By William Pasillas Contributing Writer
William Ernesto Garcia Jr. graces his Facebook followers with his weekly batch of humor known as “Willies Words of Wisdom Wednesdays.”
Each Wednesday, with the exception of a few rare occasions, he releases new material on the Facebook page of the same name. It is an advice column, and a soapbox where he points observations he finds funny. Topics can range from economics, to dating or just plain old advice. Garcia, better known as Willie, uses his unique blend of Spanish and English slang to drive home his points.
A recent post covered the topic of funerals. Garcia observed certain things he found unacceptable, such as people that the deceased disliked attending their funeral and people thinking the deceased is the greatest people ever now that they’re gone. On another week’s post he talked about the incurred cost of an investment people could never get back which was appropriately titled “Sunken Cost.”
An example of a sunken cost is spending two years on a major and then finding out it’s not for you. Another is spending time and money in a relationship that is not going anywhere. His topics are not just random weekly rants; he tries to incorporate what he learned in social psychology at East Los Angeles College to his postings.
One of Garcia’s beliefs is that women can decide when intercourse is initiated and men decide when a relationship begins. The origins of “Willie’s Words of Wisdom Wednesdays” come from Garcia posting his writing on his personal Facebook page. He said that the name just sounded good and he put it out there. When he felt he had an audience large enough he decided to create a Facebook page dedicated to releasing his “wisdom.”
As a student at ELAC, Garcia has catered his material to apply to the demographic that comes here. The audience he is trying to target is from the ages of 19 through 100. He says 19 and not 18 because he believes that by that age people are able to think for themselves. He targets people who can relate to his style of humor and are going to be able to handle his sometimes very blunt in-your-face style of comedy.
Also the kind of people his comedy caters to is the people who are “suckers for love,” those who always need to be in a relationship. His “wisdom” is meant to be purely humorous, and Garcia says that he is simply trying to poke fun at social subjects he has observed. His posts are not meant to be taken serious.
He expects his followers to exercise their judgment to make decisions regarding their own lives. Garcia is not out to influence people, he says that people’s beliefs being affected are inevitable if they read his weekly words of wisdom. Garcia, does indeed, practice what he preaches. He follows the advice and tips he gives others.
He does so because it is easier to see things from the outside looking in, so that he can avoid some of the traps of life he talks about in his posts. He refrains from talking about body issues and other things that are out of a person’s control. He tries to cover both genders equally, “One week I clown on dudes for wearing no undershirt to school, next week I’m clowning on girls for wearing six-inch heels to earth science,” he says.
When asked if he believes if anyone has ever been successful using his advice, “I can only speculate,” Garcia said. He said that nobody has come to him with his or her testimonies of success.
Anyone interested in reading “Willie’s Words of Wisdom Wednesdays” can do so by searching on Facebook and clicking the “like” button.