The Philippines, land of the walking dead
“Shock and awe” satire is an exaggeration, a literary technique that magnifies meaning and provokes. One should not read it literally, or personally. Rather, one should think about what the author might mean, and laugh if you get the humor wedged here and there between the thoughts.
__________________
Mostly I don’t like zombie movies because they are gory, rather like the evening news on ABS-CBN, and they are scary, rather like eight Supreme Court justices who believe some humans are worth more than others.
But I could watch “Shaun of the Dead” over and over again. I can’t help but laugh through the gore, and laugh through the scares, because the sight gags and one-liners just rip, and even the music becomes a part of the gag as you can witness in this clip (contains violence and bad language!) set to the song “Don’t stop me now” by Queen.
Did you notice, the zombie they’re beating on looks a lot like Joey Salgado?
Some days I wish I had a pool cue.
Did you catch Shaun’s karate scissors kick, with sound, as he flipped up from the floor? Eat your heart out, Bruce Lee!
Did you seen all the brain-dead, ethically empty journalists pounding to get in through the windows?
I got to this matter of zombies by observing a few commenters here at the Society of Honor defend Vice President Binay and Gloria Arroyo and the Marcos family. And I read the ghoulish write-for-hire journalists who advocate on behalf of Vice President Binay and his dead-eyed spokespeople as they concoct mindless lies that try to redefine who is good and who is bad. It’s like these people live in a different world, a different mindset, a different reality. Values are upside down, inside out or seem not to exist at all. Bad is good, good is bad, slander is acceptable as a form of argument.
They make stuff up.
And so it struck me that there are zombies walking amongst us. All across the Philippines, they plod about, vacant eyed and aiming to suck our blood dry. Some comment on blog threads. Some are sister city mayors. Others work in Customs and the LTO, regular money-sucking bloodsuckers. Some are even in the Senate and on the Supreme Court. And, if I calculate right, about 90 percent of all lawyers either work for zombies or are them.
These creatures have lost their their conscience, their awareness of the pain caused by corruption and bad faith, the dirty bread they insist Filipino kids eat. I mean, they are not far from the empty-eyed, brain dead creatures populating the movie, are they?
Sometimes it seems like even the honest Philippine leadership is oblivious to the creatures wandering the streets devouring earnest and decent people.
But the creatures are there. They are there.
The Senate seems to be a lot like Shaun in this next vidio as that ethics-impaired body stumbles along unaware that zombies infest its ranks, and I’m not talking only about Senator Sotto. I suspect most of the Senate got its soul removed sometime in the dead of night. After all, the Senate never chairs its Ethics Committee, and it does not require a conscience to pass laws that benefit the privileged and keep ordinary people struggling in so many ways.
Here’s the Philippine Senate walking across the street for a soda oblivious to the corrupt around them:
Oblivious is the word of the day every day when it comes to ethical integrity hereabouts.
“Hear no evil, see no evil, aid and abet great evil.”
Did you catch the slip on the floor as Shaun closed the cooler door? The movie has a million of those little sight gags. Blood on the floor, obviously.
Did you notice Enrile playing the part of the zombie bum? Wonderful casting job.
The Master Zombie in our movie world . . . as we use word-pictures to draw caricatures of real people as a cartoonist would draw them in a political opinion page . . . would of course be Jejomar Binay. He can be seen coldhanding his way through crowds of poor people sucking out their soul and infecting them with empty space where their brains should be. I’d imagine his handshake is limp and dank.
Some might observe that it is like his heart, if there is one.
But among the crowd of morally brain-dead zombies, he is treated as a hero, praised, put on a pedestal, peddled to the rest of the nation as a masterful leader who will make the nation just like Makati. You know, where the entitled rule the roost and the poor are wedged into tight slums off to the side and the security guards are beaten and eaten by the already-dead. The nation will be called the Philippines, the Land of Impunity, the place where education doesn’t matter, skill doesn’t matter, truth doesn’t matter, justice doesn’t matter.
Only power and advantage matter.
Look for it at a movie theater near you next June.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Zombieland is the Philippines
Noynoy is Tallahassee and Mar is Columbus.
Is Grace the Resident Evil Alice?
Watch for the Walking Dead, Sheriff Grimes
He he he!
Some of the liberal party members are not exempt from this either, hell some of them are even more brain dead than others. They are just as adept (sometimes more so) at soul sucking as well.
Come to think of it, some of them are so nasty, they make Binay and his ilk palatable to certain segments of society.
Alas, this just boils down to a similar scenario of choosing the “lesser” evil.
P.S. Some of the biggest baddest and most deluded zombies are found in the religious sectors… they scare me more than the politicians.
Binay is not a Zombie by the way…. more like Nosferatu!
In terms of incompetence or corruption? Who do you consider “nasty”, and what were the circumstances of the bad behavior?
As long as perfection is the goal, it will always fall to us to pick the lesser evil. But I would stack the Philippine candidates on a par with, or in some cases, better than, the American candidates in terms of character and intelligence and, for one or two, experience.
At around 2am to 3am, in both Manila and Cebu (though not so much Cebu), Filipino zombies all hopped up on meth (shabu, or other exotic drugs from China), are plentiful (whether in the form of bums, good for nothings, or prostitutes).
I would argue they pose a national security risk, ie. save the Philippines, sure, but if they’re all hopped up on meth what’s the point. Yeah, it’s that bad.
On the other hand, the zombies metaphor here is more on the other side of the aisle, ie. Good vs. Evil, black and white, the old Us vs. Them bleacher type thinking… yay for us, boooooo for them–we represent good, the represent bad.
That’s why when it comes to zombie analogies, for survival, Us vs. Them (FOX News fans are zombies), or just simply for fun, I tend to prefer World War Z–a commentary on government ineptitude and American isolationism, examining survivalism and uncertainty.
Like Xenophon’s Anabasis is about “Us”, just us (the them is largely immaterial, how do we get through this together is the point).
“Readers can appeal for your reinstatement, but they will have to convince me it will bring a positive, constructive result. I would warn readers to use the name “Primer” when referring to you rather than nielsky so that their own comments don’t get sent to moderation.”
Like the Ten Thousand, we the readership represent the larger world concerned with the Philippines, ie. I’m concerned about China, as well as my colleagues who will be garrisoned over there soon (rotationally)–I’m not so worried about China when it comes to my colleagues, I’m more concerned with the Philippines’ corrupting essence (prostitution, corruption, crime, drugs, disease, man-made natural disasters).
I love the story of the Ten Thousand precisely because it balanced the Odyssey’s mythical lores–so bringing the two epics (Homer’s & Xenophon’s) together, I would describe the Philippines not filled with zombies but lotus-eating fools.
The point is that they can be awakened. And this where my appeal to Primer’s reinstatement comes in.
To do this, we need vigorous debates in these threads (and outside the virtual). Impassioned talks will usually involve personal jabs here and there. So those jabs need to be weighted with the substance presented. If, in the case of Primer, his counter points carry more weight, let the jabs go–we’re all big boys (and girls) here. Sometimes discussions get out of hand (I’m guilty of this in the past, no doubt will be in the future) a simple cool it from other readers or from Joe should suffice. Then warnings, then ban.
But don’t ban Primer simply for his opposing views, though impassioned. He’s no zombie, he’s part of Us, World War Z “Us” and Xenophon’s Ten Thousand “Us”. Like I’ve said two articles ago in which I equated Primer to an American stripper, appeal to his better side, that’s where he shines–that better side is his expertise in the Philippine bureaucratic process… though I also enjoy his different takes on things here.
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” — Gen. George S. Patton
Anabasis (Greek: Ἀνάβασις [anábasis] “An Ascent”/”Going Up”)
This is what we are trying to do here in these threads, in the hopes that it translates outside into the real world:
He was not banned for his opposing view, but for attaching them to demeaning remarks. Perhaps I expect too much. I expect VP Binay to arrive at the Senate with courage and candor and explain where the missing P1.4 billion went on the parking garage, not criticize the Senate as a kangaroo court, aid and abet the hiding of witnesses, accuse the independent Ombudsman of a political agenda, and generally toss slurs at everyone else. I expect Primer, when he says the Aquino Administration is corrupt, to support that with information, not change the argument, avoid the issue and begin to insult the challenger. It is a very serious accusation is it not? Enlighten us. When I walk away from my blog, day after day, with distaste in my mouth . . . grumpy, as Juana puts it . . . because this is not what I want to present to the Philippines, as to style, then something has to break.
We are all adults, I agree. And I insist on holding to the principles of discussion that make this the “go to” site in the Philippines . . . along with Raissa’s blog . . . for enlightenment. It is for others to rise to this standard, not for me to accept the blog going down . . .
“I expect Primer, when he says the Aquino Administration is corrupt, to support that with information, not change the argument, avoid the issue and begin to insult the challenger.”
Then that’s up to the challenger to point out that ad hominem=defeat (and I’m sure some of his colleagues and students, if he was in fact a professor of Classics, took note of those instances, rendering his expertise questionable).
I agree he did use his cloaking mechanism quite often. But aside from MRP, who you can’t really engage with (hard to know exactly what he’s talking about), at least Primer engaged (then maybe chose not to after awhile activating his cloaking device, but I felt that he’s been straight with me and I have more been disrespectful of him).
I would argue that having Primer as a piñata here, has shed more light to this black and white dichotomy. If we persist with this Good vs. Evil motif, having Primer on here has actually been a positive for the Good than not, as edgar lores pointed out in the Enrile thread.
If he persists on demeaning others (which I saw very little of), jameboy quoted something in Tagalog on the other thread, then that’s on him and his good name in academia & congress over there–he’s painting his side in a negative light, he’s painting himself, as one professor of Philosophy, as amateur.
I say give him a long rope and let’s see what he does with it.
He could be or could have been a professor of classics and/or a spokesman for a congressman but in the couple of exchanges I have had with him, I found him to be so incoherent, rambling and unable to keep track of key details and find that hard to believe. I actually feel a bit sorry for him either because he really mighthave some sort of handicap and if its really just all an act, the amount of effort it must take to put on this facade just so he can fit in asa pinata jester, village idiot and mascot. As far ax I am concerned, he is harmless and its difficult for me to take anything he says seriously if its intelligible or to be offended by it.
Could he then be impersonating the real Primer who is some sort of professor and chief of staff for congress? If so, then that’s another issue, my assumption here is that he is this man uncovered by Andrew, https://joeam.com/2015/08/04/postscript-to-the-2015-sona/#comment-129772
I agree. Any person can be what he’s not when provoked hard enough. And I like that Gen. George S. Patton quote applied to any thread here in the Society, or any blog thread I read for that matter.
I vote for the reinstatement.
Bert, if it was just me, I would be inclined to agree with you. But I am firmly convinced it should be JoeAms call as what is good for this blog is a delicate balance between laissez faire in the free exchange of ideas and active and orderly management of an environment that encourages and makes it safe for members to share their positions. I like the balance and the diversity he has establshed and it is not an easy task. It’s not very different from running an insane asylum and keeping the inmates peaceful yet happy and their faculties fully challenged without overstepping certain boundaries…hehehe!
When Joe bans, he doesn’t consult the readership. Primer, however, Joe’s putting it up to us to make a case for or against his reinstatement.
I think this particular blog is a great example of what happens when there’s no moderation (the laissez faire you’ve mentioned), https://joeam.com/2015/04/27/open-discussion-our-philippines/
That’s proof that we, the readership, can police our own.
I agree that was a wonderful extended conversation. That is before we ended up in Mr. Aquino’s SONA, and on the front page of the Inquirer, which put the blog into play, politically. Plus, some of the articles have been rather hard-hitting of late, politically speaking. I’ve made my decision. The purpose of the blog is to teach and learn, not as a place for agendas other than that. So he will remain suspended.
Caliphman expressed the editor’s job-description very well: https://joeam.com/2015/08/25/the-philippines-land-of-the-walking-dead/#comment-132789
It is not really an open forum. Raissa Robles provides an open forum for those who seek that.
“It’s not very different from running an insane asylum and keeping the inmates peaceful yet happy and their faculties fully challenged without overstepping certain boundaries…hehehe!”—caliphman
:), :), 🙂
Primer did not want to engage. His stance is I know better or I know something you don’t so you are wrong. In a sense it may be true but all conversations with him ends with something similar and doesn’t benefit anyone.
This is strange since he is no longer part of the admin so he could do something similar to what tiglao is doing and castigating the admin specifically which in turn is easily answered because of it’s specificity.
It is almost impossible to target clouds which I will daresay 90% of Primer’s assertions/positions are.
If Primer is banned, does it apply to Nielsky too? I don’t mind being insulted by him since I only retort back one consistent response on my view of corrupt men attacking Daan Matuwid.
I don’t know the circumstances why he’s banned?
Hope MRP is not banned? Haven’t read his verbose in last blog.
N. and Primer are the same person. MRP is not banned. When I give him counsel, he respects it. He does not insult other participants here, although does elsewhere. He is often original and literate and humorous in his observations. He is repetitive on his pet peeves, and fires off comments in waves, but . . . for me . . . is a part of the character of the site.
I would add that I have a hard time with people arriving, new to the site, with no understanding of the subjects and rules for discussion, and set out to dominate the dialogue as the great wisdom we’ve been missing until they got here. It squeezes others out, people who have been around and earned their place at the seminar table of equals.
There are people who come here with a definite agenda in mind, to justify, to defend the indefensible, not to participate but to dictate. The President’s mention of Joe in his last SONA had attracted a lot of them, they come and spread their venom and prejudice, as if in compliance with some marching orders coming from who knows where.
Some, like Primer deny such prejudice but you can read between the lines of their posts, deception is their game and quite bossy to boot, forgetting in so many instances that he is not the blog owner. Sir edgar proved it when he challenged him to retract three of his statements and he did not, so it was proven without doubt that he intends to deceive.
Why not be honest with his stand, if he is for Binay which his posts clearly shows, why not admit it even if he’s not formally with Binay’s organization. He is clearly for Enrile, Marcos, etc, but trying so hard to hide it, I try to engage him and he flies to another topic rich with accusations without elaborating or specifying, just generalizations usually mouthed by trolls.
I am trying to engage those with opposing views, (one commenter is right, it’s boring when it seems we are preaching to a choir) but he crossed the line by being too personal in his attacks even attacking the site itself which has been proven time and time again to be pro-Philippines and not pro-anyone as I try to be. Discussion, exchange of ideas, learning, I get these sans the insult and name calling. Add too much negativity and evil justification, and I get a headache.
I agree with Joe and I vote for instilling discipline – no reinstatement.
“I try to engage him and he flies to another topic rich with accusations without elaborating or specifying, just generalizations usually mouthed by trolls.”
Mary,
So let the record stand. If he is pro-Binay and doing such a bad job representing him, that’s on Primer. If Binay does win, then his people will know Primer to be less than amateur. If Roxas wins then his people will know Primer not only to be pro-Binay and pro-Marcos, but that he’s a second rate apologist.
Let’s see how far he can stretch his reputation.
Either way (if everyone’s correct in their assessment here) Primer will be painting himself into a corner. So why not leave him to it? Banning him sends the wrong message. Better to continue proving him wrong (as everyone’s doing already), than silencing him, no?
But for me his value is in the mindset of a mid-level bureaucrat, how is he hedging his bets, why is he doing what he’s doing, is he aware he’s only making himself look bad (and his side look bad, https://joeam.com/2015/08/19/the-supreme-court-ruling-on-enrile-shames-the-philippines/#comment-132118 ), etc. Like a puzzle.
We don’t have another Primer, so let’s keep him and dissect him further. He’s ours to play with, not the other way around.
He was not banned because of his opposing views, I think Joe is much too democratic to do that.
Consider Primer’s remarks “Para bang sumikat lang ito ng konti, eh kayo lang ang magagaling samantalang puro naman ‘strange’ to ‘weird’ ng mga palitan ninyo dito.” translated as: “It’s like you became slightly famous and you all acted as if you alone are great when your exchanges here are all strange and weird.” We let his deceit – not clarifying at the onset that Primer and n….sky is one and the same, the first his name, the latter his handle,- slide, but he continued to cross the line despite Joe’s gentle warnings.
He violated Joe’s policy of keeping the discussion in a higher level, to quote Joe:
“The agenda of the blog is the well-being of the Philippines, and the method is the “teaching and learning” along with respect for those with opposing points of view. I’m not clear what your agenda might be, but it appears disruption is a part of it, or else your values are so divergent from the mainstream of this community that the dialogue persistently turns negative.
Whatever the case, this relentless personal bickering is not the style of the blog. Been there, done that. No.”
and from part of Joe’s response to jameboy:
“I frankly don’t think Primer know how to argue without injecting diminution of the opponent into the conversation, and he feels entitled to advance his own views without objection. It is a form of impunity in action within the discussion thread. He disparages or taunts the best of the best here, the good of heart and mind.
At some point, I have to be unlike the silent in the Philippines who abet bad behavior, and just get it out of the discussion thread. Just as corruption needs to be cut from Philippine social norms. I can’t sit and watch the blog deteriorate into venom and animosity, in the guise of grand intellectual argument. It has nothing to do with the issue or the argument itself, as discussions here are often opposed and sincere. It has to do with respect for the product that we all shape. It ought to be forthright and it ought to be kind. Those ideals can co-exist.”
Too many times he was caught not completely reading the comments he is responding to, he just go on and on and on with his agenda. It’s hard to engage a person who is not on a listening mode.
We can all agree to disagree in a civil manner but when one becomes too obnoxious and grumpy, it’s another story.
I maintain my vote not to reinstate.
Primer is classic anti Aquino who suffered financially. He’s corrupt proven the moment he claimed on his reply to me that he never accepted freebies. I answered yes you are telling the truth because you took commissions from pork instead of freebies. He did not respond on that point. he is also guilty on teaching his children to lie on the source of his money. typical govt thief in my analysis of his response to my general insinuations
True.
“We don’t have another Primer, so let’s keep him and dissect him further. He’s ours to play with, not the other way around.” – hahaha…that’s a thought. keeping friends near and enemies nearer so we can know them… but then….sometimes it’s quite frustrating when talking to someone who is not listening, it’s like wasting time when other important topics deserves to be analyzed and dissected instead of discussions on the commenters’ personal traits. It’s just that sometimes it feels like he’s using us and this blog for what purpose he alone knows.
Anyway, am just one vote, let the others be heard, I’ll respect the majority voice. Let’s hear them and Joe will have the last say, after all, he’s the owner and administrator of this blog.
“. . . sometimes it feels like he’s using us . . .” Speculative. The blog irritates a lot of people, ultra-nationalists and opponents of the straight path among them. Gary Olivar attacks on Facebook now and then. Envy to left, envy to right. The blog is reaching too many people, and is speaking squarely into the mainstream of opinion-maker thinking. It needs to be tarnished. Brought down to size. That would explain Primer’s strange increase in criticism of JoeAm personally. The “who are you?” comment aimed at showing JoeAm as NOT on the same side as Filipinos. That Primer knows things that are “bad” about JoeAm, as if to intimidate. The Filipino quote you cite, clearly not aimed at JoeAm, but Filipino readers. The running down of other commenters. It almost seemed like a destruction campaign, and I’m glad you noticed it, too.
“hahaha…that’s a thought. keeping friends near and enemies nearer so we can know them… but then….sometimes it’s quite frustrating when talking to someone who is not listening”
Mary,
But keep in mind, you’re not trying to change his mind–he’s not listening, his mind is already made up.
We are not Primer’s audience, his comments on here are meant to be seen by his close friends and family, & past/present associates (hence no anonymity, assuming his IP has been consistent, confirming he doesn’t have drones working for him, as edgar suspected). Also he is writing for his supporters, pro-Marcos, pro-Binay, anti-Roxas, the anti-anti-corruption folks.
So every time, everyone here, shoots down his points and emasculates his ideas or point of view, Primer’s audience (not necessarily us) take note of that. That’s why his presence is important here, he is the other side. For me, the bureaucracy angle is what’s of value and for you guys the ability to shoot down the other sides’ ideas– and
to present to the general public the vibrancy of your side, while also showing Primer’s side, the seemingly convoluted terrain of the old ways of doing things.
Remember Ireneo was also fond of attacking Joe personally and he got around to it eventually, with our help he found his niche–he was basically the history, cultural guy from Bavaria. This was my hope for Primer, that he’d be our Philippine bureaucracy guy on here, as well as the counter-point.
When people are all agreeing, it really helps to have a guy that says, “You guys are wrong”. There’s value in that, and we’ve seen it in the resulting response to Primer–to value the ensuing response, you have to value the guy that elicited the response (whether by design–edgar‘s ‘double agent’– or lack of forethought).
Noted with thanks. Anyway, if Joe decides not to reinstate, we still have jameboy for a variety of opinions…sometimes…..hahaha…see the various threads on shaming of children of the corrupt. And I note, others drop by to offer opposing views, although most are not engaging. The trolls shoot and go…to collect payment? joke, joke…!
“…we still have jameboy for a variety of opinions…”
========
True, that’s me. Lol! Nothing personal just shaking the tree from time to time for some fruits or food for thought. 🙂
Wondering if trolls are paid per comment? Which would explain why some keep returning, like pesky mosquitoes, repeating much the same thing every time they post, and always trying to have the last word, however inane that last word may be. I imagine they resemble Gollum, pallid and hissing in the dark.
JoeAm
I love the way you described the movie “PHILIPPINE WALKING DEAD” Starring Jejomar Binay,Juan Ponce Enirle, the Senate and an entire crew of deadly corrupt politicians that roam the streets of Manila with equally corrupt band of corrupt lawyers who are always waiting for a chance to suck blood form the left overs of their corrupt bosses…………..revolting… makes me puke……
Go to the beach, or mountains, zorro. The zombies are generally in the cities.
Per PDI tweet- Here is another walking dead Congressman, Pidi Barzaga wanting Supreme Court to issue gag order on those criticizing SC bail decision on Enrile.
This Congressman wants to shut Joeam Blog.
LOL- he forgot the first amendment constitution. Just like those zombies Ayala Alabang Village officials ordering their homeowners not to criticize with posters the official decision of their homeowners association.
what’s kind of Walking Dead are Filipinos with power?
Onion Skin Zombies!
He he he!
Evil vs Good
In fighting between personnel in govt agencies has begun
Goods have rattled the nerves of Evils. Unfortunately Evil using dirty tricks to eliminate Good.
Evil LTO man shot fellow Good LTO
Evil Custom men faking illegal cargo embargo confusing Good custom men
Evil SC Justice filed complaint of unethical behavior against Good Justice
Evil corrupt VP files unethical behavior against Good Senator
Walking Deads are on rampage
Chief Grimes must send deputies
Joe, perfect time of the year to talk of zombies. Tis the inauspicious seventh month in the Chinese lunar calender the time when the unseen comes out to feast.
Careful, you’re starting to creep me out.
Another lawyer weighs in…
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/08/25/15/sc-stretched-self-too-far-accommodate-enrile
A very big thanks, Andrew…bless you!
I find this excerpt a very disturbing eye opener :
“Avila noted that Bersamin is the same ponente who allowed the Judicial and Bar Council to entertain the idea that Renato Corona could be appointed Chief Justice within the 2010 election ban.
“These are the same 8 justice who concurred with that decision,” he said.
He said the SC decision was only “overturned” when Corona was impeached and removed from office.”
I find it difficult to read all of the comments after the original blog. One of the things that has been helpful in the past is to skip anything written by certain individuals. This frequently saves me an hour or more, leaving time to read comments that add to the subject. I recommend it. Among other things it reduces the temptation to respond to the irrelevant, insignificant comments of these individuals. This prevents me from further wasting my time and also avoids giving attention to the writer, which is what I think he seeks, equating it with recognition of the value of his dubious arguments..It’s not unlike ignoring a fractious, annoying three-year-old.
“… helpful in the past is to skip anything written by certain individuals.”
this is a dynamic & practical criterion to use. I use it too. For the most part, JoeAm has a thicker skin than I have in both form & matter submitted by commenters. I have given my proxy to him. And yes, I do keep some reservations, non-negotiables if you will.
@David, @sonny, hey that makes three of us! Iessens my road rage when I read posts of individuals whose main agenda is to annoy.
I read everyones, granted I skim some, slowly read (and re-read) others. But my habit is to scan everyones comments. Then decide which to engage. If someone took the time to write, there’s usually a good reason, albeit quality of thought will differ.
Ditto.
Somehow, one of my target audience for my comments are the new readers.
This site became more popular since the SONA mention so much so that more readers and opinion makers are curious and stop by. I feel that if a comment stand UN-rebutted, then it follows that most agree, hence has the tendency to appear to be the prevailing sentiments on the issue of the moment.
I read before that a commenter is printing articles from this site as well as the ensuing discussions for dissemination to far flung areas not accessible to internet connection, for information drive and also for points of discussion. I think his name is Jerome, if I recall him right, may his tribe increase. If others would be patient enough to do this, the masa will be enlightened more and thus, will be able to vote wisely. A little bit here and there will help.
The country’s outline shows what kind of people living in a country walking towards Vietnam with a cane wearing diaper and outsize hydrocephalic head. The Filipinos are walking dead alright. Honasan, Ramos and Enrile supported despot Ferdinand Marcos. They are forgiven. They are condoned. Their deeds are forgotten. They became Senators and President just like Trillanes and General Emilio Aguinaldo except Jejomar Binay thru the power of the Supreme Court that bailed out Enrile.
The Senators welcomed his wisdom. The elected Senators wanted to know how he does it. They wanted to know the tricks of the trade.
Honasan, Ramos and Enrile should have been incancerated after EDSA. I did not say EDSA with a Revolution because I do not believe it was a Revolution. I do not think the Dead Filipino Walking protected HRE. They were not there to protect Marcos. They were not there to Revolt. It was entertainment like Justice in the Philippines has become a primetime drama.
I cry for you Philippines. Dead Filipino Walking doesn’t even have decent VLog about their country and their street food. If ever there is a VLog it is more bugal-bugal than serious. Their food is plain boring unlike in Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Burma and others it is a feast to the eyes and to the stomach. Thai street food has presentation, plethora of greens over main dish and gazillions of condiments cooked to order. Nothing like that in the Philippines. Rice&stinkyAdobo. Nothing more. If you asked for more, they give you the stare that stab.
Filipinos are not smiling people. They do not smile at all. They do not smile in America and they do not smile in the Philippines. I just wonder where they got the idea it is a land of smiles. NO! NO! NO! They do not smile. They smile if you are a foreigner. They only smile to the foreigner. They smile to me because I look different.
These Filipinos do not hand over your change American-style. They throw it on the counter for them to scoop up.
I love you Filipinos but loving you is not easy. It is a love-hate relationship. Befriending them means befriending my pockt. They expect me to take them to restaurants and pay for it.
What are you going to do Filipinos. Stand up. Tall and proud. Wake up! Walk alive.
“They were not there to protect Marcos. They were not there to Revolt. It was entertainment like Justice in the Philippines has become a primetime drama.”
LOL @ “entertainment”.
The most committed wins.
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR: It’s good that President Aquino stepped in to snuff the balikbayan box flare-up,
I do not know about “balikbayan box flare-up”. What is the buzz here. Why in the world would they impose tariff (as I understand from Notes From the EDitor) on boxes? OFWs are ECONOMIC HEROES. Without OFWs there is no Philippine Economy to talk about. 48% of the Filipinos rely on OFWs. 12% of the working population are abroad that supports 3 members of household of each OFW. Are they nuts? OFWs-without-Benefits !!! That is soooo S2P.
Balikbayan brightens up Dead-Walking-Households. They become alive. It put smiles in their unsmiling faces. The smell of America wafting out of the box when opened. The chocolates. PSP. Wii. Second hand hand me down outgrown clothes and dresses. Spam. Carne Norte. Canned goods from soup kitchens.
I did not read about “balikbayan flare-up”. I stopped reading Philippine News Entertainment for the past week after Enrile bailed out.
Bureau of Customs is protector of the Custom of Corruption. Only in the Philippines.
OK. I found the news.
““Kung hindi prohibited bakit ka matatakot? Kung iyan ay hindi dutiable, bakit ka matatakot?” Lina said in an interview with DZMM.”
(If nothing prohibited why afraid – Lina said)
It is already a given Filipinos are theives. The more they are thieving if they work in Bureau of Customs. Once opened, Goodwill and Thrift store clothes, dresses and shoes fly out of the box.
How naive and lame this Lina is. Nope! He is not insensitive! Nope! He did not handle it poorly. THIS IS A SHOW HOW HE IS NOT IN TUNE WITH THE PEOPLE. Lina lives in a different world. Lina can use people’s money to fly to Hong-Kong and shop and his balikbayan box is never opened because he is LINA !!! So does Kris. So does the Mestizo class. WHY PICK ON THE BROWNED-SKIN INDIGENOUS DISCRIMINATED FILIPINOS? WHY? WHY?
No wonder Filipinos are catatonic and gave up hope. They are alive on the outside, dead inside. Oh, Poor Filipinos. Oh, poor my dear Filipinos. Why God has forsaken you people. It is time to give up hope on God.
*******
ON PRIMER
1. To me, Primer represents the Shadow.
1.1. In Jungian psychology, the Shadow is the dark side of the personal and collective psyche. It is one of the major archetypes of the Self, such as the persona and the anima. It is predominantly negative and embodies those emotions and impulses such as selfishness, greed, anger, delusion and the striving for power.
1.2. The Shadow is the wicked Mr Hyde that takes over the body and soul of the saintly Dr Jekyll.
1.2. In our country, the presence of the Shadow is and has been overwhelming. The greatest presence was during the Marcos regime. It menaced the Cory administration. It was virulent in the administrations of Erap and GMA. And even while partially impotent in the administrations of Ramos and PNoy, it continues to bubble and cause trouble as it tries repeatedly to rise to the surface.
If Binay wins, the Shadow’s rule will be like a total eclipse of the sun.
2. In terms of attitude and argumentation, Primer has alternated from seeming agreeableness and even enthusiasm to superciliousness, pretension, pedantry, obfuscation and deflection.
3. In terms of reactions, it is interesting to note the different styles of the honourable members of the Society. It ranges from silence, to diplomatic tact, to reasoned arguments, and to direct confrontations.
4.1. Andrew, whose moral instincts are formidable, has not directly engaged Primer. As with Josephivo, he knows it is a futile task to argue with Primer, and these two would rather concentrate on their efforts of laying out their insights.
4.2. NHerrera has been diplomatic.
4.3. Mary, Gian, Jameboy and Mike have patiently engaged Primer with reasoned arguments. And as one commenter noted, Mary has been on the winning end. Not to belittle their efforts, but trouncing Primer is like a scoring a knockout in the featherweight division because… there is hardly any truth in Primer.
4.4. Caliphman, LCpl_X, Johnny, Chempo and I have been confrontational.
4.4.1. My reaction, like Johnny’s and Caliphman’s, is visceral: I can abide fools but not deceivers. A fool argues out of ignorance, but a deceiver, a trickster, argues for a purpose born of delusion.
4.4.2. In terms of views and arguments, Lcpl_X is most entertained by Primer. I am mostly annoyed – but not to the point of Juana’s grumpiness — and sardonically amused.
4.4.3. What strikes me, apart from the supercilious posturing, is the banality of Primer’s perspectives and arguments. One sees these in the unrelenting negativity of columnists and bloggers in news and social media. There is the absolute denial of what is good, and the absolute denial of what is bad.
5. For this reason, the debate has to be framed as a fight between good and evil. One can frame it in terms of enlightenment and ignorance (or delusion), but the weight and consequences of the Shadow has been far too long and far too great.
6. The question arises: Should one suppress the Shadow? I am afraid not. One cannot totally suppress the Shadow. It is impossible… because the Shadow lives in all of us.
6.1. Should one give it free rein then? If there were hopes of redeeming Primer, I would say yes… for humanitarian reasons (just like the Supreme Court decision on Enrile’s bail). As we have seen, Primer has tried to give the impression of changing the location of his spots, but his coloring always reveals itself at the end.
6.3. Should one view Primer as a vaccine to strengthen the Society? I don’t believe so. The ethical quality of the members is already very strong. The nuances of the quality vary – such as on the recent issues of the balikbayan boxes and shaming – and I submit that the refinement of the quality is a proper task of the Society.
6.3.1. Should we play Primer like a cat with a mouse as Lcpl_X has suggested? I would say yes… if we have the time and energy to fritter away. However, in my view, all discussions with Primer will ultimately boil down to his character. And he becomes the issue rather than a mere proponent of a view.
6.3.2. It is not as though there are not other forums wherein Primer can express his views and spread his poison.
6.4. I have tried in vain to identify which of Primer’s persona is Dr Jekyll which Mr Hyde. All identities as I have noted share the same wide dark streak.
6.4.1. Based on my partial analysis of one blog, my tentative conclusion is that Mr Hyde is not based on identity but on day and time. He predominates on all days of the week… except on Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm.
6.4.2. If there is a way of quarantining him on all days and hours except on those two days and between those two hours, then I am for partial reinstatement.
6.4.3. For myself and at the end of the day, there are more important issues to tackle, and better ways to spend time. Thumbs down for me.
*****
I really enjoyed, and appreciate, your examination of the case. Indeed, interacting with Primer was as multi-faceted as you suggest, and fascinating for it, but not when it becomes a repeating theme, thread to thread, within the blog. There is work to do, forthrightly and along the terms that anyone who participates must agree to, dealing with respect toward others.
@ Edgar, you should have been a brain surgeon!
🙂
My apologies! I don’t know why my email add got interchanged with my handle.
I meant no deception whatsoever. Maybe this is what happened to Primer?
Variety is the spice of life, we can’t always agree to agree. But when that “variety” gets to attack the blog site owner, who has been kind to him, gave him all the leeway and published one of his articles without changing any anything, then that would be the time the blog owner should put his foot down. ” Pinatira ka na nga sa bahay, pero dinuduruan mo pa ang sahig at mga nakatira sa loon ng bahay. Tao ka pa ba?”
6.4.1. Based on my partial analysis of one blog, my tentative conclusion is that Mr Hyde is not based on identity but on day and time. He predominates on all days of the week… except on Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm.
Agreed on all counts, but confused on the above, edgar. The only 2 hr blocks I’m familiar with are classes–and he’s indicated that he is some sort of professor. I’m curious what school now, and if gian can “target” Primer’s students–if he’s planning to raise an army of clones (ie. the Clone Wars), then maybe worthwhile to ID those clones and have those clones counteract their Sith Lord (we are the Jedi council in this analogy).
“The purpose of the blog is to teach and learn, not as a place for agendas other than that. So he will remain suspended.”
In the end, Joe’s made his decision.
*******
Primer teaches? That is great cause for alarm.
*****
I thank God for giving you the font of wisdom and good sense that seems never to dry, and I thank you for sharing them with us.
er… run dry
Edgar, For me it’s a thumbs up. It’s a good read.
I see Primer in 2 shades. At times in reasonable prose, other times in that peculiar pompous way which seems stylish but difficult to understand. I feel the pompous style shows his supercilious side that surely must have instilled apprehension in some who may have wanted to respond.
I’m a very simple person as you will note my simple English style. Most times I walked through Primer’s obfuscation and outright denials guided by a reasonable man’s mind which I’m thankfully blessed with, a mind anchored on simple ideals of right and wrong, good and evil, ideals that were nurtured by good (and very poor) parents and proper education. But I dread to think of those people out there who cannot distill Primer’s comments and walk away believing in many of those distorted pronouncements.
For me I have no problems with his dissenting views except that the negativities overwhelm me and I am troubled that his intent has no congruence with the objective of Joeam’s blog, namely the well-being of the Filipino people.
Here’s something for those we were fighting over Fr Aquino’s credentials.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/17869/value-of-a-non-lawyer%E2%80%99s-opinion-on-purely-legal-issues
As for the Primer case, I neither care for his reinstatement nor his permanent banishment. If Joe or the group decides to allow him back, so be it. If not, then life goes on. In any case, I had already made a prior decision not to converse with him when his ban took effect.
As Edgar noted, I have not engaged him directly, specially after promising a rebuttal of his first piece (the President’s SONA). That’s because as many of you have noted, his writing style is so obfuscated (either deliberate or not) that makes it so tiring and impossible to discuss. You would end up trying to clarify a lot and as we have seen happen, he has an “out” when you misunderstand him – and that is due to his obfuscated style.
I guess it is really impossible to have a continuing conversation with people coming from an opposite camp without it degenerating into personal attacks or insults.
But I do have a suggestion how to provide an opposition voice here. From time to time, Joe can pick out a column of a reputable writer, one who can write and communicate clearly and post the link here. Then let the Society have a go at it. Examples: Ben Diokno in Businessworld writes very well-written critiques of economic/budgetary policy. Malou Tiquia in Manila Times is very critical of the administration in her writings. But these are all issue-based and specific, not ramblings or convoluted writings. These are real-world intellectuals, and they can all be clearly understood.
That’s an excellent idea, andrew. Thanks.
I agree that the record of the Arroyo 8 rulings prove that they are walking dead zombies,
“Just consider the case of former President Joseph Estrada. Choosing whether he was granted absolute pardon, which will negate liability, or conditional pardon, which will reinstate the criminal penalty for plunder in case of violation, the Supreme Court chose absolute pardon – a score for impunity.” – MEL STA.MARIA