The “thin blue line” symbol has been used by the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, which emerged in 2014
But you link to a Wikipedia article that says:
New York police commissioner Richard Enright used the phrase in 1922. In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Parker often used the term in speeches, and he also lent the phrase to the department-produced television show The Thin Blue Line. Parker used the term “thin blue line” to further reinforce the role of the LAPD. As Parker explained, the thin blue line, representing the LAPD, was the barrier between law and order and social and civil anarchy.
The Oxford English Dictionary records its use in 1962 by The Sunday Times referring to police presence at an anti-nuclear demonstration. The phrase is also documented in a 1965 pamphlet by the Massachusetts government, referring to its state police force, and in even earlier police reports of the NYPD. By the early 1970s, the term had spread to police departments across the United States. Author and police officer Joseph Wambaugh helped to further popularize the phrase with his police novels throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The term was used for the title of Errol Morris’s 1988 documentary film The Thin Blue Line about the murder of the Dallas Police officer Robert W. Wood.
I have no idea about this guy’s politics, but it’s a pretty well known phrase with a lot of different contexts.
we don’t live in the 80s though. we live in contemporary times where things have different now meanings to what they did 40 years ago. meanings that might be influenced by recent happenings. hope that helps!
This is just being disingenuous. They clearly mean the origin of the current usage, which is rooted in police “sheepdog” ideology and all that fascist bullshit. Not that the old usage was much better considering the state of police gangs in LA and the kind of laws they were enforcing in the 60s.
I usually see “thin blue line” (and the flag) used by reactionaries, racists, and white nationalists. Especially since BLM. Don’t know what sort of politics Ts’o has, other than he’s probably not an anarchist (ACAB!), but I guess (benefit of the doubt and all) he could be some ignorant lib with a head full of copaganda, so getting out the code of conduct for racist dogwhistles might be a bit premature.
It comes from The Thin Red Line, which is about some Scottish regiment standing up to a Russian cavalry charge. Even if you don’t know that, it seems quite obviously a military metaphor, and that indicates a militaristic view of what policing should be like, veneration of the police as heroes, and total ignorance about what the police actually are and do.
I’m not just talking about the US police. I’ve never been to the US, and I assure you the police is shit here too. Ts’o is American, and that “thin blue line” saying seems especially American or Anglo. I’ve never heard that over here. So I’m not sure how that’s even relevant to the discussion.
BLM and ACAB are very American centric movements/sentiments. Hence why I took your comments to be American focused.
Whilst I’ve heard the phrase “thin blue line” before, it’s never been something associated with racist overtones or subjugative ones in my experience. More that the police is a small community protecting the larger population.
As such, someone using it context of not allowing the proliferation something is reasonable, if possibly histrionic in this case.
A few months ago (Oct 18 2024) Linus and his sidekick signing the kernel, not only admitted they were going to comply with US Stat.Dep. doctrine and remove developers (on long term good standing) on the basis of nationality and national origin of the employers, they exploded into a rant, clearly admitting to being nationalist and in distrorting history to fit their rhetoric.
In greenwashing nationalism (you can say racism underlying this national hate speech) into the base of most open and free code, nationalism now is not free as in beer it is free as in “freedom”? This is as large of a difference as socialism and ethno-socialism.
The linux community … the end user … DOESN’T give a damn, only wants the latest and badest of development in his gaming machine.
Once you make a slip and slide exception you can’t prevent any more in the future. First will be “justified nationalism”, then “not so justified racism”, then “sexism”, then will be the gas chambers for anyone who forks anything away from Führera (Fedora + Führer).
If using any kernel later than 10 18 2024 I see it as the nationalist/racist fork.
I expect the original to continue by developers who don’t use race/ethnicity/gender as a basis for accepting/rejecting contributors.
I read the “thin blue line” email and it seems… reasonable and sensible? And seeing how he is so appaled by it makes me question his judgement a bit.
knowing where “thin blue line” comes from, you don’t see anything wrong with a maintainer randomly dropping it on the mailing list?
Alright, fair. I was more refering to the content of the message, not the (botched) metaphore of maintainers as a force of order.
ah, fair enough. i guess that’s kind of the thing with potential dogwhistles. if you know, you know.
You imply it comes from:
But you link to a Wikipedia article that says:
I have no idea about this guy’s politics, but it’s a pretty well known phrase with a lot of different contexts.
we don’t live in the 80s though. we live in contemporary times where things have different now meanings to what they did 40 years ago. meanings that might be influenced by recent happenings. hope that helps!
You’re the one who brought up the origin of the term, why would you do that if you’re wanting to refer to the contemporary meaning?
This is just being disingenuous. They clearly mean the origin of the current usage, which is rooted in police “sheepdog” ideology and all that fascist bullshit. Not that the old usage was much better considering the state of police gangs in LA and the kind of laws they were enforcing in the 60s.
I usually see “thin blue line” (and the flag) used by reactionaries, racists, and white nationalists. Especially since BLM. Don’t know what sort of politics Ts’o has, other than he’s probably not an anarchist (ACAB!), but I guess (benefit of the doubt and all) he could be some ignorant lib with a head full of copaganda, so getting out the code of conduct for racist dogwhistles might be a bit premature.
It comes from The Thin Red Line, which is about some Scottish regiment standing up to a Russian cavalry charge. Even if you don’t know that, it seems quite obviously a military metaphor, and that indicates a militaristic view of what policing should be like, veneration of the police as heroes, and total ignorance about what the police actually are and do.
You’re talking about the US police. A lot of the world have police forces that serve the people.
I’m not just talking about the US police. I’ve never been to the US, and I assure you the police is shit here too. Ts’o is American, and that “thin blue line” saying seems especially American or Anglo. I’ve never heard that over here. So I’m not sure how that’s even relevant to the discussion.
BLM and ACAB are very American centric movements/sentiments. Hence why I took your comments to be American focused.
Whilst I’ve heard the phrase “thin blue line” before, it’s never been something associated with racist overtones or subjugative ones in my experience. More that the police is a small community protecting the larger population.
As such, someone using it context of not allowing the proliferation something is reasonable, if possibly histrionic in this case.
Going to need you to cite your sources on that one. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/football/the-major-flaw-with-racial-charge-against-sam-kerr-that-shouldve-seen-the-case-abandoned/news-story/62e5fad93d835c9f432923375e5e833d
A few months ago (Oct 18 2024) Linus and his sidekick signing the kernel, not only admitted they were going to comply with US Stat.Dep. doctrine and remove developers (on long term good standing) on the basis of nationality and national origin of the employers, they exploded into a rant, clearly admitting to being nationalist and in distrorting history to fit their rhetoric. In greenwashing nationalism (you can say racism underlying this national hate speech) into the base of most open and free code, nationalism now is not free as in beer it is free as in “freedom”? This is as large of a difference as socialism and ethno-socialism.
The linux community … the end user … DOESN’T give a damn, only wants the latest and badest of development in his gaming machine.
Once you make a slip and slide exception you can’t prevent any more in the future. First will be “justified nationalism”, then “not so justified racism”, then “sexism”, then will be the gas chambers for anyone who forks anything away from Führera (Fedora + Führer).
If using any kernel later than 10 18 2024 I see it as the nationalist/racist fork. I expect the original to continue by developers who don’t use race/ethnicity/gender as a basis for accepting/rejecting contributors.