Whoever would have believed that COVID-19 might not top the list as the most transformative event of the year. The protests after the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, and some of the excesses that ensued, may, over time, have the more lasting impact. It all emanated from police brutality. Black people had had enough. Well-meaning demonstrators, and some with more felonious thoughts, took to the streets — during a pandemic, no less, shouting slogans and sending germ particles into the air, throwing all caution to the wind. The time for racial justice would wait for no quarantine protocols.

The police brutality that resulted in the death of George Floyd — literally taking his breath away as he pleaded for air — is an unspeakable act committed by the very people whose job it is to serve and protect. What followed Floyd’s death, however, has not produced the same level of moral clarity. A national groundswell of social upheaval and racial unrest has led to contradictory messages and feeble responses from governors, mayors and law enforcement.

The virus that threw us all a curve until we anxiously flattened it is still a public health menace. No vaccine. No reliable antibody tests. No scientific certainty. No matter. The people want out, and governors are slowly giving it to them.