Popularized by the eye-catching black and white American flag with a thin blue line running across it, thin line flags are a beautiful way to support the everyday heroes in your community. The colored stripe symbolizes the thin line between the public and the danger they hold at bay. Show
Although the "thin line" phrase was originally coined in the 1880s signifying the red color of the British Army uniforms. The first use of the thin blue line was used in 1911 in a poem by Nels Dickmann Anderson referring to the United States Army. In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Parker coined the term “thin blue line” as the barrier between law and order, and social and civil anarchy. By the early 1970s, the term had spread to police departments across the U.S. Use of the term became especially widespread following the release of Errol Morris’s 1988 documentary, “The Thin Blue Line.” In addition to the police, eight other public service branches have adopted thin line colors of their own, including the thin red line flag of the fire department. Flying a thin line flag shows support for the associated service branch, noted below: ColorService Branch It HonorsThin Blue LineLaw EnforcementThin Red LineFirefighters, Fire ServiceThin Green LineMilitary, Federal agents, Park Rangers, |