( CNN ) I obey the speed limit , use turn signals , and do n't cruise around with broken tail lights . I do n't have substance-abuse problems , unless you count Diet Dr. Pepper . I live in a safe neighborhood , and no one in my family has a criminal record . I like to think all of that is why I spend virtually no time worrying about the police . Yet there 's another big reason : I 'm white . The way most white people see the police , and the way most black people see them , is separated by a gap so wide it may as well be a canyon . That gulf has been cast into sharp relief by events in Ferguson , Missouri , where a grand jury declined to indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown . That sparked protests around the country , as did a decision in New York not to indict a white police officer in the death of Eric Garner , an unarmed black man who police confronted while investigating allegations that he was selling cigarettes illegally . Those cases collectively have come to stand as a kind of national Rorschach inkblot test , with people looking at the same events and reaching different conclusions . Some people adopted the phrase `` black lives matter '' to protest police treatment of minorities , while others countered with `` police lives matter , '' and -- maybe in search of a more universal middle ground -- `` all lives matter . '' People immortalized Garner 's last words -- `` I ca n't breathe '' -- on T-shirts and protest signs and social media posts . Those on the other side of the national divide fired back with slogans such as `` I can breathe '' and `` Breathe Easy , Obey the Law , '' arguing that if you just obey the law , you will avoid encounters with the police altogether . One of our latest CNN/ORC polls put numbers on the gap in public opinion . Asked `` How many police officers in the area where you live ... are prejudiced against blacks ? '' 17 % of whites said `` most or some , '' but more than twice as many non-whites -- 42 % -- felt that way . `` Does the U.S. criminal justice system treat whites and blacks equally ? '' Whites : 50 % said yes , compared to 21 % of non-whites . True , plenty of blacks and whites buck those trends , and no racial group can be treated as a monolith in these matters , but leanings -- writ large -- remain . Those opinions may grow out of the fact that police tend to arrest blacks at rates disproportionate to their share in the general population . FBI figures , for example , show that blacks made up 28 % of all people arrested in 2013 ; they make up about 13 % of the U.S. population . But plenty of people have long suggested those numbers are deceiving ; that police pursue black suspects more vigorously because they are predisposed to believe blacks are guilty , and those suspects are often less educated and not as financially prepared to defend themselves . The result , they argue , is a self-fulfilling prophecy : a larger percentage of blacks are arrested and convicted because police spend more time chasing them down . Accordingly , when an unarmed teen gets shot and killed by a cop in Missouri , or a man in New York dies after being choked by an officer , some people see evidence of police targeting and brutalizing minorities . Still , facts often fit into this debate like broken Legos , if at all . In both Ferguson and New York , police supporters point out that the men who died were being approached about possible criminal behavior and did not do what the officers asked of them . That 's a formula for trouble , they say , regardless of race . Want more complications ? Consider this : About a quarter of the nation 's officers come from minority groups , and they too are making those arrests that so disturb some people in minority communities . That suggests this friction may be partially about black and white , but also tied to a pro-police mentality that sees blue first . And by the way , there are still plenty of places like Ferguson where the overwhelming prevalence of white officers in a largely black community creates a feeling of apartheid for some minority residents . It all plays out in so many heated ways . Protestors flood the streets and some observers see overdue demands for change , while others see pointless rabble-rousing and destruction . In New York , officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill DeBlasio on the grounds that he supported protesters outraged by the grand jury decision not to indict a police officer in Garner 's death . Anger at the mayor deepened after two New York police officers were killed in ambush by a man who had posted on Instagram : `` I 'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today . They Take 1 Of Ours , Let 's Take 2 of Theirs . '' Some see well-founded , fair objections , while others see brazen disrespect . On it goes , each action honestly generated from within a worldview , and yet seen in a wildly different way by those who use another lens . The divergent views were captured neatly after a Facebook post from Mike Rowe , who stars in the CNN series `` Somebody 's Got ta Do It . '' Someone asked what he thought of the protests in California triggered by events in Ferguson . He said those protests made him 90 minutes late for a holiday dinner in Alameda , California , where the deaths of Brown and Garner dominated conversation . `` My conservative friends were focused on the fact that both men died while resisting arrest , and were therefore responsible for their own demise . They wanted to discuss the killings in light of the incredible risk that all police officers agree to assume , '' Rowe wrote . `` My liberal friends were focused on the fact that both men were unarmed , and were therefore victims of excessive force . They wanted to discuss the killings in the context of historical trends that suggest bias plays a recurring role in the way cops treat minorities . '' He said it was clear by dessert that both sides wanted law and order . `` But the conservatives were convinced that order is only possible when citizens treat cops with respect . Liberals , on the other hand , were arguing that order can only occur when cops treat everyone the same , '' he wrote . `` And round and round we went . '' More than 115,000 people offered a range of views in their comments on Rowe 's Facebook post . Nearly 65,000 people shared the post , with each spawning more comments from more people with more views . When these events happen , people always say `` At least we 're talking about the problems . That 's a start . '' I 'm not so sure . I 've covered versions of this debate for close to 40 years now , and it has n't changed much . Some are so convinced of police bigotry , they will not stomach the slightest allowance that maybe officers are taking on a hard , dangerous job in which judgment calls can be fairly made and still wind up fatally wrong . Some others are so certain that this is all just so much liberal whining , that they can not tolerate even a reasonable review of police conduct , suggesting that it constitutes an erosion of respect and support for people they consider de facto heroes . I suspect if any real progress is to be made in this national discussion , it will have to be started by people who do n't fully buy into either camp . And the discussion probably ca n't include poisoning phrases like `` black underclass '' or `` white privilege , '' because those are conversation stoppers -- not starters . The man who helped me get my first job in television was an excellent investigative journalist named Norman Lumpkin . He made his reputation as a rare African-American TV reporter in Montgomery , Alabama , grappling with inept public officials , scheming businessmen , and , yes , shady cops . He was my friend and mentor . One day Norman called me aside to criticize a story I 'd just done on divorces , noting that I had not included any black families . I took offense . `` This is n't a story about race , '' I said . `` It 's always about race , '' Norman said . `` Well , I do n't judge people that way . '' `` We all do . '' I 've thought of that clash many times , especially since Norman passed away , and I 've concluded I was right to try to ignore race in a story that was about human values we all share . He was equally right to say race has a way of creeping into places where it does n't belong ; like divorces , politics , and police work . And we were collectively right in trying to actually talk about our differences , instead of accusing each other and lapsing into hardened silence . Neither of us was being racist . We were trying , as friends do , to help each other understand . But then , Norman and I already knew we could trust each other . And in too many places , police and the people they are sworn to protect , are not so sure of that .
Whites and blacks tend to have different views of race and police . That divide has been on display since the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner . Some also have a pro-police mentality that sees blue first .