Bill McCarthy wrote:johns - I was in my early twenties on the occasion in Germany in the 60s and they didn’t look like thugs to me. They were middle aged men AND women and they were hurling abuse as well, not that I understood a word of it, but I got the idea. Exactly the same happened in the Germantown area of New York a couple of years before. Looked like ordinary Germans.
Some years ago I was in a meeting with a young person from East Germany. He said that his town was unrecognisable as it had been rebuilt after British bombing. I said that we had something in common as my family was from a British city where 80% of buildings were damaged or destroyed in the war, that members of my family were killed by a direct hit and that my father was bombed out three times. I can't fully remember the next bit, but I may have gone on to tell him how my father's experiences motivated him to make a real change at the international level in influencing law at times of conflict and, more practically, working with UNESCO and various nations (he has a civilian medal for his work from one nation).
I also had an American person in California pointing his fingers at me in a fake pistol movement and pretending to shoot me just because I'm English (he was from Irish decent). It wasn't until I started travelling that I found out that the British, and particularly the English, are not universally liked.
Remembrance Day means a lot to me. It always makes me think of my Grandfather in particular. ex RAF Regiment: Juno Beach and, I believe, Belsen. Still regret asking him if he had had ever killed anybody. I was shocked by the answer and the clarity of the circumstances and his lack of regret. He had a poem of remembrance and a poppy permanently over his fireplace. The British Legion did a lot for him.
I really, really dislike tribalism and nationalism. I am also patriotic and committed to democracy and my country, Some might struggle to understand and reconcile those two statements, which is a real pity. Remembrance Day and poppies should stay the way they are IMHO.