Was I having a "conservative" moment ?

Earlier today I called a nail salon I used to frequent about a manicure this week. Since today was a holiday here, I figured it might be closed and I’d leave a message about going in on Tuesday. But they were open, and someone answered. I wasn’t prepared to go in, so I asked about Tuesday.

"Sorry, we’re closed tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," I replied. "Funny, todays the holiday."

"What holiday ?" She asked.

"Memorial Day".

"Oh," she replied, dismissively. "We don’t really care about that. We’re Vietnamese."

Stung, I thought, but you live and have your business here. I bit my tongue and didn’t say it, though.

She asked if I wanted an appointment on Wednesday; I told her I’d call again and hung up. She’s not the shop owner, so I might still go. 🙁

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Burnley123 · 41-45, M

Festivals mean different things to different people.

Over here, the poppy is a symbol of memorial day. To most Brits, it means remembering the troops who put in brave sacrifices for a greater cause, for example, against NAZI Germany.

To the Irish it means something different. A minor scandal came about a few years ago when James McLean, then a minor premiership footballer, refused to wear a poppy. Whilst the guy is technically British, he was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland. It's a staunchly Catholic and Irish Republican area. To the community from which he came, the poppy is a symbol of the British army, i.e. the oppressor.

Nonetheless right leaning tabloids and social media was outraged accusing him of a lack of respect for the dead. This badly missed the point. When I wear a poppy, it's out of respect for the dead, not loyalty to the British state. For him, it's something different.

In Vietnam, literally millions died either directly or indirectly with the war against America. A lot of American soldiers were forced to fight in an awful war but to the Vietnamese, the suffering was far greater.

Symbols, events... different perspective.