Posted by: Gregory Hoyt|
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – Two variations of the Thin Blue Line flag were hung outside the San Luis Obispo Police Department headquarters to honor San Luis Obispo Police Detective Luca Benedetti, who sadly passed away earlier in May.
However, the hanging of said flags outside the department has incensed some in the community, with a Cal Poly music professor proclaiming the flags to be “racist.”
— Mental Ammo (@MentalAmmo) May 26, 2021
On May 10th, Detective Luca Benedetti was fatally shot when he and other officers were actively executing a search warrant in relation to a series of commercial burglaries that had been committed.
As officers approached the apartment on Camellia Court, off Margarita Avenue near South Higuera Street, they had knocked on the door of the residence and received no response.
fter waiting an extended period of time, the officers forced the door open, where the suspect was reportedly waiting inside and opened fire. LET Unity – It’s being called the “Netflix” of the Emergency Responder and Veteran Community
Detective Benedetti was shot fatally, while Detective Steve Orozco was non-fatally shot. The suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Edward Zamora Giron, was said to have later committed suicide after exchanged fire with officers.
Following the murder of Detective Benedetti, the SLOPD hung two Thin Blue Line flags outside of police headquarters to honor the fallen officer. Locals paid respects by tying blue ribbons around trees in the area as well.
However, Cal Poly music professor Scott Glysson is among those offended by the display of the Thin Blue Line flags, proclaiming that they’re a “racist” symbol.
Taking to Facebook, Glysson proclaimed the following about the flags:
“The flag with the blue line is not a sign of community support for police. It is a racist symbol. It was popularized at the same time and in direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Obviously, the Thin Blue Line flag and phrase are not direct responses to the “Black Lives Matter movement,” considering that the flag and phrase goes back decades before the term “black lives matter” was ever coined.
Pop culture references in terms of films relating to the Thin Blue Line date as far back as 1988 with the documentary “The Thin Blue Line” – which was a documentary about someone wrongfully convicted of murdering a police officer in Texas.
In the 1970’s, the National Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation adopted the thin blue line flag as meant to honor those officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.
But even prior to those examples, the Oxford English Dictionary records use of the term back in 1962 by “The Sunday Times” mentioning the police presence at an anti-nuclear demonstration.
And decades prior to that, the phrase “thin blue line” was mentioned in a 1911 poem by Nels Dickmann Anderson, aptly titled “The Thin Blue Line”.
Needless to say, the phrase nor the flag are some sort of direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, Glysson’s Facebook proclaimed that he couldn’t fathom what “a person of color” must go through when they see that flag out in the open:
“I can’t even imagine what a person of color must feel when they drive by a police station displaying this flag. Even if unintended, it tells a person of color their struggle is not important.”
A Thin Blue Line flag honoring a fallen officer is not telling a “person of color” anything of the sort.
In other news pertaining to outrage over the Thin Blue Line flag/optics, courthouse employees in Maryland have been banned from wearing face coverings adorning the symbol.
Here’s that previous report.
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MARYLAND– The chief judge of Maryland District courts has handed down a directive banning all court employees from wearing face masks that have the popular law enforcement symbol of the Thin Blue Line.
NBC4 report that Chief Judge John P. Morrissey sent an email ordering staff to cease wearing the masks.
His order Wednesday applies to bailiffs, commissioners, constables, clerks, staff and judges across the 34 District Court sites statewide, but does not apply to courthouse visitors. A spokeswoman for the judiciary said no similar mandate has been given to staff at the Circuit Courts, which handle felonies.
Maryland Court Workers Barred From Wearing ‘Thin Blue Line’ Masks https://t.co/GsbvFn6HRM pic.twitter.com/w5rayy1u0Z
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) May 8, 2021
The Thin Blue Line symbol is used to show support for law enforcement officers. It is a reference to the blue uniforms that police officers typically wear.
Recently, with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining traction, a perception of racism has been linked to the popular police symbol. This is partly due to the fact that major media outlets have created a narrative that if you are pro-police, then you are racist against black people.
According to Morrissey, this directive came about because the court was made aware of “an issue of perceived bias”, and that staff had been wearing masks and other items of clothing with the Thin Blue Line.
Morrissey took action at the request of Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe, who asked judges in a letter Tuesday to ban the symbols in courthouses, according to NBC4.
Maryland Judge Tells Employees Across the State: No More ‘Thin Blue Line’ Masks https://t.co/l3lsnAQqfE
— Erico Chilli (@EricoChili) May 10, 2021
Clyde Boatwright, president of the statewide Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement:
“We certainly understand what the judge is trying to accomplish here,”
He went on to say:
“But the concern we would have is, is this type of restriction for all advocacy groups?”
This is not the first time that the Thin Blue Line symbol has come under attack recently. Law Enforcement Today has reported on numerous instances where the pro-police symbol was removed, vandalized or banned.
In February, we brought you a story from Massachusetts where the Thin Blue Line flag mural that students painted outside of the school resource officers’ (SRO) office at Taunton High School was been replaced at the demand of protesters who deemed the mural racist.
Also in February, we brought you a story out of New Jersey were the Thin Blue Line symbols that were painted between the double-yellow lines on the roadways of many towns are now being called a “symbol of hate”. However, when the Black Lives Matter murals were painted on the roadways across the country, they were celebrated.
Gregory Hoyt is an I.T. Marketing and Sales professional based out in Sierra Vista, Arizona. While being a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, Gregory Hoyt also has the experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison as well. Since then, he’s used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law. Related Posts
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