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.
