I’m in a little bit of a quandary over this week’s report, friends.
You see, far too many of Canada’s soldiers fought and died so that we can enjoy all the freedoms we have today, which includes the freedom of expression, so am I really in the right to even bring something like this up and question it?
Here, just read a little bit as I explain what I’m talking about and then you’re free to decide whether you want to continue with my take on things.
Evidently, in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day and in the midst of the Royal Canadian Legion’s annual Poppy Campaign, another more ‘colorful’ design of the signature flower pin created in the United Kingdom managed to stir up a bit of a fuss online over here in Canada. Instead of the signature red and black, this design utilizes a rainbow color scheme that was created in order to represent the LGBTQ community.
A woman named Julie Fearnley decided to make the rainbow-coloured poppy last year, and in doing so, she thought it was an innocent, noble gesture.
“A gay friend of mine asked about producing a rainbow version and immediately I thought about Alan Turing and his struggles with being a gay man in WW2 so I thought it was a good idea,” she wrote in an e-mail to the National Post.
Inspired by her friend’s request and by Turing, a gay computer scientist whose work included decoding secrets held by the Nazis, Julie crafted the glittery badge with a different color for each petal. She then sold them online, with proceeds going towards Poppy Appeal, a registered charity under the Royal British Legion.
However, it didn’t take long for backlash against the modified poppy to flood the internet and social media. People alleged that the LGBTQ community was “pushing” for the new poppy to take the place of the old one, and one person even went so far as to write, “I swear to God that the LGBTQ communities’ sense of entitlement is so bad that I am ashamed these days to admit to be even part of it.”
For their part though, the LGBTQ community never promoted the rainbow poppy, nor was it ever mass-produced.
So then, what sort of issue can one really have with this when there technically isn’t even an issue to begin with?
Well, here’s the only question I have surrounding the concept and the meaning of this new poppy: does EVERYTHING these days honestly need to be a platform for sending a message?
Can’t some things just be absolute with one longstanding tradition and message of its own?
Wouldn’t that send a better message about equality and inclusion, if we all just stood together under one underlying message or meaning?
At the end of the day, it’s like I said, far too many people died generations ago so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have today, including the freedom of expression. So, in that regard, you’re absolutely free to wear any color of poppy you choose.
However, I believe that at a time in our society where the subjects of equality and inclusion have never been more spotlighted, perhaps some people need to realize that those things require a two-way street; I will treat you as an equal, but I expect you to treat me and others the exact same way. If I as a heterosexual guy can stand with Canadians coast to coast in wearing the standard poppy that signifies the blood shed in battle (the red) and the mourning done across a nation (the black), then so can those who are gay, lesbian, transgender, you know where I’m going with this.
The poppy is universal in meaning, impact, and inclusion. It reflects on the memory of soldiers across all walks of life, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation.
I would also argue, and this is really just a financial point of view on the whole thing, that it’s very important to support the efforts of the Royal Canadian Legion by donating a few bucks here and there and wearing the red & black poppy that they’re more than happy to provide to you. Those few bucks are capable of going a very long way if more and more people lend their support, and spending money on any other sort of poppy doesn’t do much to support the Legion, which needs help across the country perhaps now more than ever.
Hey, don’t get me wrong, the rainbow poppy is a pretty design and the intentions behind it are admirable, but there’s nothing pretty about war and the sacrifices made by far too many human beings.
Every November 11, I believe that the message should be singular, clear and concise – We Will Remember Them.
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
