A sea of blue ribbons for the officers in blue

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When you’re the spouse of a police officer, you have to deal with the daily reality that someone, somewhere, may turn violent when confronted by your loved one. And if that’s not enough danger and disrespect, you now also have to read and hear the hate-spewed messages that appear to be aimed at every police officer due to the Ferguson and Eric Garner cases. How does a police officer’s spouse cope?

Only days ago, on December 15, the wife of a retired police officer in Baltimore County started a social media awareness effort called the “Sea of Blue Ribbon campaign.” The campaign asked people to tie a blue ribbon around their trees, mailboxes, porch rails — whatever — to show support for the officers in blue on Saturday, Dec. 20 — which was only five days after her first post on Facebook.

Three days into the campaign, her Facebook page was shared over 500,000 times by people across the country, including Lori Lang, the wife of Malverne Police Officer Robert Lang.

“They’re portraying all police to be bad guys because of what a few did,” said Lang of the media’s recent reporting. “But you cannot judge an entire police force by the actions of a few, and you can apply that rationale to any job.”

More so than anything, Lang just wants people to realize the sacrifices made by the police to keep us safe, and asks that people show their respect and appreciation of the police force by displaying a blue ribbon somewhere on their property on Dec. 20.

And to make the process easier for everybody, Lang will be leaving a big spool of blue ribbon outside her home for anyone who wants to come by and cut off a piece to display on their property — the same technique used by Jean Teal, the woman who started the Sea of Blue Ribbon campaign.

“There is a growing frustration among police wives about the mounting hate,” said Teal, “ “and I was chatting with several other police wives and one said, ‘we should have a sea of blue ribbons’ and I just ran with that.” Teal says that when the police drive around the neighborhood and see the blue ribbons, they’ll know that people support them. “It works,” said Teal. “It’s quiet, respectful and not confrontational. It’s just supporting.”

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