The May 17 Enquirer article, “Ohio Senate approves protections for displaying ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag,” alerts us that homeowners’ associations, civic associations, mobile home parks, and landlords face unwanted interference from state lawmakers regarding a recently passed bill. Senate Bill 202 not only meddles with private business, but it also smacks of government favoritism for conservative messages over liberal ones.
Let’s use homeowners’ associations as the example for this exercise. HOAs set and enforce mutually agreed-on rules for managed communities, and they routinely ban flags and banners that make political statements. The bans reflect the willingness among a majority of residents to accept restricted personal expression in exchange for a more serene neighborhood environment.
But SB 202 mandates an “adjustment” which starts us on a slippery slope toward assuring that HOAs can ban only liberal flags. The bill specifically prevents HOAs from banning the “Thin Blue Line” flag, the grayed-out Stars and Stripes that has a blue line inserted as one of the long horizontal stripes. The flag is often cast in the guise of a simple tribute to police, but in practice, its display has become every bit as much a partisan political statement as “Black Lives Matter.”
The ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag is no longer neutral
If you don’t believe me, would you believe the results of a Google/AI query?
I asked the presumably nonpartisan computer brain this: “Does the Thin Blue Line flag make a political statement?” The bot’s answer began with one unequivocal word: “Yes.”
Then it added: “The Thin Blue Line flag is widely considered a political statement. While many view it as a neutral symbol of respect for law enforcement and fallen officers, it has also become a highly polarized (italics are mine) emblem representing broader political ideologies, counter-movements, and social conflicts.”
Need more? Google/AI continues: “During and after the 2020 social justice protests (regarding the death of George Floyd), the flag became heavily intertwined with the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ movement, which emerged in opposition to Black Lives Matter. In this context, many people view the flag as a political statement that indicates opposition to police reform … Because the flag has been carried at far-right rallies and the January 6 Capitol riot, critics and civil rights groups have raised concerns that the symbol is sometimes co-opted by white supremacists and anti-democratic factions (italics again are mine).”
Case closed. Whether one supports it or decries it, there is no doubt that the flag is primarily political in its current use in our country. HOAs are thus entirely consistent with their policies in banning it, just as they ban Black Lives Matter as well.
Government shouldn’t decide which flags matter
And watch, this won’t be the end of it if the Ohio House passes an identical bill and makes this law. (And I suppose that’s a foregone conclusion.) Next thing you know, we’ll hear that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag must be protected from HOA discretion, while messages like “Stop Separating Immigrant Families” can still be banned.
If you need help visualizing “Appeal to Heaven,” it features a large pine tree and has historical roots in colonists’ resistance during the American Revolution. But that was 250 years ago, and Google notes that the flag has “recently been adopted by Christian nationalist movements and supporters of the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”
So again, you can agree or disagree with the flag’s message, but you cannot deny that it is political.
The list could go on. The Confederate battle flag could gain protection − but pride flags won’t. Right-to-work flags will be OK, but pro-labor union banners will remain banned.
It all could eventually happen. In the political world we’re now occupying, how could one dismiss the possibility?
I’m outraged by the nine Senate Democrats who joined 24 Republicans in supporting SB 202. The only explanation I can imagine is that they’re spineless and scared of being branded as anti-police. Or maybe they’re just ignorant. But they should all be ashamed, including my senator, Catherine Ingram.
There are plenty of options for folks to express sincere support for police without forcing HOA neighbors to abide by the extremely divisive “Thin Blue Line,” which signals opposition to all efforts at police reform. If most Thin Blue Line displayers had their way, the Minneapolis policeman now doing 20 years in prison for murdering George Floyd would instead be free to murder someone else with continued impunity.
Jack Brennan is a former sportswriter for the Enquirer and the Cincinnati Post who later spent 24 years as public relations director of the Bengals. The Clifton resident is a member of the Enquirer’s Board of Contributors.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio’s ‘Thin Blue Line’ bill picks political sides | Opinion
Reporting by Jack Brennan, Opinion contributor / Cincinnati Enquirer
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