The flag’s adoption by fringe groups, however, did not sit well with all Thin Blue Line supporters. Click here to join our channel stay updated with the latest Fringe elements at the rally were seen carrying the banner along with Confederate flags and Nazi symbols. In 2017, the Thin Blue Line flag was flown during the Charlottesville incident, then reported as the biggest gathering of white nationalists in over a decade, which ended with a woman being killed and at least 20 being injured after a car drove into a crowd of protesters. However, the flag stirred controversy after it was co-opted by right wing groups, especially by the Blue Lives Matter movement, which sprung up in 2014 as a counterforce to the anti-racism Black Lives Matter movement. The flag, which aims to express support for law and order and police personnel, was soon embraced by several serving and retired officers across the country many attaching it to their patrol vehicles, uniforms and even displaying them on face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the 20th century, it was adopted by police departments in the US – several of whom have blue uniforms – as they began using the “thin blue line” as a phrase to extol law enforcement efforts.Īccording to The Marshall Project, it was after 2014 that a flag representing the Thin Blue Line idea appeared a black and white version of the American national flag, with a blue stripe running horizontally under the stars. Publicised by the media and popularised by art forms such as songs and poetry, the term eventually came to be applied to other professions, such as firefighters. During the battle, the Scottish Highlanders who formed the “thin red line” earned praise for standing their ground against a cavalry charge by imperial Russia. Watch next: Chief Billy Goldfeder shares his take on firefighters displaying thin red line flags.The phrase itself is over a hundred years old, believed to be derived from the Thin Red Line, a military formation employed by the British Army in 1854 during the Crimean War. Half of respondents indicated that their department does not have a policy that relates to the display of flags, decals and emblems.For those respondents who do not support the display of thin red flags at fire departments or on apparatus, 68% said the primary reason was because it was an alteration of the American flag.For departments that have thin red line flags, flags are typically displayed inside the station or on fire apparatus, as opposed to outside the station, where visible to the public.
Most respondents who support the thin line flags (68%) do so to honor fallen and injured firefighters.Similarly, 79% said they support fire departments displaying thin blue line flags in support of law enforcement.An overwhelming majority of respondents (88%) indicated support for the thin red line flags – and the responses were from an even mix of ranks.Respondents were fairly evenly divided among working for career, volunteer and combination departments. We received nearly 2,000 responses about this complex issue. What else should I know about the thin red line flag?įireRescue1 surveyed firefighters on the use of thin line flags in public safety. There are several retailers that currently sell thin red line flags, including: Can civilians/non-firefighters fly the thin red line flag to show their support for firefighters? Some fire departments have policies focused on the display of flags, decals and emblems so that it is clear what is and is not permissible at the station or on apparatus. Thin red line flags are sometimes displayed inside or outside fire stations or on fire apparatus, although there is debate about whether such displays should be permitted on town or city property. Where is the thin red line flag flown or displayed? And one step further, display of the thin red line flag has, to some, become conflated with the thin blue line flag.
As such, some see thin blue line flags as a pushback against social injustice reform movements, like Black Lives Matter. The debate over the flags’ potential political nods is most associated with the thin blue line flag and its connection to the Blue Lives Matter movement, which was started in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. While some view the flags as representative of solidarity with public safety and a way to honor fallen or injured first responders, others simply do not agree with any alteration of the American flag, and some view the flags as representative of political statements. The thin line flags have generated debate in recent months. What is the controversy over the thin red line flag?
Thin line flags for EMS (left), dispatch (middle) and corrections (right)
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