The murder of George Floyd by slow painful asphyxiation has broken the hearts of all caring people. Maybe he deserved to die you say. He broke the law, didn’t he? He and others were trying to pass counterfeit bills and were caught. He resisted arrest and was restrained by those officers who “protect and serve” the community. 
If I lived in that community would I feel differently? If I ran the business that Floyd and friends were trying to scam, would I feel good about his death? When George Floyd begs for his life and says, “I can’t breathe,” I know I will never forget the lack of compassion on officer Chauvin’s face, while watching the video on the evening news. When did police departments in this country allow sociopaths to become officers?
Maybe the pandemic has made some of us insensitive to one more death among the more than 100,000. We are all struggling to get by these days, and so far in Vermont the pandemic has been held at bay. The other pandemic of racism has been around so long, maybe we have become insensitive to the death of just another black man. I hope not. 
Donald Trump has declared war against those who protest and who want change in how we police our country. He won’t listen to demands for change. He doesn’t hear the youth of America crying out that Black Lives Matter. He wants to be a “law and order” president, not a leader who will bring about a positive restructuring of our society. 
We are at another crossroads in our fragile democracy. Look out, America, change is coming.
Larry Shepard
Starksboro