Above and Beyond: When the standard is killing, is being just above that really laudable?

"GA police officer seen lying in grass, comforting child after wreck"

Photo Credit: Officer Kay Denton

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 4 seconds.

The original photo caption reads: 

"With all the "anti-police" propaganda that is seen in the media, all of the "bad cop" stories, and stories of "racial" issues, I wanted to share THIS. This is a photo of a wreck scene today on I-85, if you look closely you can see a police officer lying on the ground to the left side of the car. This officer was not hurt or injured in any way. This officer was comforting a child who was injured in the accident. This child was an eight year old black male who was scared to death and had some internal injuries. This officer laid on the ground with this child, cradling his head in his hand and talking to him to keep him calm. When we found out that today is the child's birthday, this officer sang Happy Birthday to him! At one point the child reached over and patted the officer on the head and then played with the officer's hair! THIS is why I'm a police officer, to help people, to be there for them no matter what the circumstances and no matter what skin color! I pray that this beautiful little boy is okay and I thank God that I work with some amazing officers who are so compassionate and caring! Thank you for making me proud to be your supervisor!"

                                                                                               •••

This is really sweet, but is this supposed to negate everything else we've seen in the media? All the shootings, bloodshed, and "I can't breathe"? I can't erase those moving moments from my mind with this one still image...

When black men and women are killed by police, the media bolsters the story of a (falsely) criminalized history with unflattering photos, and thinly veiled words like "thug".

When police kill black men and women, the media counters calls for their accountability with videos of ice cream traffic stops, and slanted words like "compassionate".

This is America, 2016.