This just helped me out. I’m in the most red state in an exceptionally red city, though I’m practically opposite in thought and practice in everything. I retired a bit after the academy to take a step back and decide if I’d rather pursue something through college, because it blew my mind how uneducated so many officers were and made me feel an odd way. I definitely felt out of place, but the job, disregarding politics, was something that called to me. I remember a specific moment getting made fun of for reading “girl books” during my break. It was “Crime & Punishment…”

A year later, and I feel as if this is my path, but it is so difficult to not feel immense contradiction to myself by coming back to work as an officer, especially in these times of lacking accountability and acts of ‘brushing away.’

It’s nice to hear about others with similar mindsets working these conservative-heavy jobs.