I spent a good chunk of Sunday and Monday trying to write a Bad Blog Monday about current events, namely the George Floyd tragedy and events that followed. I know your news feeds are flooded with posts, comments, opinions, and, today, a lot of black screens for #blackouttuesday. I tried to articulate my thoughts on all of this while having dinner with a friend last night, but I stumbled around because I know there’s a lot I don’t understand and a lot I don’t know. All of the hatred saddens me deeply.
Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents have been injured by protesters at the White House. I worked with these people. Had I moved to Washington D.C. and stayed on with the Secret Service, I would have likely been assigned a shift right alongside them. Those employees don’t have the luxury of only protecting when they feel like it or only protecting those they agree with politically. Yet they’re taking the brunt of the hateful actions of the “bad apples” and (rightful) anger of those repeatedly victimized by those who have no business wearing a uniform.
I pray for the safety of my former coworkers and the good cops today, and I hope you will take the time to do so also.
My heart is heavy. I don’t understand so much.
I don’t understand how Derek Chauvin could so calmly sit on George Floyd’s neck for so long despite the pleas of bystanders. Chauvin had time to change his behavior. He had minutes and minutes to change the course of that incident. He chose the wrong side of a thin blue line, and he traded the badge for an orange jumpsuit. I pray the justice system serves appropriate justice in this case.
I don’t understand how looting, assaulting, and vandalizing small businesses and owners help propel change within a broken system and a broken society.
I don’t want to be just another ignorant voice on the Internet. I truly believe words are explosively powerful, and one should be exceptionally responsible with his/her/etc. words before saying them. The loudest voices are not always the wisest, and our right to free speech (and access to the Internet) gives everyone, including the idiots, a platform to spew whatever comes to mind. Impulsive comments carry a lot of weight, especially when they come from the mouths and cell phones of celebrities or those with large-scale platforms.
I desperately don’t want to be impulsive or ignorant with my words.
The more I sit here, the more I realize that maybe I should listen. The solution to ignorance is education, getting out of my privileged bubble with an open mind and an open heart. There are people who need to be heard, and too many just want to hear the sound of their own voices.
Yesterday, I clicked out of my blog draft and decided to listen and learn.
I cannot speak to police brutality on a personal level because I’ve never been a victim of it. My voice on the topic isn’t the one that needs to be heard. I’m listening.
I am not a black person in America. There are plenty who have been silenced by a broken society that still has a problem with racism. They deserve to be heard. I’m listening.
I have never been a member of local law enforcement, but I do have experience at the federal level. I have a couple thoughts from this perspective. Mind you, I’m still listening and learning and trying not to be part of the problem, but advocate for a solution.
The widely used Law Enforcement Oath of Honor states the following:
“On my honor, I will never
betray my badge, my integrity,
my character or the public trust.
I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution, my community, and the agency I serve.”
I’ve been to a few swearing-in events for new officers over the years. Of the ones I’ve attended, the officers were all asked, “Why did you want to become a police officer?” Without exception, they all gave the same general answer:
“Because I want to stop the bad guys.”
Is this bad? Absolutely not. Don’t we all want to see the bad guys stopped from harming others?
But what happens when the bad guy is one of their own?
Law enforcement is a tight-knit (and often dysfunctional) family. From my experiences and observations within federal law enforcement, it is too easy to sweep problems under the rug with internal reviews and oversight. Speaking out is frowned upon, and people often distance themselves from coworkers who do speak out against the agency or another coworker or supervisor. If you think I didn’t experience some distancing by writing a book about being an agent, then you’re wrong.
Perhaps the internal problems need better external oversight. There’s a need for change in the way the bad apples are dealt with.
That’s my opinion. And now, more listening.
Former President Obama wrote an interesting article yesterday. Click HERE to read it. In the article, he talked about how young people have a low voter turnout to local and state elections but those elected officials are often the ones appointing police chiefs and making decisions about how police misconduct is dealt with.
Ahem, today is an election day.
He wrote:
“So the bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.”
Before I go to work today, I am choosing to research the local candidates on today’s ballot and cast my votes. Then I’m going to continue listening to and advocating for the voices that need to be heard. And, finally, when I next see a police officer doing his/her job according to the oaths they took, I’m going to express my appreciation for the tough job they do each day.
GET OUT AND VOTE!