Thursday, May 22, 2008 So: A shoe as weapon of intimidation By Michelle P. So Caught in the Net
I debated whether to write about the upcoming school reunion in July or about the assembly of editors and publishers next week. After weighing the pros and cons of each topic, I decided I would write about the behavior of a public figure inside a telecom office instead.
This guy is an interesting fellow, if I am to size him up based on what I’ve read and heard about his behavior in public. I haven’t met him but those who have say his actions don’t go well with his good looks.
For one who holds an esteemed position in an institution that educates and instills moral values in young people, this guy is a big disappointment.
What my high school classmate and his officemates witnessed was not anything they expected from someone who precedes his name with a “doctor” title.
The incident was narrated to me and five other high school chums over a scrumptious Italian dinner last week. Our classmate told it with feelings, a consequence of eating two dishes that were supposed to be served at another table but which the waiter mistakenly put on ours.
This is what happened.
The company got a request from the school to transfer telephone lines when a new administrator was named. The guy doesn’t want to be replaced for reasons we could only speculate. The replacement is a respected educator and whose reputation is untarnished.
Now the telecom people who received the letter of request and were to work on the phone transfer were not aware of the feud that was going on at the school. It would have been just another banter-filled day for them had this guy not come barging into their offices and demanding to not touch any phone in the school.
The guy ranted and threatened to harm them (“Bantay lang mo!”). No amount of customer care could soothe his anger but this is understandable since the telecom is not known for good customer service anyway.
He was brought to the office of the manager where he could be seated comfortably and maybe could talk things out. So, he seated himself comfortably and did the unthinkable.
He took off a shoe, put it on the manager’s table and began thumping the table with it as he ranted again.
On hindsight, the scene was hilarious but at that time, no one laughed. No one dared, not even the bravest among them. Everyone was looking at the shoe.
I imagined the scene going this way: Don’t touch any phone in my office! (Thump!) Just don’t you touch any phone in my office! (Thump!) Just dare to touch a phone! (Thump thump!)
“Nakurat mi tanan” was how my classmate described their reaction. Who wouldn’t be astonished? No one expected what he did. It was like a scene from a Dolphy movie.
I forgot to ask my classmate who narrated this incident what kind of shoe it was. Leather? Trainers? Crocs? Kungfu? Ferragamo? Florsheim? Whatever, it was a weapon of intimidation and harassment. We have to give it to the guy for exercising passive violence.
The next time the telecom guys heard of him, he was arrested for illegal possession of firearm.
