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Why young people are standing up to militarism – with a white poppy
Faced with injustice and insecurity, wearing a white poppy challenges the prioritisation, normalisation and justification of militarism, argues NADJA LOVADINOV
COMMITMENT: Rhun Dafydd, chair of Cymdeithas y Cymod (the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales), holds up white poppies in both Welsh and English in Cardiff (below) students at Sheffield University take non-violent direct action against militarism on cam

IN THE last month alone there have been anti-militarist protests in at least four British universities. Students at Warwick, Sheffield, Lancaster and Nottingham have challenged their universities’ links with the arms trade.

With British military spending passing £50 billion in 2021, and likely to increase even further, young people are reacting in anger. The post-Covid world has rejected the presumption that young people are apathetic and don’t care about politics.

Rather, we are globally conscious citizens. This year, in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday, we should wear white poppies as a symbol of remembrance and rebellion and support for issues we care about. 

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