't, but I think waging war against the Third Reich was a necessary sacrifice to save Europe from falling under Fascism. Also, I'm not saying the United States or Britain are necessarilly good, because they're not, but they were the prefferable victors in WWII.

If you have a choice, be peaceful, but don't be so committed to non-violence that you're unprepared to use it defensively.

[Stephen5000]

I've had a problem with poppies for a long time now. In part because I see it as a piece of pro-military propaganda. Also because it seems to say that those who died in battle died as heroes, when in fact we don't know how most of them died. There's a good chance that many of them died in vain. Also, we can't forget these conflicts arose due to a diplomatic and preventative failure on our countries' behalf, and that these deaths mights have been prevented.

[Stephen5000]

@Stephen5000 So maybe poppies are good for bringing up some of these ideas. But that's not really what they are there for. I won't wear a poppy either.

[AlexChris617]

@Stephen5000

Some kids get into trouble for not wearing them at the Remembrance Day services. I'll see if I can avoid that.

But I agree with what you're saying here. The wearing of the poppy is not tied to spreading peace, but instead as marking the military as being unquestionably heroic. I think we SHOULD question military decisions, I think we SHOULD openly discuss the failures and mistakes made by military representatives. It should not be taboo to criticize them.

[lonewolfM16]

peace is all well and good but in the the end war can be neccassary, killing another human being is a vile act but sometimes violence is warrented and yes there are good guys and bad guys as morality doesnt just fade away when dealing with nations, as a atheist understand that morality is not set in stone but is something that is a matter of personal choice however canada is a great free nation and in the cases of the recent wars (1930s-present) it has been one of the good guys

[Stephen5000]

@lonewolfM16 You mean it's been one of the victors.

[lonewolfM16]

@Stephen5000 no i mean it has been the moral good guys who had good reason to wage war

[AlexChris617]

@lonewolfM16

No. Canada has not been one of the "good guys". Killing others is not a "good" act. If anything, we are all neutral, and morality is subjective.

[lonewolfM16]

@AlexChris617 yes as a atheist i understand morality is subjective (as opposed to a set of absoulute laws layed down by god) but you have to understand war is sometimes neccassary to defend yourself from the misdeeds of others and inmy opoion in the modern times the "good guys" are those who support freedom, democracy, are not imperialistric, ect and yes that includes cannada the US britain france(a pacisfist nation) and post ww2 japan and germany

[MCH1984]

@AlexChris617 Thank fuck you weren't PM in WW2.

[xxNinjaBean]

Interesting point of view, never really thought about it that way before. I don't condone violence or killing either, but I do respect that soldiers are willing to put their lives on the line to protect their country's freedoms, even though I don't agree with the way they're doing it.

[alexthenerd1]

I never thought of the poppy as a victory flag. Not even as a symbol of patriotism.

I always thought of it as a memorial to those who died, no matter which side of which war they were on. I also think of the poppy as a way of reminding people of how tragic war is. It's a way of saying 'I understand that millions of people have died in wars, and how lucky I am to be alive and not living in a war torn country today'

[AlexChris617]

@alexthenerd1

I don't see it as a victory flag, but it does seem too patriotic. You ought to hear a lot of the speeches made at Remembrance Day services. They're all talking about how great Canada is, and how our military tactics have been so fantastic over the years. They seem to forget that our soldiers kill people, like any other soldier does. I will not celebrate or honour the act of killing another person in any way.

[alexthenerd1]

Perhaps I have been lucky in terms of the Remembrance Day services I have been to. They have all been rather reserved, with old veterans talking about their dead comrades, or with slideshows of fallen soldiers/dead bodies. I have also sat through a good amount of Holocaust concentration camp footage . . . this is why I have never seen the poppy as a symbol for military excellence or patriotism, I suppose. What I have seen has only painted a negative picture of war. @AlexChris617

[TorlexBlog]

I wouldn't wear one if I had one in my possession. I love your videos. ;D

[SimpleShorts]

Unfortunately, the army in the US (where I live) is 10 times greater than it needs to be and where most of our money goes.

[udlacaga]

glad to live in a country without an army!!!!

[SimpleShorts]

@udlacaga What country is this?

[udlacaga]

@SimpleShorts COSTA RICA!!! thats why is called the american switzerland!!!