White Poppies is an initiative for a more broadly focused Remembrance Day in Canada.
We want to encourage Canadians to broaden their Remembrance Day focus to include the civilians who now make up 90% of conflict victims; to challenge the beliefs, values and institutions that make war seem inevitable; and to urge our government to promote and fund effective non-military means of dispute resolution. - Larry Kazdan
I grew up in Germany in the 1960ies. Since I took Canadian citizenship I had to give up German citienship( Germany did not allow dual) So I go to the cenotaph to show mainly my sadness that so many young people ( of my small community) perished in WW2. I do have a very queasy feeling though that while WW2 seemed to have brought Canadians some common goal, we are not up to opposing fascism now. We seem to be caught in a mealstrom of power. I do not agree with the last 20 years of NATO. I feel we would be much better off without power blocks and having a much more narrowly defined defense strategy.I wear only the white poppy - home made.
I have been wearing a red poppy and a white poppy. The red one is to remember my father who served in Europe in WW2 - in Italy, Belgium and Holland. He did bring his trauma home with him and we lived with it until he passed away. But he was a good father. The white poppy has been promoted by Conscience Canada and Voice of Women for Peace for several years. It is to remember the civilians who died and is a reminder that to end all wars we must work for peace in a non-violent way.
There are millions to choose from, but to focus I think about the boys born in Russia in 1924, who had a 20% chance of seeing 1945, and about the soldier in Al Stewart's "Roads to Moscow" about one who fought hard for five years and still got sent to die in Siberia over an unfounded suspicion. I also think of Barnes Wallis, appalled at how indiscriminate bombing had become who then designed the Dambusters and Tallboy bombs, which did great military damage with few casualties.
I am also thinking of my dad, who fought as an Australian in the Korean war, and his uncle who fought in Gallipoli (so many dead including him, for a few yards of territory, so futile)
My father, grandfather and great grandfather all volunteered for war. My Dad (427 RCAF Lion Squadron) would be thrilled none of his sons or daughter had to go to war. #Lestweforget #antifa
I am remembering my Uncle Rae, killed just before reaching Vimy ridge, long before my birth. My father used to tell me of their canoe and camping trips around Lake Simcoe when he tucked me into bed: sad early childhood memories. Later came the deaths of two cousins, one shot down over a Dutch field, the other surviving the D-Day landing, then killed when almost in Belgium. My childish memories of such deaths undoubtedly contributed to my adult conviction that war is wrong, wrong, wrong.
In my opinion, Remembrance Day is too much about war, and too little about peace. It should be, primarily, a joyous celebration of the day that World War I ended. This meant that no further members of the various countries' armed forces had to die. That was a monstrous war, which sent thousands of people to their deaths for no just moral cause. Why should so many lives have been wasted by the negligence of governments who failed to stop what should have been an easily preventable war? This perspective has now been completely lost in modern Remembrance Day commemorations.
Some years ago, those who wanted to use this occasion not only to remember those who fell, but also to celebrate the peace declared on November 11, 2018, were able to wear a white poppy to express their views. Regrettably, white peace poppies were opposed by veterans' groups, and as a result, they no longer seem available anywhere. What I would like to see for Remembrance Day commemorations is the return of the white poppy, and the universalization of the grieving process to focus on all those who died, regardless of who they were fighting for. Jim Carmichael
I am thinking of all the civilians who have been killed, and continue to be killed, in conflicts all over the world. I am thinking in particular of the genocide that has been inflicted in Gaza, with the support of Canada. I wear a white poppy.
Everyone who is currently being killed, injured, and maimed for life by the US/Nato's forever wars: Russians, Ukrainians, Gazans, Palestinians, Syrians, Iranians, Lebanese, Venezuelans, etc.
I guess slogans like "never again" and "lest we forget" don't apply to anyone outside the Collective West.
I am thinking that we have to glorify the loss of life to justify the militarization of Canada and our role in weapons production. I want to show respect for the pain and suffering and deaths, without being complicit in future war waging. - Vicki Schmolka
White Poppies – for a culture of peace
https://peacepoppies.ca/
White Poppies is an initiative for a more broadly focused Remembrance Day in Canada.
We want to encourage Canadians to broaden their Remembrance Day focus to include the civilians who now make up 90% of conflict victims; to challenge the beliefs, values and institutions that make war seem inevitable; and to urge our government to promote and fund effective non-military means of dispute resolution. - Larry Kazdan
I grew up in Germany in the 1960ies. Since I took Canadian citizenship I had to give up German citienship( Germany did not allow dual) So I go to the cenotaph to show mainly my sadness that so many young people ( of my small community) perished in WW2. I do have a very queasy feeling though that while WW2 seemed to have brought Canadians some common goal, we are not up to opposing fascism now. We seem to be caught in a mealstrom of power. I do not agree with the last 20 years of NATO. I feel we would be much better off without power blocks and having a much more narrowly defined defense strategy.I wear only the white poppy - home made.
I have been wearing a red poppy and a white poppy. The red one is to remember my father who served in Europe in WW2 - in Italy, Belgium and Holland. He did bring his trauma home with him and we lived with it until he passed away. But he was a good father. The white poppy has been promoted by Conscience Canada and Voice of Women for Peace for several years. It is to remember the civilians who died and is a reminder that to end all wars we must work for peace in a non-violent way.
I wear the white poppy every year and work for a world without war.
I am not opposed to the red poppy or remembering, but I choose to promote peace without war as the goal of humanity.
I am remembering the 150 great Canadian peacemakers honoured by PeaceQuest in 2017: Seehttps://peacequest.pc-jpic.ca/category/canada-150/
There are millions to choose from, but to focus I think about the boys born in Russia in 1924, who had a 20% chance of seeing 1945, and about the soldier in Al Stewart's "Roads to Moscow" about one who fought hard for five years and still got sent to die in Siberia over an unfounded suspicion. I also think of Barnes Wallis, appalled at how indiscriminate bombing had become who then designed the Dambusters and Tallboy bombs, which did great military damage with few casualties.
I am also thinking of my dad, who fought as an Australian in the Korean war, and his uncle who fought in Gallipoli (so many dead including him, for a few yards of territory, so futile)
My father, grandfather and great grandfather all volunteered for war. My Dad (427 RCAF Lion Squadron) would be thrilled none of his sons or daughter had to go to war. #Lestweforget #antifa
I am remembering my Uncle Rae, killed just before reaching Vimy ridge, long before my birth. My father used to tell me of their canoe and camping trips around Lake Simcoe when he tucked me into bed: sad early childhood memories. Later came the deaths of two cousins, one shot down over a Dutch field, the other surviving the D-Day landing, then killed when almost in Belgium. My childish memories of such deaths undoubtedly contributed to my adult conviction that war is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Brydon Gombay.
In my opinion, Remembrance Day is too much about war, and too little about peace. It should be, primarily, a joyous celebration of the day that World War I ended. This meant that no further members of the various countries' armed forces had to die. That was a monstrous war, which sent thousands of people to their deaths for no just moral cause. Why should so many lives have been wasted by the negligence of governments who failed to stop what should have been an easily preventable war? This perspective has now been completely lost in modern Remembrance Day commemorations.
Some years ago, those who wanted to use this occasion not only to remember those who fell, but also to celebrate the peace declared on November 11, 2018, were able to wear a white poppy to express their views. Regrettably, white peace poppies were opposed by veterans' groups, and as a result, they no longer seem available anywhere. What I would like to see for Remembrance Day commemorations is the return of the white poppy, and the universalization of the grieving process to focus on all those who died, regardless of who they were fighting for. Jim Carmichael
I am thinking of all the civilians who have been killed, and continue to be killed, in conflicts all over the world. I am thinking in particular of the genocide that has been inflicted in Gaza, with the support of Canada. I wear a white poppy.
Who am I remembering this 11th November?
Everyone who is currently being killed, injured, and maimed for life by the US/Nato's forever wars: Russians, Ukrainians, Gazans, Palestinians, Syrians, Iranians, Lebanese, Venezuelans, etc.
I guess slogans like "never again" and "lest we forget" don't apply to anyone outside the Collective West.
Ann
I am thinking that we have to glorify the loss of life to justify the militarization of Canada and our role in weapons production. I want to show respect for the pain and suffering and deaths, without being complicit in future war waging. - Vicki Schmolka