At this point, most people have probably calmed down already. Returning to their lives, minding their own businesses, because the height of the moment--when being aware is nationalism and their very well-founded comments matter--is seemingly over. And making sense of the hostage crisis does not matter that much anymore.
(Please treat this as my "goodmorning" to the commotion that occurred yesterday. This is an impromptu post, written with speed, and most probably without much precision. I would like to think nof this post as a humble, timely inquiry, and not another irresponsible post. I would also post this at the FB notes tab of my profile, since I moderate comments on blogspot [Kahit saang personal account, rather!]. Feel free to point out anything that you might want to elaborate or contradict, though. But also remember that I delete comments I deem out of the topic--which is, needless to say, based on my utter subjectivism.)
Or, I am probably wrong, since the day is just beginning--and the pinpointing would begin in a little while, and would further be hyped again for the second time around forever by the media conglomerates, so there would be less air time for Hacienda Luisita and other more pertinent issues (that are not pertinent to Noynoy and friends). I would attempt to enumerate--and be judgmental--of the people who reacted to the situation. Yup, another set of generalization and categorization that might overlap... Coming up. Right. Now:
There are those who were concerned with the tourists, and tourism, and the image of the Philippines abroad. I have even heard--or wrongly heard--a reporter imply that: the hostage-taker was being "unfair" as he released Filipino hostages, and he kept the foreigners and even ended up killing, making the situation more "crucial." This perhaps pertains to the international community's response to the incident. And I think something is wrong with the statement that the hostage-taker was "unfair" on that basis.
There are also those who were surprised by how mad the world is (including myself, by the way, though it occured for less than thirty minutes! That is defensive. And this emphasis is redundant. I feel like Mike Enriquez right now, who spits needless side comments during an SOS). And the classic line of the most famous song of the not-so-famous band, Wuds (at least to the new "cool" generation of pa-sophisticated and pa-cool people that I fail to understand), comes to mind: "Inosente lang ang nagtataka." I've read from the FB news feed some comments that I would like to share, though I might not be able to attribute those to the people who actually posted them and I would just paraphrase and summarize them into: Shit happens everyday, people die everyday. The mainstream media just hyped up everything, as they often do, so I think there shouldn't have been any "surprises."
There are those who had their hidden talent of nationalism unraveled! Then, are probably back to their businesses at this moment. And there are those who blame Juan dela Cruz for being Juan dela Cruz. (Comments vary from: the self-righteous "Ang mga pinoy talaga walang disiplina..." [that leads to preaching such as the next quote] to "Kailangan nating magbago lahat..." [that leads to messianic individualistic illusion of changing one's self first before changing society.]).
There are those who made fun of the police and blamed them for everything. These are the guys that I do not really have any problems with, but I think we should dig deeper into the issue to drive at the root of all these madness. Weird how the police get a large chunk of the national budget for the incompetence they have showcased in the recent weeks--that were actually happening waaaay back then: extortion, torture, hostage, pestilence, hostility, and the like. (Weird set of... words as well. Spontaneous post, indeed. Hehe.)
There are those who sympathize with Mendoza, and hail him as a cool, badass police. Then there are, of course, those who wanted his soul to be burnt in all the hells that might exist in the universe.
And there are people such as my self who attempt to further understand and gather ideas of how peers understand this. Three words, I guess: Culture of impunity.
Another question I'd like to leave: Who would be the next scapegoat or sacrifice to show Noynoy's facade of sincerity in addressing the his BIG issues such as the wangwang and other little things Noynonatics magnify as grand achievements?
After PAG-ASA, MWSS, Arroyo, Corrupt Officials, etc, who or what institutions would the Malacanang pelt with blame, this time to gain the trust of the Filipino people? Would the government blame the police that disperses the activists in resistance to government policies? The media that had a sick honeymoon with the government during SONA and beyond? The culture of usiseros? Ondoy? Drugs? I do not know, but I am quite sure of one thing. They would not mention the political and economic crisis as the root of all these evil. So, yes, IMF World Bank, your "corruption" and plunder, in connection with the hostage crisis as another product, would remain unknown to the public that are taught to think based on what the mainstream media feeds them.
Up to now, I am still hearing talks and still seeing posts regarding the commotion, from where I sit. Speculations on the whys and the hows of yesterday's incident: Why did the driver let Mendoza in. Why did it all came to this. Why the police had no equipment. Why did the HK nationals have to die. What went wrong with the negotiations. What went wrong with the way the media behaved. And other minute details of the incident seemingly taken as a case isolated from the whole political and economic structure, etcetera. But none, no mention of the blame against the existing system that spewed Mendoza and the Quirino Grand Stand fiasco. Seemingly none at all.
(And Yes, this would serve as my goodmorning.)
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