No Poppies at Burger King!!!

[rubberdinghy]

Brutal...

Earl Mcrae, and his hard hitting jouralism!

I love this guy!

[guigsy]

that's really funny!

[bokonon]

baarrgghh, damn the man and sell the bloody things. although i don't wear one (i wear a badge that says "to remember is to work for peace" instead) i still donate to the boxes though.

[bouche]

i read that earlier and was a little pissed off at this Earl Mccrybaby. Why give these owners a hard time? There are TONS of places to drop off the freaking poppies.

Veteran issues are just another taboo situation where people are not allowed to 'not participate' in the affairs. If they don't want to, or can't for some reason, why make a beef ? (ha...beef ---> whopper ---> mmmmm!)

[Jaimoe]

Global TV had a news story on veterans selling poppies at malls. The reporter asked the veterans how they feel when people walk by them not wearing poppies ( and the story was about people's indifference to war veterans and poppies ). Well, the two veterans at the Fairview Mall in North York started to cry, pleading for people to remember the soldiers that sacrificed their lives for our freedom. All they wanted was for people to wear a poppy for Rememberance Day. Is that such a sacrifice for our freedom today?

Everyone in this free Canada should wear a poppy.

[h]

then they should make them so they dont fall off before you make it out of the store - i've bought like 6 already this year and there isnt one on my coat now - gotta find an eraser...

[bouche]

yeah.... make 'em with a clasp eh? Just like a regular button, and then BK wouldn't have to worry about kid's hurting themselves.

I have poked holes in my fingers many times by the ancient design of the poppy pin.

I've got one on my jacket, but ms.hux put it on for me so I am still intact.

[thatpatguy]

I don't wear a poppy, for two reasons I guess.. 1) I'm first generation Canadian, I have no relatives that died for Canada.. but 2) and this is the real reason, I don't wear one because I think it has gotten to the point where people wear them out of duty as supposed to out of reason. Does that make sense?

I don't like doing things because I'm supposed to.. I prefer to do things because I want to. I contribute, possibly more than most poppy wearers. Whenever I see a poppy box I throw in my loose change (save for maybe loonies and toonies, but those make it in as well). So I feel I totally support Canada's vets, I'm just not as visible about as I can be, and I think I have a right to not wear a poppy if I don't want to, isn't that what they were fighting about as well?

Anyway, I think I'm going to loose direction here. But I agree with Bouche, people should be allowed to not participate if they don't want to, and don't get mad at the manager of pizza hut if she's/he's not allowed to put out a poppy box. Yeah it's stupid, but it's not his/her fault.

Also, I still have a scar on my arm from when I got a nasty scratch from a poppy back in high school. Of course I didn't sue anyone though, that's just silly.

[Large Marge]

Everyone in this free Canada should wear a poppy.

Wha?

Half the people already wearing them, don’t even know what they’re for! In recent times, this accepted-by-the-masses campaign seems to have diminished what was once, thought-provokingly known as Remembrance Day to the new, consumer-friendly Poppy Day!

The Legion was savvy enough to double sales a couple of years ago by switching back to the stylish suit and top-coat matching black centered flower. The original Canadian Legion poppies were also red with black, symbolizing the real ones that had once covered Flanders’ field in WWI… the centers were made green in the early eighties, to represent the many different fields of battle where Canadians killed and were killed in our country’s good name.

Was the return to black meant to relinquish the sentiment of the green, or was it simply a savvy marketing decision? Either way, the public response was pathetically shallow; consumers were actually refusing to donate for the “old” tired green poppies once they became aware of the hip “new” black ones. Who cares if the proceeds are needed for our veterans, their widows and children… the consumer says BLACK!

Fortunately for us gen-exers (and beyond), most of us haven’t any clue what it’s like to fight a war. Unfortunately for our veterans, that means a lot of indifference to their seemingly shallow poppy-vending campaign. Their uniforms might as well be costumes as far as the majority of the public is aware (or concerned).

Like the pink-ribbon breast cancer campaign, these wearable symbols are certainly better than nothing, even if only one person asks why you’re wearing it and our collective awareness is raised as a result. I just wish the Legionnaires would be a little more proactive in distributing knowledge and perhaps some real Canadian history, instead of just quietly accepting coins for what’s often just perceived as a trendy little Poppy-Day ornament.

Besides, are those things even biodegradable? They go through millions of them every year!

2¢

[Jaimoe]

Everyone in this free Canada should wear a poppy.

Wha?

Half the people already wearing them, don’t even know what they’re for!

That's the kicker. Canadian History in schools should be a mandatory subject, and for our 20th century wars that were filmed and audio recorded to not resonate through the future generations is inexcusable.

Hell, the Canadian public ( including me ) know virtually nothing of the Canadian soldiers' sacrifices in months of battle in Italy. Canada fought against Germay's best, leaving the German forces at Normandy weakened, full of mainly the young and old. Italy is called the " Forgotten War " and is considered to be more important ( to some writers ) than The Battle Of The Bulge.

[PalacePrincess]

good for those people for standing up for that! my gosh, if the pins are such a concern, then let them put just the boxes out. hmmmm, seeing as burger king and pizza hut are american companies, if they had (or have) a poppy-like program in the states, i bet there would be a lot more of an uproar if this happened there! the nerve of those "head offices", head office my ass, i am glad that article was written & i have half a mind to send angry letters to both of those pig companies!

in my opinion, the veterans of this country are already treated like crap & what they've been through is too easily forgotten & dismissed by people today. hell, i've spoken to vets that are 80+ years old and STILL can't even mention the war without bursting into tears! we should make a way bigger deal out of remembrance day than we do in this country, it's sick. and you're right large marge, we do need more education on the history of this country.

then they should make them so they dont fall off before you make it out of the store - i've bought like 6 already this year and there isnt one on my coat now

i used to have this problem too. then i encountered a poppy box with genius wonder boy backbacon, who carefully spent about 2 seconds bending my pin upwards so it doesn't poke you AND it doesn't fall off. it even fits discreetly right under the poppy so you have no unsightly pin poking out! fricken amazing!

[Jaimoe]

I like your style, PalacePrincess.

[meggo]

well.... since y'all mention it.. -

my sister has been working on this really neat project for the past year or so... see, she went to italy a couple times in the past and she's a history buff. so on her last trip, she visited ortona and a war cemetery [moro river war cemetery], and was extremely moved by the whole thing... all these young soldiers, like 19, 20, 21, etc... all buried way over in italy, all sacrificed for our freedom, so far from home and all but forgotten by many... she said she felt awful when she left, b/c she felt like she was leaving them behind... and this is how her project got started.

now i don't know how she does it, but this girl can get sh!t done. what's happening with the project now? it's called the husky history initiative [i'm assuming husky is a sponsor??] and this week it's coming to fruition in the remembrance day ceremonies at chatham-kent secondary [my alma mater! ::].. CBC radio and CBC television will be covering it. it might even be on the national, at 10, woohoo! anyway the bulk of what she's done is researching the 17 young men from chatham-kent who are buried in the cemetery in italy; she's interviewed their families and found out all kinds of fascinating [and often depressing] stories.

so, if you're interested, do some channel surfing and see what you can find. i'm not sure about dates, but i think CBC news is on at 6 or 6:30pm EST.

so yeah. i just think what she's doing is great, it's definitely heightened my awareness and appreciation of veterans. don't forget to thank one this week!!!

and if you're really, REALLY interested, you can check her site! she just got back from traveling thru parts of italy with a busload of canadian veterans, visiting places of meaning to them... some truly amazing stories. plus, she has pictures up, and she's cute! check it out ciaoaly.blogspot.com

cheers and thanks to all the veterans out there... we owe ya.

[PalacePrincess]

heh, thanks jaimoe.

(oh, and by the way, that bit i put about the pins was definitely not meant to be in purple! i was freakin' astounded when he did that -- so easy, so simple and so handy! as if it took 25 years of my life to witness that? haha)

wow, meggo, that is absolutely fascinating!!! i would really like to see this, i'll have to find someone to tape it for me. what a great thing to do. i got chills looking at some of the pictures she has on her site (and hahaha, i love her blog, i can see that crazy sense of humour definitely runs in your family! :

[arcane]

I grew up with veterans.

One of my most cherished possessions is a piece of anti-aircraft shrapnel that awarded my dad with a lingering bruise on the backside during WWII. Had the long, narrow piece of shrapnel hit him at any other angle, it would have gutted him like a prize trout.

The fact that my dad survived as many bombing sorties as he did was amazing enough, but his father's persistent existence on the planet was even more impressive--he survived the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in WWI. Not much is know about his service, but from what I've been able to piece together, he was one of the lucky ones to survive Beaumont Hamel (July 1916), and he returned to service. He was wounded later in the war, sometime in 1917.

About Beaumont Hamel (from http://collections.ic.gc.ca/legion/home.htm ):

"No unit suffered heavier losses than the Newfoundland Regiment, which had gone into action 801 strong. When the roll call of the unwounded was taken next day, only 68 answered their names. The final figures that revealed the virtual annihilation of the Battalion gave a grim count of 233 killed or died of wounds, 386 wounded, and 91 missing. Every officer who went forward in the Newfoundland attack was either killed or wounded."

Yeah, I'm wearing a poppy.

[PalacePrincess]

*update* well, i did it! i mailed nasty, scathing letters to buger king & pizza hut, and a half complimentary, half stern, get-yer-ass-in-gear leter to mcdonald's.

i'll let you know if i hear any responses.

[hamilton]

Canadian History in schools should be a mandatory subject...

It is. You can't graduate high school without passing Grade 10 Canadian History. As someone who has taught that class three times already, it's amazing how little most students care. In addition, taking the course and passing doesn't really mean that you've retained anything at all once it's over.