Censorship is Alive and Well in Montgomery County

By Hessie Harris

The reasons offered by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich for banning the public display of the thin blue line flag are baseless. He stated that he was responding to the fact that the flag had been adopted by Blue Lives Matter, which was established in response to Black Lives Matter. Given that Black Lives Matter did not invent the English language, there is no patent at issue here.

They did not and could not have copyrighted the word “lives” and “matter” because they are in the public domain. Thus, Black Lives Matter does not own the words or have a proprietary interest in them.  Furthermore, there is no way a rational person is going to confuse those two entities because of a similar name.

The real unstated objection here is that the group called Blue Lives Matter chooses to organize, respond and react to the false broad-brush allegation that all police officers are brutal thugs who victimize minorities.  They took that path as opposed to the abject subjugation demanded by Mr. Elrich and others for the sake of the false political correctness narrative.

Mr. Erlich claims that some people are offended by Blue Lives Matter and the thin blue line flag.  The flag symbolizes the firm wall of separation between civilization and chaos. The absence of such bulwark is illustrated in European countries where civilization is on the brink of destruction because of the disemboweled, emasculated, and prostrate police forces.

Black Lives Matter has called for the ambush and assassination of police officers.  Yet Mr. Elrich has raised no objection to that mindset or objected to Black Lives Matter flags, posters and banners that are displayed in various locations around the county.

Even if such items are displayed on private property, if as he claims, he is trying to tamp down racial tension, why has he not encouraged the removal of those objects?  

Under Mr. Elrich’s construct, only those opinions agreed upon by all or acquiesced to, in silent submission by the decidedly disfavored opposing group can be publicly displayed or affirmed.

In adopting that position as he that he has done in this matter, Mr. Elrich has engaged in an act of censorship and displayed a cultural bias that is despicable for a public official, especially one of his stature. It is the hope of many county residents that the backlash to his mistaken position in this situation will serve as a reminder to him that he was elected to represent the interests and protect the rights of all of the citizens of Montgomery County.