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"Everyone here knows exactly what those blue ribbons really mean...'stay away.' How fast would a minority supporter be shutdown in this neighborhood if they tried to push their agenda publicly? I guarantee a ribbon of any other color would be torn down within an hour…put the blue ribbon on your front door, lawn, bumper etc. But keep them off public property, you don't speak for everyone. Stand on victory blvd with it wrapped around your head if you want, but don't throw up that sign on every light pole like you're a spokesperson for the neighborhood."
This is just one of the many comments that have been posted to the Staten Island Live (“SILive”) blog in response to articles that celebrate the festooning of blue ribbons in many Staten Island neighborhoods. The ribbons are intended to send law enforcement a morale-boosting message: you are appreciated, respected, and loved.
Blue lives matter.
Although adorning poles and trees with blue ribbons has gained traction nationally, on Staten Island—the NYC borough where Eric Garner lived and died—these ribbons are especially controversial. Detractors claim that blue ribbons are a symbol that excludes others:
“Where are the red ribbons for firefighters, and the green ribbons for sanitation workers?And where are the black ribbons for the unarmed African-Americans who die at the hands of the police?”
Others have argued that
“Blue Ribbons support our police, which include black, white, asian, brown, catholic, hebrew, muslim, gay , straight , transgender and whatever else society has to offer.This movement does not exclude a race, like BLM, nor a religion like those favoring radical Islam.”
Both points are valid, yet somehow, most who posted felt inclined to take sides, and to do so in increasingly provocative ways:
“We going tie black Ribbons next to blue Ribbons. All Ribbons matter”
Response: “As long as it's on your property, then you have every right to do so—thanks to the freedom we have as protected by the police.”
Note that the blue ribbons are not confined to the property of NYPD supporters. Rather, they are affixed to city-owned telephone poles, street-light poles, street signs, and trees. Detractors point out that permits are required to attach anything to these city properties, then ask what cop is going to enforce that law with respect to blue ribbons? (Just another example of the police looking the other way when it suits their purposes to do so.)
“Oh, and if it so happens that seeing all these blue ribbons annoys the cop-haters, well that's just a bonus!”
Response: “It just reminds me I live in a regressive Selma like Island full of people who enforce systematic racism. I actually laugh at the badge of ignorance it proclaims.”
Not surprisingly, inflammatory, quasi-anonymous posts (in cyberspace, where participants are released from social constraints yet susceptible to emotional contagion) soon bred inflammatory actions. Some individuals began putting black ribbons above the blue ones, while others actively began tearing ribbons from trees and poles. Incensed by this response, Blue supporters began filming and looking to shame those who dared “vandalize” their symbols, uploading videos to YouTube as well as the blog site of the Staten Island Advance.
The escalation of this controversy—on Staten Island, as well as in other communities across the country—reflects the racial tensions simmering in this country, tensions that too readily devolve into an 'either-or,' BLACK or WHITE logic. No (neutral, color-less) Gray. Symbols mean THIS or THAT, not different things to different people.
Much of this intransigence is at the heart of bullying—in no small part because it becomes unclear where one sentiment ends and it’s opposite begins. Without a doubt, it can be argued that Blue Ribbons are merely a show of support to those who risk their lives defending ours. But at what point does that show of support offend those who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement? The Blue movement can just as legitimately be viewed as hijacking the “Black Lives Matter” slogan, undermining its power; perverting its sentiment. Supporters are not saying “Blue Lives Matter TOO,” but are instead co-opting the very rallying cry used in the face of police brutality (and flaunting that fact on public utility poles).
The question of whether there is a way to say “go Blue” without implying "if you’re not for us, you’re against us" puts "gray" at the heart of this controversy. And, like many instances of bullying, it provokes the following dilemmas:
- Where, exactly, is the line between affirming support of law enforcement and belittling, if not rejecting, those who have other opinions? Values?
- When do social stances that ratifies one’s own values/positions become rejection and bullying of the other?
- Where is the space for points of view outside the narrowly defined terms of this debate? (“I don’t want their issues foisted on me whenever I walk out the front door” or “if I Say Anything about the tacky ribbons wrapped up and down my street I’m a cop-hater.” )
These questions (and the teaching points they offer) were at the heart of an earlier blog, “Blurred Lines.” There is little I would add to that post—save that the responses on the SILive blog would be a particularly incisive teaching tool as our children return to the classroom.
Finally, lest Staten Island be thought of as a borough of narrow-minded, reactive residents, there are some who quite eloquently championed gray:
“Sir, please excuse me for butting in. A symbol, any symbol, can have multiple meanings. The swastika has one meaning for Nazis and another, quite different meaning for Hindus and Jains. And so it will be for blue ribbons. The primary meaning is to honor those police who have fallen in the line of duty. This is, imho, an admirable use. I applaud it. We should be careful, however, to see that it is kept free from other meanings. Those can serve only to dilute its purpose—to hijack its initial intent. Here's my issue with this 'movement.' I think that everyone should be able to put up ANY symbol on their property. Political, religious, you name it. And I think that everyone should feel free to encourage others to put up the same symbols on their property, too.
And while I might disagree with these symbols, I support everyone being able to express themselves in this way.
What I DO object to is the placement of these symbols on public property, and on the poles owned by the utility companies. There are laws prohibiting such action, and I would suggest that they should be enforced equally, without regard to the symbols involved. So, tie a yellow, or blue, or rainbow ribbon around YOUR old oak tree, but not around the tree, or post, or pole that isn't yours.”
