The disgusting events of 2023’s “Remembrancing” season came as no surprise to me, as they have been building up for years. I’ve been saying for years that the poppy has become politicised since the passing of the last Great War veterans, and we with our World War 2 veterans diminishing year on year, the genuine reflection and remembrance has diminished with them. What we are left with now is a pale imitation of remembrance, wrapped up in union flag waving British Nationalism, or “patriotism” as those participating would prefer it to be known. The connection to the individuals is almost gone, and for most they are now remembering an idea, not individuals.
Watching footage yesterday of the National Front in England laying a wreath really does show how farcical this whole situation has become, where our modern day home-grown Nazis are openly accepted as participants in remembering the fallen, many of whom died at the hands of the original Nazis. Here in Scotland we are little better, with the far right and the British Nationalist extremists also gathering round the poppy as a symbol of Britishness. We see Labour MP’s and Tory councillors posing online in mock remembrance for the camera, all for a photo to be shared online for likes and comments. At our local cenotaph I observed sash-wearing Orange Order members placing wreaths, one of which was dedicated to the “UVF”, the other proclaimed “No Surrender”. There’s no humility or dignity involved anymore, it’s merely competitive staunchness.
That Suella Braverman tapped into this market of extreme British Nationalism is unsurprising, after all it was the same “Little Englander” mentality which brought us Brexit, but she pushed just that bit too hard this time, and it has fuelled a rise not just in racist and xenophobic comment, it emboldened the thugs and put their jackboots on the street, snarling and spitting at those who aren’t white, poppy wearing British citizens, and leading to a wave of violence and arrests. Her sacking is welcome, but the words she used and the attitudes she displayed remain at the core of the Tory party, and may still pay off for them in the long run, what with an election coming in the next twelve months.
One thing I couldn’t help but notice on Sunday was that considering there is a sizeable and vocal element of Scottish society who display their poppy 365 days a year, and who are not slow at criticising anyone who fails to wear one come poppy season, their numbers are very thin on the ground come the actual day itself. Where are they at 11am on a cold, frosty November morning? Not at the cenotaph, that’s for sure. I guess they forgot.
An Independent Scotsman 