Comment by sophacles
10 months ago
There are many ways to state that without invoking corruption. I think Ted is telling the truth of who he is by choosing that phrase intentionally - we aren't talking about an idiot who just says stuff, he's a smart guy.
Given that "invoking corruption" is neither the plain meaning of those words, nor does it even make sense in this context, I don't think it's reasonable to claim Ted did so.
Ted Tso is an American, he was born in California, did his schooling in the US, and has worked here most (all?) of his career. As such he can be expected to know that "the thin blue line" is an idiom that carries with it a lot of connotation.
It's perfectly reasonable to assume he was aware of the implications of his words and chose to use them anyway.
I'm American, I was born in Arizona, I did my schooling in the US, and I have worked in the US for all of my career. I disagree with your assertion that "thin blue line" necessarily implies support for corruption.
And by the way, so does Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line doesn't mention this interpretation at all. The closest thing is this sentence, which is really not saying the same thing at all, and at any rate only presenting it as something "critics argue", rather than the settled meaning of the phrase.
> Critics argue that the "thin blue line" represents an "us versus them" mindset that heightens tensions between officers and citizens and negatively influences police-community interactions by setting police apart from society at large.
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