Acts of Kindness
Black man approaches 4 cops closeby, refuses to take no for an answer when he asks for their tickets
An onlooker sitting in front of the officers posted about the incident afterward where it quickly went viral.
Irene Markianou
06.18.20

Over the last few weeks, there has been chaos going on all over the country, with riots and protests that often end up in looting and destruction.

People have understandably felt the need to protest against police brutality and racism. Some of those protests have been peaceful, but unfortunately, most of them haven’t. In many cases, demonstrations have led to looting and destruction of public and private property which is a shame. In a few extreme cases, there have even been more deaths, which is really saddening.

Unsplash/ Mike Von
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Unsplash/ Mike Von

The worst part of all that is going on right now is the fact that people have had to choose where they stand as if everything is black and white in life and there is no room for grey.

People seem to think you either support the Black Lives Matter movement and therefore hate all police officers, or you support the police and are a racist.

But this is not how things should be. Despite the undeniable white privilege, there are countless white people, even police officers, who are not racist.

There are white people and cops- or a combination of the two- who support the movement and have even marched with protesters.

Unsplash/ Isaiah Rustad
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Unsplash/ Isaiah Rustad

The point here doesn’t seem to be which side you are on, but how positive a person you are. In these dark times- let’s not forget that we are also in the middle of a pandemic that has affected the whole world and goes ahead killing people no matter what their skin color or uniform is- we need to be united and not separated.

Some people seem to have realized this and they have decided to do good in this life without judging anyone by their looks or by what they are supposed to represent.

Unsplash/ Aarón Blanco Tejedor
Source:
Unsplash/ Aarón Blanco Tejedor

One of those people is the man in this story, who did his act of kindness without much fuss or desire to impress. He just felt like it and acted accordingly.

A few days ago, Garrett Cotton took a photo with his phone that was meant to go viral. The man was just having breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Pell City, Alabama, when he noticed a middle-aged black man was approaching the four officers that were seated at a nearby table.

“So we are eating at Cracker Barrel this morning. There are 4 officers behind us eating. And this middle aged black man came over and asked for their tickets and said he was paying for their meals,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Facebook
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Facebook

As Cotton recalled, the man wouldn’t take no for an answer and just wanted, in this way, to thank the officers for their public service. Before he left, he wished them a safe day on the job.

“He then thanked them for their public service and wished them a safe day on the job. Every officer stood up and thanked the man while shaking his hand,” he added.

Facebook Screenshot
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Facebook Screenshot

This unexpected act of kindness reminded Cotton that people should realize that no matter what skin color or uniform each of us bears, they do not indicate anything about their character.

He highlighted the importance of doing away with hatred and divisiveness and of living simpler lives, based on positivity.

This story deeply affected the man who witnessed it, but also all of us who are appreciating the lesson this man just taught us.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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