Fergus O’Rourke on his non fanatical reasoning as to why he won’t be wearing a poppy this or in any other year…
What was Britain’s purpose in WW1? That is a question routinely evaded, but whatever it was, it did not include granting self-determination to Ireland. We had been duped. (Two decades later, it was entirely understandable that we should have been resistant to a reprise of the dupe rôle.)
Why should we “honour” as a body of men those who were duped ? Remember, yes, but let us recall them as individuals, some of them as fine as one could imagine and many who were better people than those proved right by events.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty