Let's face it. No good doctor performs a surgery in hopes that it will go wrong. No good teacher finds joy in seeing their students fail. Likewise, no good police officer sips his cup of coffee in the morning, eager to fire his weapon at someone.
With that being said, there are obvious flaws in the system. Those who are a part of law enforcement are aware that the system is broken. Instead of fixing these broken aspects, we get a steady stream of "activists" on the media selling viewers on the idea that police are genuinely bad people.
The honest truth? This "activism" does nothing but create generalized police bashing that affects police and law enforcement officers alike. This "activism" drives people further and further from supporting the people who put their life on the line every day to protect strangers. If you want reform, you will not achieve it by pushing people further and further from the fact that police officers are mostly good people.
There are evident cases of devastating officer-related circumstances, and I am in no way saying that this is not a problem. I may be young, but I watch the news attentively and I pay attention to the amount of police brutality stories that the media portrays. For one thing, police officers are simply the face of the system. Like the president is the face of the country, more goes on behind closed doors than anyone is aware of. More often than not, when a weapon is wrongly fired, the system is mostly to blame. Stricter policies, adjusting education, and social factors all come into play, all of which are beyond the control of the individual officer. These flaws in the system need to be worked on, but it is hard to work on something that is broken while turning it into an even bigger issue.
I understand why people choose to not give police their support. I understand that the media portrays police as white, trigger-happy individuals who are power-hungry and harmful. All that ever gets people talking is when things go wrong, when a life gets claimed, or when guns are fired. It's important that we stop losing sight of the challenges police officers face on the line of duty every day that the media doesn't cover.
Just as we glorify the bad, we over emphasize the good. We see the Facebook posts with pictures of police officers buying toys for children, groceries for struggling families, with the caption saying: "We need more cops like this."
Plot twist--they're all around you.
That officer on highway patrol could be missing his child's third birthday party just to make sure no one is driving at ridiculous speeds putting the safety of others in jeopardy. When a suspicious person is roaming your property on Christmas day and that officer comes to investigate, he's probably been working for twelve hours already and hasn't seen his family once. That time you were walking home alone on campus at night and that cop offered you a ride, that is the definition of a good cop. How about that cop who pulled you over when he saw you texting and driving, who potentially saved you from getting in an accident that could have killed you or someone else? Is that not a good cop?
Remind me again what more they could possibly give to the community when they already leave their house every day knowing there's a chance they won't make it back.
I, along with many other Americans, would like to see changes in the system. This no longer should be a battle between #BlackLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter. Whether you are black, white, blue, or purple, your heartbeat matters just as much as the next persons. It's time we take this concept and apply it to our own daily lives. This is how we will see the change we want to see.
To any and all police officers reading this, thank you. Thank you for the hours you give up, the effort you put in, the risks you take, and the sacrifices you make. I proudly stand by you and appreciate your willingness to serve for the greater good. You will always be heroes to me.
