The shooting of Alton Sterling was a terrible thing, and movements like Black Lives Matter are an important step to helping people realize that black lives do in fact matter. But words fail to describe how wrong the shooting in Dallas was. The officers were there as a precaution to make sure the protest went safley. They were supporting the movement, showing the world that not all police officers are gun-happy racists. And someone took this as an opportunity to murder these public servants. It's things like this that set us backwards. Not only are good people being killed, but it puts movements for race equality in a bad light. Now when people think of Black Lives Matter, they won't think of a peaceful protest but of murder and bloodshed. The hatred needs to stop.

Anything relating to police has been a touchy subject recently. With all negative coverage of racism, shootings, and disrespect surrounding the force, it's understandable that people are beginning to hate police officers. But it's important to remember that they are humans too. I am not in any way trying to justify the actions of the terrible people who we hear about on the news. I've always been the kind of person to see the good in everyone, so I like to think that maybe there was a good reason, a good intention, behind these things. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe they thought they were doing what was best, maybe there's more to the story than the media is giving us. But I have to face the reality that some people do bad things simply because they are bad people. Being a police officer is a position of power, and like any other such position, it attracts a lot of bad people. But that doesn't mean they are all bad. The media likes to show us the negative things, and we eat it up. And because of their job descriptions, usually every interaction with a police officer is negative. But don't confuse your frustration with getting a ticket for hate, and don't confuse a few horrible people as the representation of the group.

My dad is a police officer, so maybe that makes me biased. I like to think it gives me perspective. I get to see the men in blue from a position the media would never take. When I would come for a ride-along, my dad's work buddies would ask if I wanted to be a police officer too. When I would say no, they would pat me on the back in relief and say something along the lines of "good, I would be concerned if you did". Every story I hear makes it clearer why they would say this. Once they had protestors at their gates for multiple days in a row. They were mad about something that happened in a completetly different state, but they needed someone to take their anger out on. They were so angry the people at the station were worried about their safety. And it turns out they had a lot to be worried about. I guess these days you never know when a protest will turn into a shooting.

I remember growing up I would stay up late so I could give my daddy a good night kiss. He would call my mom sometimes, and I would listen through the door to hear if he was coming home late. She would always end the call by telling tell him to come home safely. Those words never really meant much to me until I started learning about just how much people hated the police. I started to acknowledge how dangerous my father's job was. He not only has to make split second decisions that could mean life or death, but he also has to keep in mind the backlash that might come with his decisions. It suddenly made sense why he drives an hour to work every day so that his family isn't near his job. Especially now, he not only has to deal with angry criminals but upset citizens as well.

So I can't help but be a little frustrated when people scream "fuck the police" after something bad happens. It never made sense to me how they could blame all these hard-working people for the actions of a few bad apples. Most people see the grumpy cop who pulled them over for speeding or the brutal monsters who make the news. But I see my dad being bothered for days after the charges on a domestic abuse charge he was investigating were dropped. I see his best buddy with an intimidating stare who always shares half his muffin with the birds who drop by. I see the jokes and the friendships and the fear. I see humans. I just wish the majority of the population could as well.

Police shootings are terrible, and the monsters responsible need to be held accountable for their actions. But they don't represent every police officer. There are bad doctors, politicians, and of course bad cops. It is impossible to prevent every bad person from entering important fields, but that doesn't mean the field itself is corrupt. Instead of distrusting the police force, let's make sure criminals of all sorts, including those on the force, are punished. Complaining about how much you hate police is not going to change anything, it will only spread more hate. Hate that will lead to incidents like the shooting in Dallas. Now, there are some little girls out there who will wait up all night and never get that good night kiss. All because some people forgot that police too are humans.