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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

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Thin Blue Line or thinly-veiled racism?

How the Blue Lives Matter movement suppresses Black voices
Instead+of+a+symbol+of+support%2C+the+Thin+Blue+Line+flag%2C+also+known+as+the+national+police+flag%2C+causes+fear+and+division.+
Photo design by Freepik and Zoe Deyoung
Instead of a symbol of support, the Thin Blue Line flag, also known as the ‘national police flag,’ causes fear and division.

It flies at your favorite hometown barbecue restaurant. It hangs in the background of your classmate’s Zoom screen. It’s plastered on your friend’s gaiter mask. It sits on a sign in your front yard.

It’s an American flag, one of its red stripes replaced with blue.

The Thin Blue Line flag is, at best, a jaded symbol of police support. At worst, it upholds the dangerous presence of white supremacy in our nation today.

Thin Blue Line’s origin story

The flag’s name originates from the Battle of Balaclava, an event that occurred during the Crimean War Oct. 25, 1854. During this encounter, a line of British troops held off a charge from the Russian cavalry, their red uniforms forming a long, thin line of red, warding off the threat of the Russian army, earning the title, ‘The Thin Red Line.’  

Many believe the phrase was repopularized in reference to law enforcement by Los Angeles Police Department chief William H. Parker, who coined the term ‘Thin Blue Line’ to describe the select few tasked with protecting our nation from descent into ‘chaos’ and ‘mass destruction.’

The ideological tenets of the Blue Lives Matter movement find their historical roots in past deflections of discussions about racial inequality. Parker claimed the American minority was not the Black community, but the police. During a court case over the segregation of his police force, the Civil Rights Commission asked Parker about the discrimination of minorites; he replied, “I think the greatest dislocated minority in America today are the police.”

A statement like this, disregarding the struggles of the Black community, is not surprising coming from Parker, as he was actively racist in his policies and rhetoric. He largely refused to hire Black police officers onto his force. He likened Black participants in the Watts riots—a riot borne mostly out of citizen anger towards Parker and his department’s racist policing—to “monkeys in a zoo.”

During a television interview about the riots, Parker said, “It is estimated that by 1970, 45% of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles will be Negro. If you want any protection for your home and family, you’re going to have to get in and support a strong police department. If you don’t, come 1970, God help you.”

This blatant racism gave way to the creation of the Thin Blue Line phrase, and continues to exist in the principles of the Thin Blue Line flag and Blue Lives Matter movement today. Parker fostered an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, a mentality that can still be seen today in racist policing, and also in the current usage of the flag as a whole. 

A counterattack to the Black Lives Matter movement

The Thin Blue Line flag was created by white University of Michigan student Andrew Jacob in 2014. He is now the president of Thin Blue Line USA, and calls his creation the “national police flag.”

But the flag came on the heels of the Black Lives Matter movement’s creation, which got its start after the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin at the hands of the later-acquitted George Zimmerman. After marches and protests against this injustice, people who didn’t support these protests felt inclined to support the police instead. Since then, many flags and yard signs read phrases like, ‘we defend our police’ and ‘back the blue.’ 

For most white people, the police are seen as defenders, someone to call to handle a noise complaint or careless driver. Supporting the police is easy when they’re always there to help you. Take this startling statistic from the 2019 Black Census Project that polled 30,000 Black people: “The vast majority of Black Census respondents see the excessive use of force by police officers (83%) and police officers killing Black people (87%) as problems in the community.” Instead of calling the police to avoid danger, for the Black community, the police often are the danger.

By making it known that you ‘back the blue’ during a time when those marching are merely asking for justice for the marginalized, acknowledgement of past and current injustices and police reform, backing the blue seems more like a slap in the face than a political statement.

Blue Lives Matter, by name, is an obvious counterattack to the Black Lives Matter movement, and is more about subverting attention from Black Lives Matter than it is about actually supporting the police. Oftentimes the ‘national police flag’ is flown alongside the racist confederate flag and the American flag at rallies littered with white supremacists. 

The next move

In an interview with The Marshall Project, the aforementioned Andrew Jacob shared, “the flag has no association with racism, hatred and bigotry. It’s a flag to show support for law enforcement—no politics involved.” 

Then you see the flag flown at aggressive protests like the one in Charlottesville, Va. with white nationalists holding lit tiki torches while chanting the Nazi-associated phrase “blood and soil,” all of this over a Confederate Army commander statue’s removal. 

Even if the intended purpose of the flag—despite its creation immediately following the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement—was to show support for law enforcement, its meaning has been hijacked, and its image now only causes fear and division.

Thanks to the Blue Lives Matter movement, the question that needed to be asked, ‘is our policing racist and in need of change?’ has moved to, ‘are the police the oppressed minority?” This shift of focus is just another attempt to suppress the voices trying to speak up about painful experiences with racist policing. It is a silent, but loud, overpowering of Black voices, and we should call it what it is: thinly-veiled white supremacy.

Claiming ‘Blue Lives Matter’ compares a policeman’s job to a Black person’s life. Supporting the Blue Lives Matter movement while at the same time overlooking the Black Lives Matter movement disregards the entirety of Black struggle, a struggle that is exacerbated by racist law enforcement. 

This is not to say that all police are racist, but they do work for an organization that got its start catching runaway slaves and hasn’t graduated from those same principles in the last 300 years. But we all have biases, even those who are supposed to protect us. If left untreated, those biases have and will continue to permeate the lives of minorities around us.

Touting the Thin Blue Line flag, shouting ‘Blue Lives Matter’ and placing ‘support the police’ signs in your front yard may seem innocent, but the impact of those symbols has a ripple effect that can be felt by many. Instead of a signal of support, it has taken the shape of a racist emblem, and shows a complete disregard for the Black community’s struggle with racist policing.

Photo design by Freepik

View Comments (17)
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About the Contributor
Zoe DeYoung, Staff Writer
She/her/hers Grade: 12 Years on Staff: 3 What has been your favorite quarantine hobby? I downloaded Tik Tok Is a hot dog a sandwich? Yes. Open your minds people. Who is someone that inspires you? Gordon Parks
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Comments (17)

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  • M

    MomMay 31, 2023 at 2:22 pm

    Let us not forget that the American Police was originally A RACIST INSTITUTION. So the black and white flag is “ division “ between whites and people of color. And that thin blue line represents dirty and corrupt cops helping each other. So yes this black and white American flag is absolutely veiled racism. 😉

    Reply
  • M

    Michael PoeckesMay 17, 2023 at 1:41 am

    Very one sided. Maybe the “whites” view police as defenders cuz less, by statistics, are out breaking the law compared to their “black” counterparts. I would go out on a limb, which is a safe, large limb and say that the black community’s problem might be themselves. Statistics show that “black on black” crimes are far more prevalent than cop to black. And if you look at the numbers polled by more than 3 respective agencies for polling, the black on cop crime also far exceeds the cop on black crimes. If you always view yourself a victim and can’t move past slavery, which nobody alive today was a part of (both blacks and/or whites), then you will always remain a victim of yourself, not society. If evil is all you’re ever looking for, then clearly, evil is all you’re gonna see.

    Reply
  • H

    HW KateleyMar 10, 2023 at 5:47 pm

    While I realized this article is a few years old now, I just happened upon it. I hope that the negative commenters here have learned in the intervening time how spot on this article really is. It should be mentioned as well that’s there’s a simpler version of the thin blue line flag not so associated with racism and insurrectionists. The being the thin blue line on a plain black background and not appropriating a corrupted version of the US flag.

    Reply
  • C

    Charles HillSep 12, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    As the writer states, regardless of the original intent, the symbol has been highjacked.

    Most Americans are not racists, but there are racist Americans.

    Most police are not racists, but there are racist cops, and they should not be given a pass.

    When they act on their racist impulses and hurt innocent citizens there needs to be consequences.

    Reply
  • M

    MillyAug 25, 2021 at 12:08 am

    I have read a lot of stupid stuff.. but this takes the cake! I mean where do you people pull this out of.. you butt holes.. you people want to be right so bad you make up anything to fit your agenda..

    Reply
  • R

    Rob R.Jul 28, 2021 at 12:13 am

    Is there no way to show support for our police without it being labeled as racist. It’s not right. Only a very small percentage of law enforcement is the reason for all the problems. They put themselves in the line of fire everyday and are killed trying to protect us and this is how they are treated in return. All groups of humans has its bad eggs whether it’s a profession, race, religion, etc.. if we blame all police for what a few idiots did than that is no different than blaming all black people because one decided to rob a bank. All white people because one decided to fly the rebel flag. All priests because one was a child molester. All Muslims because one bombed a temple. We need to punish and weed out the bad eggs not punish everyone because of what a few did.

    Reply
  • E

    Edward K.May 11, 2021 at 7:42 am

    The FBI has published several warnings about white supremacists infiltrating police forces, and the warnings have been issued several times for the past 15-20 years.

    Here’s a personal article dated August 28, 2020 that begins with: “I was an FBI agent who infiltrated white supremacists.”

    “For decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has routinely warned its agents that the white supremacist and far-right militant groups it investigates often have links to law enforcement. Yet the justice department has no national strategy designed to protect the communities policed by these dangerously compromised law enforcers. As our nation grapples with how to reimagine public safety in the wake of the protests following the police killing of George Floyd, it is time to confront and resolve the persistent problem of explicit racism in law enforcement.”

    Etc.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/28/fbi-far-right-white-supremacists-police

    Reply
  • E

    Edward K.May 11, 2021 at 7:24 am

    Jan. 29, 2021:

    Police chief bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ imagery, says it’s been ‘co-opted’ by extremists
    Chief Kristen Roman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said “hateful ideologies” run counter to the department’s core values.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-chief-bans-thin-blue-line-imagery-says-it-s-n1256217

    Reply
  • C

    CatherineApr 26, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    This is a JOKE! YOU ARE YOUNG AND IGNORANT ABOUT LAW ENFORMENT. I hope someday you will need to call 911 and be counting the minutes until that officer arrives to keep you save. you did not research any facts about this paper and I’m assuming you have no family that is in law enforcement because if you did you would realize there is a heart behind every badge, not racism. got help you little girl.

    Reply
  • C

    cApr 20, 2021 at 3:15 pm

    This came from a highschoolers mind. How is a flag supporting police, FELLOW AMERICANS, racist. Im. not going to go through a full fledged statement but why are you talking about police being racist and not the KKK or other actual white supremecist groups. I’m 12 and I’m still smarter than you. Your staff bio is about hotdogs. I don’t think you’re qualified to use your opinions as an answer to is the Thin Blue Line flag racist. This is my side of the statement as a police supporter since if I tried to talk for a Liberal perspective I would probably be called a racist. And 2021 now, pepole were upset at Trump for the concentration camps at the border which Obama built.
    Biden is raising max capacity down there. A concentration camp with overflowing amounts of people, good job Biden, good job….

    Reply
  • H

    Hugo C.Feb 22, 2021 at 2:22 am

    Male Hispanic here family in law enforcement both state and federal this article is another example and typical hogwash being injected into the minds of youth by liberal teachers / professors. Use your talent for good not to spread this divisive propaganda dont parrot what some apologetic self loathing teacher pushed on to you, you have no blame , police arent there to kill blacks minorities if so why go after gang members or thugs ? If they wanted to carry our with ethnic cleansing then go after black lawyers or doctors , wouldn’t that make more sense? Same consequences in taking any life right? After all a human life matters especially blue lives because they put theirs on the line for all of us

    Reply
  • G

    GeorgeFeb 11, 2021 at 5:26 am

    This is not a well researched and documented article it is merely a collection of her opinions and the statistics she sprouts as facts are merely opinions of black residents surveyed on their opinions of the police. Her article shows no evidence that the thin blue line is a racist or show it is part of white supremacy. Just because it was flown at a supremacist March just means that one of the supporters also supports the thin blue line. It’s the same as saying that following Islam is wrong because terrorists follow Islam .

    Reply
  • T

    Terry ZavorotnyFeb 8, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    if you think that flying the blue line stipe flag is racist then you are stupid and need mental help. i don’t understand this racism *******. if your a black person and you say that the only reason you cant get out and be you and try to have a great life is because of racism, then your the problem. supporting the people that try to keep everyone safe is not racist, it also supports the men and women who have dies in the line of duty. if we went by your standards and only worry about the small percentage of bad. BLM is racist and a bad movement. BLM caused over 1 billion dollars in damages and killed and hurt many people for the uniform they wear or just their opinions. i tried being respectful but if you are stupid enough to even put through your brain that the people who fly the blue line flag are racist and the flag is racist, you need help

    Reply
  • J

    Jane BakerJan 7, 2021 at 8:57 pm

    Well-written, informative and helpful article. I live in a gated community that does not allow homeowners to post any signs, including political ones. We can fly the American flag. There were several homeowners who attempted to fly Trump signs, and they were instructed to take those down. Those homeowners are now flying Blue Lives Matter flags. In my effort to gather evidence of the offensiveness of this flag, I came across your article. I am hoping to use some of the information you researched to support my complaint about this flag. Thank you. I think you have a great career ahead of you.

    Reply
  • N

    NatalieDec 25, 2020 at 10:54 am

    Wow. What a well-written, well-researched article. I was searching for articles about the Thin Blue Line flag when this one happened to come up. I am blown away that this is a high school publication—it’s more professional and thoughtful than many mainstream news sources. It articulates many of the concerns I’ve been having about this flag, and does so very convincingly and eloquently. Thank you, Zoe, for writing this—keep up the excellent work!

    Reply
  • M

    Mimi HirshbergDec 9, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Excellent! So warmed to hear these thoughts in a high school senior.
    Another thought to add in comparing the 2 movements: police can remove their uniforms, a Black person does not have that luxury to remove their skin color.

    Reply
    • J

      JIm LarryMar 30, 2022 at 9:59 pm

      so changing you skin color is would stop the poverty, under education, criminality and single motherhood problem ?

      Reply
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Thin Blue Line or thinly-veiled racism?