Found Deceased CA - Blaze Bernstein, 19, Lake Forest, 2 Jan 2018 #7 *Arrest*

[ElementalLaura]

That was my thought too esp since the vast majority of Nazi flyers on college campuses this last year were from other Nazi groups -Identity Europa and Arian underground or Daily Stormer .. I can only find one other instance of hate flyers coming from Atomwaffen division and that was at Boston University years before this incident... but ALL of the Nazi flyers left at any PA school were not by Atomwaffen Division except the U Penn incidence ....

I have no idea how to contact the DA with this tip...? Any ideas?

His Facebook, Twitter or his website.

Catonahottinroof, I'd probably look at the website or even phone (!) in a tip rather than submit via social media where your privacy (even if it's a screenname) may be questionable.

 

[Gussified]

I wonder why SW went to OCSA. It just doesn't seem like a good fit. Was he ever involved in the arts?

Well, I believe he started there in 7th and left after 10th. A lot can change during those years. I’ve known a couple of boys that were heavily into theater in 7th and then not at all by high school. Maybe it was a fit in 7th, but by 10th they realized it was no longer a good fit.

 

[katydid23]

One thing that always amazes me about cases involving affluent or even wealthy defendants is the total waste of oppurtunity:

- The defendant is from at least an affluent, and possibly even genuinely wealthy family. They have the means to live in an affluent area and to send their son to out of state schools.

- I doubt the defendant ever lacked for either attention or material things. Rather, in all probably had each in abundance.

- He has not only the freedoms of the US to enjoy, but his financial back ground allows him to enjoy them in comfort. I doubt his parents were pushing a relentless study or work routine.

- These freedoms include the freedom to pal around with a huge variety of socio political extremists (definitely not recommended) in whose company one can spend long "enjoyable" idle hours chatting, ranting and drinking over any subject one wants- so long as a line into directly advocating violence is not crossed.

All that was probably asked of the defendant so far in life was not to commit any felonies, stay away from drug sales- at least the large scale ones, and....not commit murder.

Seems so easy.

It is so 'easy' to be the child of a wealthy family?

I guess it might appear that way to others. But I purposely moved our family to a very expensive, wealthy area so my kids could attend 'good' schools.

After 17 years of living in that community, I can say from experience, that many kids from very wealthy families grow up in dysfunctional homes with a lot of pressure and stress, that most of us do not recognize.

Some of the most messed up kids I ever met have very wealthy parents. Often, their parents are neurotic, workaholics, that are gone most of the time, and are too strict or too distant when they are around. There are often unrealistically high expectations placed on the kids, and stress and pressure to follow in their successful parents footsteps.

I am NOT excusing SW in any way. I am only speaking in general, in reply to this post, saying that it must be 'so easy' to be born into wealth.

 

[animlzrule]

One thing that always amazes me about cases involving affluent or even wealthy defendants is the total waste of oppurtunity:

- The defendant is from at least an affluent, and possibly even genuinely wealthy family. They have the means to live in an affluent area and to send their son to out of state schools.

- I doubt the defendant ever lacked for either attention or material things. Rather, in all probably had each in abundance.

- He has not only the freedoms of the US to enjoy, but his financial back ground allows him to enjoy them in comfort. I doubt his parents were pushing a relentless study or work routine.

- These freedoms include the freedom to pal around with a huge variety of socio political extremists (definitely not recommended) in whose company one can spend long "enjoyable" idle hours chatting, ranting and drinking over any subject one wants- so long as a line into directly advocating violence is not crossed.

All that was probably asked of the defendant so far in life was not to commit any felonies, stay away from drug sales- at least the large scale ones, and....not commit murder.

Seems so easy.

These are the same type of people who are born on third base and think they hit a triple. All that privilege and access to everything, and he just throws it away and takes the life of someone else. I really do want to hear from SW's parents. It's just so hard to understand how someone so diseased and rotten can live under your roof and you don't know. I know there were clues in SM from family before everything was scrubbed that were illuminating as to how he likely saw himself in the world. I don't know how I'd go on if I were BB's mother; the anger would just be too much to overcome, I think.

 

[Maroon10]

These are the same type of people who are born on third base and think they hit a triple. All that privilege and access to everything, and he just throws it away and takes the life of someone else. I really do want to hear from SW's parents. It's just so hard to understand how someone so diseased and rotten can live under your roof and you don't know. I know there were clues in SM from family before everything was scrubbed that were illuminating as to how he likely saw himself in the world. I don't know how I'd go on if I were BB's mother; the anger would just be too much to overcome, I think.

I cannot imagine anyone's parents willfully ignoring the stuff SW was into and participating in unless they condoned it. (which I am not ruling out) I am almost certain he spoke his opinions at home, almost impossible to be this vile and keep it all in. The parents either ignored it as to not deal with it or helped instill it (maybe not far as him but could share feelings). Their silence says tons.

 

[Seajay]

I cannot imagine anyone's parents willfully ignoring the stuff SW was into and participating in unless they condoned it. (which I am not ruling out) I am almost certain he spoke his opinions at home, almost impossible to be this vile and keep it all in. The parents either ignored it as to not deal with it or helped instill it (maybe not far as him but could share feelings). Their silence says tons.

Could be they looked at it as another "phase" like the Scoutng thing, then OCSA interests.

 

[Maroon10]

Could be they looked at it as another "phase" like the Scoutng thing, then OCSA interests.

Maybe im looking at it in my own way but.... Nazism is a far cry from any "phase" a teen would go through. I cant imagine anyone hearing his anti-semitic language and think its of no concern and will pass... especially if his mother was a therapist.

 

[Gooddeeds]

I cannot imagine anyone's parents willfully ignoring the stuff SW was into and participating in unless they condoned it. (which I am not ruling out) I am almost certain he spoke his opinions at home, almost impossible to be this vile and keep it all in. The parents either ignored it as to not deal with it or helped instill it (maybe not far as him but could share feelings). Their silence says tons.

I agree that it says tons. It in some ways points to control, entitlement or extremism. I’ve seen it in other cases. Not discounting that it could simply mean nothing as it relates to them but in my opinion it does. Also we have heard nothing about his sibling(s).

 

[Jinkasaurus]

It's just so hard to understand how someone so diseased and rotten can live under your roof and you don't know..

RSBM

There is a good series on the ID Channel called "Evil Lives Here." They feature in-depth interviews with family members of people who have committed horrific crimes - siblings, parents, and children. Its really fascinating to hear about what went on behind close doors in the homes of people who have done things like this, by those who knew them best. And based on the cases featured in that series, many criminals do hide their worst criminal acts from their families.

 

[yurena]

I cannot imagine anyone's parents willfully ignoring the stuff SW was into and participating in unless they condoned it. (which I am not ruling out) I am almost certain he spoke his opinions at home, almost impossible to be this vile and keep it all in. The parents either ignored it as to not deal with it or helped instill it (maybe not far as him but could share feelings). Their silence says tons.

You would be surprised on what teenagers can keep in as a secret and the multiple and "ingenious" ways they can go about it, some with excellent acting skills. I was recently telling a fellow poster on a private message that I cried the day I saw that picture of SW wearing that orange suit in court, not because I felt sorry for him but because I remembered two former students of mine who could have easily become like Sam if teachers had not spotted what was going on in their heads.

One of them -when I was teaching in Mainland Spain 4 years ago- decided to write a paper on what he called "Ethnic Cleansing of Chinese to be carried out in the world" -rough translation from Spanish- 19 pages on which he explained to me how economy, trade, environment etc would improve if there were not Chinese people on this planet. All scarily thought out and with data to "prove" his case.

Showed the paper to the school director who was totally against phoning his parents -I wanted to speak to them in person since they always missed parents' meetings- and was actually shaking at the thought of me getting in touch with them. Turned out the teenager was the son of a prestigious neurosurgeon -too busy to even notice the little racist he had at home- and his mum spent all day in either church or attending bullfighting events. They were livid, completely oblivious of who they have inside their house.

Two other posters wrote about kids from wealthy families. In my 9 years of teaching roughly 85% of teens experiencing struggles have come from such families. I actually had a mother phoned me once saying "Can D. come to see you after classes? He wants to tell you something about his first girlfriend and I am just too busy right now, lots of phone calls to make" and I have lost track of the number of times wealthy kids have told me "My parents think they are good parents because they buy me lots of presents at Christmas and they pay bags of money for all of these extracurricular activities, half of what I don't even want to do".

Most of the schools I have worked in instead of the usual 1 hour per week we have for students to come and tell us their problems -many teachers volunteer for this- end up being 6-7 hours per week. Reason? Nobody is listening or paying attention to them at home.

 

[Sillybilly]

Ok, assuming SW would have been in the same troop as his brother, I found a share site with photos from 2011. I believe I found a photo of SW, but is it ok to post it? Since he would have been a minor at the time and I’m not 100% positive it is him.


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Hi PetDetective,

WS does not allow pics of minors (unless the victim), and no pics are allowed unless the member is 100% sure it is the accused.

Thanks for asking.

 

[PetDetective]

Hi PetDetective,

WS does not allow pics of minors (unless the victim), and no pics are allowed unless the member is 100% sure it is the accused.

Thanks for asking.

Thought so, glad I asked! [emoji4] thank you


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[Hatfield]

You would be surprised on what teenagers can keep in as a secret and the multiple and "ingenious" ways they can go about it, some with excellent acting skills. I was recently telling a fellow poster on a private message that I cried the day I saw that picture of SW wearing that orange suit in court, not because I felt sorry for him but because I remembered two former students of mine who could have easily become like Sam if teachers had not spotted what was going on in their heads.

One of them -when I was teaching in Mainland Spain 4 years ago- decided to write a paper on what he called "Ethnic Cleansing of Chinese to be carried out in the world" -rough translation from Spanish- 19 pages on which he explained to me how economy, trade, environment etc would improve if there were not Chinese people on this planet. All scarily thought out and with data to "prove" his case.

Showed the paper to the school director who was totally against phoning his parents -I wanted to speak to them in person since they always missed parents' meetings- and was actually shaking at the thought of me getting in touch with them. Turned out the teenager was the son of a prestigious neurosurgeon -too busy to even notice the little racist he had at home- and his mum spent all day in either church or attending bullfighting events. They were livid, completely oblivious of who they have inside their house.

Two other posters wrote about kids from wealthy families. In my 9 years of teaching roughly 85% of teens experiencing struggles have come from such families. I actually had a mother phoned me once saying "Can D. come to see you after classes? He wants to tell you something about his first girlfriend and I am just too busy right now, lots of phone calls to make" and I have lost track of the number of times wealthy kids have told me "My parents think they are good parents because they buy me lots of presents at Christmas and they pay bags of money for all of these extracurricular activities, half of what I don't even want to do".

Most of the schools I have worked in instead of the usual 1 hour per week we have for students to come and tell us their problems -many teachers volunteer for this- end up being 6-7 hours per week. Reason? Nobody is listening or paying attention to them at home.

JMO
This is the type of home I am guessing he had.

I think the parents were just out of touch to what he was doing and thinking. Whether it was because they worked all the time or were not deeply involved in his doings or whether it was because he was good at hiding it from them. I am expecting we will find out the parents had no idea.

Just guessing as I have seen this sort of thing before in cases where the child had wealthy parents. I will be really surprised if we find out they were aware. Because if they were then they either shared some of the views he had or were not able to change his behaviors. That is sometimes possible too where they may not have been able to control him.

For now i am guessing they had no clue for the reasons mentioned.

 

[Milenalee]

I agree that it says tons. It in some ways points to control, entitlement or extremism. I’ve seen it in other cases. Not discounting that it could simply mean nothing as it relates to them but in my opinion it does. Also we have heard nothing about his sibling(s).

They will have been advised not to say anything now for fear of messing up a trial.....


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[Catonahottinroof]

JMO
This is the type of home I am guessing he had.

I think the parents were just out of touch to what he was doing and thinking. Whether it was because they worked all the time or were not deeply involved in his doings or whether it was because he was good at hiding it from them. I am expecting we will find out the parents had no idea.

Just guessing as I have seen this sort of thing before in cases where the child had wealthy parents. I will be really surprised if we find out they were aware. Because if they were then they either shared some of the views he had or were not able to change his behaviors. That is sometimes possible too where they may not have been able to control him.

For now i am guessing they had no clue for the reasons mentioned.

Its been reported that SW mom was a stay at home mom and didn't work until recently when she became a licensed marriage therapist.

 

[TTF14]

It is so 'easy' to be the child of a wealthy family?

I guess it might appear that way to others. But I purposely moved our family to a very expensive, wealthy area so my kids could attend 'good' schools.

After 17 years of living in that community, I can say from experience, that many kids from very wealthy families grow up in dysfunctional homes with a lot of pressure and stress, that most of us do not recognize.

Some of the most messed up kids I ever met have very wealthy parents. Often, their parents are neurotic, workaholics, that are gone most of the time, and are too strict or too distant when they are around. There are often unrealistically high expectations placed on the kids, and stress and pressure to follow in their successful parents footsteps.

I am NOT excusing SW in any way. I am only speaking in general, in reply to this post, saying that it must be 'so easy' to be born into wealth.

One of my BFFs is a child counselor who worked inside a private school for nearly 20 years. There were poor families and rich families, and she has said, and even written about, the same exact thing you just said. Especially the the part I bolded.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I could be wrong, but I took Cryptic's post about wealth and privilege to be more about the incongruity of people from privileged backgrounds falling into white supremacist groups that blame Jewish people and POC for the lack of success in their lives.

It makes more sense when you see white people fall in with these groups when they are lacking in financial security and the privileges the upper classes have. It makes less sense when you see people with the ultimate privileges - white, male, upper middle class, etc. - do so.

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[Gussified]

Its been reported that SW mom was a stay at home mom and didn't work until recently when she became a licensed marriage therapist.

Interesting. I haven’t seen that report. Can you share a link to the article?

 

[Tippy Lynn]

It is so 'easy' to be the child of a wealthy family?

I guess it might appear that way to others. But I purposely moved our family to a very expensive, wealthy area so my kids could attend 'good' schools.

After 17 years of living in that community, I can say from experience, that many kids from very wealthy families grow up in dysfunctional homes with a lot of pressure and stress, that most of us do not recognize.

Some of the most messed up kids I ever met have very wealthy parents. Often, their parents are neurotic, workaholics, that are gone most of the time, and are too strict or too distant when they are around. There are often unrealistically high expectations placed on the kids, and stress and pressure to follow in their successful parents footsteps.

I am NOT excusing SW in any way. I am only speaking in general, in reply to this post, saying that it must be 'so easy' to be born into wealth.

I agree. The majority of my HS friends were extremely wealthy. From the outside their families and home life looked picture perfect, but they were far from picture perfect. I wouldn’t say they had bad homes they just weren’t happy, close and loving. For example, sitting at a dinner table with everyone never happened and if it did it was a holiday and the conversations were unnatural with an awkward forced feeling. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Things aren’t always how they appear.

 

[Gussified]

Before we go down the same path we did with religion, can we just stop and think about how we’re phrasing things?

It’s one thing to say, ‘there are some messed up kids from wealthy families’. Quite another to say, ‘kids from wealthy families are messed up’.

NO, not all wealthy families are detached, uncaring, high pressure. Probably not even the majority. If you want to claim that, then produce some sources.