Rebel News Podcast - “OK” symbol is racist？ What's next？ (Guest host： David Menzies)

00:00:00.400 You're listening to a Rebel Media Podcast.

00:00:03.880 Tonight, a Chicago Cubs fan is banned for life from Wrigley Field for doing this?

00:00:12.280 It's May 15th. I'm David Menzies and this is the Ezra Levin Show.

00:00:19.100 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:00:23.020 There's 8,500 customers here and you won't give them an answer.

00:00:26.680 The only thing I have to say to the government, the wire publisher, is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:00:38.080 So check out this picture of broadcaster Doug Glanville at a Chicago Cubs game the other day.

00:00:44.320 This image has caused quite the fecal storm.

00:00:48.380 The focus of your attention, by the way, shouldn't be on Glanville,

00:00:51.320 but on the fan in the grey Cubs sweatshirt who's using his fingers to make the OK symbol.

00:00:59.080 Oh, cue the outrage.

00:01:02.040 Now, I have a true confession to make here, folks, which perhaps speaks of my ignorance on modern day symbolism

00:01:08.560 because I only recently learned that the OK symbol is supposedly the living logo of the white supremacist movement.

00:01:16.820 I guess, though, silly white hoods and cumbersome burning crosses were getting to be a wee bit too much to lug around.

00:01:25.620 Whereas flashing an OK sign is wonderfully portable and something that can be done instantaneously, or so I've been told.

00:01:34.820 You see, maybe the reason I've been asleep when it comes to all the nuances associated with white supremacy

00:01:41.540 is that when one is endlessly barked at by everyone from school board chairs to mainstream media talking heads

00:01:50.620 that white supremacists are the number one threat in the world today

00:01:53.640 and that Caucasians are responsible for all the misery in the world 1.00

00:01:57.420 and that white privilege continues to thrive.

00:02:00.600 Well, all of that rhetoric kind of blurs into the wallpaper, so to speak,

00:02:05.300 thereby making a honky like me kind of tune out and drift away

00:02:09.920 only to be shaken back to reality thanks to the next outburst of evil whiteness 1.00

00:02:16.400 such as that OK gesture, which I have learned is tantamount to donning a Ku Klux Klan outfit

00:02:23.460 and waving around a noose.

00:02:25.860 By the way, as an aside, you know why I could never be a white supremacist such as a KKK member

00:02:32.260 even if I harbored white power beliefs?

00:02:35.640 It's those ridiculous costumes and those goofy names.

00:02:38.640 I mean, all those pointy-headed hoods and going by the title of Grand Wizard or Grand Dragon.

00:02:45.940 I mean, are you kidding me?

00:02:47.740 Is this supposed to be a hate group or a bunch of fanboys

00:02:50.900 staging a low-rent Harry Potter convention?

00:02:54.880 Meanwhile, back at the old ballpark, judgment was rendered swiftly against that Cubs fan.

00:03:00.260 At a news conference, Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein said the team was able to determine the fan's name

00:03:07.880 and this individual will never be allowed to set foot within hallowed Wrigley Field ever again.

00:03:14.700 How that will be enforced remains to be seen, especially if this fan returns donning a burka or in a cab.

00:03:21.560 And hey, look on the bright side.

00:03:23.620 Such togs provide superb protection from UV exposure in the summertime.

00:03:28.140 Although one does turn into a sweaty Betty while residing in such a fabric coffin when the temperature goes north of 75. 0.99

00:03:37.140 Anyway, Epstein continues, quote,

00:03:39.580 Well, there's a newsflash.

00:04:05.160 Wrigley Field is a place of inclusion.

00:04:07.400 Do you know what good seats go for at Wrigley, folks?

00:04:11.700 I mean, thank God for the White Sox.

00:04:13.820 No problem getting tickets to see those guys play.

00:04:16.560 But me thinks Chicago's Southside franchise better work on that ivory-hued nickname in case anyone gets the wrong idea.

00:04:25.020 What with this whole narrative of whiteness being akin to evilness.

00:04:29.120 Now, don't get me wrong if you are a white supremacist or if you are any kind of supremacist for that matter.

00:04:37.020 I have 0.0 tolerance or empathy for you.

00:04:41.380 Racism is wrong.

00:04:42.520 And my grandfather spent five years of his life fighting those sadistic supremacists known as the Nazis some 80 years ago.

00:04:49.980 And luckily for us all, the good guys indeed won.

00:04:54.640 Even so, the question arises, was flashing the timeless gesture known as the OK symbol truly an act of racism by that Cubs fan?

00:05:04.340 Much of the coverage by the mainstream media has bordered on the hysterical with the reporters resembling villagers brandishing pitchforks and torches as they seek out an audience with the Frankenstein monster.

00:05:17.340 But I came across a far more balanced piece in Yahoo.com that rightfully notes that the flashing of the OK gesture might be a bit more nuanced and complicated than one might think.

00:05:31.660 Writer Craig Calcaterra notes that while the Cubs are properly investigating this incident, even though they concluded that a lifetime ban was the only appropriate punishment prior to the conclusion of their investigation,

00:05:46.860 he states that the full context of the OK gesture and all that surrounds it is worth appreciating before reaching a conclusion on this matter.

00:05:56.020 Quote, as explained here by the Anti-Defamation League, that OK style gesture was originally cast as a white power symbol as a trolling hoax by some associated with the alt-right movement.

00:06:10.660 The idea? Lots of people make OK symbols on camera and if enough people believe that actually meant white power,

00:06:19.820 people who are not engaging in racist behaviour would be accused of doing so, thereby undermining legitimate claims of racism as liberal hysteria or people crying wolf.

00:06:32.180 End quote.

00:06:33.080 So the genesis of the OK symbol being a symbol of white power was really all a goof. 0.80

00:06:39.200 But then a perversely bizarre thing happened, thanks to all this trolling, which is to say that actual white supremacists started adopting the gesture, allegedly, in an ironic fashion.

00:06:53.000 However, as Calcaterra notes, irony kind of goes out the window when the person acting ironically happens to be a bona fide white supremacist.

00:07:03.260 I know it's kind of like that Meryl Streep movie, isn't it?

00:07:07.120 You know, it's complicated.

00:07:09.320 So the question arises, was this symbol flashed as something mocking white supremacy?

00:07:16.080 Or is the fan an actual white supremacist that just couldn't resist taking a dig at a black broadcaster?

00:07:23.600 And furthermore, does it even matter what the motivation was, given that perhaps society at large, well, at least according to some,

00:07:32.120 must discontinue the use of the OK symbol, regardless of the context,

00:07:37.500 as this gesture has been appropriated by Klansmen and other odious racists?

00:07:43.740 Indeed, if one takes their talking points from the mainstream media,

00:07:48.300 it would appear that the OK symbol is already verboten, right up there with the Heil Hitler salute.

00:07:55.140 Indeed, in presenting that image of the Cubs fan doing the OK gesture,

00:07:59.880 some media outlets actually censored the man's hand entirely with a blue dot,

00:08:05.460 which kind of puts the OK gesture in the same ballpark as the infamous Prophet Muhammad caricatures.

00:08:13.140 But if these are indeed the new rules, are we not opening up an extra large can of worms here?

00:08:20.320 For example, how many of us have ordered a pizza from an independent pizzeria

00:08:24.300 and had it delivered in a box featuring that iconic illustration of a chubby, winking chef displaying the OK gesture?

00:08:32.040 Wow, who knew Luigi was a card-carrying Klansman, eh?

00:08:37.780 By the way, my advice for pizza purveyors the world over,

00:08:41.160 destroy that packaging immediately lest you deliver a pepperoni pie to an uber-sensitive social justice warrior 1.00

00:08:48.500 who is also very savvy in terms of gaming the system when it comes to the grief industry.

00:08:54.720 Translation, you really don't want to receive a summons from a human rights commission

00:08:59.340 just because of offensive pizza packaging.

00:09:03.840 And say, what happens when a person of colour displays that gesture like Kanye West did last year? 0.76

00:09:11.120 Does he get a pass based on skin colour?

00:09:13.560 Or since Kanye sports a MAGA hat and supports President Trump these days,

00:09:19.460 is he now to be dismissed by the progressives as an Uncle Tom or an Oreo,

00:09:24.280 and therefore no longer truly black?

00:09:27.680 Also, given that the new normal when it comes to individuals supposedly acting out badly

00:09:33.840 means going back years or even decades to sniff out any potential indiscretions,

00:09:40.560 including lewd comments written in high school yearbooks,

00:09:44.480 will the same apply to those who flashed the OK gesture back when it was, well, perfectly OK to do so?

00:09:51.620 Check out this picture of that darling of the left, Bill Clinton himself.

00:09:55.440 Oh, damn it, Mr. President, doing the OK thingy was fine back whenever,

00:10:00.960 but you should have known it would be appropriated by the nasty types in the future, you know.

00:10:06.300 In fact, how soon will it be before it's no longer OK to even say the word OK?

00:10:12.720 Hey, does the state of Oklahoma still use the slogan,

00:10:16.600 Oklahoma is OK, on its license plates?

00:10:19.160 If so, me thinks it's time for a recall and a redesign.

00:10:24.120 I also urge Major League Baseball to come up with a more suitable letter to denote a strikeout.

00:10:29.720 Current letter is K, and often when there's an ace on the mound mowing down the opposition's batting order,

00:10:35.780 fans display a series of Ks up in the bleachers.

00:10:39.080 Such signage practice is all well and good when the number of strikeouts is two or less,

00:10:44.100 or four and more, but when three consecutive Ks are displayed,

00:10:50.260 uh-oh, we all know what that stands for.

00:10:54.320 There's one other issue to address when it comes to OK-gate,

00:10:58.180 and that is this thorny issue of crime and punishment.

00:11:02.060 Even though the Cubs are investigating the incident,

00:11:04.920 they have already announced a penalty, namely a lifetime ban for the fan,

00:11:09.000 prior to even beginning the investigation,

00:11:11.920 which makes one wonder why even bother having an investigation in the first place.

00:11:16.360 But it's odd, isn't it?

00:11:18.460 We give second chances to murderers.

00:11:20.900 Heck, in this country, life in prison for first-degree murder

00:11:23.760 might result in a sentence of just 14 years,

00:11:26.740 which will, of course, further be whittled down if the murderer behaves well behind bars.

00:11:31.960 We also give second chances to terrorists,

00:11:34.860 welcoming back jihadists from overseas,

00:11:36.820 giving them a warm hug and poetry classes

00:11:39.700 and sometimes even an eight-figure check.

00:11:43.640 But commit a perceived thought crime?

00:11:46.200 Oh, that's unforgivable,

00:11:48.580 whether one's at the ballpark or commenting via social media.

00:11:53.180 Indeed, do something silly, albeit harmless,

00:11:55.800 or pen something that's a tad too contrarian,

00:11:59.640 and justice will be both swift and severe.

00:12:03.060 Bottom line, please try to convince me

00:12:06.600 that we truly have our priorities in order, okay?

00:12:10.220 Oops, I mean to say, all right.

00:12:13.240 Keep it here, folks.

00:12:14.320 More of the Ezra Levent show to come after this.

00:12:16.800 Statues tend to be constructed out of sturdy stuff,

00:12:34.000 allowing them to endure everything from the wrath of Mother Nature

00:12:37.020 to the aftermath of roosting pigeons.

00:12:40.540 But alas, these days, statues must endure that,

00:12:43.500 which is known as political correctness,

00:12:46.240 an ominous force that mercilessly mows down monuments

00:12:49.880 due to the decree of the social justice warrior set.

00:12:55.180 And the latest victim?

00:12:56.340 Well, it's an edifice of Justice Matthew Begby

00:12:59.120 in New Westminster, B.C.

00:13:01.900 Begby's crime?

00:13:03.120 Well, apparently, he carried out the rule of law

00:13:06.100 back when British Columbia was still a colony.

00:13:09.440 And because some natives received the death penalty

00:13:12.920 more than 150 years ago,

00:13:15.020 that now makes Matthew Begby judge non grata.

00:13:19.920 And that also means his statue must be removed

00:13:23.680 from the sensitive eyes of SJW types,

00:13:27.260 lest they be triggered.

00:13:29.820 Joining me now with more on the Matthew Begby sagba

00:13:33.200 is Aaron Gunn with B.C. Proud.

00:13:35.800 Welcome to the Ezra Levent show, Aaron.

00:13:37.420 Thank you for having me.

00:13:39.640 A pleasure.

00:13:40.240 So, Aaron, Judge Begby is being painted

00:13:43.400 as an anti-Native racist by the usual suspects,

00:13:47.420 but is this indeed historically accurate?

00:13:52.360 No, it's not historically accurate at all,

00:13:55.340 which is why it's such an escalation

00:13:57.920 when it comes to trying to erase our history

00:14:00.380 and expunge our past.

00:14:02.060 These are individuals now that are going after

00:14:04.840 historical figures from Canadian history

00:14:07.180 that were considered progressive at their time.

00:14:09.860 This is an individual that actually went out of his way,

00:14:13.320 you can think this is the 1860s,

00:14:15.620 to learn Shilkotan and learn Chinook

00:14:18.280 so he could actually interact with Aboriginal individuals

00:14:21.740 in his court.

00:14:22.940 He is a justice that struck down legislation

00:14:27.300 from the provincial government

00:14:28.980 that was considered discriminatory towards Chinese,

00:14:32.340 British Columbians.

00:14:34.100 He's an individual with a long, long track record

00:14:36.840 of being ahead of his time,

00:14:38.580 and yet they're still going after him anyways.

00:14:41.040 Basically, any individual,

00:14:42.780 regardless of where they were on the political spectrum,

00:14:45.880 that is in any way connected to British Columbia

00:14:49.060 and Canada's colonial past,

00:14:51.300 whatever that means,

00:14:52.440 is now in their crosshairs.

00:14:53.680 And I believe you said in your commentary

00:14:55.840 that you posted online

00:14:57.080 that he was the first

00:14:59.880 or one of the first judges

00:15:00.840 who basically ruled on the guilt

00:15:06.120 of a white individual

00:15:07.980 based solely on Aboriginal testimony,

00:15:10.420 which was unheard of at the time.

00:15:13.960 Exactly, exactly.

00:15:15.460 And that goes back to the history

00:15:16.880 of Sir Matthew Begby,

00:15:18.920 why he's such a,

00:15:19.740 he's basically an institution here in British Columbia,

00:15:21.780 is that he was a judge

00:15:24.280 that was all about the rule of law.

00:15:25.920 Everyone had to be treated fairly

00:15:27.560 under the rule of law.

00:15:29.040 And that goes,

00:15:30.440 that applied to everyone,

00:15:32.860 whether you were Chinese

00:15:34.840 or European ancestry

00:15:36.620 or First Nations individual.

00:15:38.500 So he just,

00:15:39.520 he applauded the law

00:15:40.560 as the facts presented themselves,

00:15:43.060 irrespective of your,

00:15:44.600 the race,

00:15:45.340 the colour of your skin.

00:15:46.080 And of course,

00:15:47.760 for more than half a century,

00:15:49.820 Aaron,

00:15:50.040 we haven't had the death penalty

00:15:51.380 in Canada.

00:15:52.520 But it's worth noting

00:15:54.340 that when it came

00:15:56.220 to those individuals

00:15:57.360 who did receive capital punishment,

00:15:59.840 that the death penalty

00:16:01.160 was indeed mandatory back then

00:16:03.580 in terms of those found guilty

00:16:06.360 in murder cases.

00:16:07.980 So in other words,

00:16:09.280 his hands were cuffed.

00:16:11.200 He had no leeway

00:16:12.320 under the rules of the law

00:16:13.980 of back then.

00:16:15.140 No, exactly.

00:16:17.660 And I mean,

00:16:18.000 we're talking about

00:16:18.880 like the 1860s.

00:16:20.760 Like what,

00:16:21.020 like what do people

00:16:21.700 realistically think

00:16:22.840 was the,

00:16:23.820 the punishment going to be

00:16:25.440 for a crime like that?

00:16:26.780 And by the way,

00:16:27.860 this is something

00:16:28.500 that was,

00:16:29.040 that was openly confessed to.

00:16:31.160 There's the facts

00:16:31.880 of this case

00:16:32.720 aren't in question.

00:16:34.240 These are 19 individuals

00:16:35.720 who were,

00:16:36.620 who had their throats slit

00:16:38.480 and were bodies mutilated

00:16:39.880 after they were,

00:16:40.720 they were murdered.

00:16:41.340 So the facts of this case

00:16:43.740 aren't even in question.

00:16:45.140 So how they've managed

00:16:46.320 to turn this into a,

00:16:48.040 an issue about,

00:16:49.260 uh,

00:16:50.000 uh,

00:16:50.220 Sir Matthew Begby

00:16:50.960 is,

00:16:51.160 is beyond me.

00:16:52.460 So Aaron,

00:16:53.480 who are the assassins,

00:16:55.480 if you will,

00:16:56.140 uh,

00:16:56.600 behind this decision

00:16:57.720 of removing,

00:16:58.800 uh,

00:16:59.480 the statue?

00:17:00.080 So it's,

00:17:02.760 I mean,

00:17:03.640 New West,

00:17:04.320 New Westminster City Council,

00:17:05.620 which is a,

00:17:06.180 a suburb of Vancouver

00:17:07.560 are the ones,

00:17:08.620 um,

00:17:09.480 that I guess are the,

00:17:10.300 the tip of the spear

00:17:11.300 on actually,

00:17:11.900 uh,

00:17:12.480 removing the statue.

00:17:13.760 Now,

00:17:14.460 it's the same voice

00:17:15.820 as these progressive

00:17:16.660 social justice warriors.

00:17:17.900 I'm sure that it pushed

00:17:18.980 them to take this

00:17:19.840 dramatic action.

00:17:21.120 Uh,

00:17:21.640 this is an individual,

00:17:22.580 uh,

00:17:23.180 Sir Matthew Begby.

00:17:24.000 There's schools

00:17:24.560 named after him.

00:17:25.540 I believe there's

00:17:26.380 two mountains,

00:17:27.220 uh,

00:17:27.800 named after him

00:17:28.580 close to the Alberta,

00:17:29.860 Alberta,

00:17:30.760 BC border.

00:17:31.880 Uh,

00:17:32.100 he's got public squares

00:17:33.240 named after him.

00:17:34.320 And it's just,

00:17:34.980 it's one of these things

00:17:35.800 where it's,

00:17:36.260 where does this end?

00:17:37.040 Here in Victoria,

00:17:37.800 they obviously tore down

00:17:39.200 the statue of Sir John A.

00:17:40.400 MacDonald.

00:17:41.360 And,

00:17:41.960 uh,

00:17:42.180 this is just the latest

00:17:43.240 in this now long line

00:17:45.000 of,

00:17:45.320 um,

00:17:46.080 uh,

00:17:47.180 sequence of events

00:17:48.260 of radical municipal

00:17:50.300 governments,

00:17:50.940 uh,

00:17:51.600 tearing down,

00:17:52.600 tearing down these statues

00:17:53.700 and,

00:17:54.340 and other parts of

00:17:55.240 Canadian history.

00:17:56.680 Indeed,

00:17:57.200 Aaron,

00:17:57.340 you say,

00:17:57.820 where does it end?

00:17:58.460 But,

00:17:58.700 um,

00:17:59.040 as you mentioned,

00:17:59.860 there's so many

00:18:01.000 other places

00:18:02.280 named after this

00:18:03.460 individual.

00:18:04.300 Do those have to be,

00:18:05.920 I don't know what

00:18:06.780 the word is,

00:18:07.420 rebranded,

00:18:08.260 reimagined too,

00:18:09.440 now that the statue

00:18:10.740 is,

00:18:11.160 uh,

00:18:11.740 edifice non grata?

00:18:13.980 Oh,

00:18:14.480 exactly.

00:18:15.120 I mean,

00:18:15.260 after I filmed that

00:18:16.040 video in New Westminster,

00:18:17.440 I actually went and

00:18:18.180 had a drink at the,

00:18:19.440 uh,

00:18:19.720 Sir Matthew Begby pub,

00:18:21.240 which is just down

00:18:22.060 the street.

00:18:22.960 So,

00:18:23.500 um,

00:18:23.820 and of course it raises

00:18:24.640 this question,

00:18:25.740 uh,

00:18:26.200 right here,

00:18:26.920 I'm living in the city

00:18:27.780 of Victoria,

00:18:29.200 named after a,

00:18:30.140 a quote-unquote

00:18:31.260 colonial queen.

00:18:32.640 Uh,

00:18:32.940 we live in the province

00:18:33.900 of British Columbia.

00:18:35.800 So how much,

00:18:36.720 how much longer do we

00:18:37.560 have to wait until

00:18:38.340 these radical activists

00:18:39.420 start going after

00:18:40.280 the names of,

00:18:41.480 uh,

00:18:41.860 of cities and,

00:18:43.380 uh,

00:18:43.500 the province itself?

00:18:44.800 Oh,

00:18:45.360 not that long at all,

00:18:46.840 I would argue,

00:18:48.600 Aaron,

00:18:48.980 unfortunately.

00:18:49.620 I mean,

00:18:49.740 this upcoming weekend,

00:18:51.300 uh,

00:18:51.960 we in Ontario

00:18:52.640 will be celebrating

00:18:53.700 Victoria Day.

00:18:54.940 Um,

00:18:55.380 I could see in my

00:18:56.840 lifetime that being

00:18:58.460 changed much as,

00:18:59.740 um,

00:19:00.700 Dominion Day was 0.59

00:19:02.280 changed by the

00:19:03.480 Trudeau Liberals

00:19:04.840 to Canada Day

00:19:06.060 back in 1982,

00:19:07.140 with,

00:19:07.960 by the way,

00:19:08.520 less than a quorum

00:19:09.600 in the House of Commons

00:19:10.780 at the time,

00:19:11.420 but that's another story.

00:19:12.940 Um,

00:19:13.340 but the thing is,

00:19:14.280 um,

00:19:14.840 going back to the

00:19:15.680 statue,

00:19:16.300 Aaron,

00:19:16.420 we,

00:19:16.740 we see this as a

00:19:18.020 trend in North

00:19:19.100 America.

00:19:20.180 Um,

00:19:20.780 why,

00:19:21.640 why do we have to

00:19:23.040 cave into this idea

00:19:24.500 that this individual

00:19:26.700 who is idolized on a

00:19:28.340 statue had some

00:19:29.760 indiscretions,

00:19:30.820 therefore,

00:19:31.360 it must be moved to

00:19:32.440 another place or torn

00:19:33.580 down entirely.

00:19:34.520 I would argue,

00:19:35.480 Aaron,

00:19:35.920 that show me a great

00:19:37.620 man and I will show

00:19:39.200 you also a flawed man.

00:19:41.220 There is no such thing

00:19:43.000 as perfection,

00:19:44.040 and yet we seem to

00:19:45.940 have a standard,

00:19:47.440 and when I say we,

00:19:48.340 I really mean the

00:19:49.160 social justice warriors

00:19:50.240 out there.

00:19:51.160 There seems to be this

00:19:52.320 mindset that unless you

00:19:54.040 have a resume that is

00:19:55.360 as clean as the

00:19:57.020 driven snow,

00:19:58.180 uh,

00:19:58.560 you don't deserve to be

00:19:59.980 in the public square

00:20:00.880 any longer.

00:20:02.820 No,

00:20:03.360 that's,

00:20:03.720 I mean,

00:20:03.980 you're,

00:20:04.160 you're bang on there.

00:20:05.120 It's this,

00:20:05.380 it's this weird trend of,

00:20:07.000 uh,

00:20:07.600 judging historical figures

00:20:09.460 through the lens of our

00:20:10.880 century instead of their

00:20:12.300 own.

00:20:12.880 And,

00:20:13.380 uh,

00:20:13.680 it's,

00:20:14.020 it's incredibly troubling.

00:20:15.160 I will point out that

00:20:15.900 there's a,

00:20:16.320 there's an obvious

00:20:16.820 hypocrisy as well.

00:20:18.120 Um,

00:20:18.600 because I think all of

00:20:19.800 these,

00:20:20.660 all of the events of

00:20:21.420 Canadian history are

00:20:22.040 important and should be

00:20:22.740 learned about,

00:20:23.300 uh,

00:20:23.780 just as you said.

00:20:24.780 But,

00:20:25.460 you know,

00:20:25.860 when it comes to the,

00:20:27.400 the aboriginal leaders

00:20:28.760 or,

00:20:29.300 or anyone who's not

00:20:31.040 connected to colonial

00:20:32.520 history,

00:20:33.040 um,

00:20:33.720 all of a sudden it's just,

00:20:34.960 it's just all the good

00:20:35.860 things that you hear.

00:20:36.600 It's like,

00:20:37.300 it's like they paint this

00:20:38.460 picture of Canada that

00:20:39.940 Europeans came and ruined

00:20:41.280 some kind of utopia that

00:20:42.600 existed before they got

00:20:43.760 here,

00:20:43.940 which obviously isn't

00:20:44.900 true.

00:20:45.760 And at the end of the

00:20:46.900 day,

00:20:47.040 it's just the truth being,

00:20:48.540 um,

00:20:49.440 obfuscated by these,

00:20:50.880 by the social justice

00:20:51.840 warriors,

00:20:52.220 as you said,

00:20:53.300 to undermine anything

00:20:54.500 that's connected to the

00:20:55.880 history of Canada.

00:20:56.840 Cause they,

00:20:57.700 they,

00:20:58.100 uh,

00:20:59.000 conflate the history of

00:21:00.140 Canada with colonialism,

00:21:01.000 which they consider kind of

00:21:02.720 this original sin,

00:21:03.720 uh,

00:21:04.240 concept.

00:21:04.620 So,

00:21:05.040 uh,

00:21:05.680 I think it's very

00:21:06.360 disappointing and it's,

00:21:07.360 I mean,

00:21:07.520 it's undermining the history

00:21:08.960 of an incredible country.

00:21:10.240 And,

00:21:11.140 you know,

00:21:11.300 Aaron,

00:21:11.560 um,

00:21:11.960 I'd really like to know

00:21:13.200 what natives themselves

00:21:14.780 think.

00:21:15.060 And I'm not talking about

00:21:16.320 certain chiefs.

00:21:17.700 I'm not talking about,

00:21:18.980 uh,

00:21:19.680 those who have,

00:21:20.840 uh,

00:21:21.420 high ranking talking head

00:21:22.940 positions in the so-called

00:21:24.380 grief industry.

00:21:25.460 I'm talking about,

00:21:27.020 uh,

00:21:27.880 the,

00:21:28.180 the common everyday native.

00:21:30.200 What is more important to

00:21:31.700 you?

00:21:31.980 Uh,

00:21:33.040 eradicating statues that are

00:21:35.300 potentially offensive to

00:21:37.420 native culture,

00:21:38.100 or maybe getting,

00:21:39.840 um,

00:21:40.780 clean drinking water on

00:21:42.220 your reserve,

00:21:42.940 maybe opening up the

00:21:44.400 pipeline paralysis so you

00:21:46.080 can go to a good,

00:21:47.380 high paying job.

00:21:49.040 I think most would side

00:21:51.460 with the latter rather than

00:21:52.880 the former.

00:21:53.380 What do you think?

00:21:55.280 Oh,

00:21:55.900 exactly.

00:21:56.560 I mean,

00:21:56.960 I'm over 90% of,

00:21:59.200 uh,

00:21:59.440 first nations individuals,

00:22:00.440 I'm sure have,

00:22:01.120 have no idea that,

00:22:02.280 that the statue existed or

00:22:04.500 that they should be offended

00:22:05.800 by it.

00:22:06.260 They're just like,

00:22:06.840 you called it the grief

00:22:07.800 industry or this culture

00:22:08.780 victimization that I think

00:22:10.620 is being pushed upon them.

00:22:12.220 It's not even necessarily

00:22:13.340 even people within their

00:22:14.840 communities that are

00:22:15.700 spearheading this.

00:22:16.540 I think a lot of the times

00:22:17.660 it's,

00:22:18.060 you know,

00:22:18.140 the social justice warriors

00:22:19.320 that,

00:22:19.720 that got a degree in how

00:22:21.600 colonialism is bad or

00:22:22.860 whatever from whatever

00:22:24.000 university or college.

00:22:25.440 And now they're just going

00:22:26.720 around trying to force that

00:22:27.720 upon everybody else.

00:22:28.740 There are serious issues

00:22:30.020 that need to be addressed.

00:22:30.960 You mentioned drinking

00:22:31.680 water,

00:22:32.240 uh,

00:22:32.760 the economic,

00:22:33.420 uh,

00:22:33.840 inequality,

00:22:34.400 uh,

00:22:34.900 between first nations

00:22:35.740 individuals and the rest

00:22:36.720 of,

00:22:36.900 uh,

00:22:37.440 of Canada.

00:22:38.000 Those are the serious

00:22:39.140 issues we should be

00:22:39.860 talking about,

00:22:40.520 not trying to relitigate

00:22:42.340 our history from something

00:22:43.740 that happened over 150

00:22:45.100 years ago.

00:22:46.000 Oh,

00:22:46.540 a hundred percent.

00:22:47.200 Aaron,

00:22:47.400 one last point.

00:22:48.200 I mean,

00:22:48.420 I,

00:22:48.640 I always,

00:22:49.560 um,

00:22:50.000 harken back to that

00:22:51.720 2016 poll carried out by

00:22:54.380 the Washington Post,

00:22:55.480 and it must have killed

00:22:56.620 them to publish the results,

00:22:58.020 but they exclusively polled,

00:23:00.720 I think it was something

00:23:01.340 like 600 Native Americans

00:23:03.680 about whether the,

00:23:05.600 uh,

00:23:06.040 nickname and logo of the

00:23:07.700 Washington Redskins,

00:23:08.860 uh,

00:23:09.520 was offensive.

00:23:10.340 And more than 90%,

00:23:12.660 that's 90% of American

00:23:14.400 natives answered no.

00:23:16.420 In fact,

00:23:16.920 many of them embraced it

00:23:18.500 as a source of pride.

00:23:19.900 And I,

00:23:20.640 again,

00:23:21.200 it just shows you,

00:23:22.820 it makes you wonder

00:23:23.840 because,

00:23:24.220 you know,

00:23:24.420 that is the,

00:23:25.020 the big flashpoint in terms

00:23:26.660 of,

00:23:27.300 you know,

00:23:27.780 those who want some

00:23:28.940 additional rebranding or,

00:23:30.980 or re-imaging of a,

00:23:32.420 of a,

00:23:32.680 of an iconic sports

00:23:33.800 franchise,

00:23:34.200 at least.

00:23:34.960 It just goes to show you

00:23:36.280 what you're hearing from

00:23:37.800 the elites,

00:23:38.540 uh,

00:23:39.180 can be radically different

00:23:40.920 from what you're hearing

00:23:42.200 from the everyday people

00:23:44.040 that are living on the

00:23:45.080 reserve or the reservation

00:23:46.180 as the case may be.

00:23:48.400 No,

00:23:48.980 that's a hundred percent

00:23:49.920 the case.

00:23:50.860 The disconnect,

00:23:51.740 I,

00:23:52.000 I always kind of point out

00:23:53.360 that the,

00:23:54.100 the level of political

00:23:55.080 correctness is the

00:23:56.400 disconnect or level

00:23:57.480 of distance between

00:23:58.760 kind of the,

00:23:59.560 the chattering class,

00:24:00.640 the elites and,

00:24:01.880 uh,

00:24:01.960 the everyday,

00:24:02.460 uh,

00:24:03.320 Canadian around the

00:24:04.100 water cooler at work.

00:24:05.220 So,

00:24:05.740 and I think right now

00:24:06.600 the gulf in this country

00:24:07.920 is,

00:24:08.360 is as large as it's ever

00:24:09.440 been.

00:24:09.720 And it's,

00:24:10.140 and it's issues like

00:24:10.900 this that I think,

00:24:11.800 uh,

00:24:12.380 that,

00:24:12.800 uh,

00:24:13.020 are perfect examples

00:24:14.260 of that.

00:24:15.560 Well,

00:24:16.100 Aaron,

00:24:16.380 I wish there was a

00:24:17.160 happy ending to this

00:24:18.040 story,

00:24:18.380 but because we have

00:24:19.360 spineless politicians,

00:24:20.620 uh,

00:24:21.540 in so many,

00:24:22.480 uh,

00:24:23.100 provinces and

00:24:23.860 municipalities,

00:24:24.500 uh,

00:24:25.280 it looks like

00:24:26.200 yet again,

00:24:27.140 the squeaky wheel

00:24:28.480 gets the grease.

00:24:29.660 It's the tyranny

00:24:30.400 of the minority

00:24:31.080 as I like to call it.

00:24:32.100 But listen,

00:24:32.980 great piece on yet

00:24:34.200 another sad chapter

00:24:35.880 on how our history

00:24:37.780 is being consigned

00:24:39.440 to the dustbin,

00:24:40.580 even though our nation

00:24:41.580 in the grand scheme

00:24:42.860 of things is just

00:24:43.760 an infant,

00:24:44.400 barely 150 years old.

00:24:46.180 But,

00:24:46.400 uh,

00:24:46.880 but keep,

00:24:47.600 uh,

00:24:47.940 keep up with those

00:24:48.560 commentaries and

00:24:49.380 calling BS,

00:24:50.300 uh,

00:24:50.780 when you see it

00:24:51.500 in BC,

00:24:52.580 if you will.

00:24:53.500 Okay.

00:24:54.620 For sure.

00:24:55.300 For sure.

00:24:55.680 Thank you for having me.

00:24:56.680 You got it.

00:24:57.400 Thank you so much.

00:24:58.740 And that was Aaron Gunn

00:25:00.440 with BC Proud.

00:25:01.840 Keep it here,

00:25:02.320 folks.

00:25:02.720 More of the Ezra

00:25:03.300 Levent show to come

00:25:04.280 after this.

00:25:15.940 Hey,

00:25:16.420 folks,

00:25:16.680 as you know,

00:25:17.120 the reason why I am

00:25:18.120 filling in for Ezra

00:25:19.340 is because Ezra

00:25:20.960 is in London right now

00:25:22.700 covering the latest

00:25:24.220 installment of the

00:25:25.780 Tommy Robinson trial.

00:25:28.180 And speaking of which,

00:25:29.760 here is the very latest.

00:25:32.100 Ezra Levant here.

00:25:33.080 I'm in London.

00:25:33.900 Tommy Robinson.

00:25:34.840 Let me give you the

00:25:35.300 headline right at the top.

00:25:36.760 He's been committed

00:25:38.160 to stand trial again

00:25:40.140 for contempt of court.

00:25:41.620 He'll be back in court

00:25:42.460 here on July 4th and 5th.

00:25:44.360 I think it's a two-day

00:25:45.160 trial scheduled.

00:25:46.660 And this stems back

00:25:47.460 to those incidents

00:25:48.480 back at Leeds

00:25:50.280 a year ago.

00:25:51.520 As you know,

00:25:51.940 he's already been

00:25:52.420 held in contempt for that.

00:25:54.960 Served 10 weeks

00:25:55.800 in solitary confinement

00:25:57.200 for that.

00:25:58.340 The Court of Appeal

00:25:59.140 has quashed that ruling.

00:26:01.040 And yet,

00:26:01.780 he has to go

00:26:02.320 stand trial again.

00:26:03.240 I don't know

00:26:03.920 if in the entire

00:26:04.860 history of the UK

00:26:05.680 this has ever been

00:26:06.920 done before.

00:26:07.520 It's so punitive.

00:26:08.720 And there's no cause for it.

00:26:10.140 The trial outside

00:26:10.920 which he was reporting

00:26:11.820 was not disrupted

00:26:12.980 in any way.

00:26:13.580 This is clearly punitive.

00:26:15.100 So that's the news.

00:26:15.900 And you can find

00:26:16.720 other videos

00:26:17.320 where we go

00:26:17.700 in some depth on that.

00:26:18.760 But I want to focus

00:26:19.560 in on something

00:26:20.180 I mentioned in passing

00:26:21.280 in another video.

00:26:22.380 And that is the media

00:26:23.380 culture here in the UK.

00:26:26.180 You know the old saying

00:26:27.040 if a tree falls

00:26:27.720 in the woods

00:26:28.180 and no one's around

00:26:29.280 to hear,

00:26:29.700 did it make a sound?

00:26:30.400 That's sort of a

00:26:31.040 zen question.

00:26:32.060 I mean,

00:26:32.160 of course it made a sound.

00:26:33.380 But if no one knows

00:26:34.300 it made a sound,

00:26:34.900 it was like it didn't

00:26:36.260 make a sound.

00:26:36.960 And that's how

00:26:37.480 the media is.

00:26:38.720 If they report on something,

00:26:40.060 you know about it.

00:26:40.740 But if they simply

00:26:41.460 ignore something,

00:26:42.280 how do you know

00:26:43.280 what even happened?

00:26:44.380 And if they all

00:26:45.060 get together

00:26:45.640 to tell a pack of lies

00:26:46.740 about something,

00:26:47.640 how can you ever

00:26:48.300 know the truth?

00:26:49.340 These are all

00:26:49.960 different ways

00:26:50.500 of describing

00:26:51.160 the treatment

00:26:51.920 of Tommy Robinson.

00:26:52.840 When he does

00:26:53.200 amazing things,

00:26:53.980 when thousands of people

00:26:55.120 show up for him

00:26:55.880 at an event,

00:26:57.020 if the press

00:26:57.780 can't say anything

00:26:58.340 negative,

00:26:58.820 they'll say nothing at all.

00:27:00.700 But if he's in

00:27:01.920 any sort of trouble,

00:27:02.820 the press will go

00:27:03.480 to town.

00:27:04.200 And there was

00:27:04.480 about a thousand

00:27:05.020 people here today,

00:27:05.960 maybe more on the streets.

00:27:07.300 I'm sure out of

00:27:08.060 those thousand,

00:27:08.960 there were one or two

00:27:09.880 who were a bit rough,

00:27:11.120 maybe one or two

00:27:11.780 who had a drink.

00:27:12.400 That will be on

00:27:13.380 the front page

00:27:13.960 of the newspapers.

00:27:14.980 It is the worst media

00:27:17.360 in the free world.

00:27:19.300 I watch Russia Today,

00:27:20.960 that's Putin's

00:27:21.600 state broadcaster.

00:27:22.600 I watch TRT,

00:27:24.140 the Turkish

00:27:24.480 state broadcaster.

00:27:25.600 I watch Al Jazeera.

00:27:27.560 The British media,

00:27:28.700 especially the

00:27:29.340 state-run media here,

00:27:30.460 is worse than those.

00:27:32.460 I know you're thinking,

00:27:33.560 how could it be

00:27:33.960 worse than those?

00:27:34.740 They are more demonic

00:27:36.320 in their cult-like

00:27:38.160 groupthink.

00:27:40.260 It's not even

00:27:40.880 that they hate Tommy.

00:27:41.520 Of course they hate Tommy,

00:27:42.360 they're leftists.

00:27:43.160 But the groupthink

00:27:44.300 of it is astounding.

00:27:46.100 So I mentioned

00:27:46.800 in my other video,

00:27:47.660 I was live-tweeting

00:27:48.420 from court,

00:27:48.960 and obviously

00:27:49.300 they didn't like that.

00:27:50.620 So one of them

00:27:51.620 literally interrupted

00:27:53.320 the court

00:27:54.240 by having a note

00:27:55.260 passed to the judge

00:27:56.140 asking the judge

00:27:57.920 to stop me

00:27:58.880 from tweeting.

00:28:00.160 And the judges

00:28:01.640 went out,

00:28:02.180 conferred,

00:28:02.660 came back,

00:28:03.040 and said,

00:28:03.480 yeah, no,

00:28:04.480 we're still allowed

00:28:05.260 to tweet in this court.

00:28:06.220 And I knew that

00:28:06.720 because I had permission

00:28:08.060 in previous visits

00:28:09.080 to the court

00:28:09.580 to tweet

00:28:10.380 discussions

00:28:11.360 with senior officials

00:28:12.960 in the court,

00:28:13.780 both judges

00:28:14.480 and clerks

00:28:15.140 and security.

00:28:15.700 So I knew that.

00:28:17.640 But just get

00:28:18.220 into the mind

00:28:18.860 for a second

00:28:19.640 of a journalist.

00:28:21.760 So you see

00:28:22.400 Ezra here

00:28:23.880 from The Rebel,

00:28:24.540 Jessica,

00:28:25.220 our student journalist

00:28:25.960 from The Rebel,

00:28:26.500 other journalists here,

00:28:28.060 and we're not

00:28:28.820 towing the media party line.

00:28:30.380 So we might be conservative,

00:28:31.420 we might be right-wing,

00:28:32.420 we might be this or that.

00:28:33.360 Whatever we are,

00:28:34.060 we're different.

00:28:34.820 We've broken

00:28:35.340 the monopoly, right?

00:28:36.360 Because until we came along,

00:28:38.360 it was just the think-alikes.

00:28:39.820 And they're so outraged,

00:28:41.040 and they're sitting there

00:28:41.700 in court,

00:28:42.300 and instead of paying

00:28:42.940 attention to the court,

00:28:44.140 they're reading my tweets

00:28:46.520 on their phone.

00:28:48.180 Hang on, mate,

00:28:48.660 you're supposed to be

00:28:49.100 following the trial,

00:28:49.700 not following me

00:28:50.640 following the trial.

00:28:52.640 And imagine them

00:28:53.420 getting more and more

00:28:54.200 and more irritated.

00:28:55.820 And then finally

00:28:56.460 sending a note

00:28:57.120 to the judge,

00:28:57.700 how dare they,

00:28:58.520 by the way?

00:28:59.000 By what right

00:28:59.720 would they interrupt

00:29:00.840 a judge from listening

00:29:01.720 to a trial?

00:29:02.800 The chutzp of that

00:29:03.680 is astounding.

00:29:04.660 And wouldn't you know

00:29:06.540 it,

00:29:06.680 the judges broke

00:29:07.560 to confer.

00:29:08.360 And they came back

00:29:08.900 and said everything

00:29:09.400 was fine.

00:29:10.240 But what,

00:29:11.600 would Al Jazeera do that?

00:29:13.040 Would RT,

00:29:13.820 would Xinhua of China

00:29:15.960 do that?

00:29:16.780 I don't know.

00:29:18.340 That is the thuggish

00:29:19.640 tactic of a state broadcaster.

00:29:21.800 Anyways,

00:29:22.280 during the break,

00:29:23.680 one of,

00:29:24.220 there's this little guy

00:29:25.100 who works for the BBC

00:29:25.900 named Dominic Cassiani.

00:29:27.560 I don't know if he's like

00:29:28.140 5'4",

00:29:28.700 so I shouldn't make fun,

00:29:29.460 I'm only 5'9".

00:29:30.620 And he's just,

00:29:31.200 he's like this angry

00:29:31.940 little man,

00:29:32.460 and he was so outraged

00:29:35.180 that I complained

00:29:35.900 about him complaining

00:29:36.640 about me.

00:29:37.620 But I should tell you,

00:29:38.900 and I asked him about this

00:29:39.720 in front of all his friends

00:29:40.540 because all the British

00:29:41.640 media party were like,

00:29:42.620 we don't like you Canadians, 1.00

00:29:44.300 go home Canadians. 1.00

00:29:46.420 And I said,

00:29:47.200 Dominic,

00:29:47.800 you're a government journalist,

00:29:50.280 that's different

00:29:50.720 from a journalist.

00:29:51.760 If you have any sort

00:29:52.660 of qualifier

00:29:54.020 before the word journalist

00:29:54.920 you take away from him.

00:29:55.600 I said,

00:29:56.180 Dominic,

00:29:56.540 you're a government journalist,

00:29:58.420 will you say in front

00:29:59.700 of your peers here,

00:30:00.600 will you admit to them

00:30:02.260 that last time I was here

00:30:03.960 at the Old Bailey

00:30:04.520 you actually complained

00:30:06.420 to the police?

00:30:09.660 And it is true. 0.71

00:30:11.320 I don't know if you recall,

00:30:11.960 but last time I was here

00:30:12.880 I looked out one of these windows

00:30:14.060 from the cafeteria

00:30:14.980 and I saw a crowd below

00:30:15.880 and I took a very short vid

00:30:17.380 of the crowd

00:30:18.220 and Dominic Cassiani

00:30:19.640 of the BBC,

00:30:20.980 again,

00:30:21.360 he didn't ignore me

00:30:22.400 or debate me

00:30:24.120 or counter me.

00:30:25.280 He,

00:30:25.660 I swear to God,

00:30:26.240 I've got the email.

00:30:27.000 He literally wrote

00:30:28.680 to the police

00:30:30.980 to tattle.

00:30:32.300 They wrote to the police

00:30:33.480 to tattle last time.

00:30:34.840 They wrote to the judge

00:30:36.060 to tattle this time.

00:30:37.340 Obviously I'm here

00:30:38.200 and I'm coming back

00:30:38.860 on July 4th

00:30:39.560 and I tell you that story

00:30:41.140 for three reasons.

00:30:43.660 Number one,

00:30:44.260 to show that you just can't

00:30:45.220 trust the mainstream media.

00:30:46.780 I mean,

00:30:47.000 that's not even journalism,

00:30:48.320 that's extreme censorship.

00:30:50.780 Number two,

00:30:51.820 I want to let you know

00:30:52.940 that they obviously think

00:30:54.640 our reporting

00:30:55.600 is important enough

00:30:57.560 that they want to stop it.

00:30:59.000 If no one was reading it

00:30:59.960 or watching it,

00:31:00.460 they wouldn't care.

00:31:01.620 So it's a bit of a feather

00:31:02.880 in our cap

00:31:03.460 and I'll check my Twitter stats.

00:31:05.300 Last time I covered Tommy's trial,

00:31:07.000 I think it was like

00:31:07.380 12 million impressions

00:31:08.560 for my videos and tweets.

00:31:10.100 So the BBC hates that.

00:31:11.540 They're trying to censor it.

00:31:13.340 And the last point is

00:31:14.520 that we're going to come back

00:31:16.280 and do this again and again

00:31:17.480 until Tommy is finally free.

00:31:19.560 But what a message

00:31:22.960 of how Canada

00:31:25.180 and the United States

00:31:26.280 will go.

00:31:27.640 That this kind of gotcha,

00:31:29.700 de-platforming,

00:31:30.960 extreme activism,

00:31:32.800 masquerading at journalism,

00:31:34.360 I don't think it's this bad

00:31:35.500 in Canada and the United States yet.

00:31:37.000 But as I've said

00:31:37.660 in another video,

00:31:38.720 coming to the UK

00:31:39.380 is like my own private time machine.

00:31:41.600 I come here and I see

00:31:42.640 how bad the CBC will be in Canada,

00:31:46.060 how bad the ABC will be in Australia,

00:31:48.120 when I see how bad the BBC is here.

00:31:50.400 They're literally calling the police

00:31:51.620 on my journalism.

00:31:52.680 When I see how they're literally

00:31:54.260 interrupting criminal trials

00:31:55.520 because they don't like someone

00:31:56.600 having a different opinion.

00:31:58.380 I think that what's happening

00:31:59.960 to Tommy is terrible,

00:32:01.980 both the abuse of process

00:32:03.180 by the police,

00:32:05.320 the prosecutors,

00:32:06.020 the courts,

00:32:07.100 but the fact that the media

00:32:08.740 who should stand up

00:32:09.780 for a fellow citizen journalist

00:32:11.180 is in fact cheering his censorship

00:32:13.740 and trying to censor any media

00:32:15.900 who cover him

00:32:17.000 is actually to me

00:32:19.240 the scariest thing of all

00:32:21.320 in this trip.

00:32:22.600 Well folks,

00:32:23.460 that's it for the Ezra Levent show.

00:32:25.080 Thanks so much

00:32:25.700 for putting up with me.

00:32:27.140 Ezra Levent will be back

00:32:28.220 in this space tomorrow.

00:32:29.760 In the meantime,

00:32:31.020 good night.

00:32:31.520 Good night.

00:32:31.800 Good night.

00:32:32.760 Good night.

00:32:33.600 Good night.

00:32:33.680 Good night.

00:32:38.420 Good night.

00:32:41.880 Good night.

00:32:42.300 Good night.

00:32:44.300 Good night.

00:32:47.080 Good night.

00:32:48.380 Good night.

00:32:49.900 Good night.

00:32:50.740 Good night.

00:32:51.240 Good night.

00:32:51.840 Thank you.

00:32:53.680 Good night.

00:32:54.640 Good night.

00:32:58.960 Good night.

00:32:59.180 Good night.

00:32:59.380 Good night.

00:32:59.640 Good night.

00:33:00.760 Good night.

Rebel News Podcast - May 16, 2019

“OK” symbol is racist？ What's next？ (Guest host： David Menzies)

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Transcript