It is quite evident by now that the notion that “extrajudicial killing” is “bad” doesn’t sell very well to the ordinary Filipino. This is, after all, a people renowned for their overall extrajudicial way of life. To bring the point across more pointedly, doing things above, below, beyond, and around the framework of the law is baked into the very DNA of the Filipino people.
And so the mystery is solved. Despite every bleeding-heart hipster and her dog crying Bloody Murder! over the mounting body count of alleged “drug personalities” filling the pages of news sites all over the world, few ordinary Filipinos are moved. In the mad rush of their own ordinary day-to-day lives, Filipinos take extrajudicial measures to get from A to B and from nine to five. They cross streets anywhere anytime, pick up and drop off passengers anytime anywhere, throw their rubbish anywhere anytime, talk loudly anytime anywhere, sing karaoke full blast anywhere anytime, and urinate anytime anywhere. They do all that with utter impunity.
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So, to ordinary Filipinos who fear for their lives going to and from work everyday, hearing about armed people cutting through the red tape and paperwork to put a bullet — or ten — through the head of a “drug personality” is just another day at the office. It’s just another means to get from A to B — A being the target and B being that target taken off the street and being one less menace to society.
Does it bother Filipinos that a friend, son, daughter, spouse, parent, or they themselves may be the next “victim” of this expeditious “system”?
I doubt if there is much thinking that far ahead going on, at the moment in the Philippines. By all accounts, seeing the way things generally are in the Philippines, it seems there hasn’t been much of that sort of thinking going on for a long time to begin with.
Think of it this way: If the bus you are on suddenly swerved right then stopped across three lanes in EDSA so you could get off at Guadalupe, would it bother you that this routine practice causes traffic to be backed up all the way to Alabang every night. Not the average Filipino commuter. Indeed, despite this practice long being an obvious problem that begs an obvious solution to Filipinos who observe and study this dysfunctional system from their ivory towers in Loyola Heights, there has hardly ever been any serious effort mounted to address it at a systemic level.
And so, here is a simple lesson to all you bleeding heart hipsters out there…
When you are an ordinary Filipino whose confidence in her “educated” compatriots’ ability or will to do things towards the best of the interests of the broader society had been utterly crushed by three decades of empty promises and no-results rhetoric, guess what: you’d go out and vote for people like Rodrigo Duterte.
There’s no mystery there. It’s called democracy.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Filipinos lack basic common sense and reasoning. They have no sense of shame. No real ethics or morals. They don’t have to accept the consequences of their actions because they can pawn off their responsibilities on their bearded white man in the sky. So they don’t need to worry their lazy little brains.
INB4 Yellow Trolls get butthurted.
It’s ironic that many Filipinos won’t think twice about breaking the law to help themselves at the expense of another yet decry the lawlessness of society when someone does the same to them.
There’s no civic spirit. Filipinos feel no empathy for other Filipinos or greater Philippine society except maybe their family or close friends. Hence, it’s easy to dismiss some portions of the population as scum of the earth druggies that need cleansing. “No skin off my nose.”
Democracy?
“Democracy, (from Greek: “δημοκρατία”) or “rule of the commoners”, was originally conceived in classical Greece, whereby political representatives were chosen by lot (as in a jury) from amongst the male citizens: rich and poor. In modern times it has become equated to elections or “a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity….elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly”, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary. Democracy is further defined as (a:) “government by the people; especially : rule of the majority (b:) “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation ….”[2]
According to political scientist Larry Diamond, democracy consists of four key elements: (a) A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections; (b) The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; (c) Protection of the human rights of all citizens, and (d) A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.”
A system whereby only 39% determine the outcome of who becomes the president is not a democracy in my book. Furthermore, not all lives are protected by civil and human rights.
To make democracy work, Failipinos in the Failippines must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.
Well for a good number of Pinoys, Law are more like “guidelines” or “suggestions” than actual rules. So most of the time, they’d likely skip the rules “when no one is watching”.
There is no recognition that rules MUST be followed in order to benefit not only himself but everyone around him. There is no inherent sense of civic responsibility no sense of “malasakit sa kapwa”.
Pinoys following the law is driven more of the fear of being reprimanded, embarrassed or penalized instead of genuine thought the his actions may contribute to the betterment of his community and his fellow citizens.
Take for example simple Jaywalking rules. When there are police and MMDA in sight, people follow jaywalking rules because they’re afraid of getting caught. But take away authorities and they’d be violating it on a regular basis.
another example is the recent law mandating the wearing of helmets for motorcyclists and their passengers. when it first came out, there were enforcers at various checkpoints, but that didn’t last long, so that law became another toothless tiger, like the Clean Air Act.
but the unintended consequences for disregarding that law can be that entire families can be wiped out in an instant through carelessness or bad judgment, especially in wet weather.
but bahala na, that’s life.
it’s not that life is any cheaper here than in London or Rome or Berlin or Kansas City – it’s attitudes that are cheap, slacker attitudes like ‘I do it because I can and get away with it every time etc’
some day such unintended consequences will collide with the law of diminishing returns and that’s when the luck tends to run out and all accounts come due.
We are not a democracy. our government is Feudal Oligarchy, with blended Kleptocracy.
We , Filipinos are so desensitized by these evils in our country. We don’t see them as, evils anymore.
“Evil, you are now my good”…a famous German Philosopher, once stated.
Especially, those Aquino YellowTards. They see/accept those evils , as good. They cannot distinguish; what is evil and what is good, anymore…
The evil done by their YellowTard master is good, to them. Anyone who disagree, with them is bad…
Until, we can learn to discipline ourselves; our country will continue, as it was…
We alone,can make our country better. Not Duterte…or anybody else !
Describing the “Filipino” way as extra-judicial shouldn’t be insulting nor a subject of complaint. Filipinos often treat rules as mere (and often rejected) suggestions and look for palusots.
Mr. Mema, pasok. =)
how come i don’t see the likes of gnogid, jigs and other members of “the other side” on this type of discussion? is it because it is difficult to refute or spin the real truth?
Yes I observed as much. They are active only when it is about something to do directly with superficial partisan concerns. But when it comes to deeper truths about the very fabric of Philippine society and culture, all you get from the likes of them is silence.
Speech is silver. Silence is Golden.
Enough said.
benigno, please don’t lie. Answer nagtatanong_lang’s question, is it difficult to spin the truth?
Why delete my post? What is there to be scared about?
Final warning. Do NOT question the admins’ prerogative to delete posts and ban users.
Hahaha. So I guess, Gerry, Jerzy, whatsisname, you still haven’t figured out what it is that gets your comments moderated. And instead, you resort to whining and using multiple IP addresses just to whine and bitch about it on the very site you complain about.
Don’t you just wish GRP had loyalty and fighting spirit awards. HAHAHAHA.
We’re toying with the idea of making commenting here available only to registered users. That way we are better able to manage trolls, time-wasters, and other folk who post comments that seem different on the surface but are actually regurgitations of template responses, veiled ad hominems, and other attempts to conceal/mask lack of real substance.
“If you really were a commenter more concerned with actually discussing instead of peddling conspiracy theories and adding value to the ideas in play, they wouldn’t have to do it…
BUT YOU’RE JUST FULL OF SHIT !”
There Gerry, I’ve corrected that for you, and re-focused it in the right direction.
Somehow, I find it curiously strange the need/idea of contemplating with this:
“We’re toying with the idea of making commenting here available only to registered users. That way we are better able to manage trolls, time-wasters, and other folk who post comments that seem different on the surface but are actually regurgitations of template responses, veiled ad hominems, and other attempts to conceal/mask lack of real substance.”
Perhaps instead, GRP should reconsider this:
“Perhaps Filipinos just need to learn to deal with important conversations and deal with difficult topics. That is, after all, the whole point of the free market of ideas that is the essence of social media.”
Well it’s your blog (and my apologies!) but I hope that GRP can still stick with their policy statement:
“We expect the low product of the majority to be subsidised by the exceptional output of the minority.”
Point taken. It’s the reality of the composition of the society within which we operate.
from a long time reader and sometime poster, thanks, Benign0…i thought i was the only one who noticed the selectiveness
I’d tell these lines to gnogid, jigs and other members of “the other side” (the dark side that is).
You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall — you need me on that wall.
We use words like “honor,” “code,” “loyalty.” We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.
I would rather that you just said “thank you” and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand the post. Either way, I don’t give a DAMN what you think you’re entitled to!
Come on D,
that is not very original and not very creative to just steal/copy words from a movie (A Few Good Men; 1992)
I posted here but it was deleted.
So the question about the truth difficult to refute, you tell me.
@YellowTard “gnogid” the dimwit:
Now, you throw Tantrum, because they deleted your blog and comments ?
They sometimes deleted mine, also; and I don’t care …
The Web Master has the right to delete blogs. We are just bloggers, contributors, here. “Nakikisuyo lang tayo kay BenignO…”
Kick your legs, Baby Boy ! Cry aloud ! Because they deleted your blogs and comments !
What are real immature Dimwit !
Maybe you get deleted, because everyone is sick of your demented comments which seem to flood some topics. I for one don’t read your posts anymore, so I guess I miss…. nothing.
Please, LET the door hit you on the ass on your way out.
That’s what happens to MEMAs. Tough luck. =) But don’t worry. I’m still a fan. =)
With the way you’ve been unloading in this site with your yellow partisan ululations disguised as “debates” be thankful you’re not altogether banned. =)
FOS,
the least he could have done, is mentioning or stating something like that he stole it from the final 10-15 minutes of script/dialogue/monologue of the movie mentioned earlier by me.
Most of the time when I criticize Filipinos for openly breaking the law or driving like idiots I get a very simple response. “If you don’t like (our stupidity, ignorance, lawlessness and inefficiency) then remember you are a guest so take all the money you spend here and go back to your country.”
The actual demands are usually much more pointed, but they always overlook the realities of, and reasons for, the criticism and never address who is going to support the 12 to 15 people I support here if I just leave.
Jerry,
” … never address who is going to support the 12 to 15 people I support here …”
What do you want? A medal?
When you leave the equation, someone else will step in.