The U.S. flag is drained of color with the exception of a thin blue line. It was burned along with the Third Precinct when George Floyd was murdered in 2020. It is marched through the streets by white supremacists. But it is also worn on baseball caps by firefighters and first responders, stuck to vehicle windows to show support for those who put themselves in harm’s way. Can a symbol be used by people to send both racist messages and loving support? Is it possible to establish a balance of any kind or even stay neutral in this situation?

The thin blue line flag was originally created in 2014 to honor the homicides of two NYPD officers on duty in Brooklyn. But later in 2017, it was brandished by white supremacists at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Following the blue line flag, other thin line flags have also been inspired and raised: green for military, orange for emergency medical service, red for nurses, gold for dispatchers. These designs, or thin line flags with multiple colors increased popularity and acted as a symbol of support to show solidarity with Frontline workers. Both at the height of the pandemic, and today.

While the flag originally represented as a symbol to champion and honor the public servants, is it possible for people to support the police without promoting the hate behind the racist concept? The answer is no, it is almost impossible to balance both. Although the flag initially stood for the division between chaos and order, it has now become a representation of the division between denial of racism and the establishment of equality for all. The thin blue line flag has become a division among people.

To understand why, people can begin by examining the swastika. Initially, the swastika was a symbol of well-being in religions including Hinduism and Buddhism and a symbol of “good fortune; however, Adolph Hitler turned it into something frightening in 1920. Once the symbol had been used to exclude and systemically annihilate Jews, it can no longer stand for anything else.

Appropriation, in every form, attempts to diminish the power or show disrespect for the original. This was true of the swastika and it is true for the thin blue line flag. But what does that mean for police and firefighters, nurses and dispatchers, who look to the thin line flags and see themselves as part of a larger whole of helpers? And what about those who fly the flag as a counterargument to Black Lives Matter? What does it mean for anyone who may choose to fly, post, or wear a thin line flag?

As of right now, the First Amendment doesn’t classify the thin blue line or any other thin line flag that might be used for hate speech as an exception to free speech. While speech is free, not all come without consequence. People who utilize or represent the flag in any form may encounter people who don’t support their choice, regardless of their intent. But, in this case, much like swastikas, a negative message of judgment, hate, and superiority is embedded in the symbol’s impact.

Although the thin blue line flag isn’t banned entirely, the thin blue line flag may still be better left unflown as people think about how their flag can impact their community and lives.