And Another Thing...

Continued from previous post: I'm Not Going to Apologize.

In this same city, my boyfriend of four and a half years is a police officer. We went to college together. We even received the same undergraduate degree. He went to work in the corporate world, but he didn't find it fulfilling. He felt more like he was cheating people, and he had a calling to help them instead.

He has been on patrol for about 4 months now, after receiving more than 6 months of training. He made the hard decision to become a police officer in order to make a difference in the community he grew up in - to get drugs off the street, to keep children from being abused, to keep animals from being mistreated, to keep women from being beaten, to keep people from being killed by drunk drivers - to keep people safe and to make a safer place for kids and law-abiding citizens.

You can just imagine how beaten down he feels when he has a woman call him a racist for arresting her son who was caught beating the crap out of another child, as if he really cares what their skin color is. He gets called a pig and a jerk, because he gives tickets to people who deserve them. All the while, he stays calm and polite and takes their insult when most people would be tempted to mace them in the face.

He comes home from work heartbroken by the things he has to witness every day:
Women that have been beaten by the men they refuse to leave.
Animals that have been abused and neglected.
People that have entertainment system that would be the envy of anyone, but that force their children to sleep on couches, or worse, on the floor.
Drivers who don't restrain their children in car seats.
Kids that have chosen the wrong path in life, because they had no direction to begin with.
People driving under the influence of alcohol, many times with other people or even kids in the car.
Lives and families that have been ruined by drug addiction and crime.
Children who have been physically and sexually abused.

Of all the people I know, he is the least racist or aggressive person I can think of. He went to a local public school - the schools here are some of the worst in the nation by the way, but he still went to college. Practically every day, he has people come up to greet us, both genders and all skin colors, because they remember him from high school. He was friends with everyone, and it amazes me how many people remember him just because of what a great guy he is.

But when he puts on that uniform and badge, he is labeled as a racist and an abuser. Little do these people know that even on Easter Sunday after a long night of work, he still went to church to be with his family and worship his God. The stigma of being an officer is great, and it has been hard even for me to get used to the stares.

While I pray for his safety, while his mother worries about him, while he works hard all night to keep us all safe, someone has the nerve to cuss at him and call him a racist or a jerk. Now I know how the family of Iraqi soldiers feel - to have your loved one persecuted while he is trying to do the job most people are too cowardly to do themselves.

I personally would say SCREW YOU and let you defend yourselves. But for some reason, he sees enough goodness in you to thanklessly put his life on the line to protect you.

Note to Self: I couldn't be prouder to be in love with a police officer, and I believe there is no harder calling in life. I Love A Cop: What Police Families Need to Know