Silence or Applause ?

[Kenn]

Two minutes of silent reflection for all those who gave their lives in the service of their country .

[Venture]

There is nothing wrong with applauding service men and women who are at present serving their country at parades etc. but to applaud those who gave their lives is totally ridiculous. The one or two minutes silence is a tradition and should be respected. It is a time for everyone to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by so many. Apart from Remembrance Day how many of us take time out of our busy lives to think about what it must be like to lose a loved one through war? For those who have lost, the grief is with them every day and applauding their loss would be the last thing they would want to do. The least we can do is join with them, in silence, on the appropriate day, remember their loved ones and be grateful.

[Moira]

Were now coming up to remembrance Sunday and have read in the locals papers that that Celtic Fc have applied to Falkirk to have an applaud for the remembrance weekend instead of a silence <snip>

Whats every else think ?

Having done a Google search I find this is not an entirely new concept.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle5119850.ece

I'm not sure what you mean when you say they "have applied to Falkirk". Do you mean that the Falkirk team are the hosts on this occasion and that they will have the final say about what takes place at the start of the game?
If so, I hope Falkirk reply with an emphatic "One-minute silence - end of"

I don't know the first thing about football, I'm afraid, but I do think that this time-honoured tradition of a short silence should be upheld. As others have said, it is a matter of respect for the sacrifice of our service men and women over the years.

I daresay many of them would have welcomed the chance to attend a football match, any football match, next weekend, with their family and friends. And here, in this country, some wish to shift the goalposts around (pun intended) to suit their own agenda.

I think that such moves should be resisted on each and every occasion they arise.

[Venture]

So how many of us feel like applauding the news this morning? Another 5 British soldiers killed in the course of their duty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8341659.stm

When will it stop?

[Thumper]

The only way to mark this respectfully is silence x

[Lavenderblue2]

Silence.

Two minutes is precious little time in which to reflect on the losses and suffering of the past and present day.

[northener]

Celtic's doing it to cover up the noise of a few knuckle-draggers. Which is sad, but that's not the same as discussing whether applause is suitable or not overall.

It is, to our way of thinking, a sombre occasion to remember the dead.
If we were an old warrior culture - like the Vikings (and probably the Briton/Celts...although I'm on shaky ground here) we would be celebrating their passing with noisy respect - not silence.

It's the remembering that is important - not the manner.

[golach]

It's the remembering that is important - not the manner.

Totally agree, I attended the official opening of Edinburgh's Garden of Remembrance on Monday taking place at the foot of the Sir Walter Scott monument. The ceremony was attended by a couple of hundred from all the Services, and a few dignitaries, the minute silence was taken in a very bizarre situation, along side the Tram works in Princes Street and surrounded by visitors from all over the World. The Tramworks carried on, the Visitors were snap happy, the regular traffic carried on as usual, the city did not stop. Did the attending ex servicemen bother....no, we all stood to attention in our own bit of silence, and remembered in our own way, and were proud to be there.