2020 protests and riots 2
2020 Protests and Riots, 2
Vocabulary
| fire (3) | fluid (2) | see/saw/seen |
| crowd | tear (2) | mirror (2) |
| loot (2) | block (3) | appear (2) |
| push | scene (2) | have enough (2) |
| riot | erupt (2) | underway |
| chaos | attempt | widespread |
| flame | violence | dozens (2) |
| unrest | play out | followed by |
| ravel | anarchy | unravel (2) |
| curfew | order (2) | destruction |
| zone | escalate | custody (2) |
| rubber | jewelers | how long (2) |
| bullet | high-end | capture (2) |
| mob | trash (2) | simmer (2) |
| mayor | dispatch | out in force |
| similar | strikingly | National Guard |
| breach | issue (3) | all hell breaking loose |
| unruly | pocket (2) | win/won/won |
| cruiser | injustice | state of emergency |
| vehicle | take over | lose control (2) |
| tear gas | apparel | each other |
| rifle | troubling | plain-clothes |
| disarm | show (2) | magazine (2) |
| choke | try (tried) | catch/caught/caught (2) |
| guard | torch (3) | take into custody |
| pull off | pour (2) | demonstrate |
| battle | governor | throw/threw/thrown |
| injure | take down | at the hands of |
| burn | highway | headquarters |
| arrest | city hall | move in (2) |
| arrow | crossbow | pickup truck |
| on edge | identify | surrounded |
| clash | protester | drive/drove/driven |
| care | downtown | begin/began/begun |
| unite | shut down | in the wake of |
| plead | remove | cat-and-mouse game |
Video
Transcript
The situation in Santa Monica, California is very fluid. You can see police here now firing tear gas into the crowd. They are trying to push these folks back.
Earlier today, just a few blocks away, there was looting underway nearby. Police seem to have had enough.
The nation erupted into scenes of chaos. Violence. And widespread destruction into the early morning hours. Dozens of American cities up in flames, after some protests turned into riots — often followed by looting, as a nation simmering with unrest, unravel.
Demonstrator: “How long can you be peaceful when your people are dying.”
In Los Angeles, hours before a curfew was ordered, the city became a war zone. After attempting to breach television studios, large groups torched police cruisers, as officers fired back with rubber bullets.
Before nightfall, the looting began: department stores, jewelers and high-end apparel shops trashed by unruly mobs; the mayor calling on the governor to dispatch the National Guard, the first time since the Rodney King riots in 1992, strikingly similar scenes and issues of injustice, twenty-eight years apart.
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles: “We’ve seen this before in Los Angeles: when the violence escalates, no one wins.”
After three nights of protests and violence, the state of emergency in Los Angeles, mirrored by pockets of anarchy nationwide, described as all hell breaking loose in Seattle, when police lost control of downtown, crowds destroyed then took over their vehicles.
This video capturing one man, removing a high-powered police rifle, before a plain-clothes security guard disarmed the man, clearing the magazine.
But there was also troubling scenes, caught on camera at the hand of police. This video appearing to show an officer putting his knee on the neck of someone taken into custody, before another officer pulls his leg off.
Second Officer to First Officer: “Take your f***ing knee off!!!”
A shocking scene after the death of George Floyd, why so many poured into the streets.
Protester: “We can’t peaceful protest in the streets without getting tear gas thrown at us for what?”
With demonstrators out in force today, a violent take down in Philadelphia, where a footlocker was looted, after more than a dozen officers were injured there last night.
With tear gas choking the streets of Miami, police battled protesters to keep control of their headquarters. With banks burned, highways shut down, and city hall on fire in Nashville, there was more than a thousand arrests.
In Salt Lake City, police have identified this man who may have fired arrows into a crowd from a crossbow, before he was mobbed by a nearby group.
In Tallahassee, Florida, someone drove through a protest after their pickup truck was surrounded by a crowd.
The National Guard is moving into Chicago, after clashes between protesters and police.
Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago: “In this city, we care for each other. This is time for us to unite.”
Tonight, a nation on edge. And up in smoke, as many plead for peace, in the wake of yet another violet night.
The cat-and-mouse game here in Santa Monica continues. You can see police are ready to move in on all these protesters again.
The curfew begins in less than thirty minutes. Scenes like this are playing out all across the nation, as the National Guard moves in.
Questions
1. There were peaceful, orderly demonstrations. All the protests were peaceful. True or false?
2. Were people protesting against giant, multinational corporations and capitalism?
3. There were violent clashes between the police and demonstrators. Is this right or wrong?
4. Did (some of) the protesters engage in criminal acts? What did they do? Has this happened before or is this unprecedented?
5. The protests and riots only took place in Santa Monica, California, USA. Is this correct or incorrect?
6. Have there been any unusual incidents during the protests and riots?
7. Have politicians remained silent or have they spoken out? Did they sympathize with the demonstrators?
A. I am shocked by what has happened in the US. Yes or no?
B. Are the protesters justified in looting and arson?
C. Have the police in general been too rough and sadistic, or is this an isolated case?
D. What are the causes of these demonstrations, protests and riots?
E. What might happen in the future?
F. What should people and governments do?
