Blogged
This blog was visited by MLQ one of the few people I have profound respect for (which is why his blog is linked to this blog - I read him as often as I could) and naturally, MLQ being The MLQ, traffic here has multiplid algebraically. I am deeply honored. Thanks for the visit, Manolo.
Finally, someone with something else between his ears other than a cute face pointed it out: these are blog entries and people should stop reading too much into them. If I wanted to indulge in intellectual swash-buckling, I would write a piece on the Gloria Presidency and the Prices of Swamp Cabbages, and write my full name on it - all three first names, mind. Which is not to say I am telling people to shut up, merely telling people to stop hyperventilating and losing sleep tyring to analyze if I want to run for Senator or if I had sex last night simply because I wrote a letter for this blog, and then ask if I deserve the attention.
The link has resulted in a barrage of comments, three of which I will answer here.
1. Who is this Bong Austero?
This question has been asked many times in many discussion groups - sometimes in a fit of exasperation, sometimes in a condescending way as if I somehow breathed oxygen that had someone else's name on it, and every once in a while, in a nice way. The manner in which this question is asked determines the kind of answers I give.
MLQ does not remember me and I do not fault him for that, our interactions have been very casual and I was probably starstruck during those few times we actually got to talk. But we have a lot of common friends. The point I am making is this -there are people out there who actually knows who I am and who will easily tell you one thing: I can not be bought by anyone. Not even for sex (ehem), so definitely, not to peddle someone else's ideas. I may be dumb and reckless and impudent. But I can not be bought.
If a person's best shot is to accuse me of being a paid hack, or of being part of a Malacanang campaign, all I can say is this - that is a reflection of the character of the person who is making that accusation, not of mine.
I have said this before, and I will repeat it because it is true and I am proud of it: I am not even middle class. I am a child of a farmer and a public schoolteacher. I grew up in a third-class municipality in Leyte. I am a product of the public school system from Elementary, to High School, to College - all in Leyte. I was a student activist in College. I have a full-time job in the financial services sector, I teach in the evenings four times a week, and I sit in the board of some NGOs. My main advocacies are on HIV/AIDS, gender and sexual rights. I worked my way up from the bottom and I continue to do more than my share in nation building.
But then again, this whole sino ba itong Bong Austero na ito bit, is actually irrelevant to that letter. If we truly believe in democracy and freedom of expression, why should that matter?
2. Why comments to this blog have been on "moderated mode" since yesterday.
There are those who, in their haste to judge and pontificate, automatically assume the worst in people. Just because they have to undergo a minor process before they can exercise their so-called freedom to bash me in my own turf, they automatically cry suppression! Isn't that symptomatic of the way things are in this country?
This blog does not edit, ban, or reject comments from anyone. You can check. However, someone is trying to fix the template of this blog so that postings can be made more systematic and all that techno gobbledygook that I do not understand. That required putting the blog on moderated mode.
As MLQ puts it, blogs have their own "constituencies" so do not strain yourself analyzing the ratio of positive to negative comments in any blog. There are more worthwhile things to do.
Happy now?
3. Is this Bong Austero deserving of your time?
This question actually floored me down, threw me up the wall, and well, you get the drift.
Hello!!! I have been saying this many times: you guys are giving me more credit than I deserve. I wrote a letter, I posted it in my blog and sent to 20 of my closest friends, and it got forwarded to the world. I am not running for office, any office! I have a full time job and career. I have my hands full of papers and tests to check and grade. I never asked for your approval and have no need for it anyway. (But I do need a love life).
MLQ said it well and I quote: "people could tell they weren’t crafted for any other purpose than to express the author’s feelings."
Finally, someone with something else between his ears other than a cute face pointed it out: these are blog entries and people should stop reading too much into them. If I wanted to indulge in intellectual swash-buckling, I would write a piece on the Gloria Presidency and the Prices of Swamp Cabbages, and write my full name on it - all three first names, mind. Which is not to say I am telling people to shut up, merely telling people to stop hyperventilating and losing sleep tyring to analyze if I want to run for Senator or if I had sex last night simply because I wrote a letter for this blog, and then ask if I deserve the attention.
The link has resulted in a barrage of comments, three of which I will answer here.
1. Who is this Bong Austero?
This question has been asked many times in many discussion groups - sometimes in a fit of exasperation, sometimes in a condescending way as if I somehow breathed oxygen that had someone else's name on it, and every once in a while, in a nice way. The manner in which this question is asked determines the kind of answers I give.
MLQ does not remember me and I do not fault him for that, our interactions have been very casual and I was probably starstruck during those few times we actually got to talk. But we have a lot of common friends. The point I am making is this -there are people out there who actually knows who I am and who will easily tell you one thing: I can not be bought by anyone. Not even for sex (ehem), so definitely, not to peddle someone else's ideas. I may be dumb and reckless and impudent. But I can not be bought.
If a person's best shot is to accuse me of being a paid hack, or of being part of a Malacanang campaign, all I can say is this - that is a reflection of the character of the person who is making that accusation, not of mine.
I have said this before, and I will repeat it because it is true and I am proud of it: I am not even middle class. I am a child of a farmer and a public schoolteacher. I grew up in a third-class municipality in Leyte. I am a product of the public school system from Elementary, to High School, to College - all in Leyte. I was a student activist in College. I have a full-time job in the financial services sector, I teach in the evenings four times a week, and I sit in the board of some NGOs. My main advocacies are on HIV/AIDS, gender and sexual rights. I worked my way up from the bottom and I continue to do more than my share in nation building.
But then again, this whole sino ba itong Bong Austero na ito bit, is actually irrelevant to that letter. If we truly believe in democracy and freedom of expression, why should that matter?
2. Why comments to this blog have been on "moderated mode" since yesterday.
There are those who, in their haste to judge and pontificate, automatically assume the worst in people. Just because they have to undergo a minor process before they can exercise their so-called freedom to bash me in my own turf, they automatically cry suppression! Isn't that symptomatic of the way things are in this country?
This blog does not edit, ban, or reject comments from anyone. You can check. However, someone is trying to fix the template of this blog so that postings can be made more systematic and all that techno gobbledygook that I do not understand. That required putting the blog on moderated mode.
As MLQ puts it, blogs have their own "constituencies" so do not strain yourself analyzing the ratio of positive to negative comments in any blog. There are more worthwhile things to do.
Happy now?
3. Is this Bong Austero deserving of your time?
This question actually floored me down, threw me up the wall, and well, you get the drift.
Hello!!! I have been saying this many times: you guys are giving me more credit than I deserve. I wrote a letter, I posted it in my blog and sent to 20 of my closest friends, and it got forwarded to the world. I am not running for office, any office! I have a full time job and career. I have my hands full of papers and tests to check and grade. I never asked for your approval and have no need for it anyway. (But I do need a love life).
MLQ said it well and I quote: "people could tell they weren’t crafted for any other purpose than to express the author’s feelings."
Comments
1. I don’t care if GMA has cheated in the elections and stolen the Philippine Presidency. I voted for Raul Roco and that’s that. But it doesn’t matter if he was cheated. It’s actually all right to be cheated. I don’t care if I am cheated. If they can cheat, I can cheat too. In the first place, the accusation, that GMA cheated, has no evidence and has not been proven. The majority of the members of the House of Representatives cannot be wrong. They said the President did nothing wrong. She talked to an election officer. So what? Let’s just wait for the next election. If someone again cheats in the election, so what? Everyone is a cheat anyway. Let’s just accept that cheating in elections is a way of life. That’s it. I just want to go on with my life.
2. There are no moral leaders deserving support. After all, those who are out there in the streets have some moral flaws, somehow. Let’s leave morality alone. Let’s not moralize. Forget about morality. Morality gets us into trouble. These so-called moralists create traffic and disturbs the peace. I don’t care if I don’t have any sense of morality too. I can’t eat morality anyway.
3. GMA says she is the best and there’s no other alternative to her. Yes, it is absolutely true. None of the 80 million or so Filipinos can replace her. I totally agree, and I don’t really care. So probably we should have her as our President forever. I think that would be best. I am not a good leader. No Filipino is. I actually do not care as long as there is no traffic.
4. So what if GMA lies? So what if she is a lying President? So what if she said she will not run in the elections, and she did? Is it a crime to publicly and solemnly say one thing and do exactly the opposite? I’m not affected by it. I still have a job. I still receive my salary. I can still go to the movies. It won’t create traffic if she continues to lie.
5. These people out in the streets are crazy and have no right to be there. They disturb the peace. They create traffic. They create a bad image for the country. So what if they are just exercising their rights? They are disturbing me from commuting from home to my job. All they do is make noise. Forget about freedom of speech. I can’t eat it. I can’t feed my family with it. All you rallyist, I hope you all die and leave me in peace.
6. I don’t care if GMA used money intended for farmers to buy her votes. For all I care, these farmers can all die. So what if the money GMA used came from the taxes I paid. That’s not my concern. I’ll just cheat in my next tax payment. If I can’t, I’ll just accept that fact that my tax money will be misappropriated anyway.
7. Those politicians in the streets are out there because they have their own agenda. It doesn’t matter then if GMA has her own agenda. Isn’t she a politician too? In the Philippines, all politicians have their own agenda anyway. And so what? As long as I can go to the movies, drive my own car, listen to my music, send my children to school, and no traffic.
The Open Letter really opened my eyes. I thank the author and those who share his views. I think I really know what I should do when confronted again with the same scenarios as in the past weeks. I’ll be like the rest of the you, the silent majority.
I am pleasantly surprised by those who accuse you of being a GMA supporter, other than what you obviously are-- someone just really tired of the crap our country is in. They didn't do their homework (i.e., read your other blogs), or worse, didn't understand what you wrote in the first place.
If there's anything your blog-- and the reactions it got-- proves, it is the inability of many of our countrymen to accept opinions other than their own. It reflects how many Filipinos can't look at different perspectives in good faith. And it also exposes an annoying habit shared by the intelligent and dim alike-- the propensity to attack the advocate instead of sticking to the advocate's points.
I, too, share your frustration with our country's elected officials (to call them "leaders" is too generous). I, too, want a better tomorrow for our countrymen. We all may have our own ideas of how to achieve this, but I'm glad there are those like you who are saying what needs to be said-- and that what's being said is being read and heard.
Hopefully, everyone-- those in the left, the center, and the right; those in the administration and the opposition-- is listening.
I'm glad I found your blog. Your sentiments are really the sentiments of the great majority that are drowned by the noise of the few, thats why it created quite a stir. I printed some copies and distributed it too and of course most agree that they are in fact angry also.
thanks and good luck
jesse from iloilo
"...I’ll be like the rest of the you, the silent majority."
One "famous" member of the silent majority is Tony Meloto, of Gawad Kalinga. Everything the "anti-GMA" forces are doing doesnt even come close to an iota of the accomplishments of Gawad Kalinga.
The silent majority has already realized that our country does not need a Moses "to lead us to the promised land." (Yet the opposition wants us "to return to Egypt!")
The silent majority has realized that our country has problems more urgent and more important than GMA's removal.
During the issue on the US bases in 1991 (I was for their removal) I could not appreciate the argument of the pro-US bases people that we should not be listening to the loud sounds of a noisy minority. Listening to the opposition now, I finally appreciated the argument.
sa mga comments kitang kita kung sino ang mga baluktot ang prinsipyo, ang mga matatalino, ang mga pilosopo, at ang mga makikitid ang utak.