In response to a post on social media I became acutely aware that the state of society is somewhat a loss. The media, news channels and other various outlets are deliberately restricting certain content whilst favouring others.
One such topic is LGBTQ rights. Now we in England and the UK have no shortage of these rights. People can identify as gay or lesbian or whatever without the risk of persecution. The gay scene is big in many towns and cities.
However, in other countries such as Uganda, these rights are non existent and merely identifying as homosexual is now illegal. I bring this up because Uganda like many countries do criminalise homosexuality but they have done so for hundreds of years. The west, like England also used to criminalise it but we only talk about other countries. Although England has changed it doesn’t mean it hasn’t always been a part of this.
So why do the news outlets focus on places like Uganda? Well, it’s simple. They are popular news stories which will garner huge attention and support in western countries from people who haven’t the faintest clue as to how or what the operation or culture of those foreign countries is. For example, the majority of citizens could be in favour of the new bill, making it a democratic process with homosexuals – if there is many in Uganda – in the minority.
However the west does a very nasty job of making these countries seem like the worst place on earth. Aside from protecting their own cultural heritage and the society they live in, they are a different way of life and people don’t seem to understand that. What is normal in one country isn’t always normal in the other. We have to accept this. Trying to impose a global homosexuality acceptance parade is offensive and undermines the majority. Remember that these homosexuality rights are modern creations, and you cannot shift the entirety of Africa, or Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia to do as the west pleases.
Taking the story of Uganda, it had been illegal since 1902 to be a homosexual including various displays of affection. The new death penalty is not something to be frowned on, in fact it is to prevent the rape and abuse of young boys and girls.
The law in Uganda now classes ‘aggravated homosexuality’ as having gay sex with someone under the age of 18 or with someone being HIV positive, among other categories…
This is not a bad thing, but the west seems to think that homosexuality should be allowed in any form, even minors. You have to laugh at the disgusting reporting going on. Insinuating our African family is less because they ban something which would otherwise hurt the vulnerable is not a good image. Although the agenda in England has started to shift to dangerous tactics like imposing LGBTQ awareness in schools.
Saudi Arabia came around, changing the law to allow women to drive, a huge milestone. Yet with all their laws banning homosexuality the world cup was hosted there! What does that say about the medias agenda? It seems they have a selective and very dangerous money grab scheme involving certain states and countries. If they hosted the world cup and built and entire stadium for the world to visit, surely they are open to making homosexuality legal? The west went there, paid them trillions and didn’t say a thing about its brutal legal system – known worldwide for persecuting people for very minor crimes.
If the news actually reported on things that matter – like the fact that Afgahnistan also imposes the death penalty for homosexuality and so do several other countries then it might seem fair to go after Uganda, but the reality is the new law is actually protecting people. Don’t forget Africa and many of the countries suffer from AIDs and HIV epidemics, with HIV being a worldwide pandemic for many years. They have to account for this, and the high risk of disease spread from homosexuality activity.
Although I am not condemning them or siding with them in any case. It seems like perhaps we, and the news of the west need to give countries a wider berth. We cannot be selective about what we choose to argue about when in reality those same things are happening in western countries. There is no end in sight for LGBTQ rights in England, and it is unlikely that they will end soon, if anything they will continue to grow.
Why do I feel bored in life? How many years do I have to put up with this? What can make things better?
Ugh! {You cry in perceived pain, turned out you enjoyed it}
The ugly yet satisfying truth lingering beneath a broken heart of pain and lust. A sword and shield that are laid down in a cupboard, forgotten and then later discovered and pawned off to contribute to your so-called retirement funds.
Integrity, lost through the childhood or adulthood depending on how desperate you actually are. Have you retained it through the years? Can you feel the honesty stripped away and now replaced with the art of bullshit? {bullshit = rhetoric}
“Oh no! I’ve reached 25 and I am an old woman and now I have no idea what to do because my delicate eye lashes, expensive Gucci or Prada handbags makes me poor. Mummy and daddy no longer give me £1000 a month spending money or have my boyfriend publicly shamed because he gave me pathetic bunch of lilies instead of 50 red roses at £200.”
“My anus needs bleaching!” Spoke by a man in a suit whilst driving his Ferrari to his office in which he sits for 8 hours doing less work than a nurse for £89,000 a year.
Then a footballer at £200,000 a month jumps in: “Hello I love playing with balls. It pays well.” The football disagrees.
Alas! Politician and local area MP for Surrey hops around on one foot whilst sticking his middle finger up at a picture of the Queen, all the while having his learned friends glorious shit thrown at him as part of his initiation into the party: Our mutual circle jerk club.
Wait, news headlines talk about a virus sweeping the globe causing the sniffles. Yet the East are obliged to send children to school in full nuclear suits. Don’t worry, you won’t hear them cry or complain. If they do, our automatic drones will charge through the streets chanting mindless propaganda restricting rights you never had to begin with. Children ushered into vans, where to?
I wrote zombie apocalypse stories, because that is my favourite genre. Now the world is becoming a zombie apocalypse. In those stories people still retain the right to treat their minds and bodies how they wish, providing they are alive and not a zombie. We live in a world though where choice is taken from us. We don’t see it until it is too late because of all the distractions. Are you distracted by media, internet, work, news, food or health?
CHOOSING AND BELIEVING ARE DIFFERENT THINGS
Health means many things. I suspect most people like to think that they are in good health and that is what they want: good health. That means making choices to support ones health. You might like to increase the amount of exercise you do, or eat a healthier diet. Do you really want those changes for yourself out of your own choosing, or have they been chosen for you? Diet and exercise are the two ingredients forced down our throats when it comes to reducing disease and illness and boosting wellbeing. Well I have news for you, it doesn’t work for a lot of people. They are told to keep at it, and that things will improve. No, if it doesn’t work then it won’t change no matter how long you keep at it. A personal experience:
‘A few years ago I ate vegetarian, ate 1 meal a day with a snack or two, and exercised moderately everyday for a few months. During that timeI dropped around 6 kg and was borderline underweight. I wasn’t eating anywhere near enough. Despite the weight loss, my body looked skeletal and I felt like my body was starving. My health actually deteriorated at well, causing me to get sick often. The funny thing is that I was not vegan, which meant I still had the benefits of certain animal products like eggs. I had some people tell me to eat more. I actually struggled to regain the weight even on a high calorie diet for several months. It took over a year not only to regain some weight, but to stabilise my health. I had discovered for the second time in my life that advice from so-called medical professionals and the government can be detrimental. I really was doing everything right, and actually was probably eating a good amount for my weight at the time.’
There are others with similar experiences, who wished they’d never started dieting and increased exercise because it has actually made things worse for them and some don’t think they will get back to normal. It can be dangerous! Take all of the advice from another person with salt, even what I am saying. People can and do follow healthy diets and exercise, I learned how to do it without the negative effects. I find that moderate exercise, especially exercise easy on the joints, like walking, biking and swimming and maybe some body exercise {pushup, situp, leg raise, planks etc.} at home to be the most beneficial.
When given a diagnoses by a doctor for example, we take that at face value. Now my experience with the health system is extensive and I know {sadly this is not bullshit} a lot more about my health than a doctor. I suspect you do too. Why? I live with my own flipping body and I know my mind and body better than an external person who cannot experience my life. You see, just because you have high blood pressure at an appointment that does not mean it is high all the time and definitely does not mean ‘medication’ immediately. Likewise, a scan which reveals some shading on your lung does not mean ‘antibiotics’ immediately. Nor does it mean cancer. You see you are so much better off without the health care system. So many ailments can be treated at home and without medication. Antibiotics are overused. From personal experience, don’t be afraid of leaving if you don’t feel comfortable or that you are being told dangerous information, such as needing treatment when you know you don’t. Over treating minor conditions is killing your body. Do not be forced to have medication for mental health problems either, even if you are convinced by a psychiatrist to take them. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to! Obviously if you need them and accept that and they help then great! But we live in over diagnosed and over prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety pill nation. The majority of people don’t need them.
Choosing what you need and believing what you are told are completely different things. Believing that a professional knows more than you can be detrimental. Use your underused initiative! How many ‘experts’ come onto TV {I don’t watch it anymore, haven’t done for years}, and start talking about the ‘scientific’ benefits of beauty products? Are you kidding me? HAHAHAHA COMPLETELY LAUGHABLE. You might as well get your anus bleached for all the scientific benefits. What about the dangerous trends of social media, like the ridiculous ice bucket challenge? Read my article on the dangers of social media here. Of course the stupidity was masked and pushed away as it was ‘for charity.’ Sure, how much money actually went to the cause? We live in a silent nation too afraid to speak out!
FEAR AND DESIRE ~ DRIVING US TO DELUSION
A critical driving force of the human race. So, you don’t choose, things are chosen for you, using the magic of advertising and social media and news. Your views are not your own and neither is your home or your car or even your pet dog. Do you know why? Do you care, or are you content to let the banks take control of your property at any minute? A private entity that controls public resources, like controlling the government. Big companies, pharmaceutical and other, controlling and dictating what the government makes into legislation and what it feeds us. Then the circle of bullshit – remember rhetoric = bullshit and vice versa – is initiated and continues until the public accept it, which does not take long, and then they feed the information themselves until it evolves to the point that the majority of things said at the beginning are forgotten and we don’t really understand it. The message or information source is usually lost and becomes part of things like ‘social norms’ {another joke}. People are then convinced that the lie is truth and sometimes the lie can drive them to believe that they have a right to something, or a desire to do something. Great examples are black lives matter – hiding beneath the surface until it garnered the media attention and decided that black people have the right to go around stealing, beating and attacking police and white people – because they are in the minority. What about feminism? Turned violent against men because certain women think that men can’t stop thinking about them or sex – grow up.
You usually outward when you cannot look inward. You spend money and shop and distract yourself with all these fantastic material things because of adverts and what other people told you. You are scared of who you really are, what is going to happen to you and what the world thinks of you. I have some news, this is fear. You fear not appearing proper if you don’t join the argument to get the vaccines, or the argument to support the popular view, which usually does not have any logic, and any use of logic will cause the other people to shout. They don’t shout answers or arguments, they usually shout because you make more sense then they will. They cannot accept that they are wrong. You don’t need others to tell you what you desire either. Do you really desire expensive perfume and clothes? Do you really desire to ‘fit in’ or to look like you aren’t poor or that you don’t belong to a certain group? This innate and delusional belief system is making people physically and mentally unwell. What about the idea that you can look and dress how you want? Well, it has been blown out of proportion.
People nowadays are all about being different and have created this culture of being different, which is itself so common that to be a part of it is more of a statement of ‘I am insecure and need attention’ but if you take that attention away, they gather in groups to stand out again and make themselves heard. Take a look at trans rights, forcing the idea that children should be allowed to pick a ‘gender.’ Let me clear something up, you are born a boy or a girl.
I recently asked what I perceived to be a girl {because her picture looked like one, and had a girl name} about her gender, do you know what she said when I asked is she was a woman? ‘I am non-binary.’ It also transpired that this ‘being’ was polyamorous. I had to look up what non-binary was. Why on earth could I not get a straight answer? You see, the lies and the fear has spread so far now and is so engrained that women are afraid to say they are women. She was clearly a female. Two genders okay, male or female. How does a woman have babies? People have now got to the point they are afraid of saying words like ‘vagina’ and ‘penis’ and would rather play mind games letting us figure out things like non-binary meanings. I am sorry to say this, but you cannot avoid your gender by simply stating non-binary. It is stupid to believe you can. This is nothing but delusion, the result of fear and desire. Afraid of the truth, desiring to be different.
Afraid of the truth, desiring to be different.
Wizard
CONCLUSION
Independence of mind and body are really important to having an improve life. But, reality dictates what we should believe and desire and teaches us things that are not true. Do they really want to eat fast food, to diet and exercise, to pay mortgages and drive expensive cars and go out drinking and socialising and being a part of that cult of personality? Does the man really want to be a woman and vice versa? Do your children want education or are they trauma bonded into a system to work… sorry, to slave away for the rest of their lives in the hope the master may throw a bone to them?
The lies that the government have told us, the belief system about an afterlife? Do you really want to waste your lives slaving away, being a part of this instead of doing what matters? Eat healthy, work a good job {rather than doing your passion} and make sure to not break the laws or hurt others and definitely do not question us. If you want the truth get initiated into the disgusting world of the occult. Sell your soul so you can feel shame and guilt all your lives because you think you have sacred knowledge. Live in delusion that you are better or that you are somehow different. You have no choice and you are not meant to cry and ask big questions. You are not supposed to think outside the ‘social norm and will be persecuted if you do. Love and hate are the same things because we love your slavery and hate you at the same time. We get off in secret masked sex parties, raping, torturing and beating women as sex slaves whilst convincing the public their money is being put to good use. We take drugs day and night because we know that none of it means anything. We don’t care about you, so shut up and eat your shit food.
Welcome to Psychedelic Wizard. It’s Monday which means most of you will be off to work for the day, some of you may be off to college or school. Some may be enjoying retirement and others might simply not be at work this day!
Mental Health Support
A gentle reminder that anyone struggling with their mental health can email the Wizard @ psychwizard@yahoo.com . There has already been an overwhelming response from followers and non followers which is great and the Wizard loves to connect and share emotions with you all. times can be overwhelming and feel like too much, but knowing someone is there to listen can make the world of difference. He still loves you all and wishes you to comment, like, follow and email him with any thoughts or suggestions… literally anything you want to talk about. Talk about food? Talk about your feelings? Tell him about your annoying neighbours? What about your clothes? Absolutely anything and he keeps it all confidential.
Upcoming & New Rock Albums
Upcoming albums that may be of interest to you include Joe Satriani’s Elephants of Mars which can be pre-ordered by clicking this link. It is due to release on the 8th April 2022. Joe has already uploaded a few videos to YouTube about the new album along with songs like ‘Sahara’ and ‘Faceless’, both of which are excellent. Arguably a rock album.
Scorpions have released new album ‘Rock Believer’ on 25th February 2022. An iconic band with some huge songs and albums. Bringing 80’s hair rock to the front of most rock fans minds with classics like ‘rock you like a hurricane.’
Ozzy Osbourne is working on the release of album no.13 after his last album release in 2020, which came ten years after the previous album. He is still active in music, both recording and touring and is available to watch this year at various venues. After Black Sabbath said goodbye way back in 2017, it will be nice to see how to pairing with Tony Iommi on the yet unnamed new album will pay off.
Red Hot Chili Peppers recently got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In Los Angeles they are even bigger, since that is where hey grew up. Creators of 1999 Californication and one of the biggest rock bands in history, have released their 12th album. Their newest creation, called ‘Unlimited Love’ was released in April 2022 is already no. 1 on Amazon under pop and alternative rock.
Recent News
The most recent headlines are quite concerning as usual. In my previous post I mentioned about the increase in politicians salaries, members of parliament. I think this needs to be revoked or at least given considerable thought to before proceeding. The basic annual salary for a member of parliament in the House of Commons is £81,932 as of April 2020. Members of parliament can also claim allowances to cover the costs of running an office and employing staff, and maintaining a constituency residence or a residence in London. Salary is paid for appointments or additional duties, such as ministerial appointments, being a whip, chairing a select committee or chairing a public bill committee.
The war between Ukraine and Russia rages on. Russian soldiers were recently poisoned en-mass by civilians of Ukraine. Russians have now allegedly been ‘digging up’ the remnants of the Chernobyl incident, which could have them in possession of deadly poisons in no time.
The Taliban having taken over Afghanistan have now banned the growing or cultivation of poppies. Afghanistan being the biggest producer of poppies. Poppies are used to create addictive substances and the group has made it clear they do not want that in their country. Despite what economic impact this could have, or the fact that medicine can be created using them.
There has been a mass shooting in California capital, Sacramento. Six people have been killed and 10 injured in a shooting said to have taken place early morning on Sunday. The shooting took place in the downtown area, which is packed full of bars and restaurants.
Tory MP David Warburton has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital following allegations into his conduct. Allegedly two women have come forward and made formal complaints to the ICGS about his behaviour and a third woman has also made allegations about his conduct. The allegations supposedly relate to sexual misconduct and a claim that he had taken cocaine. Seems like he has had a rough time, maybe the pay rise will help?
Poem ~ Raising Hope
Day she was born
there was a fire raging inside
her smile had met my eyes
reaching for the sky
a innocent glean most loving delight
Short Story ~ Waiting
We all spend some time waiting. She spends most of her time waiting. Today is hot and humid, under the baking sun in Brighton seaside. Lilies, her hand full of the bloomed bunch. She had them trimmed but is now wondering how to get them home before they die in he heat. She is waiting on the scolding pavement for a ticket so she can move her car. Her day had been full of surprises, she thought. When she woke up this morning, she had a call that her bank account had to be unfrozen by her visiting her bank to confirm her identity. She had that twisting in her gullet but she still went into the branch. Her Gucci sunglasses gave her the cover she needed to discretely roll her eyes, just as she was doing now, third in the queue.
Sun was approaching midday and with every passing second bullets of sweat beaded along her forehead. She had no tissues, only issues. Whoever stood in front, some overweight, light blue Hawaiian shirt wearing geezer with some straw hat. Oh, God, she thought, he stinks. If her hands weren’t quaking with adrenaline or wrapped around the lilies she might knock his fat ass hat off. Like some sweet moment of synchronicity he left the queue in a huff, waddling away. Her chest sunk as she sighed.
Now what! The man at the machine helping with tickets seemed to be using his walkie talkie, and he looked over to her, which made her shudder at the thought of him coming near her. One of the lilies drooped and fell to the floor and she stood on it, crushing it instantly. It was too much, her free fist balled up and she lunged forward, knocking the lady in front to the side and punching the man on the walkie directly in the face. Her knuckle cracked and the man dropped his walkie talkie. “I’m not waiting anymore for a fucking ticket.”
Standing alone in solitude. Patience. Themes of underlying rage and unresolved emotions. A life of misery made worse by the heat. I guess it was a high pressure situation and it got too much for her.
Thank you for reading todays post which has spoken about mental health and the recent news. If you liked my poem, then please like and leave a comment below or share, which is always welcomed. If you enjoyed the story, please also do the same.
*Please consider reading and reviewing my second published book Beach Town: Hope. The book hasn’t had the attention or reviews that an author would expect. I made it exclusive to Amazon so that may have impeded the reach.
Meditation is one of the oldest traditions in the world. Ancient civilisations and Buddhists and Africans were meditation thousands of years ago as a collective way to improve the whole of life, not just for themselves but for everyone else too.
Today in the 21st Century, meditation has taken on many modern forms. A lot of people see it as solitary, but looking back in history we can see that although you meditate alone it was not done to advance yourself to an affluent position, rather to become a better person. There are literally thousands of online resources about meditation and hundreds of meditation classes across England and Wales. A new found culture of people looking to improve their mood, to become better people, to experience some variety of enlightenment.
I am going to talk through 5 essential benefits of meditation. I want to give you an idea of how this is going to have a positive influence in your life. Sometimes things get hard or stressful, sometimes you become depressed or anxious. Other times you just want to improve yourself and feel more connected to God or the Universe. I understand. I’ve managed to use meditation to assist me before and am currently using a meditation that works for me. There are many types available, guided meditation or Samatha – calmness of the mind – are examples. Meditation can be as simple as mindfulness. You can practice meditation morning or night. I had the luxury of practicing in the garden at the weekend under a harvest moon and then in the dawn of sunrise. Both give a tranquil experience and help greatly in quietening any intrusive thoughts.
Buddhist Meditation
The above is a Buddhist position for meditation. It is used when engaging the Samatha meditation. To read a little more about how meditation affected individuals check out this link.
Benefits of Meditation!
Calm Mind – There is no doubt in my mind that meditation in fact leads to a calm mind. The whole point of meditation is to calm the mind and to become better in tune with your body. At its core, you need a calm mind to meditate! Without the experience of meditation you may find your mind to be full of ‘clutter’ or ‘noise’. The noise or intrusive thoughts might be a fleeting thing, or it may plague you. Meditation over time will allow you to develop such a strong calmness that even after meditation, your mind will be clear from thoughts. Remember, thoughts come and go and they cannot harm us.
Improve Depression and Anxiety – If you are sad or anxious you may be thinking about the past or the future. Depression can be improved through meditation, because you are not to be thinking of the bad things or to be thinking at all. It takes time, but simply being in the moment either alone or in a group, meditating, can be enough to help shift your depressed thinking to a higher level. Anxiety will naturally decrease as you learn to visualise other things, you stop focusing on the anxious events or things and then you forget about it. For those with pain, meditation can help shift you away from it and to more focused on your breathing for example, or the position of your feet, or simply that energy that comes from silence within.
Ability to Cope – As a result of the above two, a calmer mind and reduced or improved depression and anxiety, you will thus have a significantly better chance of coping. The way you cope can be positive or negative, is can help or destroy you. Turning your struggles into a state of meditation and in turn, having a clearer mind and a stronger outcome or more certain decision you will see an improvement. Having a hard day and cannot get through? Wait… you can and that surprised you. You wonder why. Then you accept that for the last week you meditated everyday and actually it turns out it helped you through the present. Meditation can help those assisting others, we may be better in tune with our intuition and better able to help those in need. It will allow us to know instinctively what our own bodies need too.
Connected to the Universe – It seems out there does it? The reality is that everything is connected, and there is no truth higher than that. You will be making a conscious effort to quieten the mind and in turn the body and soul will develop at first a low level feeling of connectivity. As you continue you may become warm after meditation and feel like you are never alone. You are simply connecting to the universe and God, and everything in it. You won’t feel alone as much. I certainly noticed this improvement after just 2 weeks of mindfulness meditation!
Better Life Quality – Ultimately all of the above will improve your quality of life, or it should do. If you don’t feel like any of the above is happening, you might need to carry on for longer in your sessions, or perhaps you have not done it long enough? Everyone wants to feel better. Sometimes inner peace can bring us closer to that feeling of happiness or content. You might want a better life through being able to better understand how the world works, and maybe meditation is doing that for you? You have nothing to stop for, and everything to gain. There is no better quality of life than a clear mind.
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Lao Tzu
Amethyst crystal to hold during meditation
Holding a crystal during meditation can help better focus on your aims. If you are looking to heal you could hold Amethyst (pictured above). Rose quartz can be used where you want to heal the heart. There is so many choices when it comes to healing crystals. Always treat your body with respect and the crystals because they can be powerful things.
*Never substitute real medical advice with alternative practices where the medical advice is going to save your life. Only ever use alternative practices like crystal healing and meditation where it is safe and where it is a complimentary addition to any potential real medication or treatment. Always check with an experienced practitioner if you are unsure whether it is safe to do so.*
Thank you for reading and I hope that you give meditation a try! Namaste.
What would you say to a child who had stolen some money from your purse? What if they apologised and you decided to show remorse? Think about this, what would you do if that same child, exactly a week later, was arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm because they smashed a glass bottle over another childs head?
Youth offenders, also called young people, young offenders, are rampant in the United Kingdom. In fact, the UK has the highest rate of youth offenders across Europe. (https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/sep/22/ukcrime.prisonsandprobation) Although the article is from 2008, what does it tell us? Charity Barnados stated in that “custodial sentences are ineffective because 78 per cent of 10 to 14 year olds reoffend within 12 months of release”. Quite a significant figure. If you look at what is available to youth offenders, or children, you will see that the criminal justice system or youth court system powers vary widely when dealing with children.
Before going any further, it would aid if you understood exactly what a child is in the eyes of the law. The age of criminal responsibility is from 10 years old. This may bring up mixed emotions when you read it, as surely that is too high, or surely, is too low? Under 10 and you cannot be arrested and charged with a crime, a rather frightening thing though isn’t it? (https://www.cps.gov.uk/crime-info/youth-crime). Some suggestions out there state that people are born good or bad, and if that is true, and a child is bad and commits a heinous crime, like murder at 8 years old… that leaves open a massive hole, which will likely be filled by media misinformation. Young persons therefore, are from 10 to 17 year old. Actually, its 14 and under at which they are classed as children, at the point they committed the offence. 18 onwards is classed as an adult by the law of England and Wales. However, it gets complicated with the 18 year olds. If sentenced to prison, they will enter an establishment called a young offenders institution that holds 18-25 year olds. To read more about the sentencing guidelines of youths read the following (https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/overarching-guides/magistrates-court/item/sentencing-children-and-young-people/).
“…that leaves open a massive hole, which will likely be filled by media misinformation.“
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA) 1999 introduced safeguards for children which would allow youth court to operate completely differently to the normal courts. The youth court would not be as formal as a crown court. Counsel would not be wearing wigs or gowns and the child will be addressed by their first name, to help put them at ease. There is no public in the court and the identity of the child is to be kept hidden to protect them, although the press is allowed into the youth court. Usually there would be a parent or guardian required if the youth is 16 or under. There would be someone there from the youth offending team (https://www.gov.uk/youth-offending-team) if appropriate along with a court officer. The court will deal with offences such as theft and drug offences, (https://www.gov.uk/courts/youth-courts).More serious crimes like rape or murder, also called grave crimes, will be sent to the crown court.
Young persons committing these crimes seems to be an integral part of society, it drags it down and doesn’t look promising for the future of our country when the children are turning to the dark side of crime. Take a look at the following post by the Crown Prosecution Service – https://www.cps.gov.uk/wessex/news/59-year-old-man-stabbed-and-beaten-teenagers. Both defendants were young offenders at the time of the offence, Clarke being 17 and his unnamed accomplice 15. Upon sentencing, at which point Clarke turned 18, he was stripped of the protection of the youth courts in terms of keeping his identity hidden. His accomplice must have been 16 and thus, they cannot name him. This change in age is significant and it will impact the sentence they received. It was a heinous crime involving stabbing a 59 year old man. Clarke received a sentence of 3 years detention in the young offender institution as has been touched on above. Notice also, that he was sentenced in the crown court. This is because of a few factors, most notable is that he is receiving a sentence above two years. The youth court cannot deal with him due to his age. The youth court can only impose a maximum of a 2 year detention and training order, Section 34A Children and Young Persons Act 1933. (https://yjlc.uk/resources/legal-terms-z/youth-court#:~:text=The%20maximum%20sentence%20in%20the%20youth%20court%20is,Section%2034A%20Children%20and%20Young%20Persons%20Act%201933). Reviewing this 3 year sentence, it does seem appropriate, given his age, given the nature of the offence and his plea. Had he been sentenced under 18, he may have received a detention and training order from the youth court at a lesser rate.
Moving to Clarke’s accomplice, who pleaded guilty to battery and criminal damage at Southampton Youth Court in June 2020. He received a 12 month referral order and must pay £50 compensation to the victim. Being I presume 16 at the time of sentence means he is still within the definition of a young offender. He received a referral order, meaning that he was pleading guilty and would have likely been his first offence. A referral order “must be imposed on any youth with no previous convictions who pleads guilty to any imprisonable offence, unless the court is considering an absolute discharge, conditional discharge, Mental Health Act order or custody” (https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/pronouncement-cards/card/referral-order/). The justice system determined that 12 month referral order with a fine was sufficient. Due to the complex nature of the various possibilities with youth offenders, it will not be possible to cover all of it here.
There is more to young offenders and children being convicted of crimes. There appears much scope for the issues to be tackled before the crimes are committed. Perhaps targeted towards the rampant availability of dangerous weapons which are easy to get hold of. Or, perhaps the inadequate or uncaring parenting that is resulting in damaged children seeking some sort of justice for the way they feel? Is the crimes being committed by children due to a lack of education or empathy? Maybe a lack of human contact or support, drug use, housing issues, family issues… the possibilities are endless. This articles suggest some of those reason – https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/preventing-involvement-crime. Parents are not invisible to the court system though, and should they find their children involved in crime, may be given a parenting order. Such arises where a child doesn’t attend school or commits a criminnal offence (https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/ancillary-orders/19-parenting-orders/). (https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/law/research/criminology-research/parenting-orders-criminalisation-parenting/).
Ultimately, what someone does or does not do can come down to a range of varying factors, some of which may never come to light, due to embarrassment, such as mentally ill children who have been abused, or those who come from broken homes, or lower income families. It isn’t about blaming anyone though. We can’t resolve an issue by ignoring possible solutions whilst pointing the finger. Youth offending teams and the multiple charities supporting young offenders is incredible. Support is there to give them the rehabilitation they need and possibly more. It is easy to judge someone if they have a child who is convicted, but how would that affect you? Do you see beyond the newspapers and the mostly rhetorical nonsense that the news tells us about the real reasons for young people committing crimes? Do you better understand the legal definition of children and the possible sentences available, so when you see stories purportedly suggesting a 15 year old ‘should have got 10 years’… what will you say?
This has been an article on children and young offenders.
The 21st century phenomenon known as social media has swept and dominated the online mindset, along with polluting our daily lives and starting some questionable trends… ice bucket challenge anyone?
Not to have a social media account of some variety, or to be informed at the click of a button every 5 seconds of current goings-on, would make you out of touch, old and just why?
Why would you not engage with millions, wait, billions of people over the globe and connect in some small way to help make the world a better place? I can think of a dozen reasons. But wait, what’s that calling in the background? It’s not the chant of the crowd that changes anything, it is what that crowd does to the outsiders.
A dangerous, cult like reality has dawned on society over the last 10 years. Although prior to 2010 there was still the issues of online fraud, bullying and death threats, the recent decade has seen these issues amplified and made worse by the obsession with constant media and information in take. Hunchbacks abound as they slog to the local shop to pay with their phone. Who are They? The ones with little conscious thought of reality, to anything beyond the screen, so doped up on insensitivity and mind numbing tweets that not less than a terabyte could enter their minds at any given moment.
Hunchbacks abound as they slog to the local shop to pay with their phone
People suffer from fatigue at various levels. People suffer headaches, backaches among other pains. People can have emotional breakdowns. People can become mentally fatigued. People can suffer sleep loss.
When someone ignores the symptoms, they can develop into something far more serious. I suspect this is what is happening with chronic social media users. I use the term ‘chronic’ because the average daily user of social media will spend on average 109 minutes a day on it, according to statistics from 2020 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/507378/average-daily-media-use-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/). Average daily time using the internet on any device was a whopping 386 minutes. I think we can make an assumption, something accepted as true (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/assumption) that most people spend too much time using a digital device and too much time engaging… or should I say absorbing useless information from social media.
To what end though? We are only aware of a small percentage of online social media users who were subject to torment and abuse for prolonged periods when the news shows it. A lot of people are quite public, so to speak, about wanting to commit suicide and end up posting highly disturbing content on their social media pages, which can result in help being given, but not unusually will the social media site simply remove the content and nothing more is done. It cries out in large bold letters that suicide is a public health crisis which could not simply be fixed by removing the suicidal content of its depressed users from the internet. If you want to read more about the correlation between suicide and social media check out this: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477910/).
There has been suggestions in the not so long ago past that social media can lead to obsessive behaviour, depression, anxiety and a number of other conditions. Conditions expanded, radical groups (https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/expert-opinion/radicalisation-of-young-people-through-social-media/) use these friend sites to create and target young, sometimes angry and impressionable teens and children into becoming a part of their extremist groups. One example is the fairly recent case of Maysa – real name withheld – who was first contacted through social media (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/26/radicalisation-islam-isis-maysa-not-thinking-my-thoughts-not-myself). The initial contact quickly led to radical life changes, behaviour changes and general out of the ordinary goings on with the youngster. It was developing into a real life radicalisation, the young girl being ‘given’ a ‘phone and sim card’ to keep secret, with which she received the communications from the group. The even more recent cases that we don’t here about, highlight that more needs doing in regulating social media sites, rather than allowing extremist content or profiles.
Another issue that is overlooked is the idea that social media users can be anonymous. I do not believe that true anonymity exists online. You cannot for example make a fake name Facebook profile, as you need your number and email to verify your identity. YouTube is a little easier to navigate, but you now require a Google account to use a YouTube account. The companies still know the I.P address you registered from, they know your email and possibly your phone number, you may have uploaded pictures. Whatever information you give them, they keep and they use. This is also at risk of being hacked. Individual sites have become victim of such attacks, like the Adult Friend Finder 2016 breach, which saw 412 million accounts exposed. If you follow the rabbit, you will find blackmail somewhere along the line.
If you follow the rabbit, you will find blackmail somewhere along the line.
My point is not quite made yet. The invention of the social media trend. The sheep obeying the master, just as the sites intended them to do. They cannot fathom disobeying the digital code or the demands that seemingly random users place on them. A snake pit where the prey is in no shape to be trying to escape, just to accept its fate. If and when the trend emerges, so will those desperately seeking that elusive 200 followers, or subscribers, or those exhaustingly pursuing the dopamine highs of likes and comments (https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-your-brain-like-instagram-dopamine-2017-3?r=US&IR=T). Dangerous past trends, which have been miraculously branded as ‘safe’ just because the social media consensus is so, doesn’ tmean it is. Take the ice bucket challenge, just say its for a good cause and that will eradicate the risks. Take the recent dry scooping trend, people have posted videos so it must be safe right? What about the ice cream challenge, open that store tub, lick the ice cream and return to freezer… ******* seriously? The choking game, the boiling water challenge…must I struggle on, the idiocy is unbearable.
Being in this constant stimulation state cannot be healthy. Endlessly seeking a rush, or dopamine hit, a small wave of comfort is not how humans should live. It creates a competitive and dangerous world. A world where people will fight, even kill to be the best, the most liked, the biggest social media icon. Why? That hit, the rush, the thrill. Once they come back down to earth, the reality punches them so hard that it can resemble a mental breakdown. That’s called withdrawal. (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-abstinence-social-media-symptoms.html) Even brief week long periods of abstinence from social media was enough to induce symptoms like boredom, and a sense of peer pressure to return, along with reduced mood, or unhappiness.
… reality punches them so hard that it can resemble a mental breakdown
I think I have got across my point. The systemic and epidemic usage of social media in the UK, among other countries, is at a critical point. Users have become drones who are being fed information that they believe they asked for, when in reality the social platform dictates your behaviour, and sneaky and intelligent advertisements can also dictate what you do offline as well along with buying habits.
If the world doesn’t want to walk straight into the fiery pit of hell that is artificial intelligence taking over, then this is what they could start to do:
Start socialising
I don’t mean online. It’s okay to do it occasionally I guess, the issue is chronic and daily use where the usage becomes a habit which you cannot live without. I’m guilty of it, but I now only use WordPress and Twitter, and that is really the extent of my online interaction. I do watch YouTube, but I don’t personally consider that as dangerous as other sites, simply because you don’t need an account to use it.
Develop social skills or improve your existing skills by having real, sober, present and real conversations in person with other people. Do not use your phone, do not refer to the internet. Try abstaining from your mobile in the morning on the train or bus, or wherever you are in public and observe people. You will start to realise just how many people on that train are on their mobiles, sat in silence, scrolling absolute nonsense which they couldn’t care less about, yet are only doing so they don’t have to interact with anyone. I really, really don’t get this.
Think for yourself
If you don’t start to form opinions for yourself, and you are already using smart phone and social media at 10, then you will grow up with a completely and utterly different perspective of the world. A viewpoint dictated by algorithm and code, where the news becomes your go to because you can’t get your ‘fix’ without that devastating ‘action’. The same applies to adults. Again I am guilty of this, of letting the internet and social media ‘news’ dictate how I feel and how I see the world.
These are the 2 best tips I can give to myself, and I wouldn’t tell you about them if I didn’t follow them myself. It’s hard to give up on something that is used by billions, is part of daily life, is rammed down our hungry throats and which will persecute you if you do not use it.
The first article was published last week. Now, they have decided to proceed, today, with publishing the second. They are relatively small compared to what I would write on my own site. They said they had to split into 2 because it was quite dense, I suppose they have to appeal to students who want a 2 minute read. You got it.
I was invited to write some articles for Simply Law and after accepting was informed that I could contribute as much as I liked. The plan was to publish 3 articles from October to December… So, not a lot really! It helps to boost your cv if you have published articles, and that is a big point gainer in my eyes. Any aspiring law student, lawyer, solicitor or barrister should be keen to get at least 1 article published. I have yet to submit anything to Legal Cheek, but intend to submit something this coming November. Next month. Legal Cheek is a harsh website in terms of comments, so anything that is published could be burned, but it will be seen by a lot of people too.
As mentioned previous, this is similar to my‘rough cut guide to student productivity’ published 11 October ’21on my ‘journey into law’ page. I have blogged a few times with an emphasis on productivity, a little known article on my articles page called‘Top tips to boost productivity’was published way WAY back in March 2017!
They decided to split it into 2 posts. I am fairly happy they reached out, although my contributions seem meager, they still provide great reading for law students
Simply Law is a great site for law students. The staff are welcoming and friendly.
psychedelicwizard 