Dom Giordano Column: It Shouldn't Be Black vs. Blue
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Let me take you inside my mind as I got ready to do my show amid the events of the last few days. Roe and I have a friend who is African-American and the mom of two young boys. She told how depressed and upset she was with the police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana. I can't imagine exactly what she goes through in educating her sons.
This conversation guides part of my thinking in talking with listeners.
What more directly guides my thinking is growing up with a dad who was a cop and later on a sister who was also a cop. As a result of this, and the times I've ridden with police while they were on patrol, I have a good sense how tense car stops and other police interactions with people who are resisting them can be.
These twin thought processes drive me to a few guidelines that I think work for me and might work in general. First, each police involved shooting has to be treated individually. Shootings like the North Carolina shooting in which a video showed a cop shooting a man in the back are much different than the Ferguson confrontation involving Michael Brown.
When a police shooting happens, we shouldn't put on our team jerseys and retreat to our corners and start fighting. Each shooting must be analyzed individually.
Next, it's clear to me that Black Lives Matter is a group that must be marginalized as much as possible. The way to do it is to promote other groups that are peacefully trying to offer solutions and are reasonably willing to work with police.
Finally, it is time to let police know that they are supported in every way possible. That doesn't mean rogue cops are supported. It means Blue Lives Matter Too.
