Dear Wives in Blue,
I want to thank you for your service. As a fellow wife of a husband on the front line, I can empathize deeply with your fear and understand the panic when you see signs that say “F the police,” and images on the news of violence against fellow officers on the front line. I can only imagine the trauma you feel every time your husband puts on a uniform, and seeing his brothers and sisters in riot gear with such strong opposition has to be heart-wrenching.
I am asking, that you can also empathize with me when I say the difference between you and I is my husband doesn’t get to take off his “uniform” (He doesn’t get to take off his skin) My husband is a hero at work and a villain as soon as he leaves the fire truck.
The same fear you feel every time your husband walks out in a uniform is the exact same fear I feel when my husband leaves the house… to go jogging… to go on a drive… literally any normal activity has a tinge of fear right now and for decades. I know that racial tensions are tense right now. I just wanted to reach out as a friend and pray that even as you reflect on how hard it is to show your children the news, please also understand how hard it is for me to show my kids the news right now also.
I pray that as we work on this issue as a nation, we can work together to make a world where BOTH of our husbands feel safe EVERYTIME they leave the house. Please know that when I say Black Lives Matter I am not taking anything away from your husband. We need your husband, we need all police who work with ethical boundaries and guidelines.
Our children probably go to the same school, please know that when I see your husband and after school pick up… I don’t see a villain, I hope you can say the same when you see mine.
Your sister in Christ,
Chantea
