tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post4055591616495878510..comments2023-06-27T10:33:35.086-04:00Comments on kirbycairo: My Problems with Remembrance Day. . . . .Kirbycairohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17528654183160305877noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-50297018431060060962017-11-11T20:10:33.540-05:002017-11-11T20:10:33.540-05:00I'll join the small crowd that has come to thi...I'll join the small crowd that has come to this place after googling "discomfort with Remembrance Day." My father was a WWII vet and spent 99% of his service as a prisoner of war in a brutal Japanese labour camp. He was also uncomfortable with the sugar-coating that is so evident on Remembrance Day and he refused to take part. His comment: In my experience of war, there were no heros. We were miserable, sick, starving and dressed in rags, not uniforms. When he returned home from war, both physically and emotionally scarred, he was denied compensation because he had only been a member of the reserves. Is this how a country pays respect? I really like the first comment in this thread. I believe I will follow suit and find my own way to commemorate the victims of war on Remembrance Day. Thank you for your thoughtful post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-79383090423303042182014-11-06T01:19:15.944-05:002014-11-06T01:19:15.944-05:00As another commenter posted, I found this entry by...As another commenter posted, I found this entry by searching for 'problems with Remembrance Day'. Again to repeat what they said, thank you for eloquently putting together the sentiments that I've always felt bubbling beneath the surface but have been poorly equipped to express. Here's to hoping that the tides again definitely will turn.<br /><br />Additionally, I wanted to point out the seeming lack of desire of some to connect the dots and see the disgrace that is the fact that those in power trundle out veterans for show on this day, yet it is the poppy fund that is used to scrounge for funds to support the very people that the government so loudly purports to 'honour.' For shame.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373762045079463961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-76462791114045907252013-11-12T01:11:05.638-05:002013-11-12T01:11:05.638-05:00Thank you for your post. I agree and feel the same...Thank you for your post. I agree and feel the same- about my discomfort over remembrance day and also how it is socially unacceptable to voice these sentiments. Thank you for doing so.<br /><br />Sandynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-32215157204094560832012-12-01T09:55:18.036-05:002012-12-01T09:55:18.036-05:00Stumbled across this through googling "proble...Stumbled across this through googling "problems with remembrance day" as I have been struggling to articulate my issues with it properly. You did it with far more insight and eloquence than I could wish to have but in short, totally hit the nutshell on the head.<br /><br />You cannot argue with your blog unless you're ignorant and/or being an ignorer. Those traits I believe are more prevalent with people the more patriotic they are or become.<br /><br />Patriotism is instilled by governments and cooperation's that benefit from war (Government generally), funny that! <br /><br />Brilliant, first class!! JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-87123961773545374522012-11-11T14:37:44.789-05:002012-11-11T14:37:44.789-05:00This is not the easiest stand to take, but there a...This is not the easiest stand to take, but there are many of us who both stand with the dead and survivors of war (civilian and military) and reject the solemn "celebrations" that are used yearly to persuade us we are always pure in our choices to use might over our other options.<br /><br />Well said.karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15428202747324083680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-33691890385844192842011-11-11T12:28:29.093-05:002011-11-11T12:28:29.093-05:00Dear RobinHood,
We have entered a time when the e...Dear RobinHood, <br />We have entered a time when the establishment has manufactured so much ideology around this issue that we have nearly lost the very freedom that the supporters claim the wars enshrined. Historically speaking, nearly all wars have been orchestrated for the sake of increasing the wealth and power of the elite, and they sell it to people in the name of patriotism. And even though his has been going on forever, the people still buy the spin. Dr. Johnson said that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" but he should have said that it is the first and last refuge. It is, I suppose, a cyclical process because when I was young and the war in IndoChina was still fresh in people's minds, they looked askance at such displays of patriotism because the political and monetary interests of the elite had been laid bare. Since then the establishment has managed to reinstate blind patriotism to the point that people will actually ostracize you if you question it. But the tide will turn again at some point.Kirbycairohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17528654183160305877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-1456749539602859052011-11-11T12:11:25.078-05:002011-11-11T12:11:25.078-05:00I just want to thank you for saying what I feel wi...I just want to thank you for saying what I feel with so much more eloquence than I ever could. Much too much, this day has become about celebrating our victory/freedom and mourning our losses rather than mourning the dead and suffering on <i>all</i> sides of the various wars, and the conditions that brought about the wars in the first place.<br /><br />I've lost three friends so far today from expressing this view. I can only hope that the fact that I feel so strongly will encourage them and others to reevaluate what today is really about.RobinHood70https://www.blogger.com/profile/06259810544476597825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-16941695511614573722010-11-11T21:37:07.252-05:002010-11-11T21:37:07.252-05:00Your link was sent to me today. Certainly you are...Your link was sent to me today. Certainly you are welcome to expressing your thought and it is your right to do so. I hope you are as generous to others who may disagree, myself included. For the record, I am not a supporter of war. I am a supporter though of the men and women who perished in war. Indeed, I attend a memorial service every year with that thought. I have taught my children to do the same. We are there for the dismal outcome to those who can no longer speak for themselves. As I say, for them. Not for the governments who order such things. Of course books could be written about this that would stretch over great distances. Mine is a simplistic response to your feelings. To Anonymous at 7:28 - well said my friend.<br />Rob.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-86775065130880061152010-11-10T21:05:19.768-05:002010-11-10T21:05:19.768-05:00Dear Phil - Thanks for your comment. In my experie...Dear Phil - Thanks for your comment. In my experience, even though if you give English a uniform and a marching band they will follow you anywhere, and their history of supporting wars has been shameful and startling - there is still a much more widely felt consciousness of the 'political' implications of these kinds of things from the early days of the terrible Gordon Riots, to the great opposition to WWI led by the brilliant Bertram Russell. Canada is much closer to the US in this regard, and most Canadians fail to understand the political implications of patriotism (even soft patriotism).Kirbycairohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17528654183160305877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-5888334264762997092010-11-10T19:28:02.336-05:002010-11-10T19:28:02.336-05:00Respectfully, I think you've got a case of ove...Respectfully, I think you've got a case of over-thinking an issue. Big time. <br /><br />Remembrance Day affords us the opportunity to be as against or as for armed conflict as we wish, a freedom we are indeed blessed to enjoy as Canadians. <br /><br />I hope you can at least agree with this assertion. If not, we live in radically incompatible realities. <br /><br />Above all, it's a solemn occasion, simply, to remember combatants and civilians killed in the savagery of war. It's also a chance to chip in a few bucks to help fund the healthcare of people who sustained horrendous physical and psychological wounds by buying a poppy. <br /><br />Ethno-centric? Don't even know how to respond to that. It's simply false. <br /><br />People of all backgrounds stand in solidarity on November 11th. <br /><br />I respectfully submit if you can't feel that basic sense of mourning and unity without an existentialist philosophical crisis, you've got problems that go beyond reflecting about a holiday of reflection and are out of touch with 95% of Canadians. <br /><br />Wear a poppy and remember, whether you support war or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-74703086677590169842010-11-10T19:13:04.915-05:002010-11-10T19:13:04.915-05:00Interesting blog, I have always felt that remembra...Interesting blog, I have always felt that remembrance day was a day to remember the suffering and sacrifice and seems to me to highlight the hideousness and the futility of ww1 in particular. It also seems very sympathetic to the soldiers and very critical of the political and military powers at the time. Here at least it does not seem to inspire a militaristic fervour and us cynical brits don't really buy the "for our freedom" stuff (I wish that there had been more cynics at the time). I would hate to see remembrance day hijacked by those who glorify war.<br />PhilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5611409863712113861.post-41040463175915500302010-11-10T14:57:08.063-05:002010-11-10T14:57:08.063-05:00K, I am wearing a white poppy and when people ask ...K, I am wearing a white poppy and when people ask me why white instead of red I respond: November 11 - Lest we forget all the victims of war, and that war is not and has never been the answer. People genuinely feel uncomfortable with my answer. We must never forget and we must stop repeating the same mistakes and atrocities. Thank you for this post<br /><br />CAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com