I believe that silence and applause both show the regard in which we are grateful and support our services. Today is Remembrance Sunday and I'm remembering. RIP George.
I don't like minutes applause for this. A minute in silence carries the solemnity needed to mark respect. It is also 'harder' to get a whole stadium to do it so it is inherently more respectful. If a few ****s spoil it then give them a slap. We can't just say 'oh **** it lets clap incase it's not observed'.
It might be intended as respectful, but what it actually is, is bloody stupid. I hate it. Can't get my head round it. Applauding the dead? Ridiculous. I blame those silly twats at Diana's funeral. Is it really too much to ask people to engage in silent contemplation for 60 measly seconds?
I think the idea is to mask the sound of the disrespectful idiots who cannot observe a minutes silence
Of course those who applauded meant no disrespect. But it was inappropriate. If a few chose not to observe it, you leave them to it and then you slap them down. Take this account of the first moment of silence in 1919; The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all. That is the way it has been for nearly one hundred years, it's the way it should be for the next hundred years and the hundred after that. Who are we to take it upon ourselves to change this.
i think the applause should be used to show thanks , appreciation and most especially to an individual . In most cases this would be to people who provided services to the arts where they would also receive applause when alive . Silence is perfect for reflection and remembrance of ALL the servicemen and women serving since the great war . The difference for me is that though there were many many sacrifices the applause should only go to those willing . Obviously in war there will have been many many people who were unwilling , disagreeing in the reason for the conflict but carrying out their duty whether conscripted or otherwise .
It's not just a football thing, some feel it is a thank you,an appreciation 40 seconds in... [video=youtube_share;fK-yf4Oxrdo]http://youtu.be/fK-yf4Oxrdo[/video]
Remembrance is both public and private. I have reason to remember mates who never made civvy street, just as I have reason to remember two grandsons (among others, but these hurt terribly) who found the fight for life too hard. Public services of remembrance should always respect the period of silence for private contemplation. Public occasions, such as a football match, are different and applause is just fine in my book; as long as it is done respectfully, which it is. I totally agree with the view that it drowns out the cretinous few who want to be disruptive - a smack in the mouth would be more satisfying, though. As for wearing the poppy, if you have put up your dosh to help those that need it, them you wear that leaf at any position that takes your mood.
The first time this minute of applause came on the radar was from Italian football in the 90s when some Ultra from Sampdoria got stabbed to death by a Milan fan. It was deemed more appropriate to applaud than stand in mournful silence, as it summed up his bright, cheerful, positive approach to life. In other cases, it was also deemed appropriate to appreciate someone's talent and life of contribution that needed recognising so that people can express gratitude, pride and emotion for the departed person(s). However, Remembrance Day does not fall into the above categories. Silence is the only respectful and acceptable etiquette. As has already been said, knuckle-dragging drunkards and turds with show-off ring tones cannot be relied upon to show decorum, so everyone else has to cover up for them by inappropriately clapping as the lesser of two evils.
Spot on. Why change something that worked fine anyway? I can't ever recall a Remembrance Day silence being ruined by rowdy fans, even back in the days when football crowds were generally noisier, more boistrous and less well-behaved than they are today. The applause is merely sheep, following a trend which absolutely IS crass, even if those guilty of it don't realise it.
I've never been to a football match where there has been a minutes silence for whatever reason which has not been spoiled by a small moronic (often inebriated) minority. The thing is it only takes a very few with a silent stadium !!
