By Tina Ranjbar
Every November, the same debate surrounding the rainbow poppy arises on the internet. If you’re not familiar with the discourse, people claim that the rainbow alternative to the red and black Remembrance Day poppy is disrespectful to fallen soldiers. Many people falsely affiliate this glittery poppy with the 2SLGBTQ+ community to justify bigoted comments and blatant homophobia. In reality, the rainbow poppy was originally listed on eBay as a “Rainbow Glittery Poppy Style Badge,” with no definitive link to the LGBTQ+ community. However, these badges went viral on Twitter, and thousands of conservative tweets bashed the community for taking advantage of Remembrance Day to propagate gay rights. These badges are unavailable for purchase and there is no mainstream movement to adopt this poppy as a symbol for queer veterans, but it sparks an important conversation about the history of gay rights in the military.
War affected people of all sexualities and gender identities. The queer veterans that died for us are just as important, so it’s safe to say that they deserve our respect and tribute as well. Though, paying tribute doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of a rainbow poppy, as previously established. It all comes down to memorializing the veterans that fought for our freedom!
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