WHEN FANS GO TOO FAR: LEA SALONGA'S UNWELCOME VISITORS

 

In the 1976 movie Taxi Driver, there is a scene where Travis (played by Robert De Niro) volunteers to work for a political campaign and flirts with Betsy (played by Cybill Shepherd), telling her that she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. That’s charming, but later in the movie, we see Travis’s dark side as he practices shooting his gun and confronts his reflection in the mirror, saying:

“Huh… Faster than you… I’m standing here. You make your move. You make your move. Your move… You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Who the hell you’re talkin’? You talkin’ to me? Well, I’m the only one here. Who the f—k you think you’re talkin’ to? Oh yeah? Ok. Huh.”

This scene captures the contrast between Travis’s outward appearance and his inner turmoil, as well as his obsession with Betsy and his violent tendencies. It also foreshadows his eventual attempt to assassinate a senator and presidential candidate, and to rescue a teenage prostitute.

Lea Salonga might have felt a similar sense of alarm and discomfort when she encountered some of her fans who allegedly barged into her dressing room without her consent or invitation after watching her performance in the Broadway musical Here Lies Love. A fan named Christopher Carpila posted a video of their encounter with Lea on his Facebook page, which showed Lea looking visibly annoyed and uncomfortable with their presence.

The video went viral and sparked a lot of reactions from netizens, some of whom criticized Carpila for his lack of respect and etiquette, while others defended him for being a fan.

FAN ENTITLEMENT

This incident raises an important question: What is fan entitlement and why is it a problem? Dr. M. Scott Peck, author of the classic The Road Less Traveled explains,

“Many people – whether they are rich or poor – tend to believe they are entitled to something for nothing, or to behave as if the world owes them rather than the other way around.”

Peck said that some feel entitled based on a superiority complex. Lea’s words”, “If I lose fans as a result, so be it” may be interpreted as a sign of such an attitude. On the other hand, Peck said that for others the sense of entitlement arises from an inferiority complex. Carpila’s exaggerated words, “Para kaming mga basurang pinagtabuyan sa harap ng mga taong andoon” conveyed his feeling of being rejected and humiliated.

Fan entitlement is a phenomenon where some fans feel that they have the right to demand or expect certain things from their idols, such as personal attention, access, or control over their lives. This can lead to toxic and harmful behaviors, such as stalking, harassment, invasion of privacy as in Lea’s case, or even violence like what happened to some international artists.

FANS CROSSED THE LINE

“Bebe Rexha made headlines in June 2023 after a fan threw his cell phone at her face, simply because he ‘thought it would be funny.’ Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. The singer ended up having to go to the hospital, suffering a nasty cut and bruise around her eye…

“Pink looked understandably shocked and horrified when a fan handed her a bag of human ashes, which turned out to be the remains of the fan’s dead mother, in the middle of a BST Hyde Park performance in London…

“Even Drake couldn’t escape the phone-throwing epidemic of 2023. At a concert in Chicago, Drizzy was pelted with hotline bling while in the middle of singing Ginuwine’s ‘So Anxious,’ with the cell phone clipping his wrist before falling to the ground…

“Taylor Swift has… one of the scariest instances of this happened in front of tens of thousands of people during a stop on the 1989 tour in 2015 when a fan launched himself on stage and grabbed hold of her ankle…

“Steve Lacy fought fire with fire after he was hit in the stomach with a disposable camera a fan threw at him…

The above examples reported in Billboard are only a few among the list of artists whose fans crossed the boundaries.

Fan entitlement can have negative consequences for both the fans and the celebrities. For the fans, it can make them lose touch with reality and become obsessed or delusional. It can also make them feel disappointed or angry when their expectations or demands are not met. For celebrities, it can make them feel violated or threatened, stressed or uncomfortable when interacting with their fans.

On top of that, it can damage their reputation and relationship.

FAN-CELEBRITY RELATIONSHIP

So how can fan entitlement be avoided or addressed? The answer lies in respecting the fan-celebrity relationship and its limitations. Fans and celebrities have different roles and expectations in this relationship, and they should be aware and respectful of them.

Fans are the ones who support and admire the celebrities’ work and talent. They should respect their idols’ boundaries and privacy. They should not invade their personal space, stalk or harass them, or interfere with their lives. They should not impose their preferences, fantasies, or agendas onto them. They should not feel entitled to anything from them that is not related to their work or talent.

Celebrities are the ones who entertain and inspire their fans with their work and talent. They should not exploit, manipulate, or abuse them. They should not lie to, deceive, or betray them. They should not feel entitled to anything from them that is not related to their support or admiration.

Both fans and celebrities should maintain a healthy and respectful fan-celebrity relationship. They should recognize their roles and expectations. They should be empathetic and accountable for their actions. They should constructively communicate with each other.

The following episode Homer Meets Mel Gibson from The Simpsons might illustrate this point better than the above paragraphs.

HOMER: Wow, Mel Gibson! You’re my favorite actor! I’ve seen all your movies, even the ones that don’t have your face on the poster!

MEL: Well, thank you, Homer. That’s very kind of you.

HOMER: Can I have your autograph? And your hair? And your face?

MEL: Uh, sure, I guess. Here you go. (signs a paper and gives it to Homer)

HOMER: Thanks! And can I also have a picture with you? And a hug? And a kiss?

MEL: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, buddy. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’re crossing the line here. I don’t know you that well, and I‘m a married man.

HOMER: Oh, come on, Mel! Don’t be a spoilsport. You owe me this much for being your biggest fan.

MEL: No, I don’t owe you anything, Homer. You’re just a fan, not a friend. You need to respect my boundaries and privacy.

HOMER: Fine. Be that way. But don’t expect me to watch your next movie.

So, there you have it, folks. That sums up Lea’s “I have boundaries. Do not cross them. Thank you.”

Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft Bing AI-powered co-pilot

Head photo courtesy of Philippine Star

Video clips courtesy of YouTube

CORRUPTION AND POVERTY: A TALE OF TWO REALITIES

 

“And thus, with this in my heart, I know that the state of the nation is sound, and is improving.” -- President Bongbong Marcos (PBBM) State of the Nation Address 2023

PBBM’s choice of the word “sound” seems to scoff at this headline: “PH ranks 116^th [out of 180 countries] in global corruption index” – CNN Philippines

In his SONA, PBBM said:

“One of the keys to continuing economic growth is infrastructure development. So, we will build better, and more. Our 8.3-trillion peso “Build Better More” Program is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.” [applause]

The sound of the applause would surely have made you cringe had we placed side by side the following words of Baguio City Mayor and retired police general Benjamin Magalong:

“I had a chance to talk to several contractors. I asked them assuming that I will take cuts from infrastructure projects, how much will it be? And they said about 10 percent to 15 percent or 20 percent to 25 percent, depending on the decision of the mayors or the lawmakers.”

“Only about 45 percent to 52 percent will be left (to the actual contractor and project). In short, if the project is worth P100, they said Sir, they will have to settle for P42.50 to P55, including their profit so they will be forced to make substandard projects.”

“The way they disposed of it is institutional. Some congressmen have several projects and roads but the bidding was rigged. You can check the profile of some legislators and LGU executives – many of them are contractors and suppliers. They get a percentage and they also get the projects as contractors.”

Magalong also revealed that members of the Bids and Awards Committee receive commissions, as do other individuals involved in the decision-making for projects.

Based on Magalong’s assertion, it exposes the harsh reality that roughly half of such a colossal 8.3-trillion peso “Build Better More” Program will fill the coffers of the contractors and their “partners in crime” in the government.

Given that, hearing the deafening applause during the SONA, without a doubt, would infuriate any conscientious citizen.

Let’s revisit PBBM’s grand finale line: “And thus, with this in my heart, I know that the state of the nation is sound, and is improving.”

His inclusion of yet another word “improving” seems to contradict this headline: “Marcos year 1: 45% of Filipinos say they feel poor – SWS”

The following is a true story by Irish missionary priest Shay Cullen, SSC, one that is echoed many times over:

“Luisito was a boy from a hungry, homeless family. They lived in poverty under sacks at the edge of a beach. His father was a simple fisherman but when international fishing companies were given commercial fishing permits in Philippine waters by corrupt officials, the fish disappeared.

“Thousands of Filipinos were thrown into the pit of poverty. Luisito, then 15, collected junk, plastic bottles, anything he could sell for a few handfuls of rice. That’s all they had but it wasn’t enough. Sickness took his father.

“One day Luisito, who was emaciated with hunger, was seen by the owner of a basket-weaving shop and invited to learn basket weaving. Luisito was amazed when he was paid, in advance, a generous trainee’s allowance. Immediately he bought rice and fish for the family, the first that they had in weeks.

“He was determined to succeed and joined several workers in the small factory. Quickly he became a skilled worker and was paid a higher just wage and was given shelter in the workshop.

“Luisito saw a way to overcome poverty. He went to evening classes and graduate high school and, with the help of the basket shop owner, he eventually graduated from college and found a managerial job. He saved his family and his own children.

“That was and is the exception rather than the common reality.”

The recently released World Bank national poverty estimates show that poverty incidence rose from 16.7 percent in 2018 to 18.1 percent in 2021. This translates to 19.9 million poor people, an increase of 2.3 million over the same period.

By ignoring the twin elephants in the room – endemic corruption and chronic poverty – PBBM has missed his chance to deliver a convincing SONA that will convey his vision and goals for the Filipino people amid the twin crises facing the nation as a whole.

PBBM could have learned from U.S. presidents who delivered the best State of the Union addresses during the time they were facing a war or a crisis that threatened the nation, drawing on their vision and goals in inspiring their people to unite behind them.

Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 address was delivered amid the Civil War, a bloody conflict that split the nation and put its future at stake. Lincoln used his address to justify his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation later that year. He said: “In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free-honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 address was delivered less than a year before the U.S. entered World War II, a global conflict that threatened democracy and human rights around the world. Roosevelt used his address to outline his vision of the “Four Freedoms” that every person in the world should enjoy: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. He said: “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms…Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them.”

Dealing with an unconventional sort of war – a covert war during peacetime -- Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 address was delivered shortly after he assumed office following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a tragic event that shocked the nation and put its morale at risk. In this address, Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America” spelled out in the following excerpts of his address:

“This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this Congress and all Americans to join me in that effort.

“It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapons or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won…”

“Our chief weapons in a more pinpointed attack will be better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities to help…escape from squalor and misery…”

“Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities…”

Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it…"

That could have been a good template as well as a great opportunity for PBBM’s SONA in declaring his “unconditional war on poverty”. The following headline is spot on:

“Present ‘battle plan’ for nation in SONA, lawmakers tell Marcos” (Inquirer)

Unfortunately, PBBM got, in his own words, an “incomplete” grade on that requisite visioning subject.

Let me wrap up this article with some pertinent points to ponder.

At best, this quote is motivating: “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.” (Napoleon Hill)

At worst, this quote is encouraging: “If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither knows victory nor defeat.” (Theodore Roosevelt)

Head collage photos courtesy of Philippine Star & The Catholic Position

Video Clips courtesy of YouTube

MIF & ICC: HOW TWO NOTICES REVEAL THE CONTRADICTIONS OF PBBM'S ECONOMIC VISION

 

“Open for business”

“Leave us alone”

What impression do you get when you see these two notices on the front door? Confused?

The first notice “Open for business” signals the intention behind the following headlines:

“Marcos signs Maharlika Investment Fund bill into law” – Philstar

“Marcos backs Maharlika fund: ‘We need added investment’” – Inquirer

The second notice “Leave us alone” reflects the defiance of the following headlines:

“ICC chamber junks PH’s petition to suspend resumption of drug war probe” – Rappler

“Marcos: PH ending all involvement with ICC” – CNN Philippines

          Nikkei Asia article “Marcos’ wealth fund is wrong cure for Philippine economy” by William Pesek, an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist, and author (an objective observer looking outside the box), offers a critical perspective on the meaning of the first notice “Open for business”. Here are some excerpts:

“[Maharlika Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund of sorts,] typically emerges when a government has an embarrassment of riches. Usually, this is because the sale of natural resources leaves a government with more cash than it knows what to do with [the so-called surplus]. Here, think of Saudi Arabia or Norway.

“The time not to create one is when a country is struggling with a budget deficit. Or when a nation’s troubles are so much bigger than a wealth fund could ever address – from chronic poverty to runaway inflation to endemic corruption.

“The fact that Marcos is the son of the dictator who destroyed an economy earlier destined to be a Southeast Asian success story only heightens fears that the fund is a very bad idea.”

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

So, PH is now “open for business”?

With such a fund that its critics have likened to the notorious 1Malaysia Development Bhd., and which was passed into law in a hasty and questionable manner -- that open-for-business notice is hardly convincing to global investors.

Our local pundit-economist Solita “Mareng Winnie” Monsod joined the fray:

“A sovereign wealth fund is supposed to be created out of excess, out of surplus, either surplus from commodity export, oil, gas, mineral export, or from inflows of foreign exchange that are too much. In other words, excess or fiscal surpluses.”

Having said that, the MIF’s “flight of the fancy” seems to be embedded in the words of PBBM himself: “We need added investment.” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri affirmed such a notion: “The President and the economic team are quite excited to highlight MIF to the world for INVESTORS TO COME IN.” (Underscoring mine)

Excerpts of The Manila Times’ Rigoberto Tiglao let the cat out of the bag with his out-of-the-box hunch in his column “Maharlika fund to bring back elites wealth stashed abroad”:

“Obviously, Marcos [Jr.] and the bill’s authors could not publicly reveal the real aim of the MIF: ‘Legitimate’ institutions, especially from abroad, would shun being in bed with what the press would in abbreviation call çrony money abroad.’

“If convincing his elite friends (or perhaps even his family) that the MIF would be an easy way for bringing back their money sitting in some foreign bank abroad or in the form of real property, to be invested in our country’s development, I say: By all means pass the law, let bygones be bygones.”

 Well, that’s Tiglao’s hunch -- take it or leave it. Ironically, such a “hidden” real aim would surely get on the global investors’ nerves on the makings of a rebranded Marcos 2.0 era.

Speaking of the “flight of the fancy,” I can’t help but quote Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel: “The MIF is a bad idea, a bad decision, a bad act. This is madness… developed on the fly. If it were an airplane, then it was built while flying it.”

This reminds me of a slightly different scenario, when James Cameron commented on the Titan submersible implosion: “I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I’d spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face.”

In the Titan’s case, five lives were lost due to such a “horrible idea”. But the MIF puts at risk the lives of more than 110 million people with such, in Pimentel’s words, a “madness” that he could only hope was based on some wisdom that he lacked.

But what about the investors that are supposed to come in? That’s exactly why PBBM has been travelling around the world, as he explained:

“Magpapakilala muna tayo. Kapag hindi tayo bumiyahe at nagpakita sa mga conference na yan, hindi nila tayo iniisip. Wala sa isipan nila ang Pilipinas.”

(We need to introduce ourselves first. If we do not travel and introduce ourselves in conferences, we would never be on their minds.)

“Kailangan natin ipakita kung ano ang ating para mapaganda ang POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS nila na dadalhin nila dito sa Pilipinas.” (Underscoring mine)

(We need to showcase the country to show them what POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS they can bring into the Philippines.)

LEAVE US ALONE

However, this contradicts the second notice on PH’s door: “Leave us alone.”

How can we attract potential investments with such a message on our door? How can we entice potential investments when PBBM has declared to the world that PH has cut off all ties with ICC?

By the way, do the above questions carry weight or make any sense? In other words, what are the implications of PBBM’s “full disengagement” of PH from ICC?

SOCIAL

1.    Impunity. It sends a message that there is impunity for those who commit crimes against humanity – demoralizing victims of such crimes and emboldening other rogue leaders to commit similar atrocities.

2.    Tension and Conflict. It could exacerbate tension and conflict.

3.    Human Rights Violations. It could lead to human rights violations, such as arbitrary detention, or extrajudicial killings of witnesses, victims, or those suspected of providing information to the ICC.

POLITICAL

1.    International Isolation. It could lose support from other countries.

2.    Diplomatic Repercussions. It could harm PH’s reputation on the global stage hampering cooperative work with other countries and international organizations shackling future negotiations and agreements. Exhibit A. “Gov’t Rushes to Avert EU Ban On PH Seafarers” (Inquirer)

3.    Domestic Instability. If the public pulse for the ICC investigation turns into widespread support [Exhibit B. “Lawyers’ group lauds ICC on denial of PH gov’t plea against resumption of ‘war on drugs’ probe” (MindaNews)], it could lead to internal unrest.

ECONOMIC (MIF Achilles Heel)

1.    Reduced Foreign Investment. It could lead to a reduction in foreign investment due to the investors’ uneasiness to invest in PH with a perceived poor human rights record and economic instability.

2.    Economic Sanctions. It could lead to economic sanctions – harming the PH economy by reducing investment and access to capital.

3.    Damage to International Trade Relations. It could harm PH’s trade relations with other countries leading to reduced exports and distress to local industries.

Exhibit C. “EU Parliament To PH: Act On Human Rights Abuses Or Lose GSP+ Perks” (Rappler)

INTERVENTION

Let me end this article with some excerpts from my previous ATABAY article “Easter Letter To My Atheist Friend”:

                                                              ><><

Speaking of social injustice, here’s a heartbreaking story of Kian, a 17 years old boy in a poor family of four siblings. His mother worked as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia, while his father ran a sari-sari store that Kian helped from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon every day before he went to school. After closing the store at night, he would usually walk around the block for some small talk with neighborhood friends.

Maybe it was during one of those walks when he was shot by the police operatives – one of the thousands (6,000+ according to the government, 30,000 according to CHR/ICC) killed in the drug war.

“Tama na po! May test pa ako bukas!” Kian pleaded for mercy before he was killed.

What did that test mean to Kian? A simple thing that could have opened up a bright future for his whole family.

A step closer to his dream of no longer using cooking oil when giving a massage to his father.

A step closer to his dream of reuniting his family with his mother quitting her overseas work as a domestic helper.

A step closer to his dream of having a bed for each of his siblings.

A step closer to his dream of expanding the sari-sari store that has sustained his whole family.

A step closer to his dream of becoming a policeman. How ironic.

“Meanwhile, where is God?” C.S. Lewis wrote those agonizing words amid the deep grief after his wife’s death from cancer.

In any difficult question, like “Is God hidden?” or “Why doesn’t He intervene?” as in Kian’s case, for instance, haven’t we felt in our hearts that the International Criminal Court is God’s intervention?

Have a blessed weekend!

Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft Bing AI-powered co-pilot

Head collage photos courtesy of Graphix Place, Signs & Lines, Sound Cloud, Shutterstock, Business Mirror, & Vector Stock

Video clips courtesy of YouTube

GRADE INFLATION: A REALITY CHECK FOR HONOR GRADUATES & EMPLOYERS

 

“Wow!  You’re going to graduate magna cum laude.”

PROLOGUE

We exclaimed when our daughter Dionne told us about her high grades. I am an academic honor-conscious father because of my early education background: a first honor graduate in elementary and a valedictorian in high school.

When I got to college, the pursuit of honors – summa, magna, or cum laude – was the “holy grail” for me like most fellow freshmen under full scholarship at Mindanao State University (MSU) a long time ago. Such a pursuit was known then on the university campus as a tough nut to crack and one must be tough as nails in pursuing Latin honors, especially in the Engineering department.

It is noteworthy that MSU conferred a summa cum laude on the first-ever Muslim student in 2013 – more than five decades after the university was created in 1961. That speaks volumes on the daunting pursuit of Latin honors as easier said than done during our time.

When I had gotten a girl (ahem) in my sophomore year, I made up my mind in dropping like a hot potato my “holy grail” quest for honor for this skin-deep reason -- I had to have a kick out of life in college – the flip side of the classic “delayed gratification” tenet.   After having called it quits from such elite pursuit, I was still looking though on the bright side of my college education, holding on to this safety net: a not-too-tough weighted average grade of 2.5 just enough to maintain my National State Scholarship until graduation – a fairly dignified feat in college. In the end, in my batch of engineering graduates, only two got Latin honors: a Magna and a cum laude.

After college, National Steel Corporation hired me together with more than two-dozen batches of Industrial Engineers headhunted by the company from various premier universities in Visayas and Mindanao. At that time, only four school names rang a bell in the corporate job-hunting market: UP, Ateneo, La Salle, and “Others” – the first three being known then as the Philippines’ ”Ivy League” schools.

A summa, magna, and a handful of cum laude graduates made up a slice of that batches dominated by University of San Carlos recruits. Amid the glitz of Latin honors, my fellow MSU graduate cracked a joke: “Would the company recognize my ‘Most Behaved Graduate’ award?” What happened next that year would leave me open-mouthed: the magna cum laude recruit topped the engineering board exam, and the summa cum laude, placed second. Standing up for their top Latin honors, their topping the board exams proved a clear case for the elite status they deserved.

DIME A DOZEN

Today, graduates with Latin honors are “dime a dozen.”

Don’t get me wrong. I am proud of my daughter Dionne’s academic achievements. I speak highly as well of all graduates with honors. I’ve held in high esteem those who earnestly sought after such Latin honors and ultimately came through with flying colors.

But I am also concerned about the implications of grade inflation for her and other honor graduates.

Grade inflation is the phenomenon of awarding higher grades than students deserve, which yield a higher average grade given to students which has given rise to “dime a dozen” Latin honors. It is a widespread problem that has been observed worldwide.

Randy David wrote in his Inquirer column that last year, UP Diliman conferred 147 summa cum laude, 652 magna cum laude, and 634 cum laude honors (38%) of its total 3,796 graduates with bachelor’s degrees in various disciplines. MSU-IIT conferred last year 52 summa cum laude, 689 magna cum laude, and 818 cum laude honors (or 80%) of its 1,937 graduates. Interestingly, in 2001, Harvard University awarded 91% of its total graduates with honors.

Grade inflation can have negative effects on both graduates and employers. Let me come up with a reality check on how grade inflation can impact prospects and expectations for both honor graduates and their future employers and offer some practical tips and advice on how to cope with it.

HOW GRADE INFLATION CAN HURT GRADUATES

Grade inflation can create a false sense of achievement and overconfidence among honor graduates. They may think that they have learned more, performed better, and acquired more skills and knowledge than they have. This can lead to disappointment, frustration, and underperformance in the workplace.

Grade inflation can also distort the signaling function of grades and credentials. Grades and credentials are supposed to indicate the level of achievements and competence of graduates to employers and other stakeholders. However, when grades are inflated, they lose their value and meaning. They become less reliable and informative as indicators of quality and ability.

An honor fresh graduate got her first job in a local bank. Being an honor graduate, she was looked highly upon by her superior for her knowledge and skill in her work performance. At the end of the day, sad to say, she fell short of her superior’s high expectations. It didn’t take long for her to hunt for another job.

HOW GRADE INFLATION CAN HURT EMPLOYERS

Grade inflation can pose challenges for employers who are looking for the best talent for their organizations. Employers rely on grades and credentials to screen, hire, and retain qualified employees. However, when grades are inflated, they make it harder for employers to identify and recruit the most suitable candidates for their positions.

For example, a survey by CareerBuilder found that 58% of employers have caught a lie on a resume, with embellished skill sets being the most common deception. This implies that some job applicants may use inflated grades or credentials to exaggerate their qualifications or hide their weaknesses.

Grade inflation can also affect the quality and diversity of the applicant pool. When grades are inflated, they reduce the variation and differentiation among graduates’ academic achievements. This can make it difficult for employers to distinguish between outstanding performers and average performers. It can also discourage some students from pursuing certain fields or careers where grades are lower or more competitive.

HOW STUDENTS CAN DEAL WITH GRADE INFLATION

Students can deal with grade inflation by focusing on learning rather than grades. They should seek feedback from their teachers and peers on how to improve their skills and knowledge. They should also challenge themselves by taking more rigorous courses or engaging in extracurricular activities that enhance their learning.

Students can also compare their performance with objective measures, such as standardized tests, portfolios, or external evaluations. This can help them gauge their true level of achievement and identify their strength and weaknesses.

They should also prepare and demonstrate their potential and value to employers through essays, interviews, or recommendations.

HOW EMPLOYERS CAN COPE WITH GRADE INFLATION

Employers can cope with grade inflation by diversifying their sources of information and evaluation. They should not rely solely on grades and honor credentials but also use other methods, such as aptitude tests, work samples, or references. They should also verify the accuracy and validity of the grades and honor credentials provided by applicants.

Employers can also align their expectations and requirements with the realities of the labor market. They should adjust their criteria and standards according to the availability and quality of the talent pool. They should also offer training opportunities and feedback to their employees to help them improve their skills and knowledge.

Employers can also foster a culture of learning and growth among their employees. They should set clear goals, provide incentives, and create mentorship programs for their employees. They should also encourage their employees to pursue continuous education and professional development.

EPILOGUE

Dionne, though having a weighted average grade of 1.46, didn’t get her Latin honor during her graduation. Aw. Here’s her sob story. One awful semester, she enrolled in Physical Education 2 and attended a class in Taekwondo. Wow, that’s an amazing moxie for girls in this age of bullies and misogynists. But, there’s the rub. Taekwondo is not the course description of her enrolled PE 2. What? You may scratch your head. Aftershock: consequently, she was dropped in her PE 2 and had to retake it the following semester – a costly bummer that robbed her of her Latin honor. That’s an off-key lesson for another day.

To jazz up this article’s tail end, her Mom kidded her: “You’re special; you’re one of the few 40 or so among the hundreds of graduates in your school that didn’t get the honors.”

Her mom’s telling it like it is. In the periodic table, those 40 or so without honors are called “rare earth elements.”

Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft Bing AI-powered co-pilot

Head collage photos courtesy of The Boston Globe & Ann Michaelsen

Video clips courtesy of YouTube

LOVING THE LAST, LOST, AND LEAST IN LAW AND LIFE

 

ROY: Let’s see how [Larry Gadon] serves the “poor” who have less in “law.”

ME: Hi Roy! Thank you, for your comment.

It begs the question: Could he?

Excerpt of the Supreme Court ruling on his disbarment: “The privilege to practice law is bestowed only upon individuals who are competent intellectually, academically, and equally important, morally.”

Implication: Being disbarred is tantamount to being deemed devoid of such essential qualities – he is intellectually, academically, and morally incompetent.

Your comment is so thought-provoking that it has stirred me up lately to maybe draw on it my next article.

                                                             ><><

Hence, the reason why I write about this article. The above exchange is between reader and collegemate Roy and myself on my previous ATABAY article The Picture That Mocks The Poor And The Law. The whole shebang of the issue was candidly spelled out by Philstar Ana Marie Pamintuan in her column Payback time:

“With 100 million Filipinos, people asked: wala na bang iba? Isn’t there anyone else?

“Clearly, appreciations of character, like truth, are relative under Marcos 2.0.

“In other countries, someone disbarred, and over such offenses, would have been relegated to the dustbin of ignominy.”

In her characteristic gutsy form, “Mareng Winnie” Monsod was unflinching in calling a spade a spade: “What does Larry Gadon know about poverty alleviation? For God’s sake!”

But, putting aside the brashness of payback time, disbarment, and incompetence, let’s give Gadon the benefit of the doubt, er, a “second chance,” as Roy hinted. Does he possess the “right stuff” to serve the poor sector of our society through poverty alleviation?

Let me share my personal experience that may shed light on the essence of the so-called “right stuff” which I wrote in my previous ATABAY article that I am excerpting below:

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It was a different kind of weekend than I experienced in our Gawad Kalinga work with the poor by our community Couples for Christ (CFC) many years ago.

 I told my wife that particular morning to just stay home because our mission site was known to be rebel-infested and we were notified by the local authorities to leave the area before dark.

Our group mostly men, with only a handful of female doctors in our medical team, rode in a dump truck loaded with our construction materials and tools paid up by CFC members ourselves through voluntary financial contributions. We made our way over a few kilometers stretch of a rugged road leading to the site. When we got there, we were a little bit surprised because the cluster of dilapidated houses in varying stages of disrepair looked abandoned. We saw no one around.

All of a sudden, an elderly man appeared and talked to our mission head. We got to know that our Muslim brethren had gotten inside their houses when we arrived. They might have been caught napping, figuratively speaking, when our group appeared all at once. We could be the only people, more so Christians, they ever faced that would do some repair works in their houses at no cost.

One by one, people started to come out of their houses when our medical team set things moving with their stethoscopes. In like manner, the noise of hammers, saws, and brooms resounded around the neighborhood from our carpentry, painting, and cleaning teams going all out with their respective repair jobs. Racing against time before sundown, we got our hands full all day long immersed in all types of repairs.

After listening with a stethoscope to heartbeats on the final chest, after hammering the last nail, painting the last coat, and sealing all the roof leaks, we stacked up our tools, gadgets, and accessories, and without any closing fanfare for our job well done, we cleared the area just right before the dreaded nightfall as a precaution for security reason.

What’s it all about?

A heart-stirring question, indeed, that reminds me of this song:

What’s it all about, Alfie?

Is it just for the moment we live?

What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?

Are we meant to take more than we give?

Or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie

Then I guess it’s wise to be cruel

And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie

What will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, Alfie

I know there’s something much more

Something even non-believers can believe in

I believe in love, Alfie

Without true love, we just exist

Until you find the love you’ve missed you’re nothing, Alfie

When you walk let your heart lead the way

And you’ll find love any day, Alfie.

Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Though the most underrated agent of human change, “a single act of kindness,” Amelia Earhart said, “throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” Would it still surprise one to hear somebody, a non-believer of Jesus, from that mission site who would later wonder, “Who is that Christ?” Printed on with “Couples for Christ” and its logo, our T-shirts, surely, did catch his eye.

What’s it all about?

My description for it – empathy – the “right stuff.” “How can a heart understand the pain of another heart and still do nothing?” One writer asked -- an impassioned question that spelled out the cause-and-effect relationship between empathy and kindness.

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My son, James, who took everyone by surprise – family, relatives, and friends – a few years ago by suddenly leaving off his promising medical career and joining in the Jesuit priesthood, has kept us posted lately on his month-long mission trip. Through a non-governmental organization, his community provided all sorts of services for the needs of indigenous people: water, livelihood, leadership formation, and education, among many others.

What’s it all about?

St. Ignatius of Loyola SJ, whose life, like St. Francis, was a quite literal imitation of Christ, wrote the key to the answer: “So great is the poor in the sight of God that it was especially for them that Jesus Christ was sent into the world… Friendship with the poor makes us friends of the eternal King… Let me just say this, whoever loves poverty should be glad to be poor; glad to be hungry, to be badly clothed, to lie on a hard bed. For if someone loved poverty but avoids penury, following poverty only from afar, is that not to be comfortably poor? Surely that is to love the reputation rather than the reality of poverty; to love poverty in word but not in deed.”

To those partaking in “friendship with the poor,” such a “friendship” didn’t just touch them at some moment in time out of the blue. It is a crowning glory of an experience of a spiritual conversion which John Stott painted profoundly in a word picture as “Opening the door (of one’s personal life) to Christ.”

Stott says, “This step is the beginning and nothing else will do instead. You can believe in Christ intellectually and admire Him; you can say your prayers to  Him; you can push coins at Him under the door; you can be moral, decent, upright, and good; you can be religious and pious; you can have been baptized and confirmed; you can be deeply versed in the philosophy of religion; you can be a theological student and even an ordained minister – and still not have opened the door to Christ. There is no substitute for this.”

Sometimes, it’s like a wind that blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but do not know where it comes from and where it is going.

A few days ago, in the wet market, I was hanging around waiting for my “suki” in getting done deboning a few pieces of milkfish I paid for. While she was wrapping up the deboned fish, I caught sight of a pile of fish bones passed up by previous customers. I thought of my cats and dog so, I asked my suki if I could take them home. All of a sudden, a Badjao kid came up and asked my suki for the same fish bones, to whom my suki replied: “It’s already taken.” Before I could say a word, in a fraction of a second, the Badjao took off.

Later that day, as I was feeding my cats and dog the fried fish bones, I wrestled with the thought of what that Badjao’s family was eating for dinner.

Mother Teresa was asked: “How can you keep serving the poor, the sick, and the dying with such vigor? What’s the secret? How do you do it?”

“Whenever I meet someone in need,” she said, “it’s Jesus in his most distressing disguise.”

Here’s a Salary Grade 31 P300K question: Does Gadon possess a bit of such a “right stuff” – friendship with the poor -- to love and serve the last, the lost, and the least in law and life?

Head collage photos courtesy of Jean & Marsavi-WordPressdotcom, Getty Images, Shutterstock, The Strait Times, Global Giving, and The Borgen Project

Video clips courtesy of YouTube