A Canadian student has been suspended from school for “hate speech” after voicing her opposition to wearing an LGBTQ-themed Remembrance Day poppy.
Natalie Bird, the 17-year-old cousin of Former Conservative representative, Cyara Bird, allegedly distributed flyers at Stonewall Collegiate in defence of the traditional colours of the Armistice Day symbol.
“Never seen something so disrespectful in all my days,” Natalie wrote on the flyer. “What does LGBTQ have to do with the war? Red represents Blood, black represents widows and loved ones, Green represents land the blood was spilled on. NEVER change the poppy.”
Natalie continued: “You’ve got a whole month dedicated to the LGBTQ community, but the people who legitimately made a difference and died so that we could live decent lives have one day. You don’t need a poppy, you just clearly want attention.
“One day to remember the real heroes how about we don’t make it about your sexuality for once? If you didn’t make such a big deal about it and force people to make it a part of their lives there would be no problems,” she added.
Following the suspension, Cyara Bird told The Post Millennial that Natalie had attempted to record the suspension orders but had her phone “snatched away” when the principal realised. The girl was also warned of “consequences” if she spoke about the suspension on social media or went to the press.
Natalie is not permitted to return to school until after Remembrance Day.
The U.K. decorated war veteran, Ex-Colour sergeant, Trevor Coult, also slammed the LGBTQ-themed poppy saying he gets “really riled up” when people try to “politicise the poppy for their own agenda.”
According to Metro, Coult, who received the Military Cross in 2006 after shooting dead a suicide bomber in Iraq said: “If people buy a poppy that is not official the money is not going to help families that need it.
“The red poppy signifies the blood spilt by servicemen and women across the world who have fought in the different wars, and that’s why we have it. Everyone bleeds red, whether you’re brown, black, white, Asian, gay, bi, it doesn’t matter what you are.
“The red poppy is for everyone, the LGBT poppy is only for the LGBT,” Coult said.