The ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag
By Martin J. Schwartz, Franklinville NJ – Letter To The Editor of The Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper 6/12/2020 – Published in Print Edition Week of 6/18/2020
Dear Ms. Editor:
I have been living on Delsea Drive in Franklinville for most of my life, and during that time the United States flag has always flown on our property, day and night and in all kinds of weather. In addition to the American flag, I also fly the “Thin Blue Line” flag. My father was shot in WWII defending our American flag, and my grandfather, a police officer, was shot as part of the thin blue line on the streets of Philadelphia. I am a United States Air Force veteran and spent over forty years in civilian law enforcement at the local, state, and federal level; over ten years of it was spent policing this township. I chose not to fly the “Thin Blue Line” flag on Saturday, June 13 in recognition of the legitimate race and bias concerns expected to be voiced during the planned demonstration. Most of the police officers in this country view the “Thin Blue Line” flag, not as a separation of black and blue, but as a line between good and evil and between right and wrong. That is the oath police officers take and must continue to uphold. The “Thin Blue Line” flag represents all that is noble and good about policing. The root of that service can be found in our constitution which guarantees equal justice and freedom for all people. That has not always been the case, and we, the police, must acknowledge and accept that wrongs have occurred, commit to correcting those that we can, and prevent similar ones from occurring in the future. I cannot understand what it is like to be a black man in America. However, even in the twilight of my life, I can listen and learn, and I can demonstrate sincere empathy for differences of opinion, even if I do not fully understand them. That is the essence of policing. To express that empathy, our “Thin Blue Line” flag stood down on Saturday, June 13.
Martin J. Schwartz is the author of “Policing Is About People” and can be contacted at forceanalysisconsultants@gmail.com.