Concerning police tattoo at No Kings rally

To the Editor;

I live in Penobscot County and attended the No Kings rally on June 14 at the Bangor waterfront. It was an inspiring event — peaceful, principled, defiantly hopeful. The crowd affirmed dignity, equality, and community. It left me proud of Bangor.

Two moments from that day deserve reflection. First, a truck flew a large Proud Boys flag, an unsubtle attempt at apparent intimidation. That such a group feels emboldened in Maine is not new, but we must stop treating it as normal.

The second moment was more disturbing. Outwardly, the officers assigned to direct pedestrian traffic behaved professionally. Yet symbols speak as loudly as actions. One officer wore a prominent valknut tattoo on his forearm: three interlocked triangles, clearly visible.

This valknut is an ancient Norse symbol. It has historical associations with death and the afterlife and is still used by some non-racist pagans. However, as the Anti-Defamation League notes, it has been adopted by some white supremacists, who use it to signal allegiance to violent ideologies and a willingness to die for them.

Context matters. And in this context, I think a police officer visibly displaying a potentially racist symbol while overseeing a civil rights march demands scrutiny. I do not know this officer’s intentions. But I do know that public trust in law enforcement is damaged when hate symbols, even repurposed ones, appear on uniformed bodies.

If this is a misunderstanding, let it be clarified. If it is not, it must be addressed. Silence is not neutrality; it is complicity.

David Mertz

Dexter