Di na natuto

This was what I wrote about Trillanes and his Oakwood mutineers four years ago. Sadly, most of what I said is still applicable. It's like he never learned.

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The trouble with messiahs
5 August 2003

People have been attributing the "messiah complex" to various people (mostly military) the most recent of which are the Oakwood mutineers. They say that PMA graduates, starting with Gringo Honasan's batch, feel that they ought to save the world and that they are the only ones who can do so.

Funny how public opinion changes and how quick it does nowadays. In a span of less than two weeks I've grown from admiring the mutineers to pitying them for their naivete to now being annoyed at their (and their benefactors') arrogance.

The "messiah complex" is part of this problem. Whether spurred by Gringo or not, these soldiers probably did have a little "air in their heads" to actually believe that they should (or could) save the Philippines from itself.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Saving the country is of paramount importance as the PMA superintendent is quoted to have said. However, he was mistaken when he said that this messiah complex is necessary for soldiers who are tasked to protect the country. He seems to be referring to patriotism, which is something different.

What draws the line between patriotism and a "messiah complex" are two factors. One is the lengths to which someone will go to "save" us; the other is their idea of who should save us and how.

The former takes into account the extremity of the measures taken. While most people are willing to sit and talk things out, "messiahs" are apt to take to arms or declare "war" on whomever it is that gets their goat. Gringo and the Oakwood mutineers are like this, calling for a change in government 10 months before a perfectly legal national election. It's as if the rest of us weren't working on making this country better and that they were the only ones who cared.

But extreme measures are not enough to constitute a messiah complex, the attitude counts more. While real revolutionaries do advocate abrupt (sometimes violent) change, they are not "messiahs" because they believe in ideas more than in themselves. "Salvation" need not come from one person alone, but from ideas implemented by people working together.

The "messiah" expects to be right and expects other people to follow him, which was what the Oakwood mutineers seemed like. The arrogance with which they presented their "non-case" is amusing at best. It did not impress anyone, not even the easily excitable press, which increased their frustration. The "open letter to Trillanes" which circulated via email a week ago hit the nail on the head when it said "matagal na naming alam iyan."

The trouble was, these "messiahs" were right. There is corruption in government and it probably extends up to at least the defense secretary. What they didn't count on were people (like Dinky Soliman) who were offended at their lack of subtlety and blanket condemnation of everyone in and out of government.

Oo, tama sila, pero sila lang ba ang tama?

And in the end that's the trouble with messiahs. They tend to think that only they have the answers. But unlike Jesus who had his "Sermon on the Mount" (which was truly revolutionary at that time) the Oakwood mutineers just had Gringo's "National Recovery Program."

Idiot

Is there anyone who still thinks that Trillanes is anywhere near smart? I rolled my eyes whenever anyone emailed or texted me about then-candidate Trillanes's "intelligence" and "integrity." Here was a guy whose idea of a coup-d-etat was to hold a luxury hotel hostage and hold a terrible press conference.

He won the election only because of two things: (1) the anti-Gloria sentiment runs really, really strong, and (2) because the Filipino people have elected even more stupid people to even higher positions.

Now he walks out of his court hearing, goes to Manila Pen and holds it hostage again, forcing the police to arrest him (for contempt of court, among other things) forcibly. The end result: the Pen lobby is damaged, Makati closed early, he's back in jail, and a curfew was imposed. It was a futile exercise since the Filipino people learned nothing that they don't already know.

Is the government corrupt? Yes, we knew that years ago. Is the military corrupt? Duh. Is Trillanes an idiot? Hell , yeah. That much we already know, he just seems so eager to keep on proving it.

What he accomplished was scare business, wreck weekend plans, and get himself in deeper trouble. So now instead of having the opportunity to enact reforms in the senate he's going to face even more jail time. That isn't patriotic at all; it's irresponsible bordering on downright idiotic.

Istorbo

Tulad ng idol nyang si Gringo, gusto yatang mag-set ng record ni Trillanes sa bilang ng mga coup na palpak. Lamang lang siya dahil wala pang namamatay sa mga pinaggagagawa nya, pero sus naman, istorbo.

Unang-una, sablay ang timing.

Kung kailan pa-bakasyon ang mga tao (at umuulan pa) ay tsaka sya magtatawag ng rally. Hindi kasama sa bilang ang regular rally-goers at mga hakot, ang uprising na mala-EDSA ay magagawa lamang kapag ang ordinaryong taong nag-oopisina sa Makati ay makikisama.

Sablay rin ang timing dahil sa wala namang nangyayari. Ang unang EDSA ay bunga ng pagtiwalag nina Ramos, yung pangalawa, sa pagsayaw ni Tessie Oreta, yung pangatlo, sa pag-aresto kay Erap.

Eh ito? Hearing ni Trillanes? Please lang.

Pangalawa: naglabas pa sila ng website na yun at yun din naman ang laman.

Oo, alam ko na nandaya si Gloria. Oo, alam ko na may kultura ng korapsyon. Tangina dito rin ako nakatira. (Para bang gulat na gulat pa kayo, ngayon lang ba kayo nagbasa ng dyaryo?)

Ito ba ang solusyon? Isang tangka na ulitin ang EDSA? Lightning in a bottle yun, di mo basta-basta maoorchestrate.

Basta kami mag-iinuman mamaya. Pinoy eh.

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From the inquirer.net reports

“Dumaan tayo sa tamang pamamaraan [We passed through the right processes]. Elected pero wala ring nangyari [We were elected but nothing happens]. They voted for me so that I can speak up for their rights and our advocacies,” said Trillanes, referring to his election as senator last May.

Ano ba'ng akala mo, magbabago ang lahat oras na malagay ka sa pwesto? Konting EQ naman, tol. It takes time to effect change.

“Tingnan niyo yung ginagawa nitong administrasyon [Look at this administration], you have to witness their ruthlessness…they're even ready not to spare the lives of mediamen,” said Trillanes.

Pot, kettle. Someone who's held two hotels hostage has no right calling anyone ruthless.

Ikaw ang nagsimula eh. You're like a boxer who's complaining that the other guy is hitting back.

WTF?

'Di nga?

Saudi defends verdict againts gang-rape victim.

My earliest posts (made even before the old missingpoints mailing list) were mostly about authorities punishing the innocent. Among the issues I discussed were the youth curfew in Manila and a police chief blaming a rape victim's boyfriend for not picking the girl up. In both cases, the victims were essentially blamed for being victimized.

Now Saudi Arabian courts have taken that to a whole new level by sentencing a gang-rape victim to six months in jail and 200 lashes for being alone in public and violating the "illegal mingling" laws.

Of course, the law is retarded and has no place in modern society. But nevermind that. She was gang-raped, which should be "punishment" enough.

"So I can... like...

... lie to House but not to a patient?"

This is too precious. Lisa Edelstein and Jen Morrison on the "House" set, with actual dialogue translated into valspeak. Makes me want to get the DVD set (once the strike is done). Check out the other versions.

"Dogeaters" the play, and the book signing before it.

I'm not Jessica Hagedorn's biggest fan but I'd support any Pinoy post-modern author who made it internationally. And I love "Dogeaters." Problem was I couldn't find my copy. But I promised JOH and alwaysanxious I'd have their books signed so I couldn't back out anymore. I was forced to buy a slightly more expensive copy of "Gangster of Love" for her to sign.

The girl at Powerbooks told me the registration was at 3pm, so I made my way to RCBC from Palanca at 2:50pm. (I am compulsively punctual, hell, uncannily so) I was #2 for the signing, beaten only by a UP prof who was probably Ms. Hagedorn's biggest fan here. His thesis was on "Dogeaters," which was the first fiction book he read and finished.

The program started an hour late, which is de rigeur in this country. See, that's the Philippine experience right there, Jessica.

The event was ok, though. The ones who were there knew the author and her material and asked sensible questions. The signing went well, with Jessica taking time to chat to each person in line.

* * * * *

The play itself was so-so.

I hate anything that tries too hard, and this just looks like a bad, overblown version of didactic stuff from the agitprop school of "relevant" theater. It's a slicker version of what we were trying to do in high school when we wrote original stuff after being steeped in CCP and PETA material. Which is funny because I'm used to that and the "heavy" straight plays New Voice Company likes to do.

The unevenness of the material jarred me. Which would've been fine if there was a point to it. Methinks it's just drama for the sake of drama. The play is structured like a soap opera, with multiple storylines and a couple of multi-scene montages.

The problem is it's too much like a Philippine soap, with the dramatic moments being drawn out too long and reveling in the absurd, campy moments a wee bit too much. It might've worked well as a movie, but as a play it's a bit too incoherent.

But then again that may be the point exactly.

Edit to add:
A thought. It's a ten-year-old play based on a 20-year-old book about something that happened fifteen years before. Of course it seems dated.

Bomb hits Congress...

... nation rejoices!

9:20 pm
Oh c'mon. Don't tell me you weren't the least bit hopeful that your favorite GMA bootlicker was hit. But sadly it's just three quiet congresspeople, one from Gabriela, and none of the irritating ones.

9:50 pm
JDV talks to ABS-CBN and I'm wondering why he's holding his ear like that. Is he having difficulty hearing? I mean, with flappers like those...

But seriously, why are these media hogs giving statements like "hindi granada ito?" At least wait for the PNP rep to update you officially. People may begin to panic based on your unfounded speculation.

And the reporter should stop asking, too. C'mon Jay, JDV knows only as much as you, don't interview him just to fill up time.

9:55 pm
DZMM crawl: Pagsabog, kinondena ni JDV at Villar

Syempre. Alangan namang purihin nila, di ba? Useless bit of news.

Because

ANC's "Balitang Amerika" featured a group of Pinoys recreating the Cebu prisoners' "Thriller" dance number. A guy interviewed said that people kept asking him how they (the prisoners) did it. He said "because they're Filipino" in a fit of misplaced pride.

No, dude, it's because they're prisoners who have nothing better to do all day and for whom disobedience isn't really an option.

Just saying.

Updates from the writers' strike

Quick links:

Updates from the frontlines of the US WGA strike.

Brian K . Vaughn explains his stand.


The only reason I buy original CDs and DVDs is to give my share to the actual creators of the product. If the networks are screwing with them then it makes me even less motivated to stop downloading and start saving up for originals.

The irony escapes them

When Diego Rivera was commissioned by Rockefeller to paint a mural, the central figure morphed from a symbolic everyman to a portrait of Lenin. This resulted in an argument that Rockefeller won, having commissioned the painting and owning the wall where it was being done. The mural was never shown and eventually replaced.

Rockefeller's position made sense. He was a capitalist and it would be silly of him to glorify someone who advocated the exact opposite of what made his family successful. Rivera probably thought it would become a great big honking act of subversion, but Nelson wasn't going to be gypped.

That is not the case with the press freedom mural at the NPC.

Instead of doing the proper thing, the National Press Club just had someone paint over the "objectionable" parts of the mural they commissioned to depict press freedom. And while some of the changes may be considered "minor," the fact is that (according to the news report) they approved the preliminary sketches and were monitoring the process of creation. They could've intervened at any time to suggest alterations, but they chose to paint over the parts they didn't like after the thing was delivered.

But more important are the actual changes they made. From changing the Burgos headline to altering Bonifacio's alibata tattoo to giving Randy David a Ming the Merciless makeover, the NPC seems eager not to offend anyone. Which is a shame. Whatever happened to comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable?

Time to catch up...

... on those old TV shows you never got to watch.

The Writer's Guild of America is going on strike over royalties on DVD sales and digital distribution. What this means for the Philippine viewer is that the first arc of "Heroes" will be finished, but episodes 12 onward are on hold. Promising new shows like "Pushing Daisies" or "Life" might get the wind knocked out from them. "Battlestar Galactica" season 4 might not get off the ground while "Lost" and "Law and Order" -- which are starting late -- have probably stockpiled enough scripts for half a season.

The biggest impact will be on the daily shows of Letterman, Leno, Conan, Stewart, and Colbert as well as sketch shows like SNL. Expect re-runs.

I wonder what this will mean for Solar and Studio 23, who have struck deals to air US shows a week after their initial broadcast? Will they be getting their money back? Will they re-run the old seasons?

Dollhouse

Holy Crap! The Joss is going back to Fox. This means we should expect it to be constantly pre-empted by baseball, tinkered with by network suits, then canceled halfway through the first season. Having Tim Minear on doesn't help.

The premise is cool, though. It's the old cyberpunk "meat puppet" concept combined with "Alias" "Quantum Leap," and "The Pretender." It's scheduled to be on for next year. The wait will kill me.