    What is one thing you would fix in America, if you had the power to do so? In “I’m a Cop and I Support Black Lives Matter: How Can We Heal These Wounds?”, the writer, Diane Goldstein wants to solve the growing dispute between people who are pro-cop and pro-black. According to Goldstein, in order to solve racial inequality, law enforcement will need to change their ways to set an example throughout all social and economic communities in America. 

 As a 21-year veteran of law enforcement, Diane Goldstein emphasizes the argument of increased police brutality in the American media today. The main point of her argument is that in order to fix the social and racial problems that we struggle with, Americans need to see that change is needed within both law enforcement and the general society. Goldstein adds to this point by saying that people should be both pro-Blue Lives Matter and pro-Black Lives Matter. One way in which Goldstein supports her argument is by giving ways in which law enforcement agencies can create programs like “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids”. This program has helped thousands of students, but shows that by increasing graduation rate by 10% in low income communities by adding after school activities, more than 3,000 murders could be prevented a year (Goldstein 427). Goldstein continues to demonstrate that law enforcement needs to take the initiative of understanding the debate because police officers in America have power in society despite the constant battles with racism. Another way in which a change could be produced is by stopping the police from sweeping the problem of the current economic state of these people in poor neighborhoods away. Goldstein’s argument was planned strategically by first stating her own personal life example, her main point and then followed by examples with reasoning. 

Diane Goldstein verifies her creditability of this topic through her experience as the first female lieutenant for the Redondo Beach Police Department in California. She currently is an executive board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Goldstein 426). This shows that Goldstein is educated, experienced and has a passion for doing good in the world. She has written many other published articles about the effect of parent drug use on children and police officers fighting against drug crimes. An example of intrinsic ethos within this essay is that she mentions many of her colleagues like the Dallas Police Chief, David Brown to build on her argument for equality in America by using the credibility of others. Even as an African American in this situation, Chief David Brown was able to redefine trust in the community after a fatal police shooting. This shows that with change and understanding, people will come together despite their opinions of the situation due to a positive powerful influence of law (Goldstein 427).  Elliot Currie, one of her professors, also wrote about the increase demand for the classification of punishment and need for rehabilitation in 2013, which whom is very credible. (Goldstein 427). Goldstein establishes necessary pathos through the mention of the many deaths of both police officers and those in minorities in the last few years. According to Goldstein, if a solution is not created by law enforcement, then the debate will continue and there will be an increase of violent crimes and deaths, which needs to be prevented. Logos is developed through Goldstein’s use of statistics from the “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” program, and the use of quotations from her colleagues. 

Goldstein catches the attention of the audience by discussing a very controversial topic between crime and law enforcement that has been in media recently. The audience is anyone who wants to fix this problem in America or anyone who is unaware of this current movement. The audience also entails anyone on either side of the argument, so that one can see that it is possible to be on both sides of this argument. This shows that in order to work for a solution, people who are both pro-Black Lives Matter and pro-Blue Lives Matter need to work together. She sends a powerful message to the audience that law enforcement needs to initiate new tactics to decrease the amount of racial discrimination. This essay can be seen as very informative because Goldstein agrees with both sides of the argument and persuades the audience to make a change by using facts and statistics that she has gathered. Goldstein’s tone is hopeful because she believes that a change could be made as long as law enforcement can set forth a positive example to cause a difference in the society. Goldstein was so motivated to write this essay due to the increased amount of attention police injustice she has seen on social media and through her past experiences. As a former law enforcement officer, she has personally seen the effects on both sides of the situation which includes police, and people who have been fighting for justice against police. Goldstein also can connect to the audience by telling the story of deactivating her Facebook account due to the multiple posts of her friends, no matter what side they opposed. This is something that is very conventional on all social media sources, and that almost everyone has seen over the last few years. The main purpose of this essay is to try to have people understand why police shootings are still happening, so a change can be made and less lives are lost in the process. 

Goldstein’s essay was strategically planned, she used reasoning to support her ideas, and proved her own credibility within her work.  She appealed to the audience correctly and gave reliable facts and statistics regarding the fight against police violence and crime in America. 
