(Without other people feeling like they don’t)
I don’t often talk about what I do. It has been mentioned, it’s on here various places, but it’s not really a theme. Today, though, today I have to explain something and I don’t want to. I don’t want to open myself up to anger, hatred and fear, but doing this is the only way I know to share and I hope that my friends and family will understand.
I work in a Police Department.
I’m not a cop, my badge is cloth, and I carry zero weapons besides my biting wit and steel toed boots. The boots are only useful for cockroaches and helping me test gravity, but I like knowing their there when I have to walk through the narcotics vault. Every day people call me in various states of distress and upset. Every day, I do my job without any knowledge of what they look like, who they are or what crimes they may or may not have committed.
The last part is a choice. The information is available to me, but I choose not to know. I make this choice to remain impartial while talking to and releasing property to every customer who contacts us. Once upon a time, I didn’t. When people were mean or cursing at me, I wanted to know what they were arrested for. I made judgements about people based on the crimes they committed, I used to guess what the person was arrested for based on the attitude they presented on the phone. One person was fairly pleasant and normal sounding and after learning the nature of crime, I was unable to help them. Which lead me to realize something very important about what it means to work in Law Enforcement Adjacent.
No situation is looked at in isolation.
Joe Friday took a “just the facts, ma’am” approach to law enforcement, and I always believed that cops went into every situation that way. They approached a call with a blank slate and an open mind to absorb all the facts of the situation and make the best, legal and most reasonable decision. That they wouldn’t hold past experiences, encounters or crimes against the person they were contacting. Essentially, I forgot they were people and not robots who could turn off thoughts and emotions at will.
We are not robots.
What we see, read and learn everyday stays with us. We see the worst in humanity and then turn around and try and make it a little brighter. I truly love and appreciate my friends of every nationality and I feel fortunate to be a part of their life. I have learned about other religions, other cultures and what it means to live in a diverse world through their friendship and sharing.
Yet here we are, in 2020 where it’s suddenly not OK to be anything.
I support the idea that positive change is needed to improve the live of people of color. I believe that there are instances of systemic racism and areas of the country where color matters more character. My friends of both African American, Latino American and Middle Eastern Descent have felt target and discriminated against for years and I stood by their claims that things needed to be changed. There needs to be greater penalties for people targeting based on gender and race. We need to change the narrative from being who the victim was to being a country that holds accountable those who commit crimes.
Crimes against women, Hate Crimes- they all make it sound like the victim is responsible. Sure, a blanket heading of “Crimes Committed by Privileged White Guys” is a bit to broad to be helpful, but it makes the victim accountable for telling their own story, for proving their own worth. It’s not right.
I also believe that there are very good cops in the world. Cops who want to make a difference and spread love. Cops like Molly Groce (K9 Lando’s mom, Indianapolis PD Officer, follow her on IG). Who goes into her community and helps stop bad guys, then turns around and helps a foster mom buy bikes for the five kids she’s caring for. Officer’s who would give you the last water bottle they have in a heat wave to make sure you didn’t die.
These Officers are the ones who ran into the Twin Towers to save victims during 9/11 Terrorism attacks. These are the officers who wave to the kids along parade routes and give stickers. The ones who will step between you and a drunk trying to throw a punch.
So why can’t I support both without being considered a traitor to the other cause? Why is supporting progress an insult to people who do their job well and supporting people who do their job well an insult to those who feel oppressed?
The majority of people who support positive change also supported the football player kneeling for the national anthem, and we support it because it is a silent signal to the country that you think it is injured or not functioning properly in some way. Do you leave a 5 star review for a mechanic who cuts your brake lines and fixes it with electrical tape?
We all have a concern. We all know that there are things in this country that are broken. Is calling attention to what you think is broken wrong?
Yet, if you comment on something that is broken, can you not support something you feel is right?
Today at Trader Joe’s, the man working the register was African American, he was nice and funny. I was wearing a Fallen K9 Memorial shirt and it made him nervous. I was also wearing a mask with rainbows and unicorns, so maybe he was just confused, but either way, I wanted to apologize. I wanted him to know that he was safe and OK and though I didn’t know him, I loved him. It makes me sad that supporting fallen K9s means to some people that you must be against them. Yesterday I was wearing a Special Olympics Torch Run shirt that said Law Enforcement. I participate in that event because I can run and I want to show those kids that we stand beside them. My cashier had a BLM bracelet on and I was worried that I should apologize to him as well.
But why?
Why can’t I support causes related to my work and still believe in positive and progressive change? Why can’t I love everyone equally regardless of their race or occupation?
Because I do.
I love you all and I’m so sorry but I don’t know how to help.
I believe that we can all support Police Departments and BLM plus other groups that do not receive fair treatment. We should all be able to agree that we need the services provided by police departments and the many good people that work there (like you!). But, we cannot expect our police departments to resolve mental health issues, homelessness, drug addiction, etc. Police Officers are people first and foremost! We all want them to be well trained and make good judgement calls. But, I have witnessed my coworkers and friends being harassed for doing ordinary everyday things. That should never be the norm in our society! If we are silent, we are complicent! We can work together and do the right thing for both.