I WAS at my sister’s house in Doña Luisa, just maybe a little over a hundred meters away from FPRRD’s house, not to make “usyoso”, but to take my turn in keeping our mom company for the night. I arrived after dinner because I had a full day.
The street was bustling with the noise of cars and motorcycles going in and out until past 9 p.m.
Obviously, Dabawenyos took to heart the nightly vigil outside FPRRD’s house against rumors of a raid. I’m thankful for these wonderful souls, but I need to work, so I just kept the television on to drown out the noise.
At the periphery of my attention, I heard the person in the television saying “Words matter”. I
looked up to see that it was that talkshow of Toni Gonzaga and she was interviewing Raymond Gutierrez, the creatively-inclined of the Gutierrez twins. He was talking of how it was difficult coming to terms with being gay in those days, just over a decade ago. How the snide remarks directed at him were like daggers piercing his self-worth.
This is not a direct quote since my attention wasn’t on the show. What I picked up was that, that’s the reason the young ones of today are so messed up. With social media, hurting words are spewed off more often, longer, and from across the world.
Indeed, hurtful words are a daily fare these days. Just browse through the comment section of any post, even the least likely to have a negative comment about… just within five comments later, someone’s gonna be snarky.
It’s a pathetic world we live in. But of course, only if we choose pathos.
Much like what’s happening around us with our beloved former President being kidnapped and flown off to The Hague. The anti-Duterte are all rejoicing. The very few, not even a million, just amplified by bots and the anti-Duterte media, the whole lot of them.
They spew venom every single time they see a friend, colleague, or former acquaintance who attests to the old man’s good deeds. If only they realize that they are destroying themselves.
Just wait, those hurtful words you’re spewing off every single day will make their mark on your body. Don’t believe me now, but you can message me later, maybe a year or two or a decade from now. For whatever it is that you reap, you will sow. With that in mind, I just flinch from the hurtful words thrown my way because I dared to keep the former President’s friendship instead of choosing to please them.
Sneer now in your self-righteousness, we here will just keep our stand, firm on what we know first-hand. We smile at the thousands who pour out in support, tolerating the traffic jams and the noise they create, understanding and thankful that they can spare the time for us. We relish the hundreds with their #MyDuterteStories, the tributes, the admiration.
Because we know what they are raising their voices, stories, and noise for. We are, after all, the Dabawenyos who couldn’t leave the city when it was at its worst because we didn’t have the means. Now that we are enjoying peace and prosperity, we are grateful. To him, who led us out of the dark, and to the Dabawenyos who never fail to step up when needed, especially these days.
-o0o-
*Stella is a Pranic Healing educator and an Arhatic Yoga practitioner. Email:
saestremera@gmail.com, fb: /saestremera, IG: @saestremera