My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: Making it Worse, Not Better

A friend shared a post today about a young police officer named Natalie Corona, who served on the Davis, CA force.

The daughter of a retired sheriff, Officer Corona had been on the force only a few months when she was senselessly shot and killed in January 2019 after she responded to a traffic accident. The man who killed her - and shot at other first responders as well - eventually committed suicide a few hour later, after a standoff with police. The note he left made it clear he had mental health issues.

The shooting cut short 22-year -old woman's life. It was her family's worst nightmare, her community's collective tragedy, and indicative of what police officers face every time they put on their uniforms. And my friend who posted the article? Her son is only a few years older than Corona was when she died, and he's a police officer in North Carolina. Not surprisingly, this hits very close to home for her.

One of the things that stood out to me, when I looked up this case after seeing my friend's post, was the uproar caused by photos of Corona, which she had shared on social media in 2016, with these comments:

I would like this photograph to serve as my gratitude for all those law enforcement men and women who have served, who are currently serving, and those who have died in the line of duty protecting our liberties in this great country.  

#LawEnforcement #Blueline #Thankyou #Lausphotography.

Rick Lau photos/from Fox KTVU

What's interesting about this is not so much the photo itself, but the response from the University of California, Davis campus, which was put under 'shelter-in-place' orders the night of Corona's murder when the suspect was on the loose, and during the standoff.

From the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission (ECAC), part of the student government:

On January 10, 2019, the University and the city were shut down in response to a shooting in downtown Davis.

First and foremost, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the police officer's family.  

Those opening sentences were not included in the article, nor was a paragraph offering services to those who may have been 'triggered' by the events of that night and by the photos of Corona and that flag, which the post said has been popularized by the #BlueLivesMatter movement.  

The paragraph below, however, did make into the article linked above.

Flashing lights, sirens, and increased police presence can be triggering to many Black and Brown people. In addition, there has been the circulation of an image of the police officer with the Blue Lives Matter flag. We would like to directly address that this flag represents an attempt by law enforcement to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Blue Lives Matter' was...an effort to evade accountability and critical awareness of police treatment of communities of color.

From the Associated Students, University of California, Davis student body president Michael Gofman, in response to the post by the ECAC:

... the thin blue line flag in question... is used by the law enforcement community as a memorial symbol to honor the fallen.

Gofman quoted a statement by the flag's maker, Thin Blue Line USA, which said, "We reject, in the strongest possible terms, any association of our flag with racism, hatred, and bigotry. To use it in such a way tarnishes what it and our nation believe in. The thin blue line flag stands for the sacrifice law enforcement officers of this nation make each day. We ask our nation to hold faith with those that defend the thin blue line." And, he continued, 

(It's) easy to sit on the third floor of the Memorial Union when there are at least 100 brave men and women in blue between you and the shooter. It is easy to argue hypotheticals, politics, and ideology when you’re in safety. I am ashamed that some of these same people, protected by the very officers that they are condemning, have the audacity to politicize the loss of a young officer. Her only crime was being a police officer.

After Gofman's post, the ECAC deleted its post. The article also noted that the ECAC had been "named UC Davis’ commission of the year in 2018. The ECAC previously boycotted Gofman’s annual State of the Association address, calling him “racist,” “divisive” and “not trustworthy,” UC Davis student newspaper The California Aggie reported.

And UC Davis, officially? 

Now is the time to put aside our differences and focus on the life lost and come together. There will be time afterward to reflect on how we recover from this horrific incident. Officer Corona remains foremost in our minds as someone who paid the ultimate price for protecting and serving our community.

Isn't that correct? Shouldn't that have been the goal, at that moment? To come together, even briefly?

I don't take issue with the right of the people who posted each of these posts to do so. I don't have to agree with any of them, either - whether from a distance, or from campus if that was my home. I don't necessarily agree with the ECAC taking down their post, but that was their choice. 

But, from my middle-aged white lady perspective, why use an innocent, more-than-two-year-old social media post to attack the law enforcement profession at the very time the person who posted it, now a 22-year-old officer, was just killed in the line of duty? Whatever sense does that make? It's outrageous, and it makes things worse, not better.

Officer Corona did nothing wrong. She was dispatched to a traffic accident, and was killed by a white man with mental problems. That has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement. She was raised the daughter of a police officer; she always wanted to be a police officer. That has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement, either.

I honestly share the outrage, expressed by my friend, a policeman's mom, over Corona's senseless death, and of the deaths of all the other officers killed in the line of duty. I hope that her son stays safe, on duty and off, and that other police officers do as well.

I honestly share the outrage, expressed by my friends - people of color and otherwise - over the senseless deaths of those who have been killed by police officers. I hope my friends' children, family members, and friends stay safe, and aren't caught up in what we know happens to people of color, particularly black men, in our country.

I just as honestly wish it was socially acceptable to be equally outraged by both circumstances - because honestly, I often feel like it's not.

And that, to me, is also outrageous, and makes things worse, not better.