I’ve lived a relatively average life thus far. I’m not rich but I’ve never been in poverty. I’ve always had clothes to wear and food on the table. I’ve never been arrested and I don’t have a life-threatening illness. I’m not a minority but I am not one of the privileged either. I have been blessed with the fact that not too many tragic things have happened in my life. Up until recently, I have been glad to say that I don’t relate to a lot of the bad stories going on in the world today.
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Up until recently.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you've seen or heard about recent stories in the news of police brutality and murders of police officers all over the country. This time, these stories directly impact me in a very personal and emotional way. After all, that has happened, all I can say is that I’m sorry.
I’m sorry that someone was angry or upset so they decided to disturb a peaceful protest to kill five police officers. Men who walked out the door that morning not knowing they wouldn’t ever make it back to their families.
I’m sorry for the sadness that surrounds the deaths of Officers Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa, Brent Thompson, and all of the so many others who were injured in Dallas.
I’m sorry that most people don’t even know the names of those five police officers because the media is more focused on placing the blame on all of our law enforcement instead of realizing that there are bad cops and there are good cops and it isn’t fair to stereotype them all.
I’m sorry that every night since I can remember, while my mom was tucking me into bed, my dad would be strapping on a bulletproof vest and heading out the door to go to work.
I’m sorry that any time someone decided to commit an armed robbery or kill their wife, my dad would have to drop everything he was doing and be pulled away from time with his family to go and do his job.
I’m sorry that every time my dad pulled you over or arrested you for possession, you thought it was acceptable to come to me and tell me what a jerk he was or how much you hated cops.
I’m sorry that because you decided to break the law, no matter how small and insignificant you deemed the crime to be, it took so many minutes and hours away from the time I could have been spending with him.
I’m sorry that I have so much anger because we live in a country that has become so full of hate, that because of the action of a few bad cops I have to worry that every single time I hug my dad and kiss him goodbye as he heads off to work that that may be the last time I ever get to do that.
I’m sorry that I didn’t choose to be the daughter of a cop but am inexplicably proud of my father and that fact that he risks his life every single day not just to support my family and keep us safe, but to keep every single person he possibly can safe.
Just think of all the shootings and murders and stories of police brutality and police officers that die every single day that we don’t hear about and that the news doesn’t report on. The things that happened in Louisiana and Dallas are just two of the most recent tragedies to have happened, and if this country keeps going the way it is, they won’t be the last.
So think about this the next time you’re angry: if your logic is a police officer has no right to take a life just because they wear a badge, then what gives you the right to take theirs?
