The single biggest crisis the Yellowtard camp are dealing with in the final five weeks of the campaign is the perception that they are elitists. Try as they might, the label sticks like a rash. A virtual who’s who had been pointing out this politically-debilitating character of the Yellowtards for years. Unfortunately, it seems it is only now that their foremost “thought leaders” are taking a second look at important lessons about the character of their community that they should have learnt a long time ago
The trouble with the Yellowtards is that they lack self-awareness. This is likely due to most of their “thought leaders” being products of Philippine society’s gated communities and chi chi Catholic private schools. Within these ultra-exclusive communities are ingrained the sense of entitlement that shines through the Yellowtard collective character today. The vibe is easily picked up by ordinary Filipinos. Unfortunately for most Yellowtard insiders, elitism is like water to a fish. It is ingrained in the very fabric of their sub-culture.
Of the way this mental condition manifests itself in their interaction with people “down the hill”, Adrian Gache, a “fourth year Political Science major at the University of the Philippines Diliman” observes in his Rappler piece “Moral politics and the elitism of the Robredo campaign”…
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It is clear that a significant proportion of the Robredo camp is more interested in talking over, or down to, the masses, rather than communicating directly with them. For all we know, Robredo might turn out to be a people’s president after all is said and done. That does not make her campaign a “people’s campaign.” The massive lead that Marcos continues to enjoy over her when it comes to Classes C, D, and E speaks to that, along with the experiences of campaigners on the ground.
He then issues a dire but familiar warning to the Yellowtard campaign…
The “Kakampinks” can continue to turn up in the tens of thousands to Ayala, Ortigas, and other urban centers, drinking their frappuccinos and taking videos on their smartphones all they want. None of that changes the fact that, as long as elements of the Robredo campaign remain distinctly elitist, they will likely cost her the election.
How then can the Yellowtards institute much needed core reforms to their campaign that could possibly still translate to that much-prayed-for miracle over the next 40 days? That’s a tough question considering there is not much in the character or professional profile of Robredo that even a highly seasoned public relations consultant could work with. Robredo simply comes across as too inauthentic to fashion into a people’s crusader. She is also surrounded by shiny happy people who are too closely associated with the elite set — members of the Katipunan Road university crowd, their nuns and the fancy European orders they are members of, those priests who look like they no longer honour their vows of poverty, and, a bevy of social media influencers who tweet and instagram their beach frolics and cocktail breaks in between contributing content to the “KakamPink” cause.
Finally there is all the noise the Yellowtards pump into the Philippines’ political chatter that, quite simply, are irrelevant to most ordinary Filipinos — woke noise like “human rights”, “gender equality”, and “press freedom”. All of these are actually well and truly ingrained in Philippine society. Nonetheless the Yellowtards turned them into campaign fodder just the same. Indeed, the colour pink itself supposedly symbolises this focus on woke issues that are seen to be “concerns” of people who have enough time and money on their hands to trump up such non-essentials as these.
Can the Yellowtards still shake their elitist character and come across as authentic stakeholders in the well-being of ordinary Filipinos? That will be hard for people who routinely retreat into their fortified gated enclaves and summon Consuelo the family cook to whip up their favourite pochero dish for dinner after a day of “house to house” campaigns and selfie-taking at Pook Ricarte. Good luck na lang, right?
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Its because Leni’s supporters tend to be educated, decent individuals who care for the country. Unfortunately thats the minority.
BBM supporters mostly are the masa who just want their Php200 pesos. Super cheap votes. Or retards like megget who are dumb and fall for fake news. Not exactly a good crowd to be in, right benigno? You clown.
Hence the door to door campaign. To bring enlightenment to the people. Most of which are receptive to the truth. Hindi nga sila ang kalaban ngunit sila ang pinaglalabanan.
“Its because Leni’s supporters tend to be educated, decent individuals who care for the country. Unfortunately thats the minority.
BBM supporters mostly are the masa who just want their Php200 pesos. Super cheap votes. Or retards like megget who are dumb and fall for fake news. Not exactly a good crowd to be in.”
– That’s because at least, some of the Leni’s supporters aren’t like you. Talking down to other voters/insulting their intelligence who doesn’t want to vote for Leni.
What do you expect? If you started being hostile to non-Leni voters, Did you really expect them to be nice to you? Not everyone is Megget or you as an example here. You start the fist fight, expect to get punch in the face. If you want to convince BBM supporters/Masa to vote for Leni, then don’t start unnecessary fights. Remember, supporters are what reflects the leader, if the supporters acting like a toxic and hateful mobs. Then don’t expect them to vote for your favored leader.
I agree. We must start conversations from a place of empathy. If we start the conversation in a hostile and antagonistic position, it will look like expecting a strong punch in the face and people will not vote for our preferred candidates.
You just proved the article’s premise. Congratulations!
If i am dumb, then leni is primordial soup.
It is BBM who is the real ELITISTA . For 95%++ of Filipinos, having the experience of riding an airplane in an international flight, even an economy seat, would be a most memorable and happy experience. But not for BBM who was accustomed to riding in First Class and Private Jets. An economy seat in an international flight would be TOO EMBARRASSING, according to him. See for yourself in this video. This is BBM in his own words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTOjBlfyYq0
Okay, so what’s wrong with having a private plane or going into first class, he CAN afford to get? Maybe he’s just not used to public transportation? All of politicians don’t even ride public planes or public vehicles. Having an opinion about what to ride doesn’t equate elitism. That’s like saying using a private car over public jeepneys and buses means elitism. That’s a bullcrap assumption.
@Gman
LOL. This statement is so dumb it made by brain hurt. Go back to grade school and learn the definition of elitism.
Marcos can afford first class thanks to all the money they stole.
Okay, genius. Tell me, the definition of elitism, you seem to know your stuff aside from flailing your arms all the time. I’ll be waiting.
@Darth M the wise
– Also define the difference between elitism and preference. Prove to me that your name “wise” isn’t just a name only and not “Darth M the trashtalker”.