Poppy Burnings

On the 11Th November 2010 in Central London; Muslim extremists staged a protest during the Armistice Day silence. My take on this is that frustrated and misguided extremists mistook the meaning of Armistice Day for a celebration of war rather than a remembrance of brave efforts. The protesters, in a bid to express disregard for the war in Afghanistan, tried to disrupt the Remembrance Day tradition by burning poppies and chanting death to British soldiers. The message that I found most important to take from this is the kind of misinterpretation of intent that such an event causes- it is one thing to not want war in Afghanistan, but quite another to burn a symbol that stands against the atrocities of war on such a significant day. Acts such as these also promote racial tension and encourage social dispute which often ends in violent altercation- not your typical anti war leaning. So the element of this story I focused my final image toward is the motto of Remembrance Day- Lest We Forget.

The image depicts the face of a world war 2 soldier engulfed in flames of a burning poppy.