When I would go to bars, I'd go to gay bars. Because I could just be myself and not worry about running into the violence in the clubs that catered to teens.
A safe space is about finding a place where you find yourself comfortable to be your authentic self. They've always existed, even if they weren't called safe spaces -- or castigated as part of a culture war.
As an aside, I probably wouldn't use dicta from Plessy v. Ferguson, one of the worst decisions in US history, to buttress any argument. The constitution was never color-blind. It didn't explicitly reference color, but it didn't have to--everyone knew what it was talking about.
> Why wouldn't police officers be afforded the same kinds of protections from microagressions that are given to other people in this country.
Microaggressions are one thing. Criminalizing microaggressions is quite another.
> Doesn't a police officer have a right to a safe working environment, and aggression free interactions with 'customers' (citizens), and laws saying as much?
No. No cop goes into the profession expecting puppies and rainbows. Going into potentially unsafe environments with potentially aggressive people is what they signed up for.
As a retail employee, you have to put up with microaggressions from customers. It's just part of dealing with the public. And those microaggressions aren't criminalized. Why do cops get to criminalize their feelings getting hurt?