Do you know what these are? This is the Thin Blue Line. These flags do not represent any political affiliation, Nazis, or white supremacy. They represent the line between good and evil, and more importantly, the lives of all our fallen brothers and sisters in law enforcement. Allow us to tell you their story:
The term “thin blue line” is derived from the “thin red line”, which was the formation of the 93rd Highland Regiment of the British Army. The British, wearing red uniforms, were vastly outnumbered but stood their ground and defeated advancing Russian troops during the Crimean War in 1854. Over the next 50 years, the symbolism of the “thin red line” would get adopted by the United States Army but color changed to blue, as US soldiers wore blue uniforms between the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1922, New York City Police Commissioner Richard Enright, was the first documented law enforcement figure to use the term “thin blue line” during a speech to describe the men and women of the New York City Police Department who wore blue uniforms. The term would continue to be used and began to catch on in other major police departments throughout the United States.
In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Department began using the phrase “thin blue line” to describe their police officers as “the barrier between law, order, and anarchy”. The LAPD would later lend the term to the department-produced television show, “The Thin Blue Line”.
By 1988, the term “thin blue line” was starting to become main stream and recognized by officers and the public. The term was once again used as the title for a TV documentary which discussed the murder of Dallas Police Officer Robert W. Wood. Since the documentary and up until this day, the symbol of the thin blue line has represented not only good vs evil, but a remembrance to the line of duty deaths of law enforcement officers.
These flags have no association with hatred, racism or bigotry. Any other use of these flags or the term “thin blue line” outside the realm of law enforcement, remembrance and respect, must be denounced immediately. That thin blue line which represents the hundreds of line of duty deaths each year must be kept sacred and secure. Do not let anyone steal these flags from us, do not let the media make them out to be anything other than what they are.
We must stand together and protect the line.
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