My father is a retired police officer. I am a young, white girl from the middle class. I was raised to respect authority figures such as police officers, without question. I never experienced racial discrimination in school, my work, or anywhere really. I have no idea what its like to be in those shoes. I have no idea what its like to live in a world where I am less than, based solely on what a person can see within a moment of looking at the color of my skin. I can never know that and I wish that no one ever had to. But, I do know what its like to be the child of a police officer. I do know what its like to watch my father leave for work everyday wether it is 5 am, 3 pm, or even 10 pm with a bullet proof vest on and a gun on his belt. I know what its like to not be with my father on Christmas, Easter, thanksgiving, birthdays because he is sacrificing these days so he could send me to school, buy me clothes, pay the bills and make sure I never know what it is like to go hungry. Oh and also so that everyone else can safely spend these days with THEIR families. I know what its like to know that my dad could die any day and I could do nothing about it but be proud he is doing his duty. I know that every single time my father put on his uniform he was figuratively and LITERALLY putting his life on the line for everyone he knew and didnt know! I know what its like to watch my mother worry about wether or not hell come home or wether or not hell get hurt . My father has been in the hospital numerous times because he was doing his job and protecting civilians. My father has worked overtime beyond what anyone should ever have to because police officers dont make enough money to support their families and they have to work the holidays and the extra nights shifts just to make ends meet. Police officers take an oath to protect and serve and they are required to be perfect and serve justly and never let the bad guys win, at any cost. But, police officers are human. Police officers have children and spouses and siblings and parents that are waiting for them to come home. Relying on their 60 hour work week to get by one more week. Police officers need sleep, need food, need strength, need encouragement, need trust, and need love. My father was hardened by his career. My father struggled and I never understood why he was so tired or angry or upset or frustrated or depressed after he came home. Police work is not something you can leave at work or take home. It exists constantly. Every officer is constantly aware and they cannot let go. Police officers are held to higher standard and are judged and scrutinized so harshly for every decision. But they HAVE to be. We have seen why very clearly these last few months. I asked my father, right after news broke about Michael Brown, what he thought. He told me he didnt know. He said he was not there, he didnt know the situation, he couldnt possibly tell me what he would or wouldnt have done in that situation because he had no way of knowing what happened. The news will change in an instant and become a game of telephone where the truth and imaginary become unclear. But whats important here is not just this, but that it shows very clearly a greater picture of our world and what we are becoming. Either people hate cops or they respect them greatly but I think we need to reevaluate ourselves as a nation of people, as a group of civilians, as a police force. We cannot keep going on in a race war. We cannot keep fighting against each other when we are supposed to be a united nation, we cannot allow racism to outweigh justice. We cannot allow bigotry to fuel police action. We cannot allow stereotypes to keep us from seeing each human for what they are outside of their skin OR uniform. Police officers do need to be held to a higher accountability for their actions, but in the same respect, civilians need to be held accountable for their actions also. I have never been so confused about how I feel about any issues politically until this last year. I have always been proud to say my father is a police officer, I have always trusted in him as a just and strong figure upholding the law perfectly. I have always thought the cops were right. Now, all I know, is that my father is a good man, there are good police officers out there, there are terrible officers out there, there are good people out there, and there are terrible people out there. What do I do with that? cnn/2015/01/06/opinion/griffin-what-police-deal-with/index.html
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:22:51 +0000
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