Strange Famous

The louts who run this store stand almost alone in the contempt and distaste of all right minded people. I hope for the sacking and public shaming of the manager of the store, and any individual in the chain who encouraged, supported or acted as an apologst for this traitorous contempt of those who gave their lives in war.

Any purchase made this store will be considered as complicit support of their policy: until such time as all of the responible are sacked for gross misconduct.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

GreyWolf

Can't begin to express how much something like this outrages me. We now have political correctness galore that says people can violate regulations/laws on the basis of their religious beliefs (NOT a good thing), we bend over backwards to make sure that minorities feel welcome (a good thing), and we enact laws to guarantee that we are all treated equally under the law (a good thing).

But let's not show some respect for the people who up and offered their very lives by fighting to make sure we'd have this freedom. It's disgusting. The management of that store should be thrown out in the street. It's an affront to the memory of the men who paid so dearly so these assholes wouldn't be living in a brutal police state.

__________________
The secret to great marksmanship is deciding what the target was AFTER you've shot.

Daniel_

They reversed their stance at head office as soon as they found out about the local policy of one jobsworth.

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

sapiens

I have trouble getting outraged by the banning of a pin in the workplace.

Does wearing a pin help the troops? If you take off the pin, is it harder to remember "what those fighting have done for this country"? Does banning a pin mean that the store managers hate the troops?

percy

Probably not because of this incident but likely due to the prospect of losing much business. If the person being denied to wear a poppy didn't speak out, the policy likely would not have changed.

Xerxys

Whats a poppy?

cdwonderful

a symbol of rememberance

__________________
Never try to teach a pig to whistle
it wastes your time,
and annoys the pig.....

Xerxys

ohh ...

I'm with sapiens. Much ado over nothing.

MSD

I understand the reasoning behind corporate policies banning all pins and displays, but once again, zero tolerance is when rational people hold up a piece of paper and say "no" in all situations rather than risking having to make a difficult decision at some point in the future.

Asinine policies are typically enforced by fear in corporate hierarchies (rather than fucking with holidays like this, it more frequently comes in the form of verbally abusing employees and blaming them for customers knowing that extended warranties are a scam,) so even a local manager who disagrees with it may comply for the sake of his own job.

If nothing else, this is an idiotic move from a PR perspective and there's no way that the number of potential customers who would be offended by poppies or damage done to uniforms would outweigh the cost of people angry that WWI and WWII veterans are being slighted.
It's a flower worn on Remembrance Day in memory and respect of those who fought for their country in the World Wars and out of respect for all who died on all sides (same as our Veterans Day, happens to be celebrated a week earlier in Europe this year.) It's also where opium and other such wonderful pleasures in life comes from.

Willravel

This.

Grancey

__________________
Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

stevie667

Wearing the big poppy is a big thing in the UK, money from each sale goes towards helping service families and veterans. We brits are not proud enough of our armed forces, and this is one way to keep interest and respect up.

Whilst i don't believe in poppy facism (if you decide to wear one, thats cool, if not, not going to hold it against you), banning outright poppies is a dumbass move.

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Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.

Baraka_Guru

Read here for more history on the symbol of a poppy: In Flanders Fields - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is why poppies are a big thing for Remembrance Day in Canada as well.

There is pretty much a universal respect for the symbol and Remembrance Day and honouring those who gave their lives; however, I think too much is being made out of this incident.

I sincerely doubt that whoever upheld this policy (no matter how dumb a decision) somehow disrespects the dead. Not everyone holds the same stake in symbols, and this is no exception. It's not like he was burning poppies or was otherwise criticizing poppies, their meaning, or Remembrance Day. He was concerned about his responsibilities in running a shop.

Mistakes happen. And I think it would be rather harsh to create undue distress on anyone in this case by jeopardizing their livelihood over it.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Daniel_

And yes, it's a very big deal.

I'd like to correct an error above, also. The poppy is not linked to the World Wars. Money from the Poppy Appeal in the UK goes to all servicemen and women and the families - there are wounded returning from Afghanistan and Iraq NOW getting help from the Poppy fund every day.

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

Strange Famous

Its true, as soon as I joined a facebook group against it and started inviting my mates, the store realised what they were up against and backed down!

But for people saying the poppy isnt a big deal - it is to people in the UK.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

highthief

Yup, in Canada too. Occasionally there have been similar incidents here, but overwhelming public outrage causes stores to back down and managers to get fired.

I don't think Americans understand this tradition.

__________________
Si vis pacem parabellum.

GreyWolf

I'm pretty much a laissez-faire sort of person. My opinions tend to be several deviations out from the norm (sort of makes me feel at home here, though). Mostly I don't care what other people's opinions are. Mine is right.

But I have always held Remembrance Day (in Canada, Veteran's Day in the US) to be extremely important. Anyone under 65 can't really begin to comprehend emotionally the threat we faced in the first half of the 20th century. And millions of young men all around the world answered that threat. Not so we could live in the society we have today. Many, if not most, would be appalled at some of the things we allow today. They did it because they could see a clear-cut difference between US and THEM.

Today's military faces a much different challenge. They tend to be more professional, as opposed to join up, beat the bad guys, and get on with life. It doesn't mean they aren't worthy of our respect. Then and now these are the guys who did, and will if need be, put their lives in harm's way for us, and our families. They absolutely deserve our respect for that choice, regardless of their motivation.

I'm not saying that the various administrations haven't made wrong choices with their use of the military. God, have they made wrong choices. And there are individual and groups of military personnel who have screwed up big time, done things against they shouldn't have, and even committed atrocities.

But for those who went out there, or will go out there, and lay down their lives so I have the freedom to shit on them for their stupidity, or praise them for self-sacrifice, or just ignore them, I still have tremendous respect.

And if we forget them, we forget an important lesson, learned at an horrific cost.

__________________
The secret to great marksmanship is deciding what the target was AFTER you've shot.

Baraka_Guru

Yeah, namely, the Veterans Council and a local MP.

http://www.retail-week.com/retail-se...007730.article

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Ace_O_Spades

But I thought my facebook and twitter posts were catalysts for social change?

Why must you devalue the hours I spend shouting at the internet?

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Feh.