A few people have inquired about some flags being displayed outside of Vinton homes, or on vehicles. Intead of the traditional red, white and blue, these flags show black and white stripes, white stars on a field of black, and a thin line of blue in the place of one of the white stripes.
This flag is known as the “Thin Blue Line” flag, and it is a tribute to police officers, and especially, to officers who have died in the line of duty.
“I love the support! And I love even more that people are becoming aware,” says Becca Ingham of Vinton, whose father, Albuquerque Police Officer Daniel Scott Webster, was killed by a career criminal a year ago.
“I just hate that we need to support and be aware,” says Ingham. “It’s sad.”
One company that makes such flags explained their meaning on an Amazon.com web page.
“The blue represents the officer and the courage they find deep inside when faced with insurmountable odds. The black background was designed as a constant reminder of our fallen brother and sister officers. The line is what police officers protect, the barrier between anarchy and a civilized society, between order and chaos, between respect for decency and lawlessness. Together they symbolize the camaraderie law enforcement officers all share, a brotherhood like none other,” according to a description of the flags by the company usflags.com.
For some discussions on the issue on the Blue Lives Matter page, click HERE
In addition to the version with stars and stripes, there is also a Thin Blue Line flag with just one blue line on a black background.
The phrase “Thin Blue Line” first became popular in the U.S. after an 1988 documentary by that same name. In that film, an assistant prosecutor named Doug Mulder tells the court that police represent “the thin blue line” that separate a society of order from anarchy.
The late Paul Harvey, of ABC Radio fame, often used that phrase. He was the son of a police officer who died in the line of duty, killed by robber when Paul was only 3.