One cop.

One senseless, shameful murder of a man named George Floyd.

Has triggered:

Thousands of protests. Fires. Destruction. Looting. Injuries. More deaths. More hatred. More sadness. More helplessness. More divisiveness. More racism.

All this amidst a global pandemic which has triggered:

Thousands of deaths. Overloaded hospitals. Families torn apart. An economic depression. Millions unemployed. Increased suicides. Increased domestic abuse. Divisiveness.

All this amidst a political landscape that has triggered:

More hatred. A nation divided. Racism. Unrest.

Yesterday’s protests only solidified my belief that we are a country in deep distress. What was said to be a schedule of “peaceful” protests of course turned violent. Definition of peaceful:” Free from disturbance; tranquil. Not involving war or violence.” Did anyone really expect this to be the way they were handled? People have been in their homes for several months. Tensions are high as we continue to be unemployed, the pandemic continues and everyone is restless. People are fighting over wearing masks for goodness sakes – did we think there would be anything peaceful about this?

I am sickened by the officer’s (I won’t say HIS name) disregard for the life of George Floyd. The look on his face, the hands in his pockets, the people filming it and letting it happen. I don’t blame the African American Community for being outraged beyond belief – or all of us other races who agree. But how is what happened this week going to change anything? How will violence, fires and looting work to fix this? Remember: ONE COP did this and now thousands are suffering even more than they already were from the effects of the pandemic.

Now, cities and businesses that are struggling to recover from the pandemic (which is far from over) are left to spend time, energy and valuable resources to clean up this tragic mess.

Where do the answers lie? At what point can any of us wake up to peace? Tranquility? Or is this a thing of the past?

What world do I leave to my children? To the grandchildren I’ve yet to have?

We are most definitely not in this together.

We are most definitely not one nation, under God, indivisible.

We are broken.

And how we will fix it is a mystery to all.