Your photo of Merrimack County Sheriff David Croft (Monitor, 6/12) shows him in front a “thin blue line” flag. Possibly Sheriff Croft sees that flag purely as an emblem of solidarity and pride in law enforcement. However, as a public official, he should be aware that the “thin blue line” flag is widely seen as a symbol of white supremacy and opposition to the racial justice movement.
To cite just one example, it was appropriated by white supremacists and neo-Nazis who flew it, along with Confederate flags, during their “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. (That was the event where a man plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters, killing a woman.) I would urge Sheriff Croft, an elected official, to think again about using a flag that mirrors and amplifies divisions in our communities to decorate his headquarters.
Judith Kumin
Contoocook