Reading The Day's coverage of Wednesday's protest in Mystic over George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, I was surprised by the vagueness of protesters' statements and the reporter's willingness to accept them without follow-up.

“Changes need to be made.” “I'd like to see unity.” The community needs to “stand up against injustice.” “More needs to be done on every level.”

What does any of that mean in practice? Should Minneapolis vote out the Democratic mayor who currently oversees the city's police department? What role does police training play? How does one measure “racism” when similar deaths occur in police handling of members of other races?

Likewise, the reporter was vague in identifying the protest's sponsor, “Rise Up Mystic, a grassroots organization.” The group's website says it “began on November 10, 2016, the morning after the presidential election, as we felt the weight of an upcoming administration born out of fear and hate.”

In other words, it is an anti-Trump group, with all of the predictable truisms about the president, looking for any pretext to stir things up. It is sad to see George Floyd's death reduced to pretext.

Duane Schultz

Mystic