Poppy fascism
Poppy fascism
This chapter focuses on the poppy, the fundraising symbol of remembrance for the contribution of the armed services, and more specifically, the yearly controversy that surrounds it. Known as ‘poppy fascism’, the demand that all public figures must wear the poppy prominently and respectfully during the autumn in the lead-up to Remembrance Sunday, this phenomenon illustrates how the essential goodness of charity symbols can be weaponised and used competitively and judgementally. Examining the yearly poppy outcry through the lens of postcolonial theory, one sees how the poppy is forced to bear a lot of cultural and symbolic weight, partly because it is held up as an unalloyed ‘good thing’. The chapter then outlines the problems created by ‘poppy fascism’ for sector leaders. It also shows what this simple charitable fundraising and remembrance tool says about modern Britain today.
Keywords: poppy, poppy fascism, Remembrance Sunday, goodness, charity symbols, sector leaders, charitable fundraising, modern Britain, fundraising symbol
Policy Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
