Tuesday, December 6, 2011

President Aquino and the Get Real Critics


Critics are essential but best taken with a grain of salt.  That means don't assign too much credibility to what they opine. Critics go to a high-class restaurant, sample the cuisine and write a column in the newspaper about the meal. Then the next day they spin by "In and Out Burgers" to get a fix of great fatty flavors.

They stand at a bar in the wine tasting room sipping the cabernet, allowing it to roll softly on the palate, inhaling the aromatic flavors on a slow inward breath and spitting the residue into a pot. They write their findings in a log and give the wine a numerical score. Not bad. 88. But the one time they tried to make wine it tasted like vinegar.

They saunter into the art show, the unveiling of a young new artist. They write their column in the "Lifestyle" section of the daily rag, criticize the coldness of the artist's stroke and absence of passion and upend the kid's future. Never mind that they last held an oil brush at age 9 when someone gave them a paint by the numbers kit.

They awaken to President Aquino's arrest of former President Arroyo and rush to the computer to write a blog calling him vindictive. When someone comments that Ms. Arroyo abused the public trust and belongs in jail, they call her "empty headed", displaying a venom that is worse than "vindictive", personal condemnation of someone they don't even know.

Free speech is a protected right and even hypocrites, blowhards and incompetents have a role to play in a democratic society. Until they become a menace to others with their demonizing and harassment of people who are working constructively within the system.

I used to live in Los Angeles so I've followed the Occupy Movement there. The Mayor tried a different approach, non-confrontational. But after a couple of months, the campout became unseemly. Scruffy homeless people and young idlers took over the tent town and turned downtown Los Angeles, up near City Hall, into a squatter's village. The police had to turn a deaf nose to the distinct odor of illegal marijuana wafting through the air. Not to mention garbage and body odor.

The Mayor eventually had enough. The protestors had been given a chance to articulate their message and the "temporary residences" were becoming a hazard to the public's right of passage and well-being. The Mayor issued an order for campers to vacate. The Occupiers defied the order and, as police moved in, the protestors ran around shouting "we are peaceful, we are peaceful!" . . .as if their entire ideological message had narrowed to the notion that America is a brutal police state.

No. Syria is a brutal police state.

American police, like American soldiers, have a tough job. They deserve our unwavering support and our ability to look past individual cases of poor judgment to see the honor, the danger, the valor and the importance of what they do, as a force. I dislike it immensely when the Occupy Movement tries to demean the police in every city across the land. It’s the same as if they gave the finger to soldiers who risk their lives in Afghanistan.

Anarchy, for sure, wears a very ugly mask.

In Los Angeles, the police expediently swept everyone and everything into its proper container . . . jail or trash bin . . . and the Occupy movement took one more step toward irrelevance for flaunting the values  that frame a decent society.

And if Filipinos such as Ilda and Benigno and BongV can run a better country than President Aquino, I'd suggest they saddle up the electoral horse and ride. Their candidate didn't even have the capacity to win the election in 2009, which gives you some idea of the muffball they backed.

So now they are reaching deep down into their strident souls to paint President Aquino as incompetent and vindictive. Belittling the President is their agenda, their obsession. It is their reason for being.

As with soldiers and police, I believe the President deserves our unwavering support and our ability to look past the decisions we might judge erroneous to see the valor and the danger (to us if he fails) and the importance of what he does.

I think relentless criticism that undermines the leader of the nation, with no intent other than that destruction, is shameful. It weakens the nation. I feel that way about U.S. Republicans, and I feel that way about the Get Real vendetta.

Vendetta.

It's another V word.

Tell me again, exactly how is that term is to be distinguished from "Vindictive"?

And explain to me why I should attach "honor" to a vendetta to undermine the Chief of State.

33 comments:

  1. Excerpts from the article "Ten reasons why Filipinos blame Gloria Arroyo for everything"

    http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/12/ten-reasons-why-filipinos-blame-gloria-arroyo-for-everything/

    3. Most Filipinos are actually angry with themselves, not with GMA. Underneath that arrogance is a people who are clueless as to why the country continues to be plagued by corruption and lack of progress. They don’t realize that it is the people’s lack of attention to how public servants do their jobs that is the reason why public funds gets mismanaged. In other words, people’s apathy and indifference to how the country is being run is the real cause of corruption and not GMA.

    4. Most Filipinos need a diversion. They’ve got nothing going for them. In the case of PNoy for example, he needs to divert people’s attention away from his lack of leadership skills and lack of vision for the country’s future. It is beginning to be quite obvious to a lot of Filipinos that his only agenda for the entire duration of his term is to prosecute GMA. PNoy seems to think that he can simply continue to ride upon GMA’s economic gains while blaming her during his term.

    5. Most Filipinos are suckers for drama. This is why they would rather believe hearsays or “tsismis” than facts. It doesn’t help that GMA was said to be not in good terms with some stakeholders of mainstream media. Allegations of GMA’s criminal activities probably gave them huge profits every time they printed stories of her “crimes”.

    6. Most Filipinos are addicted to instant gratification. Instant gratification describes the short-term satisfaction gained from impulsive behaviour. And some of the things that can give Filipinos instant gratification are initiatives like “people power” revolutions and habits like defying the rule of law. It is much easier and quicker to get instant results when you throw the rulebook out of the window. But there are grave consequences when using shortcuts like defying the law as an option at getting something done. Most people have not realized it yet but removing an elected leader unconstitutionally the first time already set a dangerous precedent. It gave people excuse or reason to justify doing it again and again. Marcos, Erap and now the Supreme Court.

    7. Most Filipinos are ignorant of their rights. 25 years after Edsa, Filipinos still struggle with their knowledge of what freedom is about. They don’t seem to know how to use their so-called freedom responsibly. This is evident in how some Filipinos keep throwing false accusations against their opponents left and right without thinking of the consequences. This is evident in how PNoy keep saying that some members of the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

    Some Filipinos are even ignorant of the law and individual rights, which is precisely the reason why they are gullible enough to believe people who claim to be doing the “righteous” thing like when DOJ secretary Leila de Lima claimed she was looking after the “national interest” in defying the temporary restraining order of the Supreme Court.

    8. Most Filipinos are beholden to celebrities and sons and daughters of so-called “heroes”. If you don’t have a celebrity gene, you could end up the bad guy. But what’s so dysfunctional about most Filipinos’ way of thinking is that they keep voting into office the relatives of the public servants they say are corrupt (the Marcos’s, the Estradas, and the Arroyos among others) and most of their preferred lawmakers are showbiz personalities or are sporting heroes. Which is why precious time and taxpayer’s money are spent on trivial stuff like the proposal to rename Edsa to Cory Aquino Avenue."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ilda, good of you to visit. No where in your list are conceivable positive reasons. Filipinos are tired of powerful people ripping them off being an important one. I do agree your stated reasons are frequent flaws in Filipino reasoning, and possibly why people are so excited about the real-life drama. The role of the media, which thrives on sensationalism, also contributes to the irrational drama. I think none of the stated reasons is the reason Filipinos, through their government, placed Ms. Arroyo in custody.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much for giving us publicity. I'm glad we still provide inspiration for your blog. ;-)

    BTW, you forgot to include Ben Kritz on your list. He writes for GRP as well and is also very critical of PNoy. In fact, he is even more so than me. His recent article about the economy that went viral was very biting. I can detect a certain bias when you excluded him from your list. Is it because he is a fellow American? ;-)

    I bet you've already read it but here's the link anyway:

    An Economic Report from the Republic of Noy’s Brain

    http://weatheronneptune.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/an-economic-report-from-the-republic-of-noys-brain/

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Joe: Actually, the GRP crowd don't call dissenters "empty-headed." They call them "idiots," "Yellow Zombies," "Yellow Hordes" and "Yellowtards." For the GRP crowd, dissenting opinion is synonymous to being pro-Noynoy. No ifs and buts.

    Instead of wasting your time on those trolls, just feel sorry for them. For all we know, they are actually nobodies in real life. They're probably unemployed and if they do have jobs, their co-workers probably consider them as weirdos and avoid them as a result. So they turn to the Internet for attention and validation.

    If you'll ask me, though, I really wish that they get a life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ilda, Ben has always been straight with me. He has never questioned my character or motives in instances when we disagreed. And the fact he is American indeed pertains to my argument here, but not for bias. But because I am making the point that Get Real is traditionally Filipino in its approach, knocking others down to appear higher in esteem and brilliance.

    Anon, the specific comment I read was "empty-headed", and I know the other aspersions are common. I wish they'd get a life, too.

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  6. "I can detect a certain bias when you excluded (BenK)from your list. Is it because he is a fellow American? ;-)"

    What a crybaby. If Ilda can't come up with a halfway decent rebuttal then she should just shut up.

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  7. Joe,

    Good work on calling out these false intellectuals. Their continued support for GMA has exposed them for what they really are: SHILLS.

    So lets just sit back and relax as the Get Real/Anti Pinoy crowd ruin themselves by defending GMA. It is quite hilarious really. I am sure a lot of people (MLQ3, Cocoy, Manny, etc.) are all laughing at Starbucks now :)

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  8. Benign0, Ilda and a group of Anti-Pinoy and GetReal people basked in their pompous assertion that they have the correct recipe for a successful nation state. Only that their concept of that state operates in a vaccum and the fictionalize institutions can be run by them at starbucks using their keyboard as they savor their capuchino in a cartoon glass.

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  9. I hate politics. Just recently I was dragged into politics in the year of benign0-the-Turd Vs. Dick Gordon.

    There really is nothing wrong with politics, IT IS THE ELECTORATES. The citizens. The bureaucrats. The haughty-snooty-englsichtzes-snobs. The tisoys. The Tisays.

    Only when citizens blame themselves for electing a bummer of elected officials instead of blaming those that they elected. Only when citizens realize that they have been had by biased Philippine Media pushing for their candidates for their own personal and business agenda. Only when citizens know that EDSA's real revolutionaries were the first-responding balut vendors, Bar-B-Q vendors and the osyosos ...

    That they'll be proud again.

    ReplyDelete
  10. @ Expat, jcc34 and Mariano: Nice points you have there.

    @ Joe: Nice work standing up against the GRP/AP bullies.:-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks anonymous... :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's easy for Ilda to label anti-GMA people here in the Philippines as "idiots" because she lives in a country where politicians voluntarily resign if ever they get involved in a scandal. Ilda doesn't have to put up with crooks robbing the country right before the people's very eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Joe, Jcc, Anon,

    The question should not be why one is anti-GMA.

    The question should be: why should someone (like Ilda, Benign0, BongV) be PRO-GMA???

    Even if you don't like Noynoy, I don't see why any "intellectual" should be PRO-GMA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are not Pro-GMA... they are Anti-Aquino.

      Benign-0 promoted it, right after Marcos. That mockery on the name!

      Delete
  14. Expat, that is a very good point. Intellectual . . . for GMA. Several concepts come to mind. Incongruity, vacuous, desperate, scraping the bottom of the rationalization barrel . . .

    ReplyDelete
  15. Expat,

    A shade of "Few Good Men" lines.

    Demi Moore: Why do you hate them so much?

    Kevin Polack: Why do you love them so much?

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Joe

    Nah, that's too lame. Just because you know Ben doesn't mean his criticism of PNoy is more valid than ours. And we've never questioned your motives. The fact that you can't seem to stop writing about us proves that you're the one who keeps questioning our motives.

    Accusing us of running some kind of propaganda has become such a generic claim for Aquino supporters. Is being a critic too simple for you guys? You have such a wild imagination.

    I guess it is easier to dismiss because you don’t have to think too much about what we are saying.

    You surprise me though. I thought you would be calling for respecting the constitution considering you are an American. I guess you have gone Pinoy. ;-)

    Cheerio!

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Expat

    What makes you think we are supporting GMA? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Anonymous

    We are always happy to provide material for bloggers who run out of things to write about.

    It's quite flattering, really. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. "Bullies". I like the sound of that. :D

    ReplyDelete
  20. See? POLITICS drives FILIPINO bloggers into Frenzy. POLITICS is like RELIGION, neither right nor wrong.

    Filipino bloggers, in their absence and grasp of economics and science, delve into politics. Because politics are based on gossips and conjectures and finger-pointings.

    Why Filipinos treat POLITICS as co-equal to Chaos Theory is beyond my brain to comprehend.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Please read:
    http://www.flayme.com/troll/angler.shtml

    ReplyDelete
  22. Joe I didn't know those pathetic kooks are still around and still unable to cope with the beating they got last election. I remember Benigno, Bong V, and Ilda from the defunct Filipino Voices blog. A piece of work, those guys.


    By the way, do they still troll their own blog and get into arguments with made-up commenters? Would you know how I can send boxes of Prozac or Ambien to them?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Truthiness from the Get Real asylum

    1. “They don’t realize that it is the people’s lack of attention to how public servants do their jobs that is the reason why public funds gets mismanaged. In other words, people’s apathy and indifference to how the country is being run is the real cause of corruption and not GMA.”

    Blame the victim, right? If your wallet is stolen or your bag is snatched it is your fault. You invited the thief because you are inattentive, because you weren’t paying attention to what is going on around you. Brilliant insight guys!!! Those who don't lock their doors should be thrown in jail because they are encouraging criminality.

    2. “Most Filipinos need a diversion. They’ve got nothing going for them.”

    What kind of generalized truthiness is this? The fact is everybody, including those who have a lot going for them, looks for a diversion in one form or another. Show me someone or some people who do not have a need for diversion and I’ll show you benigno, ilda, and bong v. Three people so obsessed with their obsessions they feel no need to chill or find an occasional positive diversion.

    3. “Most Filipinos are suckers for drama.”

    If by “drama” GRP means “an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances” then most living human beings will plead guilty to the charge. Humanity also needs comedy, but not the comedy provided by the three stooges from GRP.

    4. “Most Filipinos are addicted to instant gratification.”

    Again another truthiness to support a false assumption. Addiction to instant gratification is a weakness that afflicts most humans. Isn’t instant gratification the fuel of the multibillion advertising industry? Isn't instant gratification a reason why the credit card business is so profitable? How the hell did instant gratification become unique to the Filipino?

    5. “Most Filipinos are ignorant of their rights.”

    No because people know when their rights are being violated. People don’t need to be told they have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because those rights are self-evident. What some people don’t know is how to defend their rights against those who make a living out of undermining other people's rights.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Some more excerpts from the article "Ten reasons why Filipinos blame Gloria Arroyo for everything"

    "1. Most Filipinos think that blaming the late former President, Ferdinand Marcos is so passé so they have moved on to GMA. A quarter of a century after Edsa, the Aquinos and their supporters cannot keep blaming the original “bad guy” because blaming Marcos after all these years will highlight the fact that there was nothing significant about the so-called “people power” revolution that happened in 1986 to begin with. It becomes funnier when you hear them say, “GMA is worse than Marcos” because they don’t realise that this is the same as saying, “We were better off during the Marcos years”.

    2. Most Filipinos need to blame someone for the lack of progress in their own personal lives. They might still be stuck doing the same dead-end job or in the case of some, still stuck waiting for government handouts.

    9. Most Filipinos are still looking for a hero. The people who voted for him thought they found a hero in PNoy. But PNoy actually thought he could get some direction on how to run the country from the people. Both are getting lost in the process of looking at each other for clues on how to get to the quickest way to the “tuwid na daan” or straight path.

    10. Most Filipinos still believe in “angels” and “demons”. This is unfortunately a legacy of peoples’ belief in superstition. Like those who believe in witchcraft, some will believe “evil” stories involving GMA even if these lack any basis or evidence to back up the claim. Because some things are very difficult to accept like the reality that they are also accountable for their own lives, some Filipinos would look at their problems, shrug these off and say that things happen for a reason because of interventions by “The Adjustment Bureau” or some heavenly being. Never mind that some things like politicians getting away with criminal activities happen because of their own negligence or lack of vigilance."

    ****

    Sorry for the delay in pasting the rest. Joe's site does not allow more than 4000 charaters in the comment box :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Is Ilda Subliminal Messenger? Is Ilda The Thinker ? Is Ilda Renato Pacifico ? Or Ilda read all of the above commentators and made it into one cohesive perfeckt englsichtzes ?

    Did Renato Pacifico's AKA Subliminal Messenger AKA The Thinker AKA The One usually deleted comments were read by Ilda after all before it gets deleted because of "HAWR! HAWR! HAWR!", "HA! HA! HA!" and "tra-la-la-la-s" and other toxic corrosive englsichtzes usage ?

    What took Ilda to post these which Renato has posted aeons ago ? HA! HA! HA! Isn't Renato Pacifico Great ?

    I wonder where he is now. I'm trying to emulate him which Ilda emulated his glint of wisdoms.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey, yo, ILDA If you like Subliminal Messenger, The Thinker, Renato Pacifico and The One comments you may like this, too !!!! HA! HA! HA!

    So, what happens if ever Carona steps down ? THIS WHAT WILL HAPPEN

    1. benign0-the-Turd will appoint a Rubber Stamp Chief Justice;
    2. benign0-the-Turd will again push for Truth Commission;
    3. it goes to Arroyo-Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court again;
    4. the majority of Arroyo-Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court deny the Truth Commission again;
    5. benign0-the-Turd will train his sight on the Arroyo-Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court justices again;
    6. benign0-the-Turd will castigate the Arroyo-Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court Justices again;
    7. benign0-the-Turd will force the resignation of the Arroyo-Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court again;
    8. Arroyo-Rubber-STamp Supreme court resigns;
    9. benign0-the-Turd appoints his own Rubber-Stamp Supreme Court;
    10.The Truth Commission gets appoved !
    11.Hacienda Luisita decision is reverse !
    12.The Hacienda Luisita becomes slaves again !

    NEAT AIN'T IT ? If a Philippine President did not like the decision of Supreme Court they force them to resign and replace it with another Rubber-STamp Supreme Court

    If a Philippine President did not like the constitution, he/she designs his own constitution to their liking.

    PHILIPPINES IS SO WONDERFUL. IT IS FULL OF INTELLIGENT PEOPLE. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SOOOO IN DEMAND ABROAD AS MAIDS, CAREGIVERS, BUSBOYS

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. Gloria is blamed for everything because in the Philippine Dal-Dal Pagarparings democracy it is very easy to point accusations without evidences. Just gather these monkey journalists make pagarparings and dal-dal and once it is published they have a case and the Filipinos will most likely believe in it as true.

    ReplyDelete
  29. "Filipinos are still looking for a hero" - ILDA

    FALSE. Filipinos have found their heroes already. Kindergarten drop-out, Lt Col, Doctor of Humanities, Congressman, Boxer-par-excellance MANNY PACQUIAO.

    It is a good choice because this time Filipinos has spoken. Jose Rizal was picked by the AMericans as Philippine National Hero. This time it is the Filipinos that picked.

    And the choice is right for the meantime being.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Filipinos are intelligent people. They pick a president shoved by Philippine Media. When the going gets rough, they do not blame themselves but the president they elected.

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  31. hehehehee...

    http://jcc34.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/when-the-crooks-invoke-the-rule-of-law/

    ReplyDelete
  32. I luv you

    MarianoRenatoPacifico

    I luv gays....

    ReplyDelete

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