Tommy Doesn't Know What Day It Is

[A Very Super Market]

How many people don't think of remembrance day as anything special? Why should we limit ourselves to November 11? Is it supposed to be "special" remembrance? I fail to see how sorrow can have varying amplitudes.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

In.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Unless there is a day dedicated to it many won't think about it at all. It is good to honour those who fell, and setting aside a day for it is a good thing to do. The second we start questioning it is the second we have forgotten.

Lest we forget.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Well, this is more of a backroom topic and it was being discussed in the "cheer up" thread.

I can't really see any strong arguments for or against it.

[Subotan]

In.

On a serious note, as I mentioned in the other thread, I think that it's severely constrained by nationalism at this moment in time, and I think that we should drop the whole idea of remembering "Our Boys", and that we should commemorate the suffering of humanity in war as a whole, since that, and humour are the only things which truly unite us, IMHO.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

On a serious note, as I mentioned in the other thread, I think that it's severely constrained by nationalism at this moment in time, and I think that we should drop the whole idea of remembering "Our Boys", and that we should commemorate the suffering of humanity in war as a whole, since that, and humour are the only things which truly unite us, IMHO.

Not every remembrance of those of your nation is nationalist (at least not in a bad way), and like it or not, "our boys" did die for our country and not others. I do honour the dead of more than one country for different reasons and therefore I observe more than one national ceremony, but there is no reason to get rid of the national ceremonies dealing with the soldiers of that nation. Nonetheless, this is a Backroom topic so I'll stop for now.

[Louis VI the Fat]

we should commemorate the suffering of humanity in war as a whole, since that, and humour are the only things which truly unite us, IMHO.

Whilst I'm fine commemorating all those poor German sods who died, I distinctly doubt sharing a united sense of humour with them.

[Aemilius Paulus]

In.

Same here. See my post in the official 'remembrance' thread.

[Strike For The South]

The fact some idoits can't shut there mouths for a few mintues and pay some respect is rather telling.

[Aemilius Paulus]

The fact some idoits can't shut there mouths for a few mintues and pay some respect is rather telling.

How true...

I am surprised you are so brave, SFTS. I am waiting to see if this is edited and you receive an infraction/warning. I guarantee if I posted this, the punishment would be swift and harsh . Your post violates a few rules, but the main one is that the Frontroom is entirely non-confrontational, literally a "Kingdom of Peace an Love" as it is colloquially referred to. I remember I wrote a few lightly negative posts and those were taken down, although the statements were not offensive to anyone nor harsh. Just not positive.

I am watching...

[A Very Super Market]

Alright. You pay respect. Does everyone else? I take a look at the general ambivalence towards everything, and infer that there can be no way those faceless masses would go out of their to sincerely pay respect, any more than the respect they would give for July 4, Christmas, or whatever break off of work it is that day. Why do we do this? Why do we need a special day to remember, yet end up not doing so anyways?

[Azathoth]

I didn't know what day it was...when you walked into the room. I said "Hallo" unnoticed; you said goodbye too soon.

[Aemilius Paulus]

*backs AVSM*

But yes, this is already too Backroomish. I still stand by my statement regarding SFTS though.

[Strike For The South]

How true...

I am surprised you are so brave, SFTS. I am waiting to see if this is edited and you receive an infraction/warning. I guarantee if I posted this, the punishment would be swift and harsh . Your post violates a few rules, but the main one is that the Frontroom is entirely non-confrontational, literally a "Kingdom of Peace an Love" as it is colloquially referred to. I remember I wrote a few lightly negative posts and those were taken down, although the statements were not offensive to anyone nor harsh. Just not positive.

I am watching...

Brave is not the correct word. But if the mods warn me they warn me, I feel saying that is worth a few points.

Alright. You pay respect. Does everyone else? I take a look at the general ambivalence towards everything, and infer that there can be no way those faceless masses would go out of their to sincerely pay respect, any more than the respect they would give for July 4, Christmas, or whatever break off of work it is that day. Why do we do this? Why do we need a special day to remember, yet end up not doing so anyways?

It's a simple acknowledgment of sacrifice most of us will never hafto make because a few have. Go play pesudo internationalist another day.

I realize you may be more intelligent than us all but please allow us half wits our day.

[Aemilius Paulus]

It's a simple acknowledgment of sacrifice most of us will never hafto make because a few have. Go play pesudo internationalist another day.

AVSM is not attempting to portray himself as an internationalist. I have good reasons to believe his stance is very close, if not identical to mine on this issue. He is merely being a pessimistic realist, as I am.

I realize you may be more intelligent than us all but please allow us half wits our day.

Strike, this has crossed the line. AVSM is not making it personal, but you are. I find it hard to recollect myself flaming others like this in the Frontroom (Backroom is another issue), and I have pages of warnings and infractions...

[A Very Super Market]

Don't mistake me for an intellectual, but I'm just trying to rant as far as I can.

[Strike For The South]

AVSM is not attempting to portray himself as an internationalist. I have good reasons to believe his stance is very close, if not identical to mine on this issue. He is merely being a pessimistic realist, as I am.


Strike, this has crossed the line. AVSM is not making it personal, but you are. I find it hard to recollect myself flaming others like this in the Frontroom (Backroom is another issue), and I have pages of warnings and infractions...

And faceless masses wasn't? This isn't an issue about peoples lack of respect, nearly everyone and every buisness I know did something today.

And I'm fully aware that there is tragedy in the world but it doesn't change the fact a 19 year old kid from Snyder Texas is in Bum **** Iraq because some politicians in DC decided it would be a good idea.

Both of you are taking this sweeping veiws on the issue when it is simply a matter of looking a fellow man in the eyes and saying thank you.

The guys on the front line have no control over western bias or what the war means in the context of history some just shake there hand tell them thank you and forget about all this other crap for one day.

Don't mistake me for an intellectual, but I'm just trying to rant as far as I can.

And you're clearly missing the point.

[miotas]

I think people are looking too much into this, it's just a day to stop for a minute and remember the tragic loss of millions of lives on all sides. Anyone who brings nationalism into it is perverting the day away from what it is.

[Monk]

I think people are looking too much into this, it's just a day to stop for a minute and remember the tragic loss of millions of lives on all sides. Anyone who brings nationalism into it is perverting the day away from what it is.

Yes.

Alright. You pay respect. Does everyone else? I take a look at the general ambivalence towards everything, and infer that there can be no way those faceless masses would go out of their to sincerely pay respect, any more than the respect they would give for July 4, Christmas, or whatever break off of work it is that day. Why do we do this? Why do we need a special day to remember, yet end up not doing so anyways?

I'm unsure I understand. It was very hard to miss people going out of their way to do what this day is intended for. The 'faceless masses' are much more caring than you give them credit for, of course some do not do so but that is their own troubles and not yours.

I've always thought of this day as what it means to you, not what it means to someone else. It's a personal day to take time and remember on your own time, when you can really let it soak in all the lives lost and those who serve for your nation even now. I think the question of "Why do we need it?" is rather fruitless, when more interesting questions of "What does it mean to me?" and "What will I do in light of that?" are on the table.

[Pannonian]

Eric Bogle - And the Band played Waltzing Matilda

Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said: Son,
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
When our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was waiting, he'd primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us back home to Australia

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain
Well we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Oh those that were left, well, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying

For I'll roam no more Waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
To hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The the legless, armless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

But the Band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

And so now every April I sit on me porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reviving old dreams of past glories
Amd the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

[Major Robert Dump]

While I agree with Strike that's its just a day to say thanks to certain people (I was surprised with a few today when I opened my wallet and they saw my military ID, hell, maybe I would have gotten free lunch in uniform)...the fact is that most people see it as a day off work and don't do jack.

My father goes to his dead dad's grave every veterans, memorial and birth day and drops flowers. He was 6 when he died and never knew the man. HE always cries. It perplexes me, but I guess I understand.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Ahoy! What's this? A young, innocent thread from the Frontroom wandering wide-eyed and lost in the Wasteland?

Come here little one, and let me whisper in your ear. You are growing up very fast now, and want to be beastly. Very well, but be beastly with respect.

Oh, and understand that unlike a soccer game where you get to mime and scream and play the referee, here it's rugger. Gamesmanship is of a different order here, and such posturing is more likely to get one a penalty and a ten-yard march closer to no posts.

Carry on.

[Andres]

How many people don't think of remembrance day as anything special? Why should we limit ourselves to November 11? Is it supposed to be "special" remembrance? I fail to see how sorrow can have varying amplitudes.

To me it's a day to remember the madness and sheer absurdity of World War I and to remind myself of just how stupid the human race can be.

Sadly enough, it was not the "War to end all Wars" and human stupidity prevailed and is still prevailing over common sense, which is proven by the fact that the organised butchering of human beings (aka "war") still continues.

Again and again and again political leaders convinced the common man and woman to go to war and again and again and again he obliged and got himself shot into little pieces for some sort of glorified ideal after having shot some other people who also died, just like him, for reasons not worth dying for.

I suggest you catch up on some reading. Not history books and such, but read some work from war poets like Wilfred Owen. I can also strongly recommend you the work of William March.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Go to your local VFW and pose your question to the gentlemen gathered within.

[Fragony]

Nothing wrong with remembering, 'we' weren't involved in WW1 but it's something that should be remembered as something that happened to all nations involved it was pure violent madness, maybe even something evil the first world war has always been extremely sinister to me. I like the take of the game 'Eternal Darkness', flesh for the ancients. WW2 hit us pretty hard though, we do honor our liberators every year, it's always humbling the country is completely silent for 3 minutes. Yay for memorials some things should not be forgotten, not because of 'let it never happen again' and all that crap of course it's going to happen again maybe not this century but the only constant in history is repetition, but out of decency. Thx UK, USA, Canada, Poland, now you will never be able to get rid of us.

[InsaneApache]

We only bothered liberating Holland for the weed.

[Pannonian]

Nothing wrong with remembering, 'we' weren't involved in WW1 but it's something that should be remembered as something that happened to all nations involved it was pure violent madness, maybe even something evil the first world war has always been extremely sinister to me. I like the take of the game 'Eternal Darkness', flesh for the ancients. WW2 hit us pretty hard though, we do honor our liberators every year, it's always humbling the country is completely silent for 3 minutes. Yay for memorials some things should not be forgotten, not because of 'let it never happen again' and all that crap of course it's going to happen again maybe not this century but the only constant in history is repetition, but out of decency. Thx UK, USA, Canada, Poland, now you will never be able to get rid of us.

Brits have a more entertaining way of remembering WW1, by watching and re-watching Blackadder Goes Forth. It's funny, it plays around with history, but it still gets the main points across and keeps them fresh in our memory. Goodbyeee! is particularly well-known for that, making points about the campaigns of attrition, Pals' battalions, and ending with a field of poppies. There are a lot of laughs along the way, but by the end, one is almost ready to cry, and determined not to let anything like that happen again.

[Subotan]

I think the British still feel very guilty over WWI. WWII was a "good war", one that was nessecary, obviouslt to stop Hitler.

But WWI? Was that a "good war"?

[gaelic cowboy]

From the masters

[gaelic cowboy]

I think the British still feel very guilty over WWI. WWII was a "good war", one that was nessecary, obviouslt to stop Hitler.

But WWI? Was that a "good war"?

Everything that was wrong with the last century in europe can practically traced to WW1 thats why people can be ambivalent about it.