Don’t blame police officers, blame people

This archived article was written by: Josie Sue Slade

After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, hate towards law enforcement increased to the point that people began to be disrespectful. While the situation in Ferguson is tragic, it is not a reason to begin hating the people who serve in our communities.
So when will the Ferguson hype die down? While we should never forget this terrible situation and learn from what happened, we should also move on and remember that one situation does not define all law enforcement.
Many protests and mobs are still in Ferguson even though months have passed since the original situation. These protests are creating more problems rather than solving any. The people who are participating in these are creating unrest in their community and encouraging bad behavior rather than looking for a positive change.
One of the protests resulted in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, both who survived, but could have been killed. What did these men do to deserve being shot at? They merely serve in Ferguson. There is no reason that a police officer in Ferguson should fear for his life (outside the regular danger that comes with being in law enforcement) merely for the career they picked.
Ferguson is an example of stereotyping. Many of the Ferguson protests are based on the fact that people want others to stop stereotyping. How can you solve stereotyping if you are doing it yourself? You can’t. For once, let’s start blaming the people who are causing the problem and only them. Looking at all of law enforcement personnel as a problem is an injustice and a crime to many brave people in our country.
Police officers are not bad. They don’t put on the uniform in the morning and become a different person. If you get a ticket, you probably got one because you deserved it, not because the cop was being a jerk. While this is not true in every case, we need to stop blaming cops for when we get in trouble. Without them, the streets wouldn’t be safe and the security you are blessed with wouldn’t exist.
My hat is off to all the law enforcement that serve in our country. I will never disrespect a law enforcement officer merely because of what they are. So for once, I want to go a day without hearing someone complain about police officers or make a joke at their expense. They’re people just like us and people make mistakes. Look past the uniform and look at the person. That’s all I ask.