Letter to the Editor: Blue Lives Matter Too [OPINION]

I have watched our country go up in arms because one (or four) police officers were callous and cruel. The protestors are right: Black Lives Matter.

But my perspective is the Blue Lives Matter too. I only wish people would march when a police officer is killed by a bad guy – black or white. That officer is doing his/her job to serve and protect. Dallas has a memorial once a year and very few attend.

Prejudice is real against blacks and the only way I know to change it is to find the points on which we can all agree. And there has been much improvement in the past 20 years.

Prejudice is real against blue uniforms and the badge of authority these men and women wear. I have felt that prejudice.

I agree that we must rewrite the rules for police. Can we also rewrite the rules for the bad guys?

Yes, black mothers and families worry when the young people go out into society. My daughter was afraid her Daddy wasn’t coming home…every time he went to work. This Daddy taught our two white sons:

“If you are stopped by an officer, put your hands where he/she can see them, do what you are told to do, talk calmly, tell your story it it’s different than it looks like. 99% of officers will treat you fairly while doing their job. But the first concern is usually their own safety. Think about that with each move you make.”

Yes, I said 99%. And in my lifetime of knowing those who wear the badge and those who interact with them, I have never found an officer who chose this job in order to go out and kill citizens, black white, or whatever the color of the skin. When one officer does something callous and cruel, it upsets the rest of them more than anyone else. Yes, I know some who are “cocky” and many who have “stupid” times. These are human beings doing a hard job, but I have never met an officer who is actually “malicious.”

Let’s make changes in both sides.