For many of us, this has been one of the saddest, most painful weeks in memory. Depressing doesn’t even begin to describe it.

We have watched as mobs of violent cretins have burned our cities, defaced our monuments, beaten old women in the street, shot police officers and stolen everything in sight — stealing everything.

BAIL REFORM LAWS LET ALLEGED CRIMINALS BACK ON THE STREETS WITHIN HOURS, THREATENING PUBLIC SECURITY

How many innocent Americans have these people hurt? How many have they murdered? We don’t know that number. But it’s the country itself that so many of us worry about at this point.

After we’ve watched what’s happened over the last week, how do we put the society back together? Can we? We don’t know that, either.

If you’re grieving for America right now, you are not alone. Millions feel the same way you do.

So many of our leaders, by contrast, are not grieving. They seem exhilarated. They feel nothing as our nation descends into anarchy. They see chaos, instead, as an opportunity, a chance to solidify their control, to increase their market share to win elections.

They have no interest in talking about the details of what is actually happening out there on our streets. In fact, they’re hiding those details. They’re demanding that you forget what you saw. Don’t forget it. Remember all of it — every bit — because it’s proof of who they are.

What they’re defending and encouraging has nothing to do with civil rights. It is violence, and the criminals you see on the screen are not protesters.

The people cheering them on from their TV studios have no patience for real protests or real protesters. Just in April, Democrats in New Jersey arrested a woman for trying to plan a rally, a protest at the state capitol. The New York Times said nothing when they did that because they approve. That’s how they really feel about any political expression they can’t control — they crush it.

What they support is more power for themselves and they’re willing to use gangs of thugs to get it. Here is one of their protesters chanting “no justice, no peace” as a man tortures a dog. NBC News wouldn’t show you that video ever. Neither would CNN under any circumstances. These are the worst people in America, and our leaders have let them do whatever they want. So, of course, they want more.

Their latest demand is that we eliminate the police entirely. No more law enforcement in this country. That would mean more power for the mob. They could do anything. It would mean never-ending terror for you and for your family. That’s why they want it.

Unidentified male: I am now calling on all and our city council members and all of our elected officials to defund the police.

Crowd: Defund the police.

Unidentified male: Defund the police.

Crowd: Defund the police.

“Defund the police.” No sane person would dare to have said something like that in public just a week and a half ago. Now, a member of Congress has endorsed the idea — Rashida Tlaib.

So, what would happen to our country if we eliminated law enforcement? Eric Garcetti is the mayor of Los Angeles, the second biggest city in America. His city would devolve into a murderous hellscape within hours if the police left.

But Garcetti, who is in charge of the city, won’t push back against this idea. Instead, he kneeled in subservience before the people demanding it.

Jake Tapper, CNN anchor: LA Mayor Eric Garcetti joined protesters moments ago, what did he have to say?

Stephanie Elam, CNN correspondent: Yes, he came out this morning, Jake, and he took the time to come out and come out among the protesters. He knelt while he was out there, saying — and showing — his solidarity for the movement, for the protesters here today.

He kneeled. Our leaders are kneeling before the mob, the atavistic ritual of self-abasement of defeat. Suddenly, many are performing this ritual, including police around the country.

The mob wants victory. But more than that, it wants the total humiliation of its enemies.

Unidentified male: I work for Black Lives Matter. I’m sorry that I scared you. But since I work for that company, my CEO has told me to come out today and to bring you on your knees because you have white privilege.

So if they see that a white person is getting on their knees that show solidarity for the situation. The situation and could you just please apologize for — you know for your white privilege. Just apologize.

Unidentified female: I have — I am trying to think of the right words to say. What’s a good thing to say?

Unidentified male: It’s big.

Unidentified female: That comes from —

Unidentified male: It’s so — it’s large in this country.

Unidentified female: I am terribly sorry.

Why do we kneel? We kneel because we’ve lost. We kneel before our victors because they have won. We put down our resistance. We beg for their mercy.

But mobs rarely forgive. “We’re on your side!” we shout. We’re in solidarity, spare us. But they never do.

“We’re on your side” as the rock comes through the window. You think the mob cares? No.

What’s happening to this country? Why are Americans surrendering to violent mobs? Well, because they’ve been told they have to.

Demonstrators say repeatedly, “Stop killing us.” Stop killing us — it’s chilling. And if you believe it, and you’re a decent person, you will be moved by it — because it’s awful.

No American should ever be mistreated by those in authority, much less killed. The abuse of power is always and everywhere a sin, and it’s increasingly common here. We should always work to end it.

So many of our leaders, by contrast, are not grieving. They seem exhilarated. They feel nothing as our nation descends into anarchy. They see chaos, instead, as an opportunity

In this case, the death of a man at the hands of police in Minneapolis turned out to be a metaphor for abuse of power. That death has led to demands that we fire the nearly 700,000 police officers who work in the United States and that we free the million and a half criminals who are now behind bars.

In America, Joe Biden told us recently: “Just the color of your skin puts your life at risk.” Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey strongly agreed with that.

“We have so many people in our country,” Booker said Tuesday, “African-American men mostly unarmed, being murdered by police officers and no way of holding them accountable.”

So many people murdered by police officers, unarmed, says Cory Booker.

In the words of Ben Crump, who is the lawyer representing George Floyd’s family in Minneapolis, what we’re witnessing here in America is “genocide.” Genocide?

If you believe we were seeing genocide, then you might understand the riots now in progress. There’s nothing worse than genocide. But is it happening? Is any of this true? We should find out. Facts matter. What exactly are the numbers?

We found the numbers and we’re going to go through them with you in some detail because it’s worth it.

Since 2015, The Washington Post has maintained a comprehensive database of fatal police shootings in this country. Last year, The Post logged a total of 1,004 killings.

Of the 802 shootings in which the race of the police officer and the suspect was noted, 371 of those killed were white, 236 were black. The vast majority of those killed were not, in fact, unarmed; the vast majority were armed. And African-American suspects were significantly more likely to have a deadly weapon than white suspects, yet more white suspects were killed.

This is not genocide. It’s not even close to genocide. It is laughable to suggest it is.

Overall, there were a total of precisely 10 cases in the United States last year, according to The Washington Post, in which unarmed African- Americans were fatally shot by the police. There were nine men and one woman.

The first was a man called Channara Pheap. He was killed by a Knoxville police officer called Dylan Williams. According to Williams, Pheap attacked him, choked him and then used a taser on him — the suspect on the police officer before the officer shot him. Five eyewitnesses corroborated the officer’s claim, and the officer was not charged.

The second case concerns a man called Marcus McVeigh. He was by any description a career criminal from San Angelo, Texas. He had been convicted of aggravated assault, assault on a public servant and organized criminal activity.

At the time he was killed, he was wanted on drug dealing charges. The Texas State trooper pulled him over. McVeigh fled in his car, then he fled on foot into the woods. There he fought with the trooper and was shot and killed. The officer was not charged in that case.

Marzua Scott assaulted a shop employee. When a female police officer arrived and ordered the suspect toward her car, he instead charged her and knocked her to the ground. At that point, she shot and killed him. The entire incident was caught on body camera. The officer was not charged.

Ryan Twyman was being approached by two LA County deputies when he backed into one of them with his vehicle. The deputy was caught in the car door. He and his partner opened fire. The deputies were not charged in that case.

Melvin Watkins of East Baton Rouge, La. shot by a deputy after he allegedly drove his car toward the deputy at high speed. The deputy was not charged.

Atatiana Jefferson was shot by a Fort Worth deputy called Aaron Dean. A neighbor had called a non-emergency number after seeing Jefferson’s door open, thinking something might be wrong. Police arrived. Jefferson saw them approach from a window and was holding a gun at the time.

According to body camera footage, the officer shot Jefferson within seconds. That officer has been charged with homicide.

Is our nation being ripped apart by a total and complete lie, a provable lie? A lie used by cynical media manipulators and unscrupulous politicians who understand that racial strife — race hatred — is their path to power, even if it destroys the country.

Christopher Whitfield was shot and killed in a place called Ethel, La. He had robbed a gas station. Deputy Glenn Sims said his gun discharged accidentally while grappling with Whitfield. Sims, who is black himself, was not charged in that killing.

Kevin Mason was shot by police during a multi-hour standoff. Well, Mason turned out not to have a gun. Mason claimed to have a gun, claimed to be armed and vowed to kill police with it. They believed him. Mason had been in a shootout with police years before.

And finally, the tenth case concerns Gregory Griffin. He was shot during a car chase. An officer called Giovanni Crespo claimed he saw someone pointing a gun at him. Later, a gun was in fact found inside the vehicle, and yet Officer Crespo was charged anyway with aggravated manslaughter.

Those are the facts. That is the entire list from 2019, last year — 10 deaths. In five deaths, an officer was attacked just before the shooting occurred. That is not disputed.

But either way, this is a very small number in a country of 325 million people. This is not genocide. It’s not even close to genocide. It is laughable to suggest it is.

In fact, the number of police killings is dropping. In 2015, during Barack Obama’s presidency, 38 unarmed black Americans and 32 whites were slain by police. Overall totals have fallen since then, and they have fallen far more dramatically for African-American men.

Last year was the safest year for unarmed suspects since The Washington Post begin tracking police shootings. It was the safest year for both white and black suspects.

At the same time, this country remains a dangerous place for police officers. Forty-eight of them were murdered in 2019 according to FBI data. That’s more than the number of unarmed suspects killed of all races.

One final number for you, because it matters: In 2018, 7,407 African-Americans were murdered in the United States. If 2019 continues on a similar trajectory, — and we hope it doesn’t, but if it does — that would mean that for every unarmed African-American shot to death in the United States by police, more than 700 were murdered by someone else, usually by someone they know [= another Black].

Again, those are the facts. They are not in dispute. Are African-Americans being “hunted;” as Joy Reid recklessly claimed on MSNBC recently? Or something else happening?

Is our nation being ripped apart by a total and complete lie, a provable lie? A lie used by cynical media manipulators and unscrupulous politicians who understand that racial strife — race hatred — is their path to power, even if it destroys the country.

You have the facts now — and you can decide what’s really going on.

Adapted from Tucker Carlson’s monologue from “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on June 3, 2020.