It was 11th November, perhaps three years ago. It was a normal working day, and word was passed around that our store would be holding a two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day. I remember that I had a particularly hectic schedule that morning and feeling slightly irritated, but hey, it was only two minutes out of the day in which to show respect for the dead, wasn’t it?
My colleague had been given the task of going around the shop ensuring that everyone had poppies. It was almost eleven o’clock when she finally got around to asking me where mine was. “I don’t wear one”, I said. She was furious, muttering something along the lines of “it’s disrespectful” and “it’s wrong”, but it was too late for her to argue. The two minutes came and went, and when I went back into the office the atmosphere was tense. (It was always bloody tense, let’s be honest, but on this occasion it was more so than usual)
When I asked what the problem was, she let rip, demanding to know why I wouldn’t wear a poppy. I felt absolutely no need to explain myself and indicated that my reasons were none of her business. After all, it’s a personal matter to me, and we were in a work situation. Given that many of the staff in the shop had spouses who were serving forces members, I may well have opened a can of worms at the same time. So I kept my mouth shut, and fumed for the rest of my shift.
Why was I angry? Because this whole thing is so enforced. I remember being asked at school: “Where’s your poppy?” At school the excuse of “lost it” didn’t wash, because inevitably there were spares. There were spares that day at work, too, but no manager, supervisor or work colleague is going to bully me into wearing something I don’t believe in wearing. Had I known about the white poppy at the time I may have worn one of those, I but I will not be forced to wear a red one.
There are many symbols that people choose to wear to support various campaigns. We have the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness and the white ribbon for raising awareness of violence against women. Perhaps the most relevant to me, is the red ribbon symbol worn for World Aids Day. I’ve tried to wear it at work before and I’ve been told by various bosses over the years to remove it. What’s the difference? I would never dream of forcing colleagues to wear a red ribbon – it’s a matter of choice – yet at the same time, I’m expected to wear the poppy. Anyone who chooses not to is vilified and accused of being disrespectful.
For the record, I have a great deal of respect for the people who lost their lives in the two great wars, many of whom didn’t have the choice. I also feel a great sadness that so many of our young people continue to fall in ongoing conflicts. I just don’t need to wear a symbol to show it.
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