Learn English with Candice Malala Malan. Candace Malan is a writer, activist, and researcher who has spent the past few days glued to the news watching as peaceful protests have devolved into riots, looting, arson, chaos, lawlessness and anarchy across the U.S. and Canada.
00:00:00.000like you i have been glued to the news over the past few days watching as peaceful protests have
00:00:10.960descended into riots looting arson chaos lawlessness and anarchy perhaps the saddest part in all this
00:00:20.240is that this was an opportunity for us to find unity and to promote justice together out of a
00:00:25.920truly horrendous situation that was captured on tape several videos show a minneapolis police
00:00:32.320officer using deadly force to constrain and ultimately kill 46 year old george floyd
00:00:39.440it appears as though it's a clear-cut example of police brutality the officer pressed his knee
00:00:46.560into the man's neck for eight excruciating minutes as people watching pleaded for him to let the man
00:00:54.320breathe but he didn't instead george floyd died there was immediate outrage an immediate agreement
00:01:02.400that this was not in any way a justifiable action on behalf of a police officer in fact i've yet to see
00:01:10.320a single person come out in defense of that officer who by the way has been fired arrested and charged
00:01:17.920with third-degree murder the other three officers on the scene have also been fired for their
00:01:23.360indifference to what was essentially a state-sanctioned murder americans took to the streets in large
00:01:30.880numbers to demonstrate they used their constitutionally protected rights to free speech and freedom of
00:01:37.920assembly and they had support and the solidarity practically of the entire world everyone agreed the
00:01:44.720situation was unjust and that floyd was wrongly killed but instead of joining together to mourn in
00:01:51.840the senseless death and to reflect on aspects of policing that perhaps lead to brutality things
00:01:57.680like how police are trained how to deal with officers who break rules and don't follow orders
00:02:03.280and again perhaps perverse incentives that exist within trade union contracts that end up increasing
00:02:10.320crime accidentally instead of taking any of these measures or talking about any of these issues to try
00:02:15.200to ensure that no more innocent people are killed at the hands of an overzealous police officer instead
00:02:23.440the movement was hijacked violent activists and anarchists began organizing and instigating riots they
00:02:32.160smashed windows facilitated looting and ransacking both of local businesses as well as big box stores
00:02:39.600they set fire to police stations to churches and to businesses and instead of stopping these riots
00:02:48.080officials across america ordered police forces to stand down and essentially give rioters space to riot
00:02:57.280meanwhile many journalists and pundits in the media were busy fanning the flames of the situation defending and justifying and promoting these riots
00:03:07.360they claim that america and canada too are evil racist societies that deserve to be burnt down
00:03:16.400they don't see instances of racism as an obstacle to overcome in an otherwise free peaceful and just society
00:03:25.040instead they see instances of racism as systemic the very foundation of our societies something that is
00:03:32.640built in that we can never overcome without radical and foundational change and so these advocates call
00:03:41.280for the tearing down of our entire society every aspect of our system including free markets private
00:03:48.560property the rule of law and our legal system that is why they're chanting eat the rich and looting in beverly
00:03:56.320hills and that is why black lives matter toronto leaders are calling for police services to be
00:04:03.520defunded entirely defunded even the most basic principles like individual rights and freedoms are
00:04:11.440being overshadowed and undermined by collectivist and tribalistic ideas that's what we're seeing in these
00:04:18.560protests that make them different and far more intense than protests and riots in the past
00:04:25.120collectivism is center stage they tell us that all cops are murderers that they're all responsible
00:04:32.480for the killing of george floyd they believe that all white people are unconsciously racist
00:04:38.880and that all white people are responsible for slavery segregation and income inequality
00:04:45.200they think that all men are sexist purveyors of the patriarchy all christians are backwards-minded and
00:04:51.440homophobic and all trump supporters are racist white supremacists this is collectivism and it was the
00:04:59.280driving force behind the carnage and destruction of both communism and fascism in the 20th century
00:05:07.280and that's the most worrying part about these protests and riots they're tainted with the ideological
00:05:13.520furor of the radical far left a radical far left that pushes a narrative of oppression division
00:05:22.480hatred chaos and ultimately destruction it's clear they think our system is rotten and it's clear they
00:05:31.200want to tear it down but what is less clear is what would replace our system that's the problem these
00:05:38.080activists have no idea what would replace it and that is the scariest part they're either so ignorant
00:05:45.360of history that they don't know what happens when you tear apart a liberal democracy and try to replace
00:05:51.520it with an elusive utopia or perhaps they're just too nihilistic to care either way this will not end well