Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Editorial: Protesters and dictators
GROUPS and personalities who arrogate upon themselves the task of airing what is supposed to be the view of the majority more often than not tend to overdo things.
In their aggressiveness, they sometimes fail to reckon they are already voicing the minority and not the majority view or they formulate plans no longer acceptable to many.
They thus end up acting more as dictators than spokespersons.
Provinces
There’s no question, for example, about the plunge in the popularity of President Arroyo but that does not mean majority of the Filipinos nationwide favor her ouster.
This has become the source of misgiving of some people in the provinces, who feel that the fate of a president should not be decided by a minority in Metro Manila.
Even more contentious is the matter of who will replace President Arroyo if she resigns or what setup will prevail in case Vice President Noli de Castro also quits.
What would be obvious in such a setup is that there is no assurance people in the provinces will be given a say considering the attitude of some Metro Manila groups.
Proposals
For many sectors, therefore, the recent initiatives of some anti-Arroyo groups and personalities, like the proposal for the creation of a junta, sound grating to their ears.
Other similar acts have cropped up in the past weeks, like this civil society group announcing it is preparing the structure of government that will replace the current one.
One can treat these proposals as, well, proposals, but these betray a dictatorial bent borne of the belief that these groups alone know what is good for all the country.
Consensus
If the efforts to oust Arroyo were to succeed, protesters should note the need for a consensus that would involve more people like those outside Metro Manila.
Or if they do not have the time or the stomach to do that, they should at least be sensitive to the sentiments of the other sectors within and outside the national capital.
For starters, they should stop strutting around thinking that everything that they do and say the majority of Filipinos will follow and approve.
