10
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 7 | APRIL 2016
EDITORIAL & OPINION
HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE
Trolling the presidentiables
T
hings are getting out of
hand. There is
so much hostility everywhere. I am talking about how
very partisan and ugly
this election has become.
It’s a free-forall on social media.
Trolls abound. They
immediately respond,
mostly with insults,
threats and venom to any
criticism (even mild ones)
posted by anyone who
questions their leader.
The tirades are mostly
nonsensical, illogical and
ungrammatical — all
designed to scare you.
Some people have
even received death
threats. I have.
But the most vicious
ones do not want to
argue at all. If they do, it
is without any form of
civility. Their aim is to
silence you.
Enough.
It’s time we lighten
things up. Stop being
combative. Drop the
ubusan ng lahi mentality.
After all, we ALL still have
to get along after the
elections.
We must realize
that we shouldn’t take
everything so seriously.
So today, I am putting on
my conspiracy theoristanarchist-irreverent-silly
cap as I write.
Today, I am trolling
every candidate. There
is a Filipino saying that
goes, “Bato-bato sa
langit. Kung may tamaan,
eh buti nga.” LOL.
1. A friend who is
into conspiracy theories
tried to convince me that
Mar and Leni are actually
closet communists. He
pointed out that if you
put an “x” at the end of
Mar and an “n” at Leni,
you will get the names of
two great communists.
I laughed. But I had
to ask myself if I should
share it considering how
some stupid people out
there will not get the joke
and take this seriously.
Furthermore, they may
convince the more stupid
to believe it. But then, I
must have more faith in
humanity, shouldn’t I?
Or should I?
2. Duterte’s followers
POE
decision declaring
Grace Poe’s run for the
presidency legal but I
won’t argue with it. The
SC has the final word.
All I know is that certain
political considerations
shaped the decision.
This decision
could be historical and
unprecedented. This
could make Grace Poe
the envy of Hillary Clinton
since Grace could very
well be the first American
woman president if she
BINAY
are fiercely loyal and cling
to his every word. All this
talk of summary killings
to deliver swift justice
seems to awaken in them
a rough judgmental
Old Testament attitude
that is so gung-ho about
meting the death penalty
summarily.
I think Digong’s
friend and spiritual
adviser Quiboloy should
step into the picture and
convince Digong to form
his own religion so he can
have some theological
reason to justify his
beliefs. The first book in
his sacred text can be
called Duterteronomy.
3. I still cannot fathom
the Supreme Court’s
time when he insisted
on bringing notes (later
described as documents)
and delaying the last
debate. He was the
biggest loser.
He must now
reinvent himself. How
does someone with poor
debating skills, and a
credibility problem, shine
in a debate against four
other more articulate
people?
To do so, he must
totally stun them. He
DUTERTE
wins.
As for me, I am
looking at 2022 when I
would like Barack Obama
to run for president
of the Philippines. I
am sure he will find
our country’s political
landscape interesting. I
trust the SC will find some
justification to “prove”
his citizenship like they
did for Poe. He is, after
all, very popular in our
country. They can also
argue that his two recent
trips to the Philippines
showed Obama’s
intention to establish
residency here.
4. Binay has one final
chance to shine in the
next debate. He lost big
when he is dressed up in
a bizarre animé costume?
I think they would rather
really avoid him. Who
would like to argue
with a presidentiable in
cosplay? And on TV? And
to the millions of p eople
watching at home,
this brilliant wardrobe
makeover will be so
impressive, it will be the
topic of conversation
until election day. People
will forget all other issues.
All they will remember is
ROXAS
SANTIAGO
must come from left
field with no notes, no
documents. He must
make a visual statement
saying he will NOT be
ignored and belittled. He
must show up wearing
cosplay.
Everyone would be
speechless, surely! Can
you imagine his fellow
candidates addressing
him as Mr. Vice President
Binay in cosplay, a dark,
brooding animé figure.
5. I miss Miriam in the
debates. I miss her on the
campaign trail. It is too
bad she is incapacitated
with cancer. Sometimes
though, I try to imagine
who is more unlucky:
Miriam getting cancer or
cancer taking on Miriam?
I hope her feisty spirit will
save her. There is more
to life than winning an
election. As for the cancer
cells, maybe you should
call it quits while you are
ahead.
6. It is beginning
to look like a lot of
the millennials will be
voting for Marcos. It is
so ironic that young
people have all the data
and knowledge right at
their fingertips, more
than any generation in
history, but they have
such a short and shallow
attention span. And they
are easily swayed by oversimplified memes, more
than plain truth. I can’t
wait to see their faces
when one day, they will
watch their sons and
daughters voting for
the children of Napoles,
Jinggoy, Revilla, etc.
7. No candidate has
made any statement
about legalizing medical
marijuana. I wish one of
them would. If Mar takes
a supporting stance, it
would still be in line with
Daang Matuweed.
When you feel that
you are about to cross the
sanity line and need to be
more objective, here’s a
line from Desiderata you
can repeat to yourself.
“Speak your truth
quietly and clearly; and
listen to others, EVEN
THE DULL AND THE
IGNORANT; THEY TOO
HAVE THEIR STORY.”
Okay. Back to
Facebook and Twitter!
JIM PAREDES
is a multifaceted creative. He sings,
composes, writes articles and books, teaches at the Ateneo De
Manila University, designs and facilitates workshops. He is a
writer of books, a widely read columnist for the Sunday Life
section of Philippine Star, and a well-known photographer.
Questioning constructed identities
T
Opinion pieces
are all welcome.
Ang Kalatas does not
necessarily share the
views of the writers.
he notion of national identity is complex and controversial. In Australia, two recent national celebrations, Australia
Day and Harmony Day, reflect
the conundrum of national identity as a
construct. Both celebratory days, which
so vigorously celebrate Australian identity and multiculturalism, are among the
most divisive days of the year. As the 30th
anniversary of the People Power Revolution was held in February, it is time to question the notion of national identity.
In Australia, common citizenship as
a basis for national identity supersedes
the cultural diversity of its multi-cultural
population.
Through citizenship, “[…] the
national governments of Australia have
consciously shaped national identity”
observes Geoffrey Stokes in The Politics
of Identity in Australia.
The idea of national identity in the
Philippines is conjured by perceived
commonalities, historical events and
figures, and a designated common
language across a diverse archipelago.
As a culturally, geographically and
linguistically diverse archipelago, the
Filipino identity is difficult to reduce to a
single national identity.
Aside from diverse urban and rural
experiences, vertical social structures in
conjunction with a wide-ranging gap in
income among the growing population
determine the Filipino experience.
A Filipino raised in the suburbs
of Manila has a different story from a
Filipino living on an island off the coast
of Cebu. A Filipino from a family that
can afford the country’s most expensive
secondary education has a different
experience from a Filipino that attends a
national high school with over-crowded
classrooms.
Similarly, the various experiences
of Australians are reflected in their
geographic and economic realities.
Regardless of equal rights and
opportunities, Filipino-Australians
living in Mt. Druitt experience a different
Australia than Australians living in
Mosman.
Geoffrey Stokes argues that “identity
Ang Kalatas is published every first Saturday of the month circulated in
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rhetoric invariably oversimplifies the
variety in a group, […] here a dominant group defines the identity of
another (often subordinate) group in
ways that are negative, and that preclude the possibilities of redefinition or
renegotiation”.
These suggested examples reflect
the restrictions of a national identity
derived from shared experiences.
Each new generation of Australians
will relate differently to the AngloAustralian perception of Australia.
Filipino-Australians are likely to be
disengaged from the Australian identity
derived from the ANZAC’s in the First
World War.
MILLIE MARCIAL-PHILLIPS
Publisher/Managing Editor
TITUS FILIO
Editor
Likewise, Aboriginal Australians
have historically contested the western
values upon which Australia’s identi-ty is
constructed.
At present, the Australian
constitution, an arguably fundamental
document outlining the framework
in which Australian government and
society functions, excludes recognition
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples.
As Australia moves forward as
a multicultural nation, and Filipinos
become part of the fabric of society, it
leads one to wonder, what indeed is the
national identity being celebrated each
year?
JAKE ATIENZA is interested in exploring the social
and geographic components of space. He aims to tell the visible
and underlying stories of people and places. Although his writing
is a creative process, it is a bove all a journalistic and ethnographic
approach to storytelling.
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