by WorldTribune Staff, July 28, 2019
A minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles has been wearing a Blue Lives Matter flag patch on its uniforms since 2016 to honor two local sheriff’s deputies killed in the line of duty.
Fans back the decision by the Aberdeen IronBirds to display the flag patch and the team’s general manager said it is not a “political” statement.
“We are not a political organization by any means,” Matt Slatus told the Baltimore Sun. “We’re here to provide affordable family fun and entertainment to the Upper Chesapeake region. We’re here to develop baseball players and make sure that, most importantly, people come out to the ballpark and have a great time.
“This is not a political discussion, it’s not a political point. We continue to honor and recognize the memory of the two deputies who tragically – while trying to protect the region – lost their lives in Harford County.”
The team included the patch on their home uniforms shortly after sheriff’s deputies Patrick Dailey and Mark Logsdon were shot and killed in a local restaurant by David Brian Evans, who is white.
But leftists object to the Blue Lives Matter flag. According to Law Enforcement Today, they have circulated petitions to ban the flag, burned the flags at protests, and stolen them from fallen officer memorials.
The flag which honors police is viewed by many on the Left as an insensitive “countermovement” to Black Lives Matter.
“Blue Lives Matter flags are used by law enforcement officers as a symbol of service, sacrifice and solidarity,” Law Enforcement Today’s Dawn Perlmutter wrote in a July 15 op-ed. “They are displayed in commemoration of officers killed in the line of duty and have become popular with the public to show their support for law enforcement and fallen officers. The Blue Lives Matter flag is a variation of the Thin Blue Line flag, a thin blue line in the center of a black field, which symbolizes the position of law enforcement in society as a barrier between order and chaos, between anarchy and a civilized society. The black background was designed as a reminder of fallen brothers and sisters.”
Earlier this month, protesters demonstrating outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Aurora, Colorado pulled down the American flag and replaced it with the Flag of Mexico. They also took down the Blue Lives Matter flag at the facility, spray painted it with the words “Abolish ICE” and raised the flag upside down on a pole next to the Mexican flag.
“This recent desecration of the Blue Lives Matter flag is part of an ongoing campaign to designate the flag as a symbol of racism,” Perlmutter wrote. “Opponents have made it clear that they want it banned from public buildings.”
Perlmutter noted that, when 22-year-old Officer Natalie Corona was killed in the line of duty on January 10 of this year, a photo posted to social media of her waving the Thin Blue Line flag sparked outrage.
UC Davis students suggested that the photo of the slain officer was racist and offensive and demanded that people stop circulating the image. They wrote on their Facebook page that, “The flag is blatantly anti-Black and disrespectful. We see it necessary to call-out all community members who continue to post and disseminate images of the Blue Lives Matter flag online. We would like to directly address that this flag represents an attempt by law enforcement to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Perlmutter noted that Black Lives Matter Sacramento (BLMS), on its Facebook page, questioned why Officer Corona was being regarded as a hero, highlighted shootings by police officers and called Blue Lives Matter “repackaged Nazi propaganda.”
BLMS, Perlmutter wrote, also posted what appeared to be a call to steal the flags, “We are taking all donations of Blue Lives Matter flags acquired on the street (not bought).”
Shortly after the posting, the Thin Blue Line flag that was hung inside a memorial near the site of the shooting death of Officer Corona was stolen… twice in two days… until Davis officers volunteered to stand guard by the memorial, Perlmutter noted.
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