Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao who emerged victorious over Shane Mosley after a 12-round match. There was a bit of disappointment over Pacquiao’s failure to win the match by knockout, something which many Filipino fans considered to be an anti-climactic outcome. Nevertheless, Pacquiao’s victory plus perhaps his wearing yellow gloves during the match to “symbolize the fight against poverty and to call for unity of Filipinos around the world” prompted President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to hail the “pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the world” a “hero”; presumably of the Filipino people.
Aquino said Pacquiao’s victory was even more meaningful with his decision to wear yellow gloves to emphasize efforts to fight poverty.
Pacquiao wore yellow gloves during the 12-round match to symbolize the fight against poverty and to call for unity of Filipinos around the world.
Well done, Mr Pacquiao. But to those who plan to eat up the whole spiel about the champ’s yellow gloves being a symbol of Filipino “unity”, consider first that the colour yellow in the context of Philippine politics implies a partisan affiliation and by no means represents any form of unity whatsoever. If there is a symbol of “unity” that needs to be held up it should be an artifact of Philippine nationhood that transcends politics — like the Philippine flag for example.
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Noynoy and the feudal clans he represents have no business presuming to hold up anything that represents their family interests or political affiliations (such as what is encapsulated in the colour yellow) as things that symbolise Filipino “unity”. A real big shame would be in seeing the man Manny Pacquiao who put the Philippines on the map (at least on the lame basis of his simply being a citizen of that country) becoming just another politicised icon in a society that, despite the champions it produces, remains chronically starved for substance.
When we celebrate Pacquiao’s victory tonight, let’s all for once leave politics to the politicians and the colour yellow to Aquino propagandists and apologists. Let’s celebrate Manny Pacquiao’s as a Filipino and not as a symbol of our country’s dysfunctional petty politics.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
here here!
You know, boxers are the most fearless of people, prepared to climb into the ring and get their brain concussed. Pacquiao’s opponents are, in any other contest, tough fighters, competitive, strong, brutal. But the last six or seven opponents, you knew they were toast when they walk into the ring amongst all the hoopla, and you could see the fear in their eyes. They knew they couldn’t win, no matter how big, how strong, how loud . . . they knew they would get smashed by punches they could not see.
I concede, pound for pound, he is better than Ali at his peak.