Tuesday, November 05, 2019


Police station is banned from displaying 'divisive thin blue line' flag after complaints it's 'dismissive' of the Black Lives Matter movement

It was an American flag, not specificaly a police flag so  I don't get this

Montgomery County 5th District tweeted thank you to resident James Shelton on Wednesday, who presented officers with a wooden American Flag.  Shelton had made it in recognition of National First Responders Day and police said the flag would be displayed in the 5th District Station in Maryland

On Wednesday, cops shared their intention to display the gift, with a tweet that included a picture of three cops, who appear to be white, accepting the flag from a resident and his son.

'Thank you to resident James Shelton, who presented Montgomery County 5th District officers with a wooden American Flag that he had made in recognition of National First Responders Day,' the picture was captioned. 'The flag will be displayed in the 5th District Station.'

However they were stopped in their tracks after many community members responded with negative reactions.

'This flag, the symbol of 'Blue Lives Matter,' excuses police violence against black residents, and mocks those who affirm that #BlackLivesMatter,' one person tweeted. 'That is not what @MontgomeryCoMD stands for. Take down this tweet, and do not hang up that flag!'

For another, it evoked memories of 2017's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia where one person died and dozens of others were injured when a man deliberately rammed his car into the crowd of counter-protesters.

'This is unacceptable. This flag was carried by the white supremacists in Charlottesville and has a meaning far beyond what you intend. (I hope!) Please do not raise this in a public building,' one woman responded.

SOURCE  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

American flag Code 174.G states:

(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.

This thin blue line is an alteration of the US Flag and any government agency should not allow themselves to put up this abomination anywhere.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:22,

The US Flag Code states it has force of law behind it, but does not. For example, the code says that the flag may not be defaced such as being burned. The Supreme Court has already ruled that's an unConstitutional restriction of expression.

We also do not follow nor understand how the transformative work of is somehow still the flag. We do not understand how a a blue stripe is a "mark, insignia, letter, word, design, picture or drawing of any nature." The blue stripe just doesn't fit the common definition of those words.

Whether such a depiction should be at a police station is certainly a debatable topic and we are always willing to discuss things. However, the discussion should not be based on a false idea that is being put forth here.