With everything going on in the world today, I felt it was only right to write on this topic; people dying. Now I'm just not talking about deaths everyday, but police killing citizens and citizens killing police.

I'm not a supporter of Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter. I am a supporter of the violence stopping from each end because at the end of the day, everybody matters. I understand saying Black Lives Matter does not mean only black lives matter and same for Blue Lives Matter. I understand that completely. But people do have to understand there are radicals in each group who take this to the level of "we must kill every black person, we must kill every police officer". For example, the recent Dallas attack. Radicals who were not even part of the protest, shooting at police officers.

Yes, there are horrible cops who slipped through the system. But, for the majority police officers are good people. But when you break the law they have to do their job. I am so grateful for my criminal justice class because I learned so much in the semester I was in it. But let me say this before I go into detail; I do not believe I am suddenly an expert because I took one class. I know I am not; I learned a lot in the time I was there.

My professor brought in 2 police officers from 2 different counties to speak with us during the semester. It was saddening to learn that one officer went to great lengths to do his paperwork in a safe, secure area where he felt comfortable so he was not fearful of being attacked by a civilian. It was saddening to learn that officers are fearful of continuing community policing because they are fearful of the radical people who would attack them. It was saddening to learn that they do not feel comfortable meeting in groups anymore because they are fearful of an attack. It was saddening to learn that one of the officers knew the officer who died in Montgomery County.

One also talked about how an engagement with a civilian can change very quickly. It can go from a simple "hi, how are you doing?" to 'Oh crap, I need to pull my gun'. It can change that quickly in a matter of seconds, something I never knew.

My professor also assigned a debate for one of our final projects. She picked our sides and she put me on the topic of "Is there a 'killer-cop' epidemic" and I was assigned to say 'yes' when I truthfully believe there is not. It was probably the most difficult assignment I have faced ever since I started schooling. I could not find any true evidence that was reliable to back up my statements. Now, I'm not sure if it was because my research was absolutely awful or because there was really no evidence. But regardless, I got my butt kicked when it came to debating. It made me open my eyes though, why isn't there FBI stats on civilian deaths by cops, those that were accidents, premeditated? That was scary to me.

She also showed our class a video on the future of 911 calls if this topic of police brutality does not stop; you can check it out here:

Obviously, a spoof that was made but nonetheless, I silently pray it does not come down to that.

I learned a lot in the time I was there and I started recognizing more and more while learning about recent deaths; civilians or officers. Everyone must know the facts before talking about anything which is very difficult to do. Videos that spread around social media only tell one part of the story. News broadcasts are only going to tell one part of the story. Eye witness accounts are reliable, but only to a certain point (I learned that one in psychology). Bias plays a huge factor when giving one's testimony.

Officers are there to protect us. I hate when I see people say "F**k the police!!" all over social media. Those men and women take people off the streets who can harm us; criminals, drunk drivers, etc. True people who can do so much harm to us. There's a man on Facebook called "Mike the cop" talking about "good cops". What I believe on the topic, he can say in that video. I do know there are bad people in the world and yes he or she can be a cop. However, other officers do know who they are. One of the men who came and spoke shed light on that topic as well. Before you hate on EVERY officer there is, think about who you are going to call when you need help; a cop or a drug dealer?

All this violence will not lead to anything but the death toll rising. Humans have always been violent, but we (this generation) have the opportunity to bring an end to all of this violence. When putting out a fire, firefighters do not pour gasoline on the flames. As a country, ending this war between civilians and officers will not end with more shootings and people dying. We are all human, we are all people made up on 2 arms, 2 legs, one heart, etc. This country needs to start treating everybody equally and fairly before The Purge really starts, officially. Because when you think about it, aren't we in an unofficial purge now? Isn't that a scary thought. (if you do not know what The Purge is, Google it!)

There's a quote by Mahatma Gandhi that has been very popular lately; "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind."

One day I pray that this piece of our history will be read in textbooks and not a terrifying reality for our future children.