Peace Poppies

When poppies were originally introduced prior to the Second World War, it was a time of increasing anxiety with remembrance being re-militarised. Remembrance had previously been something associated with grieving widows, but was being taken over by men and the military.

http://www.thenews.coop/features/Wider%20Co-op%20Movement/1676

I have a card from the Peace Pledge Union which came with the first white poppy I ever bought. It sits on my notice board. Here's part of what it says:

White poppies for peace were first made by the Women’s Co-operative Guild in 1933. Members of the Guild – many of whom were mothers and widows of men killed in WW1- feared that the ‘war to end all wars’, in which their men had died, would be followed by an even worse conflict. The white poppy was a reminder of the horrors of war. People who wore it did so as a way of insisting that those in power should resist war; that conflicts should be resolved without violence and with justice.

300 wars later, and after the slaughter of over 100 million people, the white poppy continues to be a reminder of the world’s failure to prevent war. It is a symbol of grief for everyone who has been harmed by war, but more importantly it is a symbol of our determination to work together to abolish war for good.

In the years since that was written, the 100 million people killed because of military conflicts, will have gone up considerably.

The Peace Pledge Union has a particularly informative website outlining peace initiatives and conflict resolution education.

http://www.ppu.org.uk/

Today and on 11th Nov I will think of those who lost their lives during the 20th century genocides large and small, as well as those who have been killed so far in this century. But I will also think of how unnecessary armed conflict is. If humans are intelligent enough to co-operate to the extent it takes to actually fight a war, then surely an equal effort can be made to resolve conflict.

Day Out

Refugee Week has just ended.

http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/

Lots of interesting things were going on in Glasgow which I never managed to get to, so I was pleased to make the effort – not really much of an effort- to wander off to Edinburgh Botanic Gardens for an afternoon of entertainment taking place as part of Refugee Week. The event was to raise funds for the Medical Foundation who work with women and others who have suffered torture.

The link below is to their site and specifically to some survivors’ stories.
http://www.torturecare.org.uk/survivors_stories

I took time to read much of the information on their site and it is simply humbling to become aware of what many people, even children are subjected to. All too frequently the Westminster administration has failed to act to protect those at risk of torture, or even, in the case of extraordinary rendition, are alleged perpetrators/facilitators.

The section on dawn raids contained in the myths page is especially enraging, as this is happening to women, their children and/or the male in a household under the legal system in the UK. While I was peripherally aware of all this, it is not until I read about it in more detail that I could dimly perceive the fuller picture of what is done in our name in our own cities to the most vulnerable people who have come here in the hope of a place of safety.

Women have particular problems when seeking asylum and the Scottish Refugee Council recognises this in their provision of a women’s group and links to women-only organisations throughout Scotland. For those who misunderstand the necessity of women-only provision consider how a mixed group would be useless to women from cultures where the sexes are segregated, as well as how crucial it is for many women to feel safe to talk without men there.
http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/advice/en/Women

I’m not sure how widely the Refugee Week events were publicised, but I’m glad to have had the opportunity to attend one and next year I’ll try to plan ahead.

While in the Botanic Gardens, I took some photographs and sniffed some wonderful flowers, a scented rhododendron, roses and jasmine. The photograph above is of a delicate acer (Maple) which had gorgeous little red ‘flowers’ that are only just visible in the photograph.

Something nice

Occasionally I am surprised to find a bargain and today I did. I was wearily hunting and gathering in both Edinburgh and Glasgow shops with no luck in finding any of the three urgent items I was looking for. Although, I have now discovered how close Buchanan Galleries are to Queen Street station and what a pleasant place it is to visit.


These were gifts, so I can't say what, in case the intended recipients are reading!


I was particularly frustrated in M&S Princes St because that is a negligently sign-posted maze clearly designed to draw the unwary in out the rain and keep them there until all money is spent. On the other hand, when I wandered into their cafe I had the pleasant surprise of finding their offer of cake and coffee for two quid! This applies after 2pm and had obviously attracted lots of other weary gatherers.


I had cappuccino cake, which was adequate quality for that price and a really huge slice so that I felt revived enough to return to the hunt and actually succeed in getting what I wanted - eventually.


The downside was getting a bus on or near Princes Street. Terrible! I can only hope that Lothian Transport are subsidising a whole dedicated branch of the Samaritans to talk despairing bus drivers out of ending it all and taking their passengers with them! Or perhaps these bus drivers are made of patience and find tranquility and let the chaos drift by.

Wee Abused Scottish Beasties

You’ll have noticed the very public row between the SSPCA and the RSPCA over the latter’s alleged appropriation of donations from people residing in Scotland and the lack of awareness that they do not work here.

In terms of fairness, and at times in the charitable sector all is fair in money and fundraising, I think the SSPCA have a valid point when they complain that the RSPCA fail to make it abundantly clear that they do not rescue animals in Scotland, therefore any money raised in Scotland is not spent here. This takes away funds which donors might have expected to go towards helping abused Scottish animals.

I have some, if not conflicting thoughts about this, then a degree of disquiet. I suffer from a knee-jerk reaction of amazed distaste when I hear of people leaving enormous legacies to animal charities. In my view there are other more pressing causes which do not parade cuddly mutts/bunnies/goldfish to wring the heartstrings of the soppy, therefore otherwise deserving causes fail to attract the money they need to provide services which are not popular or are completely misunderstood. For example, lots of agencies seeking to help adult women are hideously underfunded, but crucially, the ethical ones do not try to raise money by trotting out ‘victims’. They know that this is demeaning to women who have suffered whatever problem their service is needed for and is ultimately counter-productive, as there is a perception that over-use of ‘victims’ leads to potential donor-fatigue.

Some well known children’s charities have spent years and an advertising budget possibly well in excess of the total available to ethical women’s charities in portraying helpless children at the mercy of known adults. Sadly there can be an unhelpful patriarchal message in there which encourages mother-blaming. That is contrary to a sound feminist analysis of the nuclear family and the coping strategies employed by many struggling mothers.

And that brings me to another aspect of my disquiet which is that given these large charities are using similar advertising strategies to the RSPCA, and there is frequently a separate but similar Scottish version, are they also poaching funds that people in Scotland are assuming are going to help Scottish children?

Some of the articles reporting on the SSPCA/RSPCA issue are trying to recommend that these Scottish agencies join their English/Welsh counterparts in an exercise to maximise their efforts. This as usual displays ignorance of the separate English/Welsh legal system and the completely different social/welfare structures in those two nations from the Scottish systems.

So, parts of my political world-view are negotiating some kind of reaction to this with other parts of my political world-view. I think this is a peculiar personal form of intersectionality. Damn, nothing is straightforward, is it?

Typically, the Guardian finds the most bizarre commentator to do a comment is free piece on this.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/04/animalwelfare-animals

The comments below this article are priceless! But they demonstrate another issue which is that many people have no concept of how charitable agencies operate and complain about misuse of donations. Sigh, such dimwittedness and possibly from the same mindset that would be all for unrestrained capitalism.

Disclaimer:
I don’t advocate neglecting abused animals and I personally frown upon kitten-drowning, eating flesh and all such nastiness, I merely prefer to direct my charitable impulses elsewhere.