This blog is mainly on the issues in South la. South LA is a dangerous environment. Streets are always busy, Homelessness is a major concern, fighting, drugs, prostitution, robberies, and much more are huge factors in why South LA is a horrible place to be honestly. Is there a way to improve this environment?
Majority of the time drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol and beer are often promoted on commercials when they can harm your body. Media tends to only promote the drugs that are in stores and that is mainly because of money. Most people are exposed of drugs because of a movie or a commercial. In some commercials cigarettes are promoted as a stress reliever and said to give much pleasure. As you can see in the picture to the left, the couple is smiling and the male has a cigarette in his hand. The woman seems fascinated at the fact that the male has a cigarette and they look happy. This picture costs a good amount of money to promote, but it also brings in a lot of money. More than $25 billion is spent on advertising tobacco, alcohol, and prescription drugs per year. However, the more these drugs are promoted the more these drugs are consumed. People automatically think that its okay to buy these drugs because they are under the impression of whatever
they see from the media. " I started smoking when I was 13 or 14 years old, from the pressure and desire to be cool.", a former smoker named Suzy stated after a interview. (http://www.etsu.edu/tips/education/cessation/stories.aspx) Most smokers were influenced because it look like the cool thing to do and the were addicted ever since.
The video above explains how drugs are promoted even though they fail to share all information on the drugs. Media makes sure that they are portraying a good look on the drug. They don't make positive commercials on illegal drugs such as heroine or weed, for example. However, the drugs are still being promoted on movies and songs. People see in movies that certain drugs makes you "feel good" or "look cool" and they decide they want to use the drug to have that feeling. When people see their favorite movie star taking a drug then it gets more people doing it, which causes drug dealers to make more money. So either way it goes the drugs are still being promoted. Well because these drugs aren't sold in stores, the media tends to make commercials and ads saying that these drugs are bad. They make sure to give all information about these drugs to let the people know these drugs are bad, when reality is that all drugs are bad, not only illegal drugs.
In the picture to the left they are saying that marijuana will ruin your life, but in the Newport picture it seems as if smoking the Newport will bring you pleasure. The simple fact is that both drugs should be portrayed as bad because they both harm your body and ruin your life. However, there are medical beneficial facts about marijuana and it can be prescribed. Most people believe what they see on television, so they turn to the Newport even though cigarettes are worst. There are people and media that know the truthful facts about drugs and they are trying to keep people from doing the drugs regardless the money. Parents, schools and federal government are telling people to say no to drugs. Just like promoting them to do the drugs, $25 billion is spent on promoting the media on saying no to drugs also. There are multiple programs that are anti-drug and they go to schools to teach kids about the dangers of drugs. "It's been a passion of mine to educate people on drugs and alcohol, especially students because they're our future.", a teenager named Shelby Rubalcaba in a program that talks about drugs stated. (http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Teens-teaching-teens-about-the-dangers-of-drugs-247931331.html) It's very difficult to try and keep kids away from drugs when its all around them. A teen can go from drug free to a drug addict in a minimum amount of time, they want to be what they see on television, they want to feel good and look cool. The media just makes it worse promoting drugs and alcohol on television because people watch TV everyday and they buy what they see.
Sulema is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it had to tell the difference of what is real and not real or have normal emotional responses. One day Sulema entered an apartment and cooked an egg and a slice of toasted bread. Her mind had her thinking that she lived there, when she actually didn't. Sulema was arrested and charged with burglary, when she should have been sent to a mental hospital. She has had altercations with the Los Angeles Police Department in the past where they sent her to the mental institution, but this time they didn't even establish the fact that she had an illness. Sulema was completely oblivious to the reason why she was arrested. She showed no sign of burglary, in fact she waited for the police to arrive at the time. Sulema should not have been thrown in jail. FREE SULEMA!!!!
There are several individuals who are voiceless. Voiceless as in they have the ability to speak but they are often not acknowledged or heard. It's time to give a voice to the voiceless and look into a couple of these individual's lives. There are people all around that want to be noticed but aren't quite living up to the criteria to have a loud voice. Meet Christine, she is a homeless woman from St. Louis. She became homeless because she aged out of foster care. Christine is very talented poet and she dreams to get her poems published. Meet Lee Anne, she is twenty-four years old and she is homeless as well. She lives in Canada and she lost her job, which led to homelessness. Lee Anne wants people to open up their eyes to the world because everyone's life isn't easy. She dreams to finish school and she wants to be able to give back. Last but surely not the least, meet Mark. He lives in Seattle and his wife and daughter died in 2008. He suffered a nervous break down afterwards, so he went to a psychiatric hospital for seven months which led to homelessness. Mark has lost faith in the system and he believes that everyone should the basic essentials to live a decent. As you can see each one them has the potential to let their voice be heard. Their can be a voice for the voiceless, but they just need to be an little louder. Their voice is strong and heart touching so why shouldn't they be encouraged and acknowledged.
There is a place just like South LA in Australia. It's not easy living in a place called the ghetto and most people don't expect a colored kid to accomplish anything in life. This place is called The Block, and its located in a area what is described as the "ghetto". There is a teenaged boy named fred and he was born and raised on the block. Fred has a broken down home, and there are twelve individuals living under his roof. He stated that the block changed after the riots happend and he never liked the block. Fred's cousin was killed on the block. While his cousin was out he was hit by a police car while being chased. "I guess I was too young to understand.", He stated. Fred started off not liking the block from the beginning. However, he had to push all of the complaints aside because this was a place called home to him. The dirty and tragic neighborhood is all he knows and he knows that this shouldnt be acceptable but he wants to overcome this obstacle. Fred wants to go to college and become a lawyer so that he can come back to the block and help out. Just like in Australia there are other individuals in South LA who have there story of living in the ghetto. There is a girl her name is Lamika and she is a foster child. When she was first sent to a foster home she gave up on everything and she felt alone. Lamika grew up in the South LA streets, where she lost her mother to a drug addiction. This young lady felt as if it was normal to see someone selling drugs or using a substance. As she walks her neighborhood she notices the abandoned and broken down houses and she feels as if she can do better. She ends up going to college majoring in the medical field. "I never thought I could do something in life...", she said solemnly. The two stories relate because both of the individuals have been through challenging obstacles, but yet they still want to do more. They dont want sympathy, they just want to show that they can be called something other than "that colored kid from the ghetto". These stories tie together and proves to us that there is other places like South LA. http://www.sbs.com.au/theblock/#/explore/
Gang violence affects South LA in a tremendous amount of ways. There are over 200 gangs in communities of South LA, not counting the ones that are undiscovered. Majority of the time gang violence results in murder, vandalism, robbery, and drug distribution. Many innocent individuals are constantly affected by this issue in South LA. Citizens shouldn't have to be afraid to walk out in there neighborhood and enjoy their day without catching a bullet or being "banged" on. The gangs in the community often have rivalry with other gangs and that creates a huge conflict. These gangs are distributing drugs to people, even minors. Drugs is a whole different issue in South LA.
This is a very extraordinary picture that explains expectations of student coming from public schools. Basically the picture is saying that students from public education have no funds and are pushed more and more towards prison. The prison industrial complex is feeding off of these students from public education because they didn't have the support they need. All of the money that needs to be going to schools is going towards prison because that is where students from public schools are expected to go. The prison industrial complex is welcoming the students and they believe that they cant get money through public education so they follow the money which is usually the wrong path that leads to prison. This connects to South LA because students from South LA are expected to go to prison and become nothing in life. It is common that young individuals from South LA follow the wrong path and end up in prison. South LA students have to manage to go to school with all of the misleading and illegal things around them. Some are capable of staying away from gangs and drugs around them but most are introduced and reeled in the prison pipeline.
This is a program called Community Coalition consisting youth leaders in South LA. They were getting petitions so that they can get votes from board members to sup;port their student need index. The top ten highest need schools are schools located in South LA. These youth leaders wants equity in the school funding systems in LA compared to other areas. If you were to visit a school like Fremont High School for example, and then visit Beverly Hills High, you would see a tremendous difference safety, money, and area wise. South LA schools should be just as nice as other areas. The South LA youth should have new books, clean restrooms, more teachers, better safety precautions, protection, and most of all the should feel comfortable in their neighborhood.
Homelessness is a major issue in South LA because it gives the community a bad image. Most homeless individuals loiter all day asking for money or food. Homelessness should be removed from the South LA so that people could feel comfortable when leaving their homes. Most of the time unemployment leads to homelessness. homeless individuals find any and every where to rest, live, or sleep. They sleep on park benches, bus stops, tent cities, alleys, parks, in the beach, beside other peoples homes, and many other places. There are multiple homeless shelters downtown but the waiting list is often full. Homelessness makes south LA look like a dirty, unsafe, and horrible city to live in. South LA should be a more presentable place to call home, however homelessness is a normal thing to see for a south LA citizen.
