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Friday, August 11, 2006
Wenceslao: False notions
By Bong O. Wenceslao
The story started from reports of a loud explosion heard by some people in some northern Cebu towns. Then it followed the path of myths. From sound, the visual: witnesses claiming seeing a burning something falling from the sky. Airplane crash?
UFO? Meteor? The absurdity, despite contrary information, just rolled onward.
Reminds me of an experience in the hinterland village of Amaga. I was alone and walking slowly in the dark of a narrow river when the image of what I thought was a lady in white stopped me cold. I had the urge to run, but the blackness plus the rocky and steep terrain told me that wasn’t the best option---broken bones and skull was a possibility.
I sat down and recovered my composure when I noted that, aside from the “dress” that seemed to flap with the wind, the image wasn’t moving. I picked up a stone and gingerly threw it in the object’s direction. It neither backed off nor advanced. Curious, I moved forward until I got a clearer view of the object. It was a bush swaying in the wind.
In my treks at night while in the countryside, there were times I heard the scream of the dreaded tikwi and wakwak and an instance when what I thought was a big house turned into a group of trees. In all these, I could have been jumpy and raced to the nearest house and, in my frantic state, tell stories of white ladies and witches and be believable.
One ally of myth making is picking up a thing or two and then jumping to conclusion. Like spinning tales of creatures from outer space in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) after seeing a speck of light cross the night sky. It’s called subjectivity, the failure to consider all angles. And it conjures fear: of the unknown, the unexplainable.
Worse, it leads us to make a fuss amounting to nothing. Which essentially is also what some people are doing on the report that the House committee on local government has approved the Sugbuak bills. Sixteen out of 71 members of the committee subjected the bills to a vote. Seven voted for, two opposed and four abstained. The rest left early.
With this, one gets the urge to condemn Reps. Antonio Yapha, Clavel Asas-Martinez and Simeon Kintanar for continuing to push for the breaking up of a beloved province. Or to curse the committee’s chair, Emilio Macias, for bias. Until one realizes that the approval is a mirage. It doesn’t change the fact that the Sugbuak issue is dead.
TEXTREAX. Some readers just couldn’t get enough of Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo. Here’s one on him: “Last week, samtang nanihapon siya sa usa ka kan-anan, gipasige og andar sa gawas ang iyang sakyanan nga puwa og plaka. Usik gasolina.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ 0915-9228651/my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 11, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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