Dark Clouds Overhead

20 Responses to “Dark Clouds Overhead”

1. Jon Limjap on July 15th, 2008 8:33 am

   That is, if we do something about it. Will we? Or do we let it brush over like some extended nightmare and just “move on”?

   Judging the Filipino penchant for “forgiveness”, I have a bad feeling it’s the latter.

2. benign0 on July 15th, 2008 9:22 am

   The interesting question is this. In terms of “political dynamoics”, how is 2008 and the period leading up to 2010 fundamentally different from past years?

   If you ask me, it’s no different.

   Same moronic slogans.
   Same types of politicians.
   Same “social volcano” rhetoric.
   Same “united” opposition to be formed at some point.

   And, yes, same lack of imagination.

   If we continue doing things the SAME way, how on earth do we expect to see DIFFERENT outcomes this time?

3. mir on July 15th, 2008 10:45 am

   GMA can let that social volcano erupt as basis of her contingency planning allegedly for the good of the poorest sectors of our society. In order that she will not be blamed for inaction in not providing solution to the problem, she gave some petty subsidies as cover. One option is to declare martial law with the objective of prolonging her term and revising the Constitution. Its not farfetched since she has control of the Congress (except Senate), AFP (ISAFP was already in food and energy task force), PNP and other agencies.

4. cvj on July 15th, 2008 6:19 pm

   I cannot take for granted that there will be a recongizably ‘Administration’ or ‘Opposition’ party as such in 2010.

5. alan on July 15th, 2008 10:21 pm

   yep, same old crap, just a different day…..

6. Bencard on July 15th, 2008 10:53 pm

   the reason the “social volcano” usually ends up like a stinking fart is because the same rabblerousers, who are enamored with the tag “rebels”, cannot, and will not, capture the heart and mind of the nation with just their hate and violence rhetorics. sure, the middle class will always stay away until a less evil alternative is found and accepted.

7. Jon Limjap on July 16th, 2008 6:50 am

   Bencard,

   Unfortunately for some of our friends, the fact that the middle class is staying away per se is enough to brand it as part of the problem.

8. cvj on July 16th, 2008 10:15 am

   Jon, you make the whole thing sound as if it were a Coke vs. Pepsi taste test with the different political camps standing in for Coke or Pepsi. In that framework, the “I don’t like your brand so i’m staying away” mentality may be fine. What the middle class forgets is that its role is not to just be consumers of the different advocacies, but to also be producers and builders of the political and social system. It is in the latter role that the Middle Class has been remiss and in that sense, it is part of the problem.

9. Patricio Mangubat on July 16th, 2008 4:41 pm

   Cvj,

   I agree. However, is’nt this too messianic? I mean, we relied on this paradigm with two failed experiments–EDSA 1 and EDSA 2. I think the middle class should be deconstructed and reintegrated into a totally different form through a cultural campaign. Renato Constantino blamed the mis-education of the Filipino in his generation and I think that applies even now.

   There should be a creation of a different class altogether–the intellectual or the illuminati, albeit, not the kind you read on Da Vinci Code.

   Bencard, this “hate” rhetoric as you described, is not bad as you picture it to be. For you to realize that something ought to be changed, you must at least feel or see that, indeed, it needs to be changed. Hate is not bad. It fuels innovation. You hate something, you do something to get rid of it.

10. Jon Limjap on July 16th, 2008 7:20 pm

    cvj,

    Ah, but that’s not the middle class’s fault, isn’t it? It is the the militants who branded themselves as forces of changed, fueled by Maoist principles, which hinge largely on civil unrest to spark revolution.

    Also, it is largely unfair that you equivocate the Middle Class as “everybody and everyone who is not shouting for GMA’s ouster right now”. I’m under the impression that it is difficult to find anyone who does not despise GMA to some degree — what differs is the opinion as to how and when GMA should be prosecuted/persecuted.

    Besides, amongst the poor there are millions of souls who are just as apathetic, in the sense that they will be pointing the “dishonesty” and “corruption” finger at *whoever* president is sitting at the office (whether truly corrupt or grossly dishonest) because it is the easiest rationalization they could find for their situation. Not unless it is their favorite action hero.

    Anyway I digress.

    ====

    I will have to agree with Patricio’s assertion that we have to shy away from the messianic nature of our problem-solving techniques. We’ve tried too many one-shot-big-shot solutions that didn’t really deeply affect the problem, nor solve it. In fact, in the case of EDSA 2, it became a one-step-forward-two-steps-back affair.

    Don’t be blaming the “middle class” for not wanting to go through that trauma again. They’re affected too, you know.

    An intellectual class exists, I’m sure, but just like Filipinovoices.com they are stuck at squabbling amongst themselves rather than systemically affecting their greater spheres of influence. I do not need to state that subverting a system is a very, very difficult and dangerous long-term task.

    I am sure that there are people working toward systemic change, from the inside, or from underneath. When rains are falling hard, the turmoil is mostly under the streets along them drainpipes.

11. cvj on July 16th, 2008 7:49 pm

    Jon, Patricio, since when did taking a stand against election cheating fall under the category of ‘messianic’ advocacies? In any other country with a genuine rule of law, we wouldn’t be having this back and forth.

    While it is true that many in the poor are likewise apathetic, i can understand why their focus is on survival. It is the Middle Class (along with the Upper Class) who has the spare resources to step back and act if it chooses to.

12. Bencard on July 17th, 2008 12:34 am

    suit yourself, patricio, but doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time is disingenuous and childish, if not irredeemably moronic. do you think you can persuade anyone to do your bidding voluntarily by showing how violent and vicious you can be? are they so bankrupt of reason that they have to resort to disruptive behavior, vandalism, and outright disregard of the law?

    hate begets hate and never merits sympathy.

13. Jon Limjap on July 17th, 2008 5:22 am

    Chuck,

    Jon, Patricio, since when did taking a stand against election cheating fall under the category of ‘messianic’ advocacies? In any other country with a genuine rule of law, we wouldn’t be having this back and forth.

    I don’t think it’s the case of a middle class not being angry enough. It’s a case of being scared the shit out of a scenario wherein either a.) they vent their anger and nothing happens [which actually happened — it is TOTALLY unfair of you to say that the middle class categorically did not speak out against GMA. Many did.] and b.) it working but the country falling into even more deep shit as had happened in 2001 (again, one-step-forward-two-steps-back).

    It is important to point out that scenario B was particularly lose-lose, since the choices for next president was, among others, a dead action star, a jailed plunderer, as well as a spineless former newscaster.

    We also know that even if the midget up there is removed from office — so what? Will there be any real, systemic change brought about? Based on what had happened to the first two presidents, and throw in what had happened to Richard Nixon, and you’ll get your answer to that question.

    While it is true that many in the poor are likewise apathetic, i can understand why their focus is on survival. It is the Middle Class (along with the Upper Class) who has the spare resources to step back and act if it chooses to.

    Likewise, it is quite unfair of you to say that it is only the lower class that has “spare resources”. The middle class is a fragile place to be in — things go bad enough or “just a little worse” than before and everything underneath them collapses plunging them to lower class again. Could they really be blamed for being scared of all that turmoil?

    Again, I find your absolution of the lower class of any responsibility (by virtue of injustice, or in this edition, “survival”) thoroughly myopic (uhuh, you too!) and utterly unfair.

    We’re all affected with this shit. Couldn’t we, like, disagree on how to do things?

14. Jon Limjap on July 17th, 2008 5:23 am

    ^^oops, I meant “only the middle class that has ’spare resources’”

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16. cvj on July 17th, 2008 10:04 am

    Jon, yes i remember that some in the Middle Class spoke out against GMA when Hello Garci came out, but what i also remember back then is that many more in the Middle Class spoke out against those who speak out against GMA. They may not have the spare resources to attack GMA, but apparently they have enough spare resources to attack those who oppose her.

    I also don’t know why you blame EDSA Dos for our problems instead of the apathy that followed. It is clear that the present admin is afraid of another EDSA which accounts for its PP1017, CPR, EO464 and the like. It is not afraid of the “Let’s Move On” or “Let’s Wait for 2010″ camp and in fact consider you allies for all practical purposes.

    If Gloria was removed from office, it would have been a lesson for the next person who would have attempted a similar stunt and prevent the further deterioration that we are now seeing. No one expects that it will solve all our problems, but from a systems standpoint, that would have had a positive influence.

    The potential replacements may not be much better, but that only means that we have to remain similarly vigilant with them as well.

17. Jon Limjap on July 17th, 2008 11:07 am

    cvj,

    But obviously Erap’s ouster hasn’t been a lesson for ANYONE has it? Certainly not GMA. Nor has Marcos’s ouster been a lesson for anyone either. Neither has lead to any genuine change; all it permitted was for one kind of crappy leader to be replaced with another.

    And I *am* part of the “Let’s Wait for 2010″ camp. (Can’t wait for you to start condemning me to hell for it )

    If you do not understand what the word “disillusioned” means, go get a dictionary.

18. cvj on July 17th, 2008 11:17 am

    Jon, so your mantra of persistence and perseverance applies only to the domain of private entrepreneurship while it goes out the window when it comes to disciplining our public officials?

19. Jon Limjap on July 17th, 2008 11:40 am

    cvj,

    No, my mantra only applies to myself but I share it to whoever is willing to apply that mantra on themselves.

    One of the hard facts of life is that you cannot change anybody else — you can only change yourself, because in the end the only real influence a person will ever exert is to himself.

    Deal with it.

20. cvj on July 17th, 2008 9:08 pm

    Jon, thanks to you, i’ve now come to recognize the dark side of positive thinking.

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