People urged to wear white poppy after Taoiseach wears Shamrock poppy for Irish WWI dead
People commemorating World War One are being asked to wear white poppies instead of the usual red poppy.
The red ones often come in for criticism over their strong links to the British Army, while the white ones promote peace.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar hit the headlines yesterday when he wore a special shamrock poppy in the Dáil to remember Irish soldiers.
People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett says we need to be careful with the messages we are sending out.
He said: "I have a lot of sympathy for white poppy wearers which I saw in Britain where the poppy commemorates the death of those who fought, but also is white rather than red, to symbolise peace and an anti-war perspective on what happened."
Some people have been coming out in support of wearing the white version.
I am wearing a white poppy- not because I want to dis Forces, but because I want Peace. If this offends you, talk to me, don't shout! pic.twitter.com/wQllfqqZBO
— Debra Croft (@DebraCWPSI) November 6, 2017
I’m going to wear a white poppy this year, always do. It’s for all who have died, and are still dying, in wars everywhere...promoting peace. pic.twitter.com/DXvPZJXc0M
— Fizz 💙 #nhs @corbyn_project (@Carolynoflondon) November 2, 2017
Twitter user @DaBassMonsta, said "A white poppy is a symbol of someone who wants to make a statement but isn't bright enough to understand what the red poppy actually means."
