White Poppy Day
White poppy collectors threatened
White poppy campaigners are hitting the streets for peace today after being verbally abused for their campaign. The Dominion Post revealed yesterday that Peace Movement Aotearoa would be selling white poppies promoting peace the day before the Returned and Services Association held its red poppy fundraiser in memory of those who died in war.
Finally something for thinking NZers who don't want to revel in the mass blind nationalism of previous generations to rush off pointlessly to wars and get slaughtered for nothing. I tend to leave World War 2 veterans out of this world view as I don't think World War 2 could have been avoided, but much of what we have been called on to sacrifice in the past was a sad joke and that sad joke continues to this VERY DAY with John Key sending our troops pointlessly into Afghanistan.
For me ANZAC Day is a chance to promise future generations that we will NEVER as a country throw their lives so cheaply and pointlessly away as we have in the past, I know what I will be wearing this ANZAC Day.
posted by Bomber @ 8:05 am
17 comments
17 Comments:
Too right Bomber. PMA should be congratulated not vilified.
On Sunday 25th April New Zealanders of all walks of life will be publicly remembering those who died in the bloodbaths of the 20th Century. It is to be hoped that those who attend the ceremonies will also remember what they died fighting for, and express that understanding by observing an equally significant event on the preceding day, of which more will be said below.
It is beyond dispute that the many young men who enlisted did so for a variety of reasons, some for no more worthy a motive than those against whom they heroically fought.
But rightly or wrongly, civic leaders will be telling us that the sacrifice of so many young lives was to defend freedom and democracy. No other reason could remotely justify the tragic loss of life and the grief that it brought about. And the many who died in the genuine belief that they did so fighting fascist tyranny would be outraged to think that their descendants would passively submit to a police state imposed by their own government.
On 24th April a nation wide protest is to be held against the Search and Surveillance Bill, which is the biggest threat to civic liberties in this country since the Emergency legislation of the Holland government in 1951. It’s title deserves to be abbreviated to SS Bill, with all the connotations the Nazis gave those two letters, as it is well documented, e.g. in Robert Gellately’s book Backing Hitler:Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany that the Nazis rose to power in Germany by fomenting and exploiting a wave of Law and Order hysteria by promising the same kind of extension of police powers as promoted in this bill. It will be interesting to see which of those civic leaders who speak Anzac Day of ‘defence of freedom’ have walked the talk on the preceding day.
I tell you what, if I see anybody with a white poppy i'll be giving them shit. As someone proud of his great grandfather fighting in WWI, you are disrespecting his sacrifice to make this country what it is.
Lest we forget.
Lest we trample on the graves of those who sacrificed so much.
How dare you.
The veneration of pointless sacrifice has gotten way OTT in the last few years -- ANZAC Day is now all but a religious occasion. And no one is forced to buy a white poppy. "The Glorious Dead" my ass - nothing glorious about it.
Probably none
the Search and Surveillance Bill, which is the biggest threat to civic liberties in this country since the Emergency legislation of the Holland government in 1951. It’s title deserves to be abbreviated to SS Bill,
CHECK OUT CRACCUM ISSUE 5/2010 FOR INTERNET FILTERING "TO FILTER OR NOT TO FILTER" BY ELISA BROWN.
ISSUE 2 HAS AN IRAQI REFUGEE RETURN HOME TO SEE FAMILY AND 8 HOURS POWER DELIVERED IN 2 HOUR BLOCKS.
going home, holidaying in iraq, hela rahman returns to iraq for the first time in a decade
issue 2 2010
It is beyond dispute that the many young men who enlisted did so for a variety of reasons, some for no more worthy a motive than those against whom they heroically fought.
FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY!
The veneration of pointless sacrifice has gotten way OTT in the last few year
Of course Ruth, totally pointless, I'm sure the survivors of liberated Europe would disagree with you but who cares right?
You're part of the edgy cool kids club so what does it matter if anyone else is offend by the act of a few publicity hungry shit stirrers?
And that is all they are: they could have used the International Day of Peace on the 21st of September but then they wouldn't get on tv for being big brave activists then would they? Could have used peace symbols instead of poppies but that wouldn't have shat on the RSA's parade enough would it?
Wow - Gordon Campbell is part of the edgy cool kids club? He will be thrilled
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/04/22/gordon-campbell-on-our-fixation-with-gallipoli/
I am sure he would dearly love to be.
wow, that's all you've got in response to his well argued piece huh? Perhaps your exclamation mark should be a question mark as in, why bother?
Who really cares what they think.
ANZAC services go from strength to strength every year and have such widespread support that white poppy grandstanders are simply a pebble on the ocean.
If they want to give money for peace scholarships then go ahead but history have shown their beliefs to have no merit.
Its just unfortunate that good men have died so that cowards can have their freedom protected and sleep in warm beds at night.
I was responding to you saying he might be part of the cool kids club.
I didn't bother reading his piece because it says it was about Gallipoli - and we aren't talking about Gallipoli anyway, we are talking about some shithead's grandstanding around ANZAC day. These people are trying to cash in on ANZAC day, pure and simple - that's is what is pissing everyone off, but you already know that.
Having now read it, I agree with most of what he says and I don't see anything in his column that could be construed as supporting the white poppy clowns trying to profit from decades of ANZAC day tradition. Perhaps you could point out how he is supporting these arseholes attempt to cash in on ANZAC Day?
By all means - have your white poppy day if it makes you happy - just don't do it the day before ANZAC because it is pretty fucking obvious that this is nothing more than shit stirring and profiteering.
So good men died to save us from the Ottoman Empire? As they die now to colonize Iraq
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174789/the_mother_ship_lands_in_iraq
We need to remember these dead- and my family are amongst them- as a symbol of the futility of war. History has shown the beliefs of Empire builders to have no merit not those who seek peaceful and political solutions. And History is being re written now in the middle east as we protect ourselves from the monsters we have created.
Hitler was a maniac and needed to be stopped, this is not a justification for endless war, neither those that preceded or followed him.
Before now I thought I was anti-war because wars usually result in economic oppression and killing poor people.
Looks like I'm an unregistered member of the 'edgy cool kids club'.
My life has revolved around hi-top sneakers, snapping my fingers and over using the word "shizzle'. Time to change....give me a gun and a one way ticket to the middle east, I want to kill people into freedom.
Thanks Mark
by their deeds you shall know them.
as Jesus said, more or less.
Anzac day seems to be becoming more and more about war glorification. The attaks on PMA is the wolf* ditching its wool coat.
*the wolf being militarism..
KiwiM
Why did Peace Movement Aotearoa choose to sell its white poppies in the lead-up to Anzac Day? Simple. It wanted to “cash in” on the decades of good RSA roddy poppy day publicity. PMA decided in 2008 to deliberately move to the Anzac period – there can be no disguising its intent. It's no wonder NZers are angry! It should return its white poppy selling to its original position on Hiroshima Day – and go the long haul to make the day its own, not try and piggyback on the blood, sweat and lives of our servicemen and women.
http://yardyyardyyardy.blogspot.com/2010/04/seeing-red-over-white-poppies.html
PhilBee, Auckland
"I know what I will be wearing this ANZAC Day."
A white feather?
It'd certainly suit your political views of appeasement.
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