How Dumb Duterte Supporters Are Demolishing Their Own Candidate

Now, before I begin, I’d like to share with you another story…

And don’t worry, this isn’t based on the Bible. So, in case you’re one of those who are getting tired of my constant citing of the Good Book, here’s something else to enjoy. The following story tidbit is from the stick-figure webcomic called Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew which chronicles the travels of six main heroes who adventure across a world based on the Dungeons & Dragons RPG. Being a stick-figure comic, the art isn’t all that detailed but I suppose I’m one of those people who find merit in its other aspects such as its story and pop-culture comedy.

Anyway, in one instance, Vaarsuvius (or “V” for short), the elf wizard among the six heroes is forced to strike a bargain with three evil spirits to save his (I’m only calling Vaarsuvius “he” for the sake of convenience since his actual gender is still up in the air) family. The whole deal was summed up in a large document which the three evil spirits handed to the desperate and confused Vaarsuvius who wanted to go and save his family immediately. The three evil spirits even stopped time for the elf wizard so that he would have ample time to read all the terms and conditions on the document. After all, the three evil spirits said, they wanted Vaarsuvius to willingly accept their agreement as they had no real power over a person’s free will.

Vaarsuvius, despite having enough time to actually read the whole document, simply skimmed through the agreement as he was in a really big hurry to save his family. While one could not blame the elf wizard since his family’s life was at stake, one could note that he had a significant advantage since he had more than enough time to review the document cover to cover and spot anything that could prove to be trouble to him later on. He was, after all, one of the smartest and well-read members of the Order of the Stick after all. Still, it counted for nothing considering what happened next.

After reading the first paragraphs of the document, Vaarsuvius saw that the three evil spirits were willing to give him unimaginable power. He also read in the agreement that the three evil spirits couldn’t take his soul in exchange for whatever power they would impart to him. Seeing that this was enough to please him, he threw aside the document, thinking that the rest of it was unimportant. What was important to him was that 1) he could gain near godlike powers and 2) the evil spirits had no claim to his soul.

So off he went to save his family. Seeing that his family was being threatened by a black dragon (one of the most fearsome monsters in the D&D world), he unleashed all the power given to him by the three evil spirits. While it certainly killed the black dragon (and horrendously so, in fact), the power he unleashed was so devastating that Vaarsuvius also ended up killing a lot of innocent people.

It was in the aftermath of his rampage that Vaarsuvius came to fully understand the nature of his bargain with the three evil spirits when he decided to read the document again. The vast power given to him by the evil spirits wasn’t meant to take his soul but would instead use him to take the soul of others. Vaarsuvius came to regret his actions when he realized the full consequences of not fully understanding the nature of his bargain with the evil spirits. Had he simply just read the whole document (which wasn’t all that long to start with), perhaps he could have prevented the death of so many. Indeed, it has even been speculated that had he read the document in full, he might have even gained a clue on how to defeat the black dragon threatening his family without even having to accept the terms of the evil spirits.

***

So okay, I’ve written a few articles that summed up my hesitation in voting for Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Indeed, I won’t be voting for him come this election because I’ve already made up my mind to vote for Miriam Defensor Santiago. However, that does not mean I am against him or his loyal supporters. As a matter of fact, had Mrs. Santiago decided not to run or pulled out of the presidential race, I’d probably be supporting Mayor Duterte myself.

However, what grates on my nerves are the utterly massive number of dumb bandwagoners who simply think that Mayor Duterte will solve all the ills of the Philippines without them having to do anything. Rabid and utterly mindless, these people bark and snap at anything they think challenges Mayor Duterte’s candidacy even when they actually don’t. They attack anyone they perceive as a threat to their candidate’s victory in the presidential candidates, including it seems, their fellow Duterte supporters.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is where the problem of Mayor Duterte’s candidacy lies. Instead of having supporters who willingly “support” each other and respect non-supporters who at least recognize their cause, the poor mayor is backed by a rowdy mob not at all that different from those who supported Cory Aquino in 1986 and Noynoy in 2010. People who are too lazy or dumb to even recognize their fellow Duterte supporters or even those who acknowledge their cause because they can’t even bother to read or think about what is being said about their dear leader.

However, from what I can see, these people support Mayor Duterte simply because they think he will solve all the problems of the Philippines without them having to do anything. They have placed him on a pedestal and worship him as a living god just as they worshiped figures like Cory Aquino when she first came to power and Noynoy Aquino when he campaigned for the presidency in 2010. Truth be told, the recent reaction to Mayor Duterte’s “rape joke” is sign enough of their worship with some outright calling him a “demon” for his dark sense of humor while others defend him as if he is some kind of perfect man who can never make mistakes. I see few who are willing to admit that he may simply be a good leader with flaws such as a foul mouth.

Indeed, I find these uncivilized supporters as more trouble than their worth as their inability to read between the lines or even just read at all makes them a dangerous and large unreliable populace. They can be very fickle and, thanks to their bandwagoning mentality, probably aren’t really as loyal as they claim to be. I kind of worry about Mayor Duterte and his more civil supporters as they may likely be attacked by the same people who outright worshiped their candidate once they fully realize that he might not be doing everything they want him to do or when they misunderstand his statements.

As for those of you who might be in this crowd, here’s all I have to say: Please learn to READ and THINK from time to time! It wouldn’t hurt you to at least use some reading comprehension on occasion!

Grimwald

I HAVE RETURNED TO LAY WASTE TO OUR ENEMIES!