Canadians Get Stroppy over 'Rainbow Poppy' - And It Was Anti-LGBTQ Fake News

Canadians got into an uproar about reports that students at a school in Manitoba were suspended for protesting the supposedly forced display of a rainbow version of the red poppy, a traditional symbol of respect and gratitude among British Commonwealth nations for soldiers who have died in past wars. The red poppy has been a symbol of remembrance since the First World War.

Canada, as a longtime member of the Commonwealth, also observes Remembrance Day. But Canadians got sucked into an online maelstrom when a conservative politician (a candidate in a recent election) claimed - incorrectly - that a young relative had been suspended from her high school for refusing to wear a rainbow poppy, which supposedly had been forced on students.

Canadian site News 1130 reported that the politician, Cyara Bird, took to Twitter with what turned out to be an inaccurate story that mischaracterized the reach and prevalence of the so-called "rainbow poppy."

Tweeted Bird:

My 17-year-old cousin was suspended today... want to know why? Her choir teacher was demanding that the choir wear rainbow poppies during their performance in the Remembrance Day ceremony. She and another student rejected that idea, and both were suspended for 'hate speech.'

The tweet took off as angry Canadians hastened to heap condemnation and scorn on the idea of a "rainbow poppy" that commemorates the sacrifices of brave non-heterosexual service members throughout history.

An investigation into Bird's claims turned up a very different story, however. News 1130 reported that when journalists visited the school in question, they learned that no one had forced students to wear a rainbow poppy - indeed, no one even had a rainbow poppy, despite images of an enamel poppy with multi-hued petals that was shared widely on social media.

Rather at least one student had taken it upon herself to protest the idea of a rainbow poppy and had plastered the school with unauthorized fliers. One image on Twitter purported to show the fliers; they appeared to be a compendium of accusatory and contemptuous responses to the idea of a rainbow poppy, some of which sexualized the issue. For instance, one quote said:

"Keep it in your pants. Nobody needs or wants to see it."

From @TheRealKeean pic.twitter.com/obJI04Fq1V– Nathan CS (@NLCS_Cruller) November 7, 2019

Given that the red poppy is traditionally worn pinned to the outside of a person's shirt - and any rainbow poppy also would be - the comment seems unrelated to the issue at hand. Nonetheless, it does follow a general pattern used by anti-LGBTQ protestors: Take an issue about rights, visibility, access, or equality, and suggest that it somehow has to do solely with sexual gratification.

Another quote appearing on the image of what was purportedly the homemade fliers being put up around the school slammed the LGBTQ community for having a Pride month, whereas "the people who legitimately made a difference and died so that we could live decent lives have one day.... how about we don't make it about your sexuality for once?"

Many LGBTQ people would agree with that last sentiment on a range of topics, from marriage to adoption to, yes, recognition of the sacrifices made by brave non-cisgender and non-heterosexual soldiers in wars past. Regrettably, however, sexual minorities consistently see their contributions, talents, and ambitions shouldered aside by rhetoric that obsesses on sexual activity rather than focusing on issues of inclusion or justice - issues that the community has repeatedly attempted to make the central topic of discussion.

The National Post published a report that purported to include a quote from Bird's young relative. The quote echoed boilerplate anti-gay rhetoric in explaining the putting up of the unauthorized fliers:

"As I was putting them up, teachers were taking them down. I watched as they took them to the office and gave them to the secretary ... they accused me of hate speech and endangering the physical safety of (LGBTQ students) ... I was just voicing my beliefs and morals."

The utter lack of any rainbow poppies for students to wear - or to refuse to wear - was easily explained by the fact that such poppies are not generally available and have never been mass-produced. The image - and notion - of the enamel rainbow poppy comes from England, where an artist named Julie Fearnly created such a pin in 2018 at the request of a friend.

The National Post quoted Fearnley as having offered this account of the pin's origins:

"A gay friend of mine asked about producing a rainbow version and immediately I thought about Alan Turing and his struggles with being a gay man in WW2 so I thought it was a good idea."

Alan Turing was the brilliant mathematician who cracked the Enigma code used by the Nazis to coordinate maneuvers during World War II. Turing is now considered to be both a war hero and the father of modern computing. But despite his contributions in winning the Second World War, Turing was prosecuted for being gay and subjected to chemical castration. Turing committed suicide in 1954. The British government issued a formal apology for its treatment of the hero in 2009.

But the fake news aspect of the story did not slow down those who were intent on heaping scorn on the LGBTQ community - which, reports noted, never promoted the idea of a rainbow poppy in the first place.

As the fake news nature of the original post emerged in the press, Bird issued an apology, reported News 1130 in a follow-up article.

"I regret that my words have been misconstrued. I regret that my post was ill-informed and I apologize to any who have been hurt as a result.

"I am and will continue to be a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. In no way did I intend my post to be an attack on the LGBTQ+ community and I apologize if it was received that way. I am also a staunch supporter of our Veterans. Because of that, I believe I may have acted more hastily than I should have."

Bird did not explain what sort of interpretation of her words would not have constituted "misconstruing" them. Media reports said that her account has now been set to private.

In England, the hard-right Brexit party seized on the fake flower fracas, with online outrage burning hot there as well. The very real backlash against the rainbow poppy fake news prompted an op-ed piece at UK newspaper the Independent, where writer Kevin Childs reminded readers that:

During both world wars and in conflicts since, countless gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people fought and were killed on all sides, but in Britain gay and bisexual men were putting themselves in the firing line for a country that criminalized them. Gay men in the trenches in the First World War and on the beaches of Normandy, the sands of North Africa and the jungles of Southeast Asia in the Second World War were in constant danger not just from bullets and bombs but from the military police. Technically, they could be executed under military law if found out.

Childs also refreshed readers' memories as to the fact that there have long been alternatives to the red poppy: White poppies in support of peaceful solutions over warfare; black poppies for soldiers of color; and even purple flowers for animals used in wartime. A rainbow poppy hardly seems like a stretch given the already-extant assortment that does not provoke heated online screeds.

Fearnley had considered making the rainbow poppy enamel pins available for Remembrance Day but said she was unable to produce them in time for this year's observance. Oh well, maybe next year.

Then, again, maybe not: Fearnley had the pins listed at eBay but took that listing down "because of the nasty comments I was receiving," the National Post reported.