One of the things that has lead many people to think that I’ve changed since I was younger is the idea that I no longer respect law enforcement. When people that I grew up with see my support for Black Lives Matter or hear I have liberal views they automatically assume that I am against all law enforcement personnel. What they can’t grasp is- I can respect something and also care enough to want it to change. They also don’t understand why I cringe every time I hear “back the blue” or see a thin blue line flag flying under the flag of our current President. This cringe is also why I no longer weep for the victims of police violence. Or, more accurately, why I no longer only weep for the victims of police violence.
Now, just as much as seeing a video of police violence or reading a report of it saddens me, the immediate response of some people defending it saddens me further. These incidents fuel a rage that makes me demand change [Sophia Bush describes this as sacred rage], but the blind defense of these incidents makes me question if change will ever be possible. I know some people fly that flag out of respect and some people say “back the blue” in the same respectful manner, and I can completely understand this position. It’s the crowd that uses these lines as a blind avoidance of acknowledging an issue that make me question how we can move through this problem.
Growing up in rural America we are exposed to police and law enforcement in a very supportive manner. We have friends whose parents are part of the law enforcement community. Officers would be in our school for programs and presentations. We have friends on volunteer fire departments who are constantly working together with sheriffs departments or local police forces. We have other friends who grow up to become officers themselves. For the most part, we know the names of the officers who are charged with protecting us. This proximity also makes it very natural to have deep respect for the law enforcement community. It also makes it very difficult to see something as a systemic problem when the system serving us doesn’t have the same problems. This blinding can also be dangerous if it prevents us from even trying to see the issues that don’t affect us.
The other exposure that most of us have to law enforcement is fictional; it is entertainment through movies or tv shows. The most common plot in this arena is the hero renegade cop. We glorify the idea of a cop using any means necessary to catch (or more commonly kill) the “bad guy” and never question it. In these same scenarios a storyline that often parallels the rogue officer plot is the officer that questions or reports them is just as bad as the “bad guy.” We condemn the action of internal review and cheer for brutality. This also blinds us to the issues that continue to surround law enforcement.
The young me would blindly agree to hearing about increased police presence or increasingly militarized police forces. I would see it as a protection. Now, I know that is exactly what it is. It is a protection of the young me who would be scared of the areas seeing those increases. The young me would never think of it as intimidation. Through exposure and conversations I’ve learned that what I saw as protection wasn’t perceived the same by the people who were actually the targets of this (protection). If we combine my misperception with our glorification of vigilante officers and our intolerance for cops reporting other cops, it becomes very easy to see why blind avoidance is so common.
The challenge is- how do we get more people to avoid this avoidance? We saw this past summer with the murder of George Floyd that people’s eyes can be opened. More people than ever before acknowledged the deep systemic problems that need to be fixed. But, we also saw more people dig their heels in or bury their heads deeper in the sand and completely dismiss the problem as a one-off issue. Whether it was out of blind support for the officers around them or because of their disagreement with the protests that followed, these people pulled further away from the conversations that need to happen. Much like the younger me, they also hold fears of the places where the biggest demonstrations happened. So, how do we bring them back to the table and show that these are systemic issues that may not happen in the areas we live? Although, they could at any time without sweeping change. Is it possible to correct police brutality and racial biases while it doesn’t affect us? Can we wait for it to be corrected internally (a process that actually takes longer than external change)?
What I have found is it is just as important to have these conversations outside of our agreeable circles. If the situation arises where someone talks to me about why I’ve stopped respecting law enforcement, I make sure to have the conversation that shows that I still do. I do my best to convince them that it is out of this respect that I believe changes need to be made. For some it may be statistical conversations, for others it is relaying conversations that I have had while traveling outside of our familiar surroundings, and for others it may be reminding them that the day-to-day issues are what lead to the tragedies that draw national attention. These day-to-day issues are also what we want to change. We all know the people around us that need to have these conversations the most.
It is on every one of us that want to see improvement for the law enforcement community, that we respect, to continue bringing people into these conversations. Not just when tragedy starts the conversation, but between these incidents when emotions are not as charged. Heightened emotions detract from any conversation especially when it may affect those around us that we respect deeply. We must also remember those that aren’t immediately around us who are living experiences we will never have are living those experiences daily. Death isn’t the only sign of brutality or racial bias. It is also not the only reason to work for change.
It becomes easy to pull back from this conversation when it is not in national spotlight. We must remember that change is still possible in these times when we want to pull back.
Changed So Much! 