Irish Footballer Refuses To Wear Poppy

[mushroom25]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/07/wigan-james-mcclean-poppy-bolton

does he have a point? has the poppy come to mean - for the irish - the blood on the hands of those that perpetrated bloody sunday?

[jno]

he should be free to wear a poppy or not wear a poppy without having to offer any explanation at all.

[Svejk]

Nobody should have to wear one. This competitive poppy wearing is getting on my toot.

[ummmm]

I don't wear a poppy. Never have. I do donate to the appeal though.

[Zacs-Master]

Yep, he's free to wear or not wear as he chooses. Would you rather it was a state dictat that all uk citizens wear one?

[mushroom25]

//he should be free to wear a poppy or not wear a poppy without having to offer any explanation at all. //

indeed JNO, but he chose to make a connection between the poppy and bloody sunday. that was my question - does he have a point? not should he or shouldn't he wear the poppy.

[douglas9401]

Wear it, don't wear it. I believe that those who died in the second world war were fighting for, among other things, freedom to choose.

[ChillDoubt]

He's made it political by refering to Bloody Sunday.
The bigger picture would be to remember the multitudes of men from the whole of Ireland who fought and died in 2 World Wars.
I'll neither condemn nor condone his stance, it's his decision.

[mushroom25]

guys, please - the question has nothing to do with whether to wear or not to wear. Mr mclean made a connection between the poppy and bloody sunday. he chose to make that connection. does he have a point?

[ummmm]

If that's his reason for not wearing a poppy then so be it.

[Zacs-Master]

I don't want to wear a poppy because it's red and it reminds me of communism.

Should my point be taken seriously, or is the footballers more valid as he's a celebrity?

(I just used communism as an example btw)

[ChillDoubt]

The major problem may be as a result of the game he plays i.e. Association Football.
Everyone knows how neanderthals on the terraces react to these sorts of events:



His stance might be seen as noble in another sport. In football it could prove a problem for him.

[woofgang]

I don't think he has to speak for anyone but himself. If that's what it makes him feel then that's what it makes him feel.

[Svejk]

Why did he have to explain anything, though, mushroom. Why are footballers, tv presenters, etc. ordered to fall into line. Didn't go on when I was younger.

[jackthehat]

I've never heard of that particular association being given as a reason for the non-wearing of a poppy......and have to say it sounds tenuous and misguided to me.

[vulcan42]

Wearing a poppy is voluntary so I don't understand why he has given an explanation, It's like writing to the local newspaper explaining why I haven't donated to a particular charity. I also don't understand, and resent, why the poppy has been hijacked to represent bloody Sunday.The poppy has for many years, long before bloody Sunday, represented the dead of world wars, which ironically includes thousand of Irish people from both sides.

[jno]

the 1916 Easter Rising happened during WW1, so the Irish aren't necessarily going to attach the same significance as the British to the whole war. Lots of Irish men fought with the British

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/05/irish-soldiers-who-fought-for-britain

but others did not. So it'd be a bit like expecting Ukrainians to honour the Russian war dead.

[ichkeria]

To answer the actual question,
I would say that James McClean is in a minority among Irish people to think that the poppy somehow symbolises supporting Bloody Sunday, or indeed more generally is a symbol of "British repression". Bloody Sunday was an appalling thing but I fail to see the connection myself.
The important thing is that he makes the connection in his own mind, and that is up to him. I also think it somewhat unwise of him to make such a public statement about it, unless he was actually asked of course.

[ummmm]

Jack...I've never heard that association either.

[ChillDoubt]

Which association is that?

[Zacs-Master]

Poppy's and Bloody Sunday. Keep up!