Dear Family and Friends,
I see you. I see your posts that demean the work of my husband and his brothers and sister in blue. I see your posts that disrespect, belittle, ridicule and question their integrity as you sit behind a computer screen enjoying the safety afforded you by God, the American Soldier and Law Enforcement Officers.
As the wife of a police officer, your insulting posts relating to his profession offend and disgust me. I wish you could see the things Law Enforcement Officers see and deal with. I wish you realized how them doing their job allows you the ability to live in the dreamy fantasy world you like to think or pretend exists, when it really doesn't. You may think life without many or any law enforcement might not be so bad, but that is the farthest thing from what it would be! It would be a living hell on earth without the thin blue line protecting our communities the way they do 24/7.
So, let me attempt to humanize the officer behind the badge for a few minutes and speak from the perspective of someone who lives with and loves an officer. I know the vast majority of them often sit by silently believing in what they do, knowing who they are, and living with the reality of the evil they confront. This validates them and confirms the need for their profession. They know all this to be true while at the same time allowing you to believe that very little evil exists around you because they deal with it so that you don’t have to.
Step into a different pair of shoes for a few minutes...
Have you ever dealt with the aftermath of a 3 month old that died at the hands of her own relatives because she was raped? Have you ever dealt with children who have been abused and forced to drink their caretakers urine? Do you rescue children who are clinging to life due to their unfit and careless parents? Have you ever dealt with a young child who survived being killed by his father when his mother and siblings weren't as fortunate? Do you deal with little children who are the innocent victims of drive-bys and see their little bodies riddled with bullets? Have you seen the family that was brutally murdered in their own home by their ex seeking revenge? Do you see the results of despair when people end their own lives and the lives of those around them? Do you have people shoot at you for trying to rescue a child they are holding hostage, or a victim they are sexually assaulting? Let's be honest for a second. Would you even think about running in and trying to save victims captured by a mad and evil man with a gun? Would you run toward danger, or away from it? Do you have establishments refuse to serve you because of the clothing you are wearing? Do you think twice about your food having hazardous ingredients or objects added to it when you order it? Do you go out to eat and sit with your back to the wall because someone might see you and execute you because of your clothing? Do you sit parked in your vehicle and fear that your life might be ended because of vehicle you're sitting in? Do you have people spit and curse at you as you pass by? Do you have rocks thrown at your car because the type of car it is...or even worse, are you shot at? Are you disliked and hated by people because of the profession you chose? On a daily basis, do you and your coworkers think about your safety and pray God will bring you home safe after your shift is done? Do you and your coworkers feel targeted daily for your career choice? Do you see your coworkers gravely injured or even die by the hands of someone who lives in your community? Have you buried one, two, five or seven of your coworkers who lost their lives while at work? Do you see all this and go home to your family unaffected by the evil you've witnessed?
These examples are a VERY SMALL fraction of what many officers see and deal with in this job. Yet they do so without reservation day in and day out. What about the families behind the badge and how this profession affects them? Have you ever thought about them?
Step into another pair of shoes...
Do you go shopping or out to eat with your family and ever think about the dangers your family may face just being seen with your spouse? Do you have plans in place or discuss with your family how they should react in the event your spouse is seen by someone they've arrested before? Do you often think about the evil your spouse may face when they leave to work? Do you think about them getting injured or killed as you see them off to work? Do your children ask you if their daddy might be killed today as he pulls out of the driveway to leave for work? Do you hide from your last name on social media so those who might wish to harm your family can't easily find them? Do you ever fear having your home targeted due to your spouses profession? Does your spouse come home to you and break down because he saw children the age of your own murdered in cold blood by those they trusted? Does he come home broken because he cradled a child who was on deaths door and wished he could bring them home to give them a better life? Do your children cry and ask you not to leave to work for fear that you will be killed? Do you get on your social media and see many vilifying your profession for what someone in your line or work did?
The only thing owed to Law Enforcement Officers is your respect and gratitude. It is because of them, you have the ability to go about a your daily life without the images of evil trapped in your mind. They may not lose their life protecting your community, but many of them often sustain serious and life altering injuries, they lose the innocence of their mind as it goes to vivid places that you couldn't imagine and wouldn't fathom your mind going. They protect so many people's perfect world!
So, please, next time you think about or are tempted to share or post an unappreciative and un-supportive post online aimed at law enforcement officers, think about and what his/her life is like. Think about their families lives. Think about the life you enjoy. It is because they chose to protect and serve your community that they fall prey to the ridicule and targeted hate.
And next time you see an officer, thank them for the often thankless job they do! Show them a small token of your appreciation. It will make their day and mean the world to them!
I owe my life and gratitude to Jesus for the ultimate sacrifice He made on my behalf, the American soldier my undying respect, support and gratitude for the sacrifices they've made, and continue to make to ensure our countries freedom, and to America's Law Enforcement Officers my heartfelt support, utmost respect and appreciation for being the first line of defense protecting our homeland.
To those of you who support Law Enforcement and their families with your words of encouragement, appreciation and most of all your prayers, THANK YOU! You have no idea how much we appreciate you!
On behalf of the PROUD Thin Blue Line Wives everywhere,
Officers, we've got your SIX! 💙