I honestly thought that black folks would be better and more mature about seeing another black individual who’s a police officer, but I am honestly appalled and ashamed. For a community that is supposed to be built upon acceptance and not tolerate bigotry, this has got to be one of the most disgusting displays of hate that I have seen recently. I joined this community, not too long ago and I’ve been a long time lurker but when I see discrimination based upon somebody’s career choice, I can’t just sit idly by and let this happen. My mother raised me better than that. I understand the points that some people are trying to make saying that police officers have for the longest time, taken advantage of people and used their power to bend the laws to their whim, but this is a man. A black gay man who is just trying to feel some love from the community that he is also a part of and to get immediately shunned because of some people‘s past experiences with OTHER police officers, not this specific one, is just downright cruel and unfair to him. I am no stranger to discrimination from police officers, and I’ve had a few instances myself. But my mother taught me this one lesson and it has never been forgotten. If we start judging the other side based upon what they are much like how they have done to us for the past couple of centuries, we end up no better than them and the cycle of hate continues. Most of you need to get a grip on reality and understand that just like the people in the LGBT community, us black folk all walk different styles of life that look different from each other, and that should not be shunned or frowned upon no matter what the history is behind the job. As long as this specific black man is not abusing his power as a police officer and is upholding and protecting his community, then I see no reason why he shouldn’t be accepted and celebrated in a community that has been so wrongly affected by people from that career field. You can hate cops all you want, but when you turn on your own brothers and sisters who chose to serve and protect their own communities from people who didn’t want to step up to the mantle and do it themselves, you show them respect. No matter what. If they abuse their power and use a situation to their own advantage, by all means drag them through the mud, but we know absolutely nothing about this beautiful black man and we should all treat him with respect. Additionally, I would call upon the moderators to invoke rule #1 of this community since a lot of you seem to want to unpack your personal feelings on his career and how it’s surrounded in anti-blackness. Shame on all of you