Roy Tang

the calm before the storm

I was thinking along those same lines myself… :(

From what I recall a good number were busy making sure their children and extended families were safe and accounted for (picking them up from dormitories, etc), others (mostly those in government) were busy securing their assets (and allegedly also the govs assets sa mga taga accounting/ cashier depts) aside from also keeping their families safe. Were your parents part of the demonstrations or were they with you?

Same thoughts here. Are we now expecting an FQS? Huwag naman sana. History repeats, but sometimes with different twists. Until we learn.

Disclaimer: not saying these are the last days of anything nor claiming to be one of those out in the streets. Just wondering out loud about the indifference towards the ones out making noise

Maybe this time we've raised our voices early enough

baka pwedeng hatiin na lang ang pilipinas sir? eh kung gustong gusto nila magkaroon ng martial law eh di dun sila sa isang side. hehe. tapos tayong nag eenjoy ng kalayaan natin sa isang side. suggestion lng ng friend ko :D

I remember my mom taking me to EDSA. I remember being fed bread and warm Zesto by protesters. I remember being helped to the roof of a bus so I could see over the crowds. She said it was important and that I would one day understand. And I did understand. Not the rebels who picked up arms against the government, no. Those are enemies of the state as far as I'm concerned, which the state must suppress. What I understood were the common people on the street, who were fighting a dictatorship with nothing but their voices, stopping tanks with just their hands, singing hymns when faced with guns. So I grew up anti-Marcos. And hoped we would never have another leader like him again. Kaso, magaling ako mag-compartment alize at mag-separate ng issues. Like yung libing. I've never felt strongly about that issue, either way. I'm with Justice Isagani Cruz on that, bangkay na yan, is that what we worry about? I don't care where it's buried, as long as it's buried and done with. There is no symbolism to me like the protesters today claim. It's a corpse. Good riddance. But of course, FB has to break my heart with non-sequitur comments. Because I'm not anti-libing, and I can't be neutral on that issue even though I don't really care about it, then I must be pro-Marcos. That's the narrative, and it's not the truth. At least, it's not my truth. I fight for the rule of law everyday. I insist on due process, for former presidents, down to the suspected drug addict on the street. I am generous with my time and advice, so that people are not taken advantage of by their government unwittingly. I hope I never live to see martial law abuses, or another oppressive regime. But because I'm ambivalent on the libing issue, it seems like those other things don't count. I must be pro-Marcos; I must be pro-Marcos-era martial law. Sorry for the hugot. Facebook makes me sad sometimes.

I just read an account of every day life under martial law and I don't remember much. I do remember a fight between my dad (an OFW) and my mom during an election year where she volunteered for NAMFREL and was pregnant. I was 8 during the first EDSA revolution and remember crowding around the radio listening to Radyo Veritas and wondering when the TV would go back to playing Voltes V and the other cartoons. I wasn't allowed to go to EDSA but when we went back to school there was a hole made in the school perimeter by a tank. I wish I was there instead of at home where there was Veritas and rosary praying.

I certainly am not indifferent. But as to whether I would go out to the streets idk yet. :/ Country vs self?

As I recall nasa bahay lang kasi hindi kami maiwanang magkapatid. I remember we were watching tv coverage together. Not sure if that was during edsa itself or afterwards

My parents were and still are definitely on the "keep your head down, don't get noticed, and we'll survive this" side. What I remember is that my dad was assigned somewhere else at the time (maybe Mindanao, maybe Cebu – I can quite remember), and we lived basically across from Camp Crame, and we walked away from EDSA, towards Horseshoe/San Juan where the roads weren't blocked so relatives could pick us up and we would be somewhere safe.

It shouldn't come as a surprise. People on both sides have been very antagonistic and have been resorting to ad hominem posts. The emotional bank account has been zeroed out. Dont expect sympathy from those you've… what's the term…Ostraciz ed? Antagonized? Or another way of looking at it we need someone who will be perceived as neutral (di sumali sa palitan ng salita dati) to get the popular support.

I don't think it's just the ad hominems and the misinformation and whatnot. I think on some level meron talagang cultural divide dun sa far extremes. For example, there are people who value safety and stability a lot more than fighting for perceived injustices. Trust is also very low among different groups. For some, misogyny has become an acceptable method of responding to people whose views you don't like. Etc.

Masyado kasi maraming magagaling na habol lang patunayang tama sila at ipamukha sa iba na mali sila hehehehe It shouldnt be just about being right, they also need to reach out and be convincing. A failure of IQ maybe? Nagkulang cguro sa EQ

Hehehe pwede naman, federalism. Para hindi naman mapunta nanaman sa paghahati sa pula o sa puti ang usapan, federalism na lang. Lately madami na kasi ganun magpost, kung di ka sangayon automatic kalaban ka.

I'm against the burial because I think many, many people cannot compartmentaliz e. That the burial will be used as propaganda by the Marcos machine to catapult BBM to the presidency in 2022. Kaya rin although I'm protesting, I also want to think about concrete ways we can combat the misinformation and propaganda that's out there.

Well, to me ibang usapan yung 2022. I didn't vote for BBM now (Miriam-Leni ako) and I'm pretty sure I won't vote for him then. But because I can compartmentaliz e, I get why he filed an electoral protest. Right naman nya yun. Almost every candidate who loses a close one, and some who lose big, files a protest. And because we are no longer under his father's regime, and the Constitution guarantees rights to everyone, I will not deny him his right to due process, even of he is a Marcos, even if his father did precisely that to our people.

I think I know how you feel, Wynner. You just said it much more eloquently! When I found out that Marcos was buried at LNMB, I felt like I was punched in the gut. Like you, I was in Edsa. Though I must admit, back then, I didn't really know why - basta vehemently anti-Marcos ako. That's my emotional take on it. Pero, from a clinical perspective, the legal basis is there (siyempre, mas alam mo yun). That's why I can't argue against the burial with conviction. They're entitled to their rights, too. But you know what? I think the Marcoses will get their karma sooner than they think. They exposed a dormant, festering wound that took us 30 years to almost forget. It's fresh again, less likely that BBM will be president in 2022. FB makes me sad, too. What with all the generalizations and assumptions that the other side is stupid or misinformed (one yelling "bias!", the other yelling "troll!"). 😥

P.S. Hi Roy! Sorry for hijacking your post! 😋

HI MarisBarney Garcia ! All my posts are always open for discussion :D

MarisBarney , i hope that what you're thinking is true na this allowed us to remember. I worry kasi na the people who are remembering are the "elite" – we need to make sure we reach out to the rest of the voters and combat the very rampant misinformation out there.

If by elite, you mean educated, I think we should give the ''masa" more credit. They have their own convictions, too, and are probably thinking that they should reform us! 😮 I think we all read and hear the same things but just process things differently. and the misinformation is actually our inherent filter of the same info creating an echo chamber of our thoughts. Feeling ko naman, mas nakasama tong burial for the Marcoses. The news is filled with anger towards what they did.

I don't think the masa has less capability for critical thinking. I think they may not the same level of access to information. So need to make sure the information is out there.

I really have no emotions about the burial. I don't know why. But yun nga, it's a corpse eh. It can't declare martial law, it can't issue arrest search seizure orders, it can't do anything corrupt, it can't steal. Much more now that it's 6 feet underground. If pushed to determine its symbolic value, well, its value to me is as the lifeless body of a dead dictator who can't hurt me anymore.

It's the thought na another 30 yrs from now, ituturing na siyang bayani by virtue of his location. Eww Lang.

Exactly.

That's just not what worries me. It's a label and I don't roll like that. I'm more worried that 30 years from now, extra-judicial killings are not just commonplace, but that Duterte has made it the norm, only then they're being shot with AKs, coz you know, Russia. That we're an annex of China. That traffic has turned the Philippines into a parking lot. Or that Bataan turns into Chernobyl disaster and our grand kids are born with 5 eyes and 6 legs. I guess I jus't don't feel strongly about what people say the burial means like you guys do.

If everyone felt the same way, I'd be much less worried. But i agree that your other concerns are valid and we must be on our guard against those as well. This could be the lever that shakes people out of their complacency and galvanizes people to action against all those things.

People have different tipping points. For me, I don't think it's that dangerous yet out there. And if we catch this in time, it hopefully will never get to that point.

Take away then would be…It's one thing to admit you are indifferent, and it's another thing entirely to have someone else decide to label you as such. But then if one were indifferent then he wouldnt even bother to think/read about it or give an opinion, or engage in discussions. Ika nga apathetic. Can't say if its indifference or support for burial that's the prevailing sentiment for those who didn't go to rallies. Maybe indifferent is not the apt term for other groups? Unaffected maybe?

There's certainly a lot of judging happening. I'm not thrilled about the divisiveness.

Wynner, i guess if it's a matter of meeting basic needs (traffic, Bataan, etc) vs honor (LNMB issue), talaga namang the former that takes precedence. Diba nga, Maslow? Given the struggle to stay alive plus the rule of law, i get why many aren't AS concerned about labels to take to the streets (it doesn't strike me as complacency). And that's perfectly valid! Just as valid as how honor and heroism are valued by many. Stalemate nga. But at least both sides want to make things better.

Tama. I want to make things better, too, overall, in the grand scheme of things. The libing issue just doesn't make me cry or sad unlike other issues.