What Does the Poppy Mean to You?
The Six County state has, since its formation, ensured its continued existence through force of arms. Various ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ organisations were utilised in this process, and they all continue in various forms today.
At the state’s foundation, the ‘Royal Irish Constabulary’ transitioned into the RUC and, subsequently, into the PSNI. Its purpose remains the same. Then there were the ‘B Specials’ or ‘B-Men’; the ‘Ulster Defence Regiment’ or the ‘Royal Irish Regiment’; the loyalist ‘Ulster Defence Association’, ‘Ulster Freedom Fighters’, ‘Ulster Volunteer Force’, ‘Loyalist Volunteer Force’, ‘Red Hand Commando’, and on it goes.
These organisations and others were all utilised by Stormont to strike fear and tension into communities, to coerce and control, to murder and to maim. They used torture, imprisonment and death to ensure Britain’s interests in Ireland were protected and maintained.
For many, the poppy, just like Stormont, represents those organisations and institutions; and it represents the state sanctioned murderers within its ranks.
