Does VicPol have a problem with the far-right? I asked them about photos of an officer handing a Thin Blue Line patch to a CHILD they said he was handing him a badge to brighten his day, despite the fact the patches are banned by their uniform code. https://junkee.com/police-right-wing-imagery/278969

These are the images here. The stated message of Thin Blue Line is of solidarity with police officers, but its surge in popularity comes from its opposition to #BlackLivesMatter , where it positions police as standing opposite to chaos, being Bla(c)k people calling for justice.

To me this is not an appropriate ideology to display on a child. But VicPol doesn't seem to mind! Here's a photo @RAHUnion took at the #djabwurrungtrees of police officers displaying the patch and another far-right-associated symbol at a politically sensitive event:

The @ADL says to examine the context of the symbol, so let's do that.
The cops were working at an event where #djabwurrung people were calling for reprieve from genocide. The Valknut appeared alongside a valhalla tattoo, which also shows he knows its meaning imo. Not a good look

To their credit the police say the patches are banned and the tattoo should be covered up. But they don't seem to care too much about the symbols showing up at movements for racial justice and on literal children who would accept their "Blak protestors bad" idea uncritically.

So to sum up: Yikes.

Also to clarify, because I gave VicPol too much credit: They said offensive tattoos should be covered up, not the Valknut specifically. And also with the patch and the child, the cop could have just given him his actual badge. Seems deliberate imo!