How Summer 2020 Paved the Way

How Summer 2020 Paved the Way

Lucy Conlin

COVID-19 updates seemed to be what was taking over the news. The virus was spiking. People were healthy one day and dead the next. To no surprise, it was all anybody could talk about. I had been out of school for two months at this point. My graduation was canceled, my lacrosse season was canceled, it seem like as each day went by another ‘significant moment’ in my high school career as a senior when down the drain. Days went by with the same news every day. I felt like I was drowning.

    All of a sudden a new story quickly attracted the eye of the public. The murder of George Floyd. The summer was quickly approaching and the virus was just as rampant as before. I had heavily involved myself in the updates from the emerging stories coming from not only the news, but all forms of social media. I kept myself updated through Facebook groups and Instagram pages informing people about protests occurring in the greater Boston area. The conversations consisted of how people can take action during a highly contagious pandemic, clear issues with the United States justice system becoming more and more apparent, and the responsibilities of the people to stand up for the lives of arguably the most oppressed group in America. Was it justified to congregate in groups, inhibiting a highly risky situation of spreading an already widely spread pandemic? Would masks be enough? Would anything change if we stayed quarantined in our homes and let the proven pro-white American justice system run its course, and let another racially motivated murderer off with a warning? These questions created a further divide between the left and the right wings of the United States political parties. I had always identified as a democrat. My parents were never noticeably active in politics, and didnt necessarily transfer their ideas over to me. However, they did make it known that they were very against Donald Trump being elected and the repercussions that would come from that decision.

I began to attend every protest I could. I would reach out to every friend, acquaintance, neighbor, and basically anybody I could think of in order to influence those around to get involved. I got a severe lack of enthusiasm in response to my efforts. It felt like I was the only one who cared enough to participate in such an important event. Regardless of the responses of my peers, I ensured that I would be standing there shouting. Protesting for change.

Tensions in my home rose as day after day went by and my family argued about the ethics of the protests. My brothers fought against me with arguments in support of police officers. My parents had a lack of response to this, which I was appalled by. How could they watch my younger siblings be so uneducated and not inform them of what really goes on behind the scenes of interrogation rooms and prison walls?

Protests became increasingly covered on the news. Riots broke out, numbers increased, people in power showed support in the fight for justice. The match had been lit, the fire was starting.

Pressure against the Minneapolis police department increased. Video footage of the horrifying murder of George Floyd was on every social media platform. Four officers had been arrested, but the fight had just begun.

Parkland Penalty

By Isabella Joslin

    On February 14th, 2018, 19 year old Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people and injured 17 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This mass murder is the deadliest mass school shooting in history, and prompted the increased support for gun regulation laws nationwide. Cruz had been indicted on 34 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder on March 7, 2018. The prosecution team immediately made aware their intent to seek the death penalty, and as a result, Cruz chose to plead not guilty to all charges. The trail was delayed for several reasons, but ultimately the death penalty trial resumed in 2022. Cruz was condemned to life in prison without the possibility of parole on October 13, 2022. While the jury concluded that the prosecution had demonstrated the aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt on all counts, they were divided on whether the aggravating factors exceeded the mitigating factors. Almost every one of the deceased victims' families voiced outrage and dismay at the decision, arguing that he deserved the death penalty. Family members of the victims had the opportunity to speak in court after the decision. 

“I am broken and altered, and I will never look at the world the same way again.” (Stacey Lippel)

“You were given a gift, a gift of grace and mercy, something you did not show to any of your victims.” (Debra Hixon)

“Parkland murderer, I hope your maker sends you directly to hell to burn for the rest of your eternity.” (David Robinovitz)

The decision made by the jury to not implement the death penalty shocked the nation. As I watched the families make their statements, their faces painted with pain and heartache, I felt an overwhelming sense of injustice and anger. I am unable to imagine the grief and sorrow they face everyday, and the suffering they will continue to face for the rest of their lives. There is no punishment in the world that could erase or make-up for the tragedy that Cruz has inflicted on them, but in my eyes a death sentence seems just for the evil and heinous crimes that were committed. 

I have always battled with the notion of the death penalty. On what grounds, is the state's intentional execution of offenders a morally acceptable punishment to deliberate criminal activity? I always believed that permanent institutionalization was adequate, as it would allow for rehabilitation and the integration of people back into a functioning society, which to me was always the goal of the justice system. Justice did not appear to be about vengeance- justice appeared to be about restitution and co-existion. The death penalty clearly violates the human right to life, yet so does the inhumane execution of 17 school children. The families of the victims have to live knowing that their loved ones’ killer gets to live, eat, sleep, and breathe while their loved ones do not. There is no action that anyone can take that would reverse or subside their pain. I don’t believe the death penalty should be abolished based on the cruel and inhumane nature of it, but I also don’t believe that “an eye for an eye” truly helps anyone cope or seek justice. Ultimately, capital punishment produces moral dilemmas that drive us to adhere wholeheartedly to the conservation of human life, despite of deeper philosophical and intellectual considerations. I will never be able to fully comprehend the action of planned executions, but I will also never be able to fully comprehend the suffering of those who had their loved ones taken from them out of pure evil and violence. 

(Modeled off of Didion and Herr)

GOP: The "Grand Overconfident Party"

By Jack Ronca

We had the chance to speak with the Republican candidate before Election Day, asking him about his thoughts on the upcoming election. He obviously had very high expectations, telling us “I don’t even need a concession speech.”

“I have faith in the American people, the true, red-blooded Americans. The radical Left, under the administration of Sleepy Joe and Kamala (which he intentionally mispronounced) Harris, have run this country into the ground. This midterm season, we on the Right are going to take back the House and the Senate, and reinstate true American values across the whole nation”

We obtained a copy of what he planned to say in his victory speech:

“Good evening, America!

Tonight we, the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, did the unthinkable. We have ended the tyranny of the last two years under this current administration. After a long two years, we have finally liberated Americans from radical left policies and agendas that have ruined so many of our lives. We have put “woke” to sleep!

Tonight, the Red Tsunami that so many liberals doubted would happen, swept over the nation. We warned it was coming, and they did not listen. Because of the strength of our base, the Republican Party once again now controls both the House and the Senate! I beat my opponent in a landslide, like we predicted, like so many of my colleagues from the GOP did tonight. The polls warned of this! They had us ahead! And you, the people, have spoken loudly and clearly about who you want to lead these United States!

On the first day in office, we are going to restore confidence into the hearts of every true American. Joe Biden, with the help of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, have ruined our great economy! We will take giant steps, so much bigger than other steps, to undo the bad stuff that has happened to this country under the dirty Democrats. And you know the bad stuff I’m talking about! Oh, just wait until you see the steps we take!

 

We are going to fix the stock market through the likes that no one has ever seen since the time of our founding fathers! We are going to introduce legislation that will lower gas prices!

We are going to undo all that the Left has done that has ruined our nation! We don't want a bunch of new roads and bridges built. We don't want the entitlements that the radical left agenda and Biden have forced on Americans, including capped prescription drug costs for our nation's seniors and better healthcare for America’s veterans. We don't want our innocent children to grow up being groomed to accept people for who they are! And we especially don’t want them to learn an accurate history of discrimination in their country. Children don't need to know that, no one does! So let’s just stop talking about it! “Woke” is asleep.

What we want is freedom. We want the hands of the Left off of our Second Amendment rights, and we will require every single American--man, woman, and child--exercise this God-given right! We are going to take the guesswork out of a woman’s right to choose because the government knows what is best for women! They do not need to be bothered with all of that thinking. The GOP can choose what is best for all Americans. 

This is the land of the free! And “woke” is asleep! You true Americans have spoken, and we hear you loud and clear. This new Republican dystopia will be great. And even if you don’t love it right now, trust me, someday you will! Tonight we have taken great big steps in the right direction, we will continue to do so whether you like it or not! 

Thank you, America for putting “woke” to sleep. Thank you. God bless all of you real Americans. Good night!”

-------------------

UPDATE: This candidate lost. Democrats retained the Senate. President Biden and the Democrats had one of the most successful midterms for the Democratic party in the last century. The Red Tsunami amounted to no more than a trickle.

Welcome to the World, Little 8,000,000,000!

By Caitlin Gyimesi

Grappling with the Population News Through New Journalism

  

    On November 15th the planet earth had her eight billionth baby born. On November 16th, I was at the Bronx Zoo.

    I had just exited the “Jungle World” exhibit located in the Wild Asia section of the Zoo. After stepping out of the last dark room, the one dedicated to promoting activism to combat deforestation, I squinted as the grey light of the overcast sky hit me.

    The last room of Jungle World was a mandated and bleak one after a cheerful viewing of playful lemurs and exotic fish. Numerous television screens surrounded me in the empty room bombarding me with images of burning forests and tree-less animals. I noted a separate small screen by the door playing a video of a small fire that stated exactly how many acres of rainforest would be destroyed by the time I was done watching said video. I felt obligated to watch the rest.

    Back outside the exhibit in the cold November air, I discovered an outdoor extension of the last room of Jungle World. In front of me stood a podium with an ominous red counter. Above the counter read, “When Jungle World was constructed on June 21, 1985, there were 1,163,700 mi2 of South Asian rainforest left. As of now, there are….”

 

    I looked down at the counter.

 

    Significantly less.

 

    I walked past the podium only to find a second one in the courtyard. Jungle World made the relationship between preserved rainforest acres and the human population clear. It would only make sense that this podium had a counter for the human population.

 

    We are crowding out nature…

 

    I looked at the counter expecting at least 10 numbers or more but my eyes only fell on one.

 

    0

    Well, how ominous.

 

    “Didn’t we reach 8 billion just yesterday…?”

 

 

The old podium lacked the ominous red numbers, 1985.

______

 

    Our planet has been home to 7 billion people ever since I could remember…well, ever since I cared to. To clue you in, the earth reached 7 billion people in 2010, it made 6 billion in 1999. I don’t even have two decades on me.

    Regarding population and other harrowing global issues, when I’m not thinking about the catastrophic impact they will have on our way of life, I like to think about how they’re represented in movies.

    Akira is an animated film that was released in 1988 and was directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It was groundbreaking as an animated film that incorporated mature content and still remains relevant today with not only its message but its numerous references in modern pop culture. Akira takes place in 2019; interestingly enough the Olympics were set to be in Tokyo that year in the real world as in the world of Neo-Tokyo. Prophetic much?

    In Neo-Tokyo alone resides a population of over 20 billion people. The art of the film accurately portrays this with all its sci-fi might, skyscrapers practically layered upon each other, and humans drawn in every nook and cranny of the underground.

    While this overcrowded future city is what I picture our population reaching 8 billion some are seeing 8 billion as not enough.

Background painting of Otomo's Akira,1988.

______

 

    In this case, the “some” refers to a certain Elon Musk. Just because.

 

    In response to falling birthrates being in the headlines, Musk expressed his opinion via Twitter. His use of “population collapse” and “bigger risk to civilization than global warming” struck me as odd at first, well, somebody’s overreacting.

    I suppose it would make logical sense, and it would align with my father’s fear of there not being enough of my generation to take care of his when they no longer can take care of themselves. As I let this thought marinate, I couldn’t help but think of Jungle World. Jungle World says that population would be the downfall of rainforests and ecosystems globally.

 

    So, who’s right?

 

    The humans old enough to feel that they’re going be left all alone now that the global birthrate has fallen from 34.741 (per 1000) since 1965 to 17.668 today?

 

    Or the humans young enough to worry about the planet and ecosystem they’ll inherit?

 

    I’m not sure quite how I feel about it right now. I suppose it is easiest to be a human in the U.N.  as they sound happier about the population announcement.

 

     “today's milestone is a celebration of human longevity due to improvements in public health and medicine”

 

E. Musk tweets a prophecy, 2022.

______

 

    When I’m forced to think about what’s next for our population, whether it’s for a blog post assignment or my nightly 5 minutes of existential dread before bedtime, I suppose the young and old humans can both be correct.

     When we reach 15 billion, all the young humans, now middle-aged humans, will have their hands full with, let's say, 11 billion supercentenarians. But. Give them maybe another 20 years, and earth will just have the 4 billion slightly-older middle-aged humans left living upon her surface. Sorry, Elon.

     If the environment manages to somehow bounce back, I suppose the remaining 4 million will have plenty of green space to graze. Jungle World’s dark room makes me think we won’t.

    What I have now is a lovely picture of the 4 million left with scorched earth.

    I guess less Akira and more Mad Max?

 

Christmas Time Crime

By Gabbi Leone

     As Andy Williams sings to me every December, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Nothing beats the holiday season. Who doesn’t love Christmas music, lights, decorations, cookies, drinks, and gifts? I know I do. So do the citizens of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who were just enjoying their holiday parade on November 23, 2021. Almost one year later, on November 16, 2022, the trial of Darell Brooks Jr. has concluded, and a sentence of almost 700 consecutive years in prison has been awarded. 

I woke up early one morning before my classes, shocking, I know, and my roommate is sitting at the kitchen table with her eyes buried in her phone. 

“Alyssa, what the heck are you watching so intently? It’s literally 8 AM?” She was so enthralled. The sound of my voice made her jump a little.

“Oh, just this trial that I’ve been keeping up with for the past week. It’s absolutely insane.” 

She asked me if I remembered last Christmas when some guy drove his car through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin. I did remember it; I just completely forgot until she reminded me.

Darrell Brooks Jr. was charged with 6 counts of intentional homicide for that November day. Originally, Brooks was represented by a law team whose primary defense was insanity. Brooks decided as the trial began to dismiss his attorneys and represent himself with no legal training. Maybe it was an attempt to prove how insane he really is. Brooks’ mother and grandmother delivered testimony on his behalf, claiming he suffers from bipolar disorder and other mental health issues. They said the court should show him some empathy and compassion. I’m sure the judge cared about that testimony considering the defendant no longer pleaded that he was insane. 

The Waukesha County judge, Jennifer Dorow, had Brooks removed from the court on multiple occasions for his continuous outbursts and interruptions. It sure sounds like he should’ve stayed with the insanity plea, but I digress. He was put in a separate courtroom and was allowed to video in, the equivalent of a time-out in court. Now they can just mute him when he tries to interrupt. Not only did he interrupt, he fell asleep at the defense table and argued with the bailiff. It’s some strategy he has, claim you’re not insane, but act like a crazy person hosting a circus in the courtroom. It’s sure to prevent you from getting sentenced to life. 

Brooks claimed to be a man of God and had a Bible on the defense table during the entire trial. I don’t know if anyone told him, but the 6th Commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.” All my other religious friends learned the 10 Commandments in elementary school, but maybe that’s just them. I know God would forgive serial murder as long as you keep the Bible next to you. 

I watched the end of the trial with my roommate. We sat there in silence, tears pooling in our eyes as the families of the six victims spoke. One of the victim’s mothers said that her son blames himself every day for the death of his younger brother. The judge said, “It is not your fault Tucker. It is Mr. Brooks’ fault.” A young girl spoke about how her mother was one of the victims, and she has never felt so much pain or so alone in her life. I don’t think I could function as a human if this happened to any of my family members. 

The jury made their decision: six consecutive life sentences. The judge spoke about the ruling, saying there is no medicine or cure for a heart bent on evil. Mr. Brooks may have been abused as a child, but he knows the difference between right and wrong and chose to ignore his conscience. 

The judge is right. There is no treatment for evil hearts. It has been almost one year since this tragic event, yet violence and hate are at the forefront almost every day in America. This is what it is like to live in America in the 2020s: crying at a live stream as insane and evil people claim to be sane and moral people. 

The Acquisition of Twitter: The Blue Album

By Katherine Martinez

  The Acquisition of Twitter: The Blue Album

    For the purpose of context: on March 21st, 2006, Jack Dorsey created a website by the name of Twitter, a social media platform designed for microblogging and social networking. Here we are- 16 years later, Twitter is one of the most popular platforms in 2022 and now amasses roughly 206 million active users daily. On October 28th, 18 days ago, Twitter was placed into the care of Tesla CEO Elon Musk for the small price of 44 billion United States Dollars.

    A man steps into the workplace of Twitter, a presumably organized company filled with teams, workers, assistants, engineers, programmers, influencers, interns, and anyone else you could guess was at a modern-day Social media company office. Elon's first mission was to pull the rug out from underneath the Jenga game that is Twitter, by firing the company's top executives. Thus begins the chronological detailing of the chaos which unfolded over the following weeks.

    First on the chopping block were the executives, and naturally, on November 3rd, roughly 3,700 employees joined their fate by being instantaneously fired for little to no reason. People were outraged and took to the site by which they were previously employed to shine a spotlight on the injustice they faced. It was as if Twitter had shed its wings and dawned scales to resemble an ouroboros, a mythical snake depicted devouring its own tail and consuming itself seemed like a fitting metaphor to describe the havoc wreaked on the social media site.

    Among the metaphorical bloodshed which circulated around the online-blogging platform, the online scavengers began to descend, looking for leftover scraps. Niche-internet celebrities who within their circles were hailed as comedians. After he acquired Twitter, to raise funds for the website, Musk decided to add a new feature to the subscription-based service on the site known as "Twitter Blue". Originally it was used to allow a user to upload higher-quality images and longer lengths of videos, but instead, the new feature was to adopt a pre-existing feature: the verification system. Any notable user of Twitter could apply for something called "verification" and the requirements to achieve this would be to just be a celebrity or a public figure (reporter, government official). With the 8-dollar purchase of Twitter Blue, any random individual could achieve verified status, and the ability to change their username to personify a genuine celebrity or company.

    Twitter impersonators adopted new personas, some of whom they were attempting to impersonate being huge conglomerates such as pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and American defense company, Lockheed Martin. On November 10th, Twitter user @EliLillyCo tweeted, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” as a result, their stock tumbled down 4.5 points the following day. As hilarious as it seems from an outsider's perspective, there is a grave reality that the fate of many can lie in the hands of an anonymous stranger. To combat this, Musk announced that any person using this feature maliciously will be stripped of their 8-dollar verification badge, but I still think it's funny anyways.

    As this is currently being written at 10:30 pm, November 17th, there is an uncertain feeling in the air about the fate of the company. Rumors are circulating that at midnight tonight, Twitter as it's currently known will be shut down. Personally, I am not very bothered either way, I have used the app frequently and it's been the inspiration for many laughs, and entertainment for many boring travels, but in a historical sense if this truly is the end then it is bittersweet for my, and many peoples memory of the internet as a whole. As much as these claims may be true, they may as well also be false since the source currently cited for these updates is an "inside source". Either way results in a fascinating sociological case study into 2022, and the internet.

John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard

By Aidan Treutel

    We all know that Johnny Depp is an incredible actor, from Captain Jack Sparrow to Willy Wonka, he has captivated the audience with incredible performances. When an actor of that caliber is faced with performing for their life, would they flip the script and convince a jury of their innocence? This is exactly what happened in the trial over the summer between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard. 

    Johnny Depp initially sued Amber Heard for defamation and claimed $50 million in damages, but Amber Heard counter-sued for $100 million. Suddenly, Johnny Depp was given a situation where he could not just be found to be the monster Heard framed him as, but also potentially lose a fortune. Normally, a figure of such wealth would not be overly concerned by this, but following his divorce and subsequent domestic violence accusations, Depp's initially solid financial position began to grow precarious. In their 2016 divorce, Amber Heard received a settlement of $7 million. However, the true financial strain for Johnny Depp came as he began to lose out on movie roles. In 2018, Disney cut ties with Depp and he lost out on filming the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Additionally, many advertisers dropped Depp as a client, costing him untold millions in revenue. Depp had already been proven to be a "wife-beater" in a UK libel case, where Justice Nicol found 12 out of 14 allegations of domestic violence to be true. 

    The world believed Johnny Depp was an animal. He was forced to put on a show for the jury and convince them that he was innocent of the violence that Amber Heard had claimed was wrought upon her. While Amber Heard was struggling to keep her story straight and seemed to break up on the stand multiple times, Depp was completely composed. He told the story of Amber Heard cutting his finger with a bottle at their villa in Australia so well, that I felt I was a fly on the wall watching them argue live. Thus, the story was a little too convincing. Depp didn't just tell his side of the story, he told a completely different one, one filled with so much detail that you couldn't possibly think it was a lie. There was a mountain of evidence against Depp, and only circumstantial evidence against Amber Heard. There were videos of Depp smashing cabinets, and recordings of him saying that he hit Amber, yet he was able to spin it all in his favor. In regards to the latter, Depp testified that in the recording, he was simply repeating back to Amber what she had just said to him, not saying that he was violent. Now, any reasonable jury would find me, you, or 99% of people guilty in this scenario. However, as I discussed earlier, Depp is no normal person. 

    Once the jury left the room each day, Depp could be seen smiling and laughing with his legal team. The gallery was in love with him and he would wave to them at the end of each day. Amber Heard, on the other hand, sat solemnly with a look of dejection. This was not because she feared the result of the trial, but because she knew women everywhere would lose their power to speak up for domestic violence. The whole reason this started was that Heard wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post supporting woman, saying she too was a victim of domestic violence. There was nothing for her to gain, she had everything to lose, and it was all because she wanted to help give women a voice.