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Support our troops

Awareness ribbons

Red, White, & Blue : U.S. Patriotism

Red : Armed Forces support; Canadian Patriotism

Yellow : Armed Forces return

Support our troops (Appuyons nos troupes; Apoyar nuestras tropas) is a slogan commonly used in the United States and Canada in reference to each country's military forces or troops. The slogan has been used during recent conflicts, including the Gulf War and the Iraq war.

The slogan is sometimes seen as over-generalizing complex issues; for example, an individual may support personnel in the military but not the current respective government's foreign policy.

Red Friday

Groups have advocated the wearing of red on Fridays, known as Red Friday, to "Support the Troops". The groups say that wearing red on Fridays is meant to be a non partisan act by someone to show their support for Armed Forces abroad regardless of where they are or under what circumstances they were deployed. This is specifically used in the U.S. to show support of troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else. Other groups use it to either support or oppose wars, specifically the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Wearing red can include any article of clothing or accessory such as ribbons, lapel pins, hats etc.

Red Friday in Canada

People in Canada have started wearing red on Fridays to show support for the men and women serving in the Canadian Forces. The choice of using red is because it is an official Canadian colour and also historically is a colour of remembrance for it symbolizes the red poppies in Flanders Fields and the loss of life the country has endured.

Many positions in the House of Commons do not allow employees to dress outside of uniform but have compromised to allow staff to wear a red ribbon instead. This is the only exception other than wearing a poppy for Remembrance Day.

Related ideas

Awareness ribbon are short pieces of ribbon folded into a loop, or representations of such, which are used in the United States, Canada, Australia, UK and other parts of the world as a way for the wearer to make a subtle statement of support for a cause or issue. A Yellow ribbon is a symbol with various meanings, mostly associated with those waiting for the return of a loved one or of military troops who are temporarily unable to come home.

A Service flag in the United States is an official banner that family members of service members in harm's way can display.

Criticism and opponents

Political analyst Noam Chomsky has criticized the slogan, saying,

"[...] the point of public relations slogans like "Support Our Troops" is that they don't mean anything [...] that's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody is gonna be against and I suppose everybody will be for, because nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. But its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something, do you support our policy? And that's the one you're not allowed to talk about.

Notes

References

Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present. HarperCollins. 752 pages. ISBN 0060528427
Cynthia Peters Collateral Damage: The New World Order at Home and Abroad. 1992. (ed., see pages 399 to 401)
Jack Santino, Yellow Ribbons and Seasonal Flags: The Folk Assemblage of War. The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 105, No. 415 (Winter, 1992), pp. 19-33. doi 10.2307/541997
" Red Friday" by Snopes.com, retrieved March 21, 2007