Blue Lives Matter
"Blue Lives Matter" is a slogan that originated as part of a pro-police movement in the United States, gaining prominence following the 2014 murders of two NYPD officers. Initially established as a nonprofit organization to support law enforcement officers and their families, the movement has evolved into a broader expression of solidarity for police. Supporters argue that it aims to highlight the challenges faced by police and counter perceptions that they are inherently racist or violent, asserting that the vast majority of officers perform their duties with integrity. They advocate for the classification of attacks on police as hate crimes, a stance that has led to legislative measures in several states.
Conversely, critics contend that the movement serves to undermine the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, which focuses on addressing racial injustice and police violence against Black individuals. They argue that framing police as victims detracts from the urgency of police reform and perpetuates divisions in community-police relations. The movement has drawn political support, particularly from conservative figures, but has also faced backlash for its associations with far-right groups and events. Recent developments, including decisions by police leadership to distance their departments from the movement's symbolism, reflect ongoing tensions related to its implications in the discourse on race and policing in America.
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Blue Lives Matter
Blue Lives Matter is a slogan used by a pro-police movement in the United States. It was also adopted by a nonprofit organization that provides financial and emotional support to police officers and their families. The movement began in response to the murders of two on-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in 2014. The slogan is a variation on the Black Lives Matter movement that began in 2013 to protest police violence and racial injustice against African Americans. Proponents of the Blue Lives Matter movement say treating attacks on police as hate crimes is necessary because people who are upset with police often retaliate with violence. Opponents say Blue Lives Matter is an attempt to downplay the antiracism efforts of Black Lives Matter, and wrongly blames Black Lives Matter and other nonviolent police reform movements for the violent actions of individuals. They also claim the movement is inappropriate because no other profession has hate crime protections.
Background
Blue Lives Matter was created as a nonprofit organization on December 20, 2014, by three New York City police officersJoseph Imperatrice, Christopher Brinkley, and Carlos Delgadoafter fellow police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot and killed while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn, New York. The alleged shooter reportedly had a grievance against police.
The nonprofit was made up of active and retired law enforcement officers who believed that police are often unfairly labeled as racists and blamed for the actions of individual officers who commit acts of police brutality. Their stated goal was to help, support, and comfort police officers and their families in times of need. They also aimed to help the public understand the role of and need for police in their communities.
Overview
Blue Lives Matter soon grew beyond its beginning as an organization to aid police and became a movement by both police and members of the public to provide support for law enforcement. In the weeks after the organization was formed, some members of law enforcement used the Blue Lives Matter slogan and hashtag at memorials for fallen officers. It also began appearing at political events, where some candidates made support for police part of their election platforms.
Supporters of the movement say the phrase and idea behind it reflects the reality that some people are too quick to blame officers when someone is killed or injured during an encounter with police. Police are often immediately accused of being racist if the suspect was a person of color. In many cases, protests and social media attacks on police ignite a public firestorm before all the facts are available.
Supporters of Blue Lives Matter acknowledge that there are racist police officers, and there are officers who are too quick to use excessive force. They agree that these officers should be removed from the police force. They say that Blue Lives Matter is an effort to help the public understand that most police officers uphold the law and do not engage in police brutality or racist behavior.
Some members of the public who support the movement have family members in law enforcement, while others are political conservatives, typically members of the Republican Party. Supporters of the cause often wear blue ribbons or display flags or other items with the “thin blue line” motif. The motif resembles an American flag rendered in black and white with one of the stripes replaced with a blue line. Blue represents police because it is a common color for police uniforms.
The thin blue line concept dates back to a nineteenth century British battle maneuver. A “thin red line” of British red-coated soldiers held their ground between the enemy and the rest of the British forces. The concept of a small group of people standing between two other groups was used in different ways over the decades. In the 1920s, New York police commissioner used it in the context of police providing a thin blue line between the public and the chaos created by crime. The phrase continued to be used from that time forward.
In addition to the support from law enforcement and the public, the Blue Lives Matter movement has had some political support as well. Several Republican candidates supported the organization as part of their political platforms. Several states—including Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Texas—also enacted laws making attacks on police and other first responders a hate crime.
The laws represented the first time a profession was given protected status. Hate crime laws usually apply to acts of violence against people because of race, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin. Opponents of Blue Lives Matter objected to hate crime laws being applied to police officers because they offered protection based on a profession that people choose to enter.
Supporters of the Blue Lives Matter movement claim their intent is to show solidarity with and support for law enforcement. The movement is usually promoted as a way of advocating for police officers, with no political motivations or meaning. Supporters point out that there are police officers from many different races, so the movement has no racial motivation or purposes.
Opponents say that the movement began as a countermeasure to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has raised awareness of the fact that Black Americans are disproportionately arrested, injured, and killed by police, and has called for police reform. These reforms include the call to defund police organizations that activists say are inherently racist; the idea of defunding police departments grew in popularity after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020, and the global protests that followed.
Critics of Blue Lives Matter say that the movement is inherently racist, and exists solely to oppose and diminish the Black Lives Matter movement. They point out that Blue Lives Matter slogans and Thin Blue Line flags have appeared at white supremacist events. Some opponents say the fact that the movement has been adopted by groups that are by their nature racist confirms that the entire cause is racist. Supporters counter that they cannot control who supports the cause.
Opponents of Blue Lives Matter and some researchers who study social and political issues have raised concerns about the potential impact of the movement. They claim that it creates additional division in the often-heated relationship between police and people of color. They have also raised concerns about the idea of creating laws that protect an organization that is already part of a government authority.
Conservative political activists and politicians have garnered the Blue Lives Matter motto and flag as a sign of solidarity and support not only to police officers and their families, but also to those who oppose the Black Lives Matter movement. In his 2020 re-election campaign, Donald Trump denounced those against Blue Lives Matter as people who opposed law and order and civility. The flag was flown at many of Trump's rallies as both a symbolic backdrop and a prop by audience members. On January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the Capitol building, the Blue Lives Matter flag was among the many flags and symbols carried by rioters, along with the confederate and Nazi flags. Critics of the movement were quick to point out the hypocrisy of carrying the Blue Lives Matter flag since the rioters also attacked Capitol police. Proponents of the flag and the movement claimed it was taken out of context by rioters.
In 2023, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore banned the Blue Lives Matter flag from public view, including the lobbies of department offices, police vehicles, and on police uniforms. Moore stated that the flag's original meaning and purpose had been overshadowed by far-right extremist groups who had flown the flag as a symbol of racist and bigoted views. Critics of Moore's decision claimed he was caving to pressure from those with progressive, liberal ideologies.
Bibliography
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Chammah, Maurice and Cary Aspinwall. “The Short, Fraught History of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ American Flag.” The Marshall Project, 8 June 2020, www.themarshallproject.org/2020/06/08/the-short-fraught-history-of-the-thin-blue-line-american-flag. Accessed 13 Oct. 2021.
Douglas, William and Eleanor Mueller. “’Blue Lives Matter’: Push to Raise Penalties for Violence Against Cops.” McClatchy DC Bureau,27 May 2016, www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article80058187.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2021.
Frias, Lauren. The ‘Thin Blue Line’: How a Simple Phrase Became a Controversial Symbol of the Police.” Insider,24 Feb. 2021, www.insider.com/how-thin-blue-line-became-controversial-symbol-to-represent-police-2021-2. Accessed 13 Oct. 2021.
Jany, Libor. “LAPD Ban of 'Thin Blue Line' Flags Is Latest Salvo in Culture War.” Los Angeles Times, 21 January 2023, www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-21/lapd-ban-of-thin-blue-line-flags-latest-salvo-in-culture-war. Accessed 28 May 2024.
Kweku, Ezekiel. “Blue Lives Matter and How the Thin Blue Line Came to Jan. 6.” The New York Times, 4 January 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/thin-blue-line-capitol.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap. Accessed 28 May 2024.
Mason, Gail. “Blue Lives Matter and Hate Crime Law.” Race and Justice, 16 June 2020, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2153368720933665?journalCode=raja&. Accessed 13 Oct. 2021.
O’Leary, Fionnula. “BLM Backlash: What Is Blue Lives Matter and Why Do Some People Consider it Racist?” U.S. Sun,19 Aug. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/20/new-york-city-police-officers-shot/20698679/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2021.