I should’ve posted this when everything was at its peak – to avoid looking like I was trying to “rekindle” an issue everyone had supposedly “moved on” from. But then, I remembered that I never claimed the moral high-ground when it came to Lao’s recent media exposure – so suck it! 😉
But, truth be told, this post isn’t really about slamming Mr. Lao and what he did. 1 We’ve all had our fair share of that in Facebook Instead, what I’m posting now are the salient points of a conversation I had with Cris about it; the real world implications this event had made painfully obvious. “Truths” people would have to accept so they don’t end up getting so bent out of shape when things like this happen.
That, and because I haven’t posted shit in such a goddamned long time that my blog’s beginning to rot. So let me brush aside the virtual cobwebs and try getting back into discussing stuff.
What’s it all about, Alfie?
For the uninitiated, the whole “Lao controversy” pretty much explains itself once you get to watch the video that started it all:
Surely, any internet user who’s worth their salt need not be told what went down right after that video went viral.
Justifications, smushtifications
The truth is, whether we admit it or not, there are two ways to handle this issue as a human being: one is to take the “moral high ground,” and feel sorry for the guy; the other is to laugh at his misfortune. Obviously, the latter seemed to come out as the clear winner.
What’s interesting is that once the people of the “first persuasion” started calling the second group out for their “insensitivity”, a lot of guilt-tripping ensued. Naturally the guilt-trip was effective – practically because it was true. We did laugh at someone else’s expense, we did blow everything out of proportion for maximum effect and entertainment. And, I dare say, at the end of the day, we did it simply because we could.
And so a lot of people started getting defensive about everything. They started pointing out excuses that “it wasn’t so much as what he did, but because he tried blaming everyone else but himself for it.” A legitimate excuse, I guess – but an excuse nonetheless.
For me, as soon as we just admit that to ourselves, the better-off everyone would be. But instead, we have follow-up entries trying to belabor the issue – trying to convince people else that anyone under the light of moral scrutiny was “morally justified” in what they did, regardless of what side they took. As a result, this issue just wouldn’t go away. Which is fine by me… since I was really hoping the whole “I should’ve been informed” phrase would become a meme. Admit it, wouldn’t it be great to be able to use that phrase in daily life to insert some humor into what would otherwise be a serious situation? A filipino “That’s what she said!” sorta thing.
My Take
Let me just make my reasons for “joining the bandwagon” clear – right here, right now. Truth be told, I think was one of the first people to (re)post it 2 I got it from a friend, but we had already posted it before it exploded – so I’m not sure if we had “joined” as much as we actually “started” it. But that’s irrelevant. I’m stating my reasons here so that people know that I’m not shying away from any “responsibility” (which honestly in context of this whole issue, really means zilch), nor am I trying to fool anyone into thinking I’m a better person than I really am.
My “stance” on this comes in in the form various posts/comments I had made in FB discussing the issue – but I’ll zero-in on three of the most pertinent ones that pretty much summarize the gist of what I’m trying to say.
Unless it stems from a medical condition, ALL forms of stupidity SHOULD be ridiculed to great lengths – so that said stupidity will never be repeated – if only for the fear of being ridiculed again 😉
Ako mas simpleng tao; Schadenfreude na kung Schadenfreude!
Nakakatawa ang nangyari sa kanya PERIOD. And unfortunately for him, this is how the internet responds to such things. So malas lang niya.
There will be a day when we might be in the spotlight ourselves, and when that day comes, it will come. And let’s just hope our hides are thick enough to handle it 😉
Cheers to LIFE!
Lastly, since when was it (life) ever about what people DESERVED?
Think Before You Click?
As I said, this post isn’t really about what I thought about the Lao issue – but its what I think about any issue that makes it way to the internet.
The “discussion with Cris” I had mentioned earlier was because a few hours before the Lao thing exploded – someone posted a link to a “Think Before you Click” campaign.
My response to that was:
Good luck with this. I’m for it in principle, but I think it’s a very naive view of the reality of the internet. It’s more prudent to prepare people FOR the internet than it is to protect them FROM it.
Particularly the part where one person said “you shouldn’t say in the internet what you wouldn’t say in real life” or something like that.
He fails to realize that’s PRECISELY why some people turn to the anonymity of the net.
Marketing antics aside, I’d like to think the spirit of the campaign means well… Only it’s just a waste of money/time/resources IMHO.
Welcome to the Interwebs, n00b!
Naturally, Cris’ take to my response to the Think Before you Click campaign was this:
I saw this commercial last night! True, you can’t really teach people how to censor stuff. But it’s quite surprising how a lot of professionals, especially media people, don’t seem to know proper social network ethics / guidelines.
To which I answered:
That’s because TECHNICALLY, the so called “ethics” shouldn’t be all-encompassing (i.e. applying EVERYWHERE). They should ONLY be limited to whatever end-user-terms and conditions A SPECIFIC SITE sets… no more, no less.
So in the case of say Facebook (and most social networking sites), people technically should only have to adhere to FB policy (i.e. no pornography, etc.) It doesn’t say anything about “being mean” – rightly so because of freedom of speech.
The reason the Internet’s a wonderful thing is because for better or worse, it’s AMORAL.
It shows you the world and the deepest thoughts of the people in it who would normally be too conformist to speak against any status quo. Naturally there will be extremists either way – but I’d rather a verbal war than a physical one.
So wether or not what a person says is wrong or right, if it’s hurtful or not, isn’t what the internet should be about. It should simply be about making the INFORMATION available – in ANY FORM, and in ANY (un)BIAS.
For me, seeing such unfiltered information allows people to TRULY make informed opinions… and ultimately decisions. It fosters critical thinking – because everything’s on the table.
Then, a few hours after, the Lao issue exploded… and the rest was history. ‘Twas almost serendipitous – as it totally proved my point beyond any reasonable doubt.
Expecting the best of people, noble as it is, is simply a waste of time. No matter what you do, for better or worse – you will not be able to tame the internet. At best, you can just appeal to its denizens, and hope they give you a break. Expecting them to fall in line, on the other hand, will more likely disappoint you than anything else.
Lastly, if you think “admonishing” them, or guilt-tripping them into sense works… I say you’re just as much of an idiot as the people you’re calling out.
Why it Mattered to Me
The reason why this “noble stance” frustrates me is because it’s exactly the mindset that keeps people naive.
This is the reason why we had that “School Open Parties” issue in the past.
Hoping for the best in people is exactly what got us an idiot president when we had multiple candidates who were more qualified to lead – see where that “hope” is getting us.
Thinking the best of ourselves (i.e. “Proud to be Pinoy”) makes us think there’s nothing inherently wrong with us as a nation to do anything about it. As a result, countries that are very similar to us end leaving us in the dust in the race for progress.
Thinking the best of ourselves makes the Religious folk think that the RH bill will not do any good, and simply focusing on education alone will.
Idealism has kept our minds hostage so tight, that instead of admitting what kind of a people we truly are, and trying to work with it 3 See that I’m not even saying we have to change, though that would be great if we could; which I don’t think we can to our advantage – instead of denying it and end up paying dearly for it.
I know thinking positive can do wonders – but it would do us well to be realistic about it. Know the limitations of positive thinking. Know when to acknowledge a fault and know if it is something that we can fix or not. Know the difference between “change” and a “miracle.”
The internet makes these sorts of things very clear to anyone who takes the time to pay attention. The internet is as real as it gets… but it has the advantage of only hurting psychologically (at least most of the time) It makes for good practice on how we can really deal with people in real life because we get a glimpse of what people are capable of thinking – it can give us a glimpse of how a person really, truly feels about life even if it’s the total opposite of what they make others believe they’re thinking.
If we’re stuck in being hell bent in being too idealistic, then I feel there’s no hope for us as a nation. How can we expect to solve the the much bigger fish to fry when we can’t even get over ourselves?