Comment by foxes
10 months ago
Calling yourself the “thin blue line” like a reference to police really doesn’t seem like a way to have an enduring community. Police don’t serve the community; I guess they think in the same way then.
10 months ago
Calling yourself the “thin blue line” like a reference to police really doesn’t seem like a way to have an enduring community. Police don’t serve the community; I guess they think in the same way then.
I agree with you, and the reference _is_ politically loaded (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line):
>The thin blue line U.S. flag has been banned by some police departments in the United States for its associations with ideologies described as "undemocratic, racist, and bigoted."
>According to a 2018 law review article, "thin blue line" also refers to an unwritten code of silence used to cover up police misconduct, also known as the blue wall of silence, a term dating back to 1978
Seems like ignorance of the implications, not any desire to a tie themselves to a political stance. I think the “assume positive intent” principle needs to apply here.
Also, if you're not from the USA, you're more likely to associate it with the beloved Rowan Atkinson sitcom.
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Law review articles are largely written by students. They are not authoritative.
Do you think that Rowan Atkinson was dogwhistling about undemocratic, racist, bigoted police violence when he named his police sitcom "The Thin Blue Line" or do you think perhaps your dislike of the police has led to you associating negative attributes with anyone that happens to use any phrase related to the police?
Where I am from, the police is a respected, largely unarmed institution. Imperfect, as all institutions are. American left-political dislike of law enforcement isn't universal and most people don't have instant negative mental associations with everything police-related...
> Do you think that Rowan Atkinson was ...
No, but Ben Elton certainly was when he created and wrote it, even before hiring Atkinson to star in it . . .
When I last spoke to him Elton didn't view the entire UK Police force with disdain but he absolutely felt it was riddled with clusters of bigoted and violent police. You can see that in his other works such as the The Young Ones and various novels.
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I'm not a left winger, and I generally respect the police, but everybody I've met with a "thin blue line" American flag decal or sticker has been a total asshole. It's not just hatred of the police. Connotations change over time, and the general connotation of "the thin blue line" in the US at the moment is unabashed support of far-right authoritarianism.
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Police can serve the community - but people who use the reference "thin blue line" are casting police as combatants rather than public servants.
> Police don’t serve the community
Whom do they serve?
In my experience, mostly themselves.
The wealthy and powerful, in exchange for their preferential treatment, their place of power, and more generous scraps from the master's table.
Capital.
Within capitalist societies police protect the interests of the state, which itself exists to serve and benefit the capitalist class. Police "maintain order" to ensure the proletariat continues to submit to the state and participate in the capitalist machine, and they commit violence against anyone who does otherwise.
Bro, just don't rob CVS
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Police in your area maybe?
Look into the history and meaning of “thin blue line.” It’s an endorsement of the us vs. them mindset prevalent in American policing that is the source of many (most? all?) police scandals.
It doesn't even originate in the US, mate.
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They are largely there to enforce the law and investigate transgressions of it. If you've ever reported a theft lately you'd know that they are not resourced - at least around here - to put any priority on protecting anyone's property. They have their hands full dealing with domestics and drug and alcohol related offending.