James McClean

[Franko]

She is no bigot.She practically minds my house Ffs.My wife is a personal friend of her niece and actually took her to Rome last year,and couldn't bate her out of the Vatican so fascinated was she.


You can have respect for other people's points of views without agreeing with them.I also understand a lot of people don't see the poppy as a symbol of militarism but rather a means of helping war cannon fodder to survive in peace time, and this includes thousands of Irishmen who fought and died in the British Army in both World Wars.

In any case isn't the freestate government represented at high levels at all war commemoration ceremonies in the North now.

She's a bigot and she's making a bit of a **** of you too.  Yer gettin played.

[Take Your Points]

I live in an area of town where the residents are people of all religions and none.  Every year the poppy sellers call at every house and no one I know has any difficulty with them attempting to collect for their cause.  I am sure not everyone contributes but the door to door collection has continued for years.  It is no different from the many others who call at all of the houses in our area to collect for their causes.

In the same area, ticket sellers from GAA clubs regularly call on every house selling relatively expensive tickets even though they have travelled many miles from their own parishes hoping to make a sale in as many houses as possible for causes that have no relation to our community.  It would appear that no one turns the word on them as there is a regular stream of such ticket sellers in the area.

My observation this year is that there appears to be fewer people wearing poppies in public, numbers will probably increase as the we approach 11th November.

[Orior]

I have worked in a variety of factories in Protestant areas, Newtownards, Castlereagh etc. In all of these poppies have been for sale in the canteen which made me uncomfortable although I have never bought one and never would. It does however make things distinctly uncomfortable when you are the only person in an office/ workshop not wearing one. It is one of the reasons that my admiration for James McClean has risen exponentially each year as he refuses to be brow beaten by these bigots. Good for you James keep setting an example for all of us who have to work in areas where our beliefs make us outsiders.

Same experience here. I even accompanied one of my customers to Germany for a trade show. My customer was wearing a poppy and one of the young German female hosts commented on his lovely flower and asked him what it was, lol. Rather embarrassing!

[Dougal Maguire]

She is no bigot.She practically minds my house Ffs.My wife is a personal friend of her niece and actually took her to Rome last year,and couldn't bate her out of the Vatican so fascinated was she.


You can have respect for other people's points of views without agreeing with them.I also understand a lot of people don't see the poppy as a symbol of militarism but rather a means of helping war cannon fodder to survive in peace time, and this includes thousands of Irishmen who fought and died in the British Army in both World Wars.

In any case isn't the freestate government represented at high levels at all war commemoration ceremonies in the North now.

She's a bigot and she's making a bit of a **** of you too.  Yer gettin played.

You're bang on. I'd say they have some great laughs about it down the British Legion.

[lurganblue]

This old chestnut again.

James has outlined his reasons and it's about time he is left alone fs.

On a similar note though I have often wondered why players of different nationalities don't refuse to wear it on their top... Argentinians spring to mind.

And Germans, Spanish, French, Chinese, American, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, Russian...

exactly. baffles me. I also dont understand the mentality that all of the people/players of these nations should have to conform to this. But in the end, they all do it seems.

[Jim_Murphy_74]

Gregory is acting the troll.  He posts about this even though it's old ground.  He adds a trigger word like "Londonderry" and brings up McClean's comments about international football.  Next thing he receives a load of vitriol from republican posters.  He sighs and says look at them bigots.  Crowd in his own gallery do the same.  In fact he should be added to the troll thread here.

A clown.

As for McClean.  I wouldn't have time for all his outbursts or twittering but on this one he 1,000% in the right.  He doesn't want to wear a poppy, gave a reasoned explanation why and his club gets on with it.   Proponents say that British Legion is a charity, well then let people pick and chose what charity they support, end of.  They only ones who have an axe to grind are those that are politicising the bloody thing: UKIP, NF and Ulster Unionists.

Someone asked why Argentinians etc don't have a beef? I suspect it's because they don't have a cohort of bigots back in their homeland that have turned a charitable symbol into a badge of identity for their narrow vision of loyalty.

Oh and again: Gregory is a trolling clown.

/Jim.

[johnneycool]

I have worked in a variety of factories in Protestant areas, Newtownards, Castlereagh etc. In all of these poppies have been for sale in the canteen which made me uncomfortable although I have never bought one and never would. It does however make things distinctly uncomfortable when you are the only person in an office/ workshop not wearing one. It is one of the reasons that my admiration for James McClean has risen exponentially each year as he refuses to be brow beaten by these bigots. Good for you James keep setting an example for all of us who have to work in areas where our beliefs make us outsiders.

I was on a factory floor on the Doagh Road back in the late 90's when a poppy seller appeared on the floor selling poppies. The lads I was meant to be training all stopped to buy one. One (from Rathcoole) asked if I wanted to buy one and I politely declined. He then made a comment about both protestants and catholics dying in the war and I agreed and then asked him when he'd even saw a catholic bishop leading the service at a cenotaph and he never responded.
Back to training we went and not another word of poppies.

[Milltown Row2]

I have worked in a variety of factories in Protestant areas, Newtownards, Castlereagh etc. In all of these poppies have been for sale in the canteen which made me uncomfortable although I have never bought one and never would. It does however make things distinctly uncomfortable when you are the only person in an office/ workshop not wearing one. It is one of the reasons that my admiration for James McClean has risen exponentially each year as he refuses to be brow beaten by these bigots. Good for you James keep setting an example for all of us who have to work in areas where our beliefs make us outsiders.

I was on a factory floor on the Doagh Road back in the late 90's when a poppy seller appeared on the floor selling poppies. The lads I was meant to be training all stopped to buy one. One (from Rathcoole) asked if I wanted to buy one and I politely declined. He then made a comment about both protestants and catholics dying in the war and I agreed and then asked him when he'd even saw a catholic bishop leading the service at a cenotaph and he never responded.
Back to training we went and not another word of poppies.

Exact same story for me working in the Shipyard from 88 onwards, i've no problem with people wearing them (they have their reasons) but i always refused and never a word said... though I wouldnt wear a Lilly or a shamrock or any other flower to be honest

[BennyCake]

Gregory is acting the troll.  He posts about this even though it's old ground.  He adds a trigger word like "Londonderry" and brings up McClean's comments about international football.  Next thing he receives a load of vitriol from republican posters.  He sighs and says look at them bigots.  Crowd in his own gallery do the same.  In fact he should be added to the troll thread here.

A clown.

As for McClean.  I wouldn't have time for all his outbursts or twittering but on this one he 1,000% in the right.  He doesn't want to wear a poppy, gave a reasoned explanation why and his club gets on with it.   Proponents say that British Legion is a charity, well then let people pick and chose what charity they support, end of.  They only ones who have an axe to grind are those that are politicising the bloody thing: UKIP, NF and Ulster Unionists.

Someone asked why Argentinians etc don't have a beef? I suspect it's because they don't have a cohort of bigots back in their homeland that have turned a charitable symbol into a badge of identity for their narrow vision of loyalty.

Oh and again: Gregory is a trolling clown.

/Jim.

You've not seen the Top Gear Patagonia Special then?

[ashman]

The poppy appeal is used to raise funds for military personnel who fall on hard times .  Simply parliament voted to send the BA to war , parliament voted monies to pay for said war , parliament should them make sure soldiers are provided for on leaving army. 

[johnneycool]

The poppy appeal is used to raise funds for military personnel who fall on hard times .  Simply parliament voted to send the BA to war , parliament voted monies to pay for said war , parliament should them make sure soldiers are provided for on leaving army.

There should be a 5% war tax on everything, VAT, income and so forth and you'd soon see the common man rail against these wars even though we're paying for it somewhere along the line.

I'd also revert back to the old medieval days where whoever calls the war leads from the front. Bush jnr and Tony Blair wouldn't have been so keen to go to war if they'd to be the first men on the ground. Its easier to send someone else to fight your wars than do it yourself. There were no relations of Bush or Blair carried home in body bags for these "just" wars.

[Orior]

I have worked in a variety of factories in Protestant areas, Newtownards, Castlereagh etc. In all of these poppies have been for sale in the canteen which made me uncomfortable although I have never bought one and never would. It does however make things distinctly uncomfortable when you are the only person in an office/ workshop not wearing one. It is one of the reasons that my admiration for James McClean has risen exponentially each year as he refuses to be brow beaten by these bigots. Good for you James keep setting an example for all of us who have to work in areas where our beliefs make us outsiders.

I was on a factory floor on the Doagh Road back in the late 90's when a poppy seller appeared on the floor selling poppies. The lads I was meant to be training all stopped to buy one. One (from Rathcoole) asked if I wanted to buy one and I politely declined. He then made a comment about both protestants and catholics uniuonists dying in the war and I agreed and then asked him when he'd even saw a catholic bishop leading the service at a cenotaph and he never responded.
Back to training we went and not another word of poppies.

He left out a word.

Actually, I think catholic clergy do get bit-parts in the ceremony these days

[BennyCake]

The poppy appeal is used to raise funds for military personnel who fall on hard times .  Simply parliament voted to send the BA to war , parliament voted monies to pay for said war , parliament should them make sure soldiers are provided for on leaving army.

That's why the Poppy Appeal is flogged every year. So really, the ordinary people, many who were against the wars in the first place, actually end up inadvertently paying for them. And mop up the mess created by their government. Try telling a unionist that though.

[BennyCake]

The poppy appeal is used to raise funds for military personnel who fall on hard times .  Simply parliament voted to send the BA to war , parliament voted monies to pay for said war , parliament should them make sure soldiers are provided for on leaving army.

There should be a 5% war tax on everything, VAT, income and so forth and you'd soon see the common man rail against these wars even though we're paying for it somewhere along the line.

I'd also revert back to the old medieval days where whoever calls the war leads from the front. Bush jnr and Tony Blair wouldn't have been so keen to go to war if they'd to be the first men on the ground. Its easier to send someone else to fight your wars than do it yourself. There were no relations of Bush or Blair carried home in body bags for these "just" wars.

Governments aren't that stupid.

[Take Your Points]

The poppy appeal is used to raise funds for military personnel who fall on hard times .  Simply parliament voted to send the BA to war , parliament voted monies to pay for said war , parliament should them make sure soldiers are provided for on leaving army.

That's why the Poppy Appeal is flogged every year. So really, the ordinary people, many who were against the wars in the first place, actually end up inadvertently paying for them. And mop up the mess created by their government. Try telling a unionist that though.

Here is one unionist you won't have to convince:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/army-veterans-let-down-doug-beattie-slams-executive-over-help-for-war-injured-34959676.html