ONE thing we realized when we fully engaged social media as one of our services and products is that netizens are a handful. No. They are more than a handful. They have the capacity of killing you from hypertension. Not all of course. But the few who are, are enough to strike that fatal blow.
Like this "Pastilan" photo we had. As regular readers know, our "Pastilan" photo are snapshots of things that are either grossly violative of existing norms, standards, and laws, or are something that makes you go "aaaaw", that heart-melting feeling we get when seeing something that touches our emotions.
Last Monday, we showed how bystanders watching the Ironman race along J.P. Laurel Avenue in front of Victoria Plaza rushed to the runners (specifically Matteo Guidicelli) to get a selfie.
Long before race day, no less than Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio appealed to Dabawenyos to just stay at home if they do not have anything important to do because the northern stretch of the highway leading to Tagum City will be closed from 3 a.m. to 12 noon of March 25. Later, she also said that following and taking selfies of the triathletes while they are racing is not allowed.
But no. The starstruck Dabawenyos decided they want one and they're gonna get it. So rush, they did.
Matteo apparently is already used to this, so all he did was to step away and continued running. It wasn't because he was snubbing the fans, it was because he was running a race. You'd know that by the hundreds of photos of Matteo with this and that friend and acquaintance and follower and followed that appeared on our walls after the race.
Thus the photo questioning the claim that Dabawenyos are a disciplined lot. Oh boy. One person regarded that as an insult to all Dabawenyos, arguing long and hard. We stood pat on our belief and that is: "We still believe that a real Dabawenyo is never blind to the faults, mistakes, misdemeanors, and crimes of fellow Dabawenyos. Right is right, wrong is wrong. We call out the wrong, we praise the right. Yun po. Salamat po!"
The restraint exercised is a test of one's grim determination to keep it respectful and light, and not be affected. But ... we're only human and we have to admit, we felt heat rise up our collective heads, the beginning of anger that was quickly extinguished.
Life did not prepare us for this much aggravation, but then, we should have expected that considering that by engaging in social media we open ourselves to the whole wide world; among which are people who always take offense, see the negative, and feel easily slighted. That's just how it is. We just grin and bear it.
Whoever thought that this tool called social media would not only expand our reach but also expand, heighten, and lengthen our patience. We're working on our patience, we’re getting the hang of it, we're learning to detach ourselves from the noise.
Indeed, when engaging in social media, detachment is one of two basic demeanors we should don. The other is mindfulness.
Detachment because by this time, we should be aware that whoever is castigating, insulting, or slandering you is the one who is carrying a burden within, it's not about you. Maybe he's angry, maybe he hates the world, maybe he has always been a braggadocio, maybe you hit a nerve. Everything, the hate, the insults, the vitriol is not about you, but the one commenting. Detach, and be free.
Mindfulness, because the moment we post something on our wall, it can reach all around the world and will affect people in ways we can never imagine.
saestremera@gmail.com