Sometimes a TV show episode sticks with me. In this case, it was Blue Bloods. As I listened, I knew there was a message I wanted to share with you.
Officer Janko responded to the pleas of a woman who had been arrested. She listened to the woman’s side of what happened, a side no one else knew because they would not listen to her. Instead, they accepted the version of the officer who had arrested her.
Janko’s gut instinct was that there was something to what this woman said. She researched, digging for past history to validate one side or the other. What did she find? The officer who made the arrest had been accused of similar action in the past.
Everyone in the precinct was angry at Janko for taking the side of the victim. But, she defended her actions to her partner, stating her gut instinct told her something wasn’t right. She just wanted to find the truth.
This is the part that struck me. Janko’s partner was approached by a colleague who knocked Janko for what she did. He expected the partner to side with others against her. Instead, her partner stuck up for her. He said if his sister, daughter or wife were ever arrested, he would want someone like Janko to listen – really listen – to their side of the story. He agreed that Janko had bucked the norm and risked getting in trouble for it. But he was proud of her for pursuing what she believed was the right thing to do. If she hadn’t, the bully would have continued to operate freely.
I was impressed with how her partner defended her. He could easily have gone along with the others, but he didn’t.
What do you do when you hear something negative about someone? Do you accept it? Allow it to color your thinking? Or, do you do your homework so that you are fully informed, aware of both sides of a situation? Then make up your mind.
It’s an opportunity to be a role model of good character. Something we need more of today.
