4 ms·
It's a widely-used idiom with no severe connotations, outside of some social media politics bubbles. AFAICT, it's completely normal and tolerated language, *inc
by perihelions 2y ago
It's a widely-used idiom with no severe connotations, outside of some social media politics bubbles. AFAICT, it's completely normal and tolerated language, *including* within mainstream US-left politics—the other commenters are just wrong about this.
Example usage 1:
- "The ex-chief of staff to former President Barack Obama said Democrats are "the thin blue line" between Americans and the special interests Trump is courting."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rahm-emanuel-makes-dark-prediction-about-what-trump-will-do-to-the-oval-office_n_675036e3e4b0617b1e77604b https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rahm-emanuel-makes-dark-predi... (Dec 4, 2024)
Example usage 2:
- "Defenders of Democracy: The Thin Blue Line chronicles the causes and consequences of the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, Congress, and the electoral certification process featuring perspectives from police officers and family members of fallen officers. The film highlights the gravity of the events that will undoubtedly leave an enduring impact on political history."
https://www.pbs.org/show/defenders-of-democracy-the-thin-blue-line/ https://www.pbs.org/show/defenders-of-democracy-the-thin-blu... ("Defenders of Democracy: The Thin Blue Line" (2024))
- krapp 2y ago[flagged]
- perihelions 2y ago- "mainstream us-left politics" does not represent the left, it represents the mainstream" I'm not following you; the context is someone is trying to get someone *fired from their job* for using this language.
- krapp 2y agoYou're claiming that the American left has no issue with the term "thin blue line" or its context because that term is accepted by the mainstream. I provided links to demonstrate the contrary, illustrative of the fact that the American left does in fact have an issue with the term and its context, and that the mainstream of American politics and media does not represent the actual culture of American leftism. Also the Noveau kernel is as far as I understand a FOSS project. There are no "jobs" from which one can be "fired."
- anonfordays 2y agoSo some fragile far-left activists have a grievance of the day with language that is benign for the majority of the population. So what? No one should care and the adults can continue about their day.
- evujumenuk 2y agoI don't see it. A lapsed maintainer's description of how, in their own perspective, an adversarial rallying cry is less than compatible with a prominent position in a collaborative setting… may be many things, justified or not. But a credible threat it isn't. You know this, I know this, and every reader of this message knows this, too.
- janice1999 2y agoAcross the Atlantic, for people of a certain age at least, it evokes memories of Rowan Atkinson's classic comedy series "The Thin Blue Line" about inept British police officers.
- krapp 2y agoAcross the Atlantic, the police won't shoot you in the head for walking while black.
- aaplok 2y agoAt least the first quote is political and essentially casts the "other side" as an enemy rather than merely an opponent. This is not uncommon to use this strategy in political speech, and it is done rather well (and probably deliberately) here, but it is not an innocuous turn of phrase. The second quote at least refers to a time when police had to play a defensive role against, once again, an enemy. This whole paragraph gives a clear vision of police having a military role (eg "fallen officers"). I didn't know that expression before, but the examples I see, (and its origin as an analogy to the thin red line) give it a connotation that is not neutral. The thin blue line is a metaphorical line between the maintainers of a certain order and a common enemy. Using this expression in the context of kernel maintenance is at least somewhat clumsy.
- _zagj 2y agoThanks for illustrating how insane these people are.