I Am A [Police] Man

In 1968 approximately 1,300 black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee protested terrible and unsafe working conditions, low wages, racism, and discrimination by walking off the job and then marching together carrying signs that read, “I Am A Man.”  The simple statement was profound — they should be treated like human beings because they were human beings, despite the color of their skin or their vocation.

Human

There are many things in our lives that we cannot choose — not the century, the country, neighborhood, or family we are born into.  Not our eye, skin, or hair color.  And certainly not our shoe size, allergies, ailments, IQ, or whether or not we go bald.  And though this list is not exhaustive, pretty much everything else is a choice.  Our life becomes the product of what we choose to do with the things that we never chose in the first place.

Cops weren’t born wearing a uniform.  “Congratulations, it’s a police officer!” announced no doctor ever.  We were born naked, and wrinkly, and crying, and helpless, just like everyone else.  We were born human.  And yet, all of that seems to be forgotten by the public we serve while we’re wearing that uniform.  Our humanity becomes forgotten or lost or ignored or discounted.

Bad Logic

Recently I heard an argument justifying the violence against police officers in recent riots throughout the country.  The argument was premised on the fact that police officers choose to wear the uniform, but black people did not choose the color of their skin.  Therefore, violence toward the police is not racist, or discriminatory, or wrong.  Police officers can simply turn in their badge and their uniform and walk away from the persecution or mistreatment, but black people, or other people of color, cannot.

Two Problems

The problem with that is it presupposes two things. First, that people of color would, in fact, change their skin color to avoid mistreatment if they could.  Second, that mistreating someone because of their profession is justifiable because they could simply end their own mistreatment by quitting their profession, and therefore, if they don’t quit, the mistreatment is then their own fault.

The logical end of this idea is that we can then be justified in mistreating anyone for anything they chose…their spouse, their car, their pet, their alma mater, their underwear preference, their diet, their cell phone provider, their car, their breakfast cereal, and on and on and on.

Same Root

The mistreatment of anyone because of their appearance — whether it be skin color, nationality, clothing, lifestyle, uniform, or chosen profession — is wrong.  It is not less wrong to mistreat someone because of a profession they chose than because of a skin color they didn’t.  Both acts of mistreatment are wrong and come from the same root, though they may reach the surface in a different place.

Judging an entire group by the act of a single individual is ignorance.  I am not responsible for the sins of my father, nor my children for mine.  Nor am I responsible for the act of someone else in my profession that happened on the other side of the country.  Having an evil individual within a group is not the same as having a group of evil individuals.  Those are not the same things.

The Golden Rule

Let us judge one another not by the color of our skin, by the clothing we wear, or by the car we drive, but by the content of our character.  Let us treat one another the way we would want to be treated and let us deal swiftly and justly with those among us who choose to misbehave.

Please understand that I do not draw this parallel flippantly or with an intent to divide.  Quite the opposite.  I believe that we have more in common than we think and this image should not only cause us to give it thought, but real contemplation.

Your Life Matters

Do not kneel, do not capitulate, and do not bow.  You are not alone.  Let us stand together as one body and remind the country and the world that we are human beings and that our lives matter.

I am not asking us to march, I am simply saying that together we can create a social movement that will make the world a safer place for law enforcement!  I believe we can tip the scales, degree by degree.

Here’s how: 

Go to the Johnny Tactical store and download the free PDF, print it out, take a picture holding it in uniform, and post it with the hashtags #iamapoliceman #iamapolicewoman.  Then share it and pass it on.

Be smart about it — crop out your face and obscure your department name and insignias.  We don’t want your safety compromised as we begin this endeavor.

Stay together.  Stay tactical.  Your life matters.