I am a social worker, a Pit Bull advocate, a Navy Reservist, a PhD student, and a supporter of law enforcement. All of these things are fairly common except for one: a supporter of law enforcement. I know what you’re thinking. "You’re a social worker, you can’t support the injustice you see on the news!"You’re right, I don’t support social injustices. However, as the “cops daughter,” I feel the true social injustice currently happening in America is the prejudice toward police officers. It personally hurts me to see my "friends" blindly post news stories on social media criticizing and labeling law enforcement knowing who my father is. In fact, I even had a few "friends" post negative police stories on my personal Facebook wall. Is that really necessary? Growing up, my classmates thought it was cool that my father was a police officer. Now these same classmates indirectly degrade him by constantly criticizing the police based on the negative actions of a few. They know my father has never harmed anyone, judged anyone, or racially profiled anyone. If this it hurts me as his daughter, I can’t image what it feels like to him. I also can't imagine how badly this negative media trend hurts for the families of fallen police officers who lost their loved one because their loved one was killed while protecting his/her community.

Now, I cannot deny there have been wrong doings of a small few in the law enforcement community. Those small few do need to be held accountable for their actions; however, innocent police officers (who are the majority) do not deserve to pay for wrong doings of the few by being slandered by the media. As there is in every profession, there are those who shouldn’t be there. There are a small portion of teacher’s we see on the news who are arrested for molesting students. Does this means all teachers are bad? There are military members on the news for raping people and sharing classified information. Does this mean all military members are bad? (I know I’m not!) There are corrupt business owners who commit wrong doings against their employees. Does this mean all business owners are bad? I’m sure you would answer all of those questions with, “no.” So if we don’t label other career fields as "bad" based on the wrong doings of a few, why do we continue to do this to law enforcement officers?

I know I’m being redundant when I say cliches like, “Not all cops or bad.” Or, “You can’t label all law enforcement bad because of the wrong doing of a few.” Well, I come from it at a different standpoint than most people. I witnessed my father work horrible traumas and dangerous situations through out his career. Despite everything he witnessed, he went to work every morning. Not only did I witness my father do this, but I also witnessed the same selfless acts among his coworkers. In the beginning of his career, my father felt appreciated. It saddened me to see that toward the end of his career, he did not feel appreciated anymore. Instead of being thanked for his service, he faced horrible criticism based on the portrayals of the media and the skewed opinions of people in the community that he chose to protect for over 25 years. Nonetheless, he still woke up at 4 am every morning to protect those same people, despite their criticisms and negative labels.

So before you post that viral news story on social media, remember that there are two sides to every story. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. It is not fair to negatively profile the entire law enforcement community based on a news story, the same way it would not be fair to profile any other profession that had a couple of bad apples that went viral. Have there been police officers who have made fatal mistakes? Unfortunately, yes. Will there be police officers in the future who make mistakes? Sadly, yes. No professional community is perfect. Are the wrong doingsthe majority of the law enforcement community? Absolutely not. Not even close. Am I a "snow flake" when it comes to law enforcement criticism? Probably, but I feel it's rightfully so.

So to all of the people who openly hate the police, remember who is going to show up when you dial 911. To all the people who consistently post about their negative opinions on social media, remember who your audience is. There are people, such as myself, who have been forced to remain silent as people criticized their family members who are putting their life on the line everyday. It’s not only hurtful to the police officers who strive to protect their community, but it is also hurtful to the families who stay up at night hoping their loved one comes home safe from work. When George Lopez stated that the cops needs to be deported to Mexico due to racial injustices on the anniversary date of the Dallas police shooting incident, I can’t imagine how the family of Officer Miguel Moreno felt, a Hispanic officer who passed away due to the injuries of the shooting.

To all of the families of fallen police officers, I am sincerely sorry for your lost and I thank you all for your service. Remember that there are people out there who admired and appreciated your loved one. To all the active and retired police officers and their families, thank you for everything you continue to do despite the backlash. To all of my fellow "cops' children," stay strong and thank your parent! To anyone who has been harmed or experienced a wrong doing of a police officer, I am also sincerely sorry for that, as well. I hope you will someday see that the majority of law enforcement workers are wonderful. I hope that brave acts of the majority will help undo the wrong doings of the few so you can regain your trust again. To everyone else who hates the police just because of the media and their friends on social media, I encourage you to do your research before you hit that share button. I also encourage you to please express your concerns in a way that is not degrading to the police community as whole. Not only do this for the brave people who serve, but also do this for their brave families and the families of the fallen.

#ThinBlueLine