Brandon bernard

Our justice system is messed up.

Brandon Bernard, may he rest in power, was executed on December 10, 2020, at 9:27 pm by lethal injection by the federal government of the United States. This was murder, just because it was government sanctioned, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it was murder.

Brandon Bernard was 18 years old when he was sentenced to death for a crime committed in 1999, the government and jurors had an incomplete picture of Brandon and what he did. Stacie and Todd Bagley were the couple who was shot and murdered by Christopher Vialva (executed on September). Bernard was tasked with getting rid of the evidence by burning the couple’s car. He didn’t have a leading role in the crime. The couple was dead before this fire. I’m not excusing what Bernard did, it was wrong, and it was bad. However, Brandon did not deserve to be put to death.

Brandon was a father of two daughters. He was a son. He only saw his family through a glass wall. Throughout his 20 years of incarceration, he demonstrated positive behavior, he changed his behavior for the better, and helped at risk youth with the intention of leading them away from going down the wrong path. 5 of the 9 jurors (the same ones from 20 years ago) regret their prior decision to sentence him to death.

“Bernard’s last words, which were more than three minutes long, were directed to the Bagley family, according to the pool reporter present at the execution. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s the only words that I can say that completely capture how I feel now and how I felt that day.” ( CBSNEWS )

If these are my last days… I hope that my death will bring a meaning other than destruction and it will ripple through generations positively.

– BRANDON BERNARD

It’s important to remember that Brandon Bernard’s case is not a one time thing. It’s the system that we currently have that make POC in this line of fire of injustice and inhumane treatment. We need to keep on fighting and keep on putting our voices out there to change this. We need to keep educating ourselves and helping each other in whatever way we can. Spreading the word, sighing a petition, making a call, being vocal, keep on keeping on to help in creating a positive change. There’s already so much pain and hurt and hardship that’s been affecting everyone especially this year. Your voice is heard and what you do is important. No justice, no peace.

Breaking the System: Social Media

QUOTE OF TRUTH: “THERE’S A SOLUTION. JUST PUT ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL INTO IT AND WE CAN ALL FIX THE PROBLEMS TOGETHER.” – L.O.A.S.H (A.K.A MEEEEE!)

Yes, there is a solution, always.

 

Today’s society has the majority of people getting negatively impacted by social media. It isn’t just the youth going through the influence but everyone is victims of the unrealistic expectations social media gives which often leads to disappointment which later on can develop into something more serious.

 

Phones and devices are normally easy to access along with social media. There’s a tendency to constantly check the news feeds across multiple social media platforms. This often leads to addiction. Due to the lack of guidance and awareness, this addiction, which takes up hours and hours constantly per day, then disrupts the person’s life from school, work, studies, and other productive routines in which life goes haywire.

 

Aside from the significant amount of time going to social media, studies have shown that it has bad effects on the mental health of people and kids today.

 

Okay, so it’s out there: in today’s age, social media is used by so many and is also the blame for so many problems. However, in my opinion, the root problem isn’t social media per se. I would infer that the root problems would be cyberbullying, decreased face-to-face interactions with other people, contents by people to influence in a bad way, and (a big contribution goes to) social comparisons. These are the problems we need to properly address not just pointing fingers at social media. We can’t just be like:

“hey, stop using your social media it’s such a distraction. Just like stop using it. yeah?”

 

No, this route isn’t going to work. We are living in a digital age. Social media is what helps connections and communications for people around the world. It strengthens the professional connections, spread news, allow people to express themselves creatively (with their music, art, skits, photography, and more), aids social movements (Feminist Movements, World Cleanup Day, Black Lives Matter, and so much more), spread awareness, and the list goes on…..

 

What we should be doing is making those, especially the youth, know their self-worth and to motivate & inspire growth and one’s improvement. Encouraging those to go out and socialize, do some volunteering and helping out in the community. Even to use those social media skills to spread the awareness of the environment and what’s going on around. Another important thing to do is to strengthen the youth’s values and mindset to avoid those negative and bad influences that appear on their screens. If some kind of social media patrol thing could be put out to casually check every now and then the audience and the content displayed to keep it appropriate would be good too. And, since social media is going everywhere a class about cyberbullying and awareness for how to understand its specs should also be implemented. 

 

Those are just a few ideas that could change the course of how people look at social media and to even make it a positive outlet. So, we have to take this system of social media that has been misused, break it, look at the more important problems, and then we can finally go to fixing it. If we really put our minds to fixing a problem, we can do it. This isn’t a lost cause we just need implementation. And, as I said earlier there’s a solution.

 

Yours truly,

L.O.A.S.H

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© Elizabeth Anne Villoria

Yellow Vest Movement Ongoing

Quote of TRUTH: “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” – Howard Zinn

The yellow vest movement in France started with the increase in fuel taxes which President Emmanuel Macron announced to go in effect in January 1, 2019. This was part of his strategy for his environmental policy. However, as time has passed, the uproar for the repeal of the tax has become much broader. This protest began on November 17, 2018 and is still ongoing till this day, April 3, 2019. 

 

Yellow Vests?

Yes, yellow vest. This movement got its name by the yellow vests that vehicles are required to have. During foggy seasons or times when it’s hard to see anything, and someone is parked on the side of the road, these yellow vests must be worn to be seen to avoid accidents. Now, these vests are the symbol for the protest ongoing for the unjust charges and taxes. 

What’s the goal?

At the beginning, the goal of the protests would be to cut down the over taxing. But now more and more problems have been brought up into the light that people are trying to fix. All in all the big picture would be social justice that is trying to be achieved through this movement. 

 

What’s been happening?

Thousands and thousands of people have turned up, put on their yellow vests, and filled the streets in support of the movement. Compared to other areas, it has become violent. In Paris, stores have been looted, cars set on fire, walls vandalized, and hundreds have become injured. Hundreds have also been taken into custody. The police have resorted to throwing tear gas and water cannons at the crowds. 

President Macron will have to find a way to fix the protests and calm down the anger that has spread. Hopefully, this problem will soon be resolved.

Yours truly,

L.O.A.S.H

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© Elizabeth Anne Villoria