Our media outlets perpetuate coverage on negative civilian-police interaction, and this is broadcast across America, so how can you not believe the stereotypes? Don't cops kill? Don't all cops hate minorities? Don't all cops think they are above the law?
Let's take a step back and recognize that cops are people too.
As the daughter of a cop, and the niece of a cop, I am in a privileged position to have a hands-on perspective of what it is like working for the NYPD. I know that cops are people too. They have families, they have wives or husbands, children, homes, they stay up late, they pay bills, they get parking tickets, they make mistakes.
Cops are human beings, but at this moment in America history they are being branded as public enemy number one, and this isn't okay with me.
As a daughter of a cop, and as a minority I don't stand behind any mantra that is anti-cop. I don't agree that we should judge an entire demographic of people based on the actions of a few.
I've been in my father's office more time than I can count and I can vouch for the fact that it's filled with a group of guys no different than your friends. These guys watch "Game of Thrones" and Sunday Night football just like everyone else. They aren't up late scheming, trying to figure out ways to throw people in jail or be cruel.
Cops are the ones you call when someone has broken into your home at 2 AM. Cops are the ones keep your neighborhoods save, who make sure you have a good environment to live in for your families. Cops are the ones who are on patrol at four o'clock in the morning so you can sleep soundly in your bed. Cops are the ones who have guns pointed at their face, deal with dangerous and abrasive people on daily bases, and put their lives at risk for the greater good. Cops are people too, and they aren't perfect but they are not the monsters that the media makes them out to be. Cops are fathers and mothers, and husbands and wives; they belong to families just like everyone else.
Treating a group differently, based on media imagery is a form of bias. Hating cops because of their occupation is wrong. Hating anyone because of stereotypes, and the way they are depicted by others is a narrow-minded way of viewing other people. Every occupation has a bad bunch. Every category of people has small amounts that can make the whole look ugly. Should they be judged as a whole or as an individual? Judge a cop by who they are, not the uniform. After all, cops are people too.
