There’s a special circle of hell reserved just for this. :mad:
Yes, delightful people, down there in the arse-end of Essex.
(Geographic snobbery, me?)
This story has upset me very much.
I want to find that poppy seller and let him know not everybody is a wanker.
Fucking hell.
I had to think twice as to what a poppy seller was…my mind immediately went to Afghanistan and opium…
I don’t know why there are such shits as this attacker was–I hope the older gentleman will be ok.
(poppy selling is not as common over here, although we do get cloth poppies for donating around this time of year. Sadly, I can’t think of the organization that sponsors it.)
The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), I think?
Because of our BS with the UK etc we don’t really do the poppy thing in Ireland. 10’s of thousands of Irish men fought in WWI but until recently the state never honour their personal sacrifice. This is changing as we enter a new stage of understanding.
That said this incident is beyond my understanding. ON every level I work on this is wrong. A old man selling remembrance items to honour the generation that was destroyed in a futile war and also making a few quid to help the widows and establishment that looks after past and present joe soaps who are affected by their leaders decisions.
I don’t believe in hell or any form of afterlife but I hope these bastards are caught and punished to the maximum. Failing that I hope they experience lots of pain and anguish of some form or another.
Hopefully the old codger is all right and goes on to sell many more poppies.
i think the robber thought he could get heroin from the poppies
I’m guessing the Sainsbury’s mentioned in the link know who he is - presumably the RBL cleared it with the store for him to go and sell poppies there? I’d chip in a fiver if you feel like getting a collection up.
No you’re spot on. When I used to live in north Essex there was a proposal to declare UDI or join up with Suffolk. This was to get away from the wasteland that is south Essex.
Could you describe how South Essex is so bad? I’m curious.
And I hope that the police catch the robber. Any news on how the poppy seller is doing?
It’s full of ex-Cockneys for a start. The towns of Basildon, Greys , Pitsea, Southend and Canvey Island are dumps, full of uneducated people who operate just this side of the law. They have no taste in clothes, cars or women. Many of them work in the financial institutions in the City of London. Where their fathers and grandfathers used to own market stalls, they make their fortunes moving money around.
I think the worst place is Canvey Island. Is full of Cockneys who haven’t made quite enough from crime to retire to Spain, so they settle there instead.
Urgh.
Thanks for the info, Rayne Man.
I’m Irish too but married to an English guy - we usually go to the UK around this time of year and always buy a poppy each. For me, I buy it to remember all the Irish men that did fight in WWII, as you say, but also for the English men that fought there too - they should be remembered, whatever nationality, because they gave us all the ultimate sacrifice.
Last year, we bought our poppies in St Alban’s and got talking to the man selling them, an elderly man just like in the article. He was so lovely, so totally pleasant and unassuming and yet I can barely imagine what he went through for his country. We went and bought him a small present (a little box of whiskey liquers I think) and brought it back to him just because we thought he was such a lovely man. To think he fought in the war so just little shits like that moron who robbed him could life a peaceful life… God help us if this is the society we’ve got to grow old in.
Further proof, as if it was needed, that our streets and cities are crawling with scum like the attacker.
But why did nobody try to stop the arsewipe
Out of curiosity, why the hell is it at all relevant that he was selling poppies? Someone beat up an old man: that’s a shitty thing to do. What the old man was doing is irrelevant.
I actually got scolded by a complete stranger today for either A) not wearing a poppy or B) not donating money/buying one, so I’m admittedly feeling a bit touchy on the issue right now. But, seriously, just because he’s selling poppies doesn’t make him better or worse than any other generic old man. If an old homeless guy selling The Big Issue* was assaulted, it wouldn’t even be in the news, let alone get the morality police all worked up.
*The Big Issue, for non-Brits, is a not-for-profit magazine put together and sold by people who are either homeless or “at risk of becoming homeless”. All the sellers are licensed and wear an ID badge showing as such - it’s (IMO) a great program to put some money into peoples’ pockets.
Yes, robbing an old man is a shitty thing to do.
But this old man was a) presumably a veteran, b) doing charitable works, and c) the money stolen was made up of donations for veterans and war widows. That makes it qualitatively a little shittier, I’m afraid.
I’ve seen those guys: they’re geriatric but standing around (sometimes outside in all weathers) for six or seven hours. It’s an honourable thing to do; they deserve better.
Roy Terry, I salute you.
Me too. That link contains enough information to find Roy Terry with the aid of BT Phonedisc. I’ll be posting him a cheque for £5.00 payable to the Royal British Legion before the end of today. Anyone else in? Email me (see profile) if you want the address.
I agree with NinjaChick. The rest is sanctimonious bilge. The war widows &c could be taken care of to an acceptable standard in the budget. You don’t see the MoD or the Royal family begging. But it seems there is something that attracts voters to the idea of funding old soldiers to a less than acceptable standard so that we can take the pleasure of sometimes giving them our change out of pity. It makes us feel worthy to throw them scraps. That’s why the old bastards are out there exposed to crime and cold.
Knocking over an old coot is low. The rest is down to us.