My Remembrance Day thread debunk: #1 they did not die for your freedom. Had the borders of Europe been altered again, as they had many times before, not much would change for North America. We were not seriously threatened. Uboats in the St. Lawrence mainly focused on supplies.
#2 soldiers volunteered for a variety of reasons: a steady paycheck, adventure, misplaced paternalist fervour, and oh yes, they were forced to go eventually. They didn't go to save the lives of targeted minorities. It was nationalism. Stop saying they were selfless humanitarians.
#3 Canada did not go to stop a genocide. In fact, immigration policy at the time denied entry to refugee Jews and they were sent back to Germany to die in concentration camps. They fought to help Britain against the threat of violent expansionism.
Violent expansionism that was occurring bc of the perverse, punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Italy and Germany suffered immensely post WW1 and this created the perfect conditions for policies based on reprisal.
#4 lest we forget was coined by the known racist and eugenics supporter Rudyard Kipling. He wasn't referring to the war dead. He was talking about God. Stop saying this to commemorate soldiers. An alternative? #neveragain is more accurate and more hopeful.
#5 sacrifice. Yes, many people died. But why do we behave like this was expected by these young people. They didn't want to be martyred so we could talk about their sacrifice. They wanted to come home. If they lost their lives it was because war is horrific. Can't we talk instead
About peace? Can't we focus on how we should consider the immense loss of life as an historic wrong and try to work on other ways to preserve peace and avoid calamities? Let's talk about refugees, internationalism, peacekeeping, and economic policy instead of sacrificial lambs.
#6 Poppies are sold by an institution no longer responsible for veteran support. If you are concerned about the care our servicemen and servicewomem receive, talk to your MP. Poppy funds go to a variety of things, but mostly cadets and propaganda.
#7 the past politicians had choices. It was not inevitable that our ancestors died in trenches. The commemoration of past conflict suggests it was an inevitable, fated outcome. Not so. We should be thinking critically about war instead of worshipping at the alter of nationalism.
Finally, not wearing a poppy does not indicate an anti-Canadian or anti-defense position. The Armed Forces support our nation in many ways and they help in other countries around the world. They are needed and respected but, Remembrance Day isn't about today.
It is about the veneer of a perfect past, contrived and glossy and ready for consumption by a population who need a shared myth on which to base their awkward national identity. Remembrance Day should be about telking the truth of the past:
We were complicit in the deaths of Jews, we were racist when we interned Canadians, and our freedoms were never on the line unless we were Japanese or Ukrainian. Let's remember IF they came home, they said #neveragain #rememberwhy because war is hell and myths help you forget
