Why does society require us to choose? Are we not allowed to support elements of presumably opposing views instead of being compelled to take the "all or nothing" route? In the aftermath of the past weeks events, I am reminded how easily events can become politicized. It is very easy for us to allow emotion to dictate our words and actions. It is difficult for us to back down from a stance, even when we later learn that our stance was ill-advised or based on erroneous information or personal agenda.
Taking a "broad brush" approach to life can easily back one into a corner. One difficult responsibility that each of us has is to have the willingness to admit fault in both thought and action. Another responsibility is the ability to forgive....truly forgive.
While I am a history teacher, I continue to be a student of history, constantly searching for the truth in how we got to be where we are. I used to say that I hated history when I was growing up. I now know that it wasn't that I hated history. I didn't have as much of an appreciation for it as I should have. A lot of that had to do with what was presented to me. Once I learned that I had to work to find the truth instead of settling on what was given to me, the appreciation for history began to flow. Now where am I going with this? My view of the history behind #Black Lives Matter and #Blue Lives Matter. I have the distinction of being affected by both sides (By the way, there should NOT be two sides but I will get to that later).
I was fortunate to be born during the time that the modern civil rights movement was gaining ground. I say modern day because civil rights has been a continuous battle for centuries. I'm old enough to remember the conversations my parents and grandparents had about where we could go and where we couldn't go. I remember being treated differently in school and not understanding why (I went to predominantly white schools from kindergarten through 12th grade). I remember my parents constantly pushing us to be aware and proud of our ethnic background, but to never allow it to disable us. We were not allowed to use mistreatment as an excuse to give up.
Our country has a long history of establishing laws to control, degrade, segregate, and punish minorities. Some of which I was unaware of until I got to college. This information was not available in many textbooks. Why is this relevant? Because there is a long historical relationship between law enforcement and minority groups that many were unaware of or reluctant to acknowledge because they were unaffected. We have, fortunately, evolved to a point where mistreatment is the exception and not the rule. The rule, however, is pushed to its limits and the response is a push back from the mistreated.
This is where I try to explain my understanding of the broad brush. Groups always join ranks to support each other. Within reason, there is nothing wrong with that. It is and should be expected. It is called support. Any one who tells you that a thin blue line does not exist, is misinformed. Anyone who tells you that similar lines do not exist in other groups, whether it be ethnic, social, or political, are just as misinformed.
During my career in law enforcement, both military and civilian, there was never a time that I didn't support my profession, even though there were individuals in my profession that I could not support based on their individual actions. I am Roman Catholic. I fully support my church and have faith in my Christianity even though there are secular aspects of the church that I do not agree with. I am a proud black man and love the richness of my heritage and I embrace the history to include the struggle that has allowed me to live the way I do, but I do not support everything that a black person does just because they are black (example? OJ, Bill Cosby). Above all, I am a proud American. Do I agree with everything that my country has done in its history? No. Do I hold it against people who are not directly responsible? No. Do I support the right to protest? Yes. Do I support ANYONE that burns my flag as a sign of protest? HELL NO!! And I would have the distinct desire to stomp a mudhole in anyone who did. I try on a daily basis to no live my life in a broad brush.
The broad brush has been enhanced by today's media because everything we receive is so immediate. Many people do not allow themselves to pause and think and process. They have their beliefs. They look for any information that will substantiate their beliefs, even if the information is wrong. Why, because it is important to get the response out. Sometimes, when we rush to put out the response, the shot, the dig, we label ourselves, one way or another.
Those of us in public service should always keep this in mind. In this day and age when freedom of speech is being pushed to the limits, some have found, oh too well, that we do not have the luxury of always speaking our minds, especially in a public forum like Facebook or Twitter, especially when we choose to paint the broad brush. It is amazing to me that as I troll, creep, or whatever verb one chooses to use, through social media, Freedom is not free. Every individual has the right to say what they choose. That does not mean it does not come without detrimental consequences. It is important to know your audience. Social media has taught me that everyone has a different version of what they believe is important, right, and just. As public servants, we must realize that our personal opinions should sometimes be just those.....personal. When we share them with the public, our employers may have a problem with them. If those opinions, just like our actions, show detriment or discredit to our profession, get ready for your employer to close ranks with you on the outside. That is when one finds out that people may support you but they won't go down with you. Ask yourself this question, is your job worth the reckless or at the very least, careless use of your freedom of speech?
We all have a responsibility to try to understand the opposing side of our opinion. It may not change our opinion, but at least we are informed. Most of our population does not understand the law enforcement experience...what goes on day to day. Much of our population does not understand the black experience...what goes on day to day. Neither experience is standard. There are many moving parts and within both experiences, there are significant differences in each.
I have never been harassed or mistreated (knock wood) by law enforcement, but I have personally experienced racial profiling. In 1981, I was in the driver's seat of my parents new Audi 5000. I was 16 years old and very excited about my parents even allowing me to drive. My mother was in the passenger seat. We were in a grocery store parking lot while my father went to buy something in the store. While he was gone, a police officer approached the car and asked for my driver's license. I was confused but I complied. My mother was less than happy and her "mama bear" took over and asked what the problem was. The officer, who happened to be white, stated I resembled the description of a robbery suspect that they were looking for in the area. Fortunately for me, my father, who is a retired cop, came out of the store as this was unfolding. He recognized my father and all was forgotten. I later found out that the robbery suspect was 35 years old. Now, I was left with questioning the true reason of the officer's contact. Did I really resemble a 35 year old at age 16? Did the vehicle match a suspect vehicle description? Was the officer curious as to why someone my age (and or race) was in an expensive car? Did he not notice the FOP marker on the license plate or did my appearance cause tunnel vision on his part? Would the experience have been different if my father had not been there? One will never know. Fortunately for me, that was the extent of it. That being said, I did not paint the entire police department with a broad brush of inferred racism in the department even though there were publicly known allegations within the department. I never dismissed the incident but I didn't allow it to define me. Some have had more harrowing experiences. In the days prior to videotape and camera phones, it was very difficult to prove allegations. Does that mean they did not exist?
Early on in life, I lived in a neighborhood where friends that I spent a lot of time playing outside with would go on to engage in criminal activity. Does that mean that I was destined to be involved because of who I hung out with? Needless to say, that didn't happen. Could I have been painted with that broad brush because of where I lived? Of course. The black experience is not limited to contact with law enforcement or dealing with crime. Not all blacks believe that every white person is racist even though at some point and time, we have all had an encounter with one who is. I also believe that racism is not exclusive to whites. There are those who say there is no such thing as a black racist. I disagree. If one views and has an opinion of another and that view/opinion is based solely on their ethnic background, that is racism, no matter how you slice it. I know many blacks who view others in this manner.
The black experience is much more than that just like the law enforcement experience is much more than making arrests. Some may agree, and others may not, but it emphasizes my belief that we must not allow ourselves to be backed into the broad brush corner. That being said, I end this very long blog entry with a quote from Jon Stewart:
"You can truly grieve for every officer who's been lost in the line of duty in this country, and still be troubled by cases of police overreach. They two ideas are not mutually exclusive. You can have great law enforcement and still want them to be held to high standards."
It is possible for one to support Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. Support one should not mean you are against the other. You can disagree with aspects of either side as well but still support the movement. The ones who discourage or discredit this through thought, action, and deed by insisting you have to choose a side are the ones who inhibit the change the continues to be necessary for our country to move forward.
