And then there was silence…

Written on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pm | by benign0

Interesting. After a blogging frenzy over the abduction of a journalist who many (who dared) opined may have “asked for it”, we are left with disturbing silence in the wake of a sea disaster that may have already killed 800 relatively innocent people.

At the risk of flogging a dead horse, I did make the quip (maybe in bad taste) here that: “Heads will not roll in this case (as in others) because Ces Drilon was not on that ship“. Then again I’d rather make a remark in bad taste than be in the company of people whom we think constitute “polite” society.

Taking stock of the latest disaster photo coverage over the islands, one can’t really tell whether it is 2008, 2006, 1998, 1991, or 1988. It’s all the same. One big monolithic ethical vacuum — no different from the way we stumble from one election circus to another and, in between those, no different from the way we muddle along from one Edsa “revolution” after another.

It is the banal sameness of our society’s collective response that is the real outrage here. A bit calmer, shall we say. We tell ourselves this was nothing like the 4,000 dead in the aftermath of the sinking of the MV Doña Paz in 1987 — the worst peacetime sea disaster in the world. Of course not. We’ve murmured our three Hail Marys and three Our Fathers at that time and all is forgiven and forgotten. Let’s deal with THIS disaster.

Today’s INQ7 editorial reminds us of just how hopelessly inept we — an islands-dwelling people — are as seafarers. When one considers how a sizeable chunk of our economy is propped up by the remittances of our seamen, it could even be considered laughable if it weren’t for the astounding loss of life involved. The Number 8, considered to be a lucky number by some cultures has got Sulpicio carnage written all over it — 1988, 1998, and 2008 (the queen of all tragic Sulpicio vessels — the MV Doña Paz sank just weeks short of 1988). It is yet another irony lost in a society famous for its feeble grasp of irony.

To the Average Pinoy Schmoe, ferry disasters invoke the disturbia of that chilling it-could-happen-to-me feeling. But then the 2010 elections are just around the corner. There are other more important things to chatter about, and more important personalities to watch.

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About The Author: benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.COM and has once been described as "one of the most enthusiastic hecklers of the politically-passionate" by a respected journalist.

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One Response to “And then there was silence…”

  1. suing sulpicio on June 26th, 2008 12:39 am

    […] ang sulpicio lines sa court of appeals at sa department of justice. bakit? i think because blogger benignO is correct: Heads will not roll in this case (as in others) because Ces Drilon was not on that […]

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