KOREAN WAVE: POP CULTURE POPPIN LIKE POPCORN

“[I]-ban na itong mga telenovela ng mga [Koreans]…” (Senator Jinggoy Estrada)

Two vendors sell “suha” (pomelos). One sells premium pomelos; the other, a mix of premium and inferior ones. Although both of them sell at the same price, the latter attracts more customers than the former. Why? Getting closer to the scene, we hear this sales pitch:

Vendor: “Ma’am, that pomelo in your hand is inferior which you can get at a lower price. But you deserve this premium one.”

Through her eyes, all pomelos look the same. That’s why his uprightness wins over her instantly.

SOFT POWER

We may call such a vendor’s virtue his selling power over his competitor. For Korean telenovelas, such appealing quality is called “soft power.” According to Wikipedia, “soft power” involves “shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction” drawing on its currency: culture, political values, and foreign policies.

Joseph Nye of Harvard University explained that soft power’s best publicity is “credibility” – the scarcest resource during the internet age of fake news and disinformation. “When one country gets other countries to want what it wants,” Nye wrote, it might be dubbed as “soft power” – a concept he further developed in his 2004 book, “Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics.”

“Soft power” […] is how the United States got the world to buy its Marlboro Reds and Levi’s Jeans: by peddling a desirable image. By peddling cool,” wrote Euny Hong in her book The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering The World Through Pop Culture. “It wasn’t the United States tanks […] that made the kids in communist Yugoslavia want to pay two months’ wages for black market Levi’s 501 jeans. It was James Dean.”

“[D]apat ang mga artista nating Pilipino talagang may angking galing sa pag-arte ay ‘yun naman dapat ang ipalabas natin sa sariling bansa.” (Senator Jinggoy Estrada)

It begs the question: which is better, Pinoy or Korean movie?

HENERAL LUNA VS. PARASITE

Let’s take, as a specimen, Parasite – a 2019 South Korean movie that won four Oscar awards. Becoming the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, it grossed over $263 million worldwide on a $15.5 million budget. What's it all about? It is a satirically comedic thriller about poverty, the contrast between the rich and the poor – about inequality.

I feel for Senator Estrada’s sentiment: “Pilipino talagang may angking galing sa pag-arte.” Imagine we put in a wealth of Pinoy talents, skills, and deep pockets that polished off Heneral Luna, hook on the latest movie-making technology, and then bring them all together into play around the story of 17-year-old Pinoy student Kian Loyd delos Santos – just before he was fatally shot by the police had begged: “Please… I have a test tomorrow.”

Playing on the movie-watching crowd’s heartstrings, that school test could have meant a lot to Kian – a step closer to his dream of having a bed for each of his 4 siblings, of his mother‘s giving up her overseas work as a domestic helper, of not having to use cooking oil when massaging his father, and of his dream of being a policeman – the height of irony. Such a storyline by itself, ceteris paribus, could easily measure up to Parasite’s world-class standard.

Sad to say, the begging question -- “which is better, Pinoy or Korean movie” -- catches only a glimpse of the tip -- the Korean telenovelas -- of the proverbial iceberg. It’s not the only thing. A variety of tips heave into view above the water: Korean music & bands, movies, video games & TV, technology, fashion, and cuisine, to name a few, that the world has fallen in love with -- everything South Korean.

HALLYU

As The Guardian news story bannered, “K-Everything: The Rise and Rise of Korean Culture.” The submerged bulk of such proverbial iceberg under water is called the Korean Wave or the Hallyu -- a collective term that refers to the driver of the phenomenal growth and global popularity of Korean pop culture that propels today South Korea’s cultural economy.

“Instead of banning K-pop and K-drama, let’s copy the economic strategies that led to its rise.” (Rep. Joey Salceda)

It’s easier said than done.

The word “copy” is an understatement. The right term may be “benchmarking,” specifically “practice benchmarking” which involves gathering and comparing qualitative information about how a program is conducted through people, processes, and technology. The “benchmarking” job will be so deep that one needs to dig into the late 1990s when South Korea started to envision in shaping up its popular culture as the main export.

In so doing, South Korea allocated resources to cultural industries like pop culture, tourism, and sports, among other cultural sectors, thereby allowing the entertainment industry to grow and flourish. Lifting the foreign travel ban along with freeing censorship laws, respectively, has fostered the spread of Korean culture abroad as well as promoted diversified movie content.

These Hallyu milestones spoke volumes: Seoul-based rapper Psy’s 2012 song Gangnam Style became the first YouTube with a billion viewers, Billboard has recognized the music group BTS, Netflix has mainstreamed the K-dramas, and America’s Academy awarded Parasite the Oscar Best Picture. As US President Obama in his speech at Hankuk University in 2012 said, “It’s no wonder so many people around the world have caught the Korean Wave, Hallyu.”

BENCHMARKING

Could PH avail itself of the benchmarking process that will give a boost to the plight of our nation? In other words, could PH get hold of and bring into effect the same “soft power” that South Korea put into action through its pop culture that has driven today’s Korean cultural economy?

The deep-rooted answer lies in the perception of the beholder in the world stage looking through the three perceptive lenses: Pinoy culture, PH political values, and PH foreign policies.

Pinoy Culture.

“The countries that surround the Philippines have become the world’s most famous showcases for the impact of culture on economic development. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hongkong, and Singapore – all are short on natural resources, but all (as their officials never stop telling you) have clawed their way up through hard study and hard work. Unfortunately for its people, the Philippines illustrates the contrary: that culture can make a naturally rich country poor.” (James Fallows, A Damaged Culture)

That 35-year-old critical assessment, whether you like it or not, begs the question today: So far, have we shaped up or shaped out? The world’s striking reaction to our recent presidential election results gave us a clue: “What’s wrong with the Philippines?”

PH Political Values.

“How many investors of conscience around the world see the suffering of former Senator Leila de Lima in the hands of the justice system of her own country and are turned off mightily by the gross miscarriage of justice?” (Marlen Ronquillo, The Manila Times)

Such “gross miscarriage of justice” diminishes PH’s “credibility” -- “soft power’s” publicity around the world. Those “investors of conscience around the world” includes the same Hallyu investors that in 2019 boosted the Korean economy with a US$ 12.3 billion haul.

PH Foreign Policies.

“After conferring with [President Reagan], [Senator] Laxalt called Marcos [Sr.] back. By now it was 5:30 in the morning in Manila. The senator told him that power sharing would be impractical and undignified. He repeated [President Reagan's] invitation to the Marcoses to move to the U.S. His considerable reserves of determination and defiance now practically depleted, Marcos [Sr.] turned to Laxalt for advice.  What should he do? he asked. Laxalt put it to him straight. “I think you should cut and cut cleanly. I think the time has come.” (Sandra Burton, Impossible Dream: The Marcoses, The Aquinos, and the Unfinished Revolution)

The above momentous scene – the final official act of Uncle Sam to the Marcoses -- encapsulated the nuts and bolts of PH Foreign Policy under Marcos [Sr.] regime. He became then Uncle Sam’s “Amboy” in a two-decade long bittersweet relationship that was frozen in a time capsule after he and his family fled to Hawaii.

Fast-forward to here and now: like father, like son? Your guess is as good as mine. A US midterm election will take place in the next few days; a presidential election, on November 2024. Both can be a game changer in geopolitics. Let’s stay tuned.

So far, here’s my two cents' worth. Sad to say, “It’s more fun in the Philippines” has not been as booming as the “Korean Cool.”

OFWS – OUR CORE COMPETENCY

Let’s bolster up instead our tried and tested legit core competency – our OFWs -- reinforce it with homemade “soft power” ammos like education, hard work, and family values, among others. That’s another story.

Head still photo courtesy of istockphotosdotcom

A CLASSROOM WITH A VIEW

[It is the first day of class for the professor and his students in a management subject.]

PROF JAY:    Good morning and welcome everyone! I am Professor Jay – your teacher, planner, host, moderator, devil’s advocate, fellow student, and judge – rolled into one. Together with you in this subject inside this classroom, we’ll bring into play the case method teaching – the art of managing uncertainty. We’ll try our best to search for solutions to real-world problems and challenges.

MATT:             [Raising his hand] Sir, real people, and real events?

PROF JAY: Matt, real leaders especially, and national current events preferably. Real leaders like Bonaparte, who, with archaic leadership, once said, “If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” Business leader Henry Ford tagged after that line and carried out his vision of Model T that subsequently changed the face of American life. It’s a success story. But, there’s the rub. Down the road, Ford was so in love with his creation that he rejected outright an improved model his engineers had designed. To cut this story short, as a result, his competitors caught up with his Model T and ultimately left it far behind in innovations. Matt, as I said, not only will we deal with real leaders, but also with national current events that all of you read every day in the papers. Could anyone cite a parallel national situation with Ford’s case in our country today?

PROF JAY:    Yes, Tom. [Raising his hand]

TOM:       In my view, there's a parallel with our President and his management style.

PROF JAY:    Could you be specific, Tom?

TOM:            He didn’t name a DOH head for some time now and said to do so only once the Covid situation normalizes. I think he aspires to create a “Model T-like thing” in DOH that he can call his own.

[Prof Jay condenses Tom’s answers and scribbles them on the board.]

PROF JAY:   Do you have a problem with that, Pete? [Raising his hand]

PETE:        I have an issue with its implication. By not appointing a DOH head, he deprives himself of the potential of delegation – the act of empowering his people to accomplish the tasks he has envisioned.

PROF JAY:  Why won’t he appoint such a head when, in fact, it will effectively accomplish his vision? Yes, John. [Raising his hand]

JOHN:     He wants to be sure he can directly claim credit for any achievement later in DOH without someone heading it.

PROF JAY:   Any reactions? Yes, Mary. [Raising his hand]

MARY:           Letting go of the credit is a mark of a great leader.

PROF JAY:   Simon [raising his hand], do you buy Mary’s statement?

SIMON:      Absolutely. It reveals humility and a team mentality – that’s what servant leadership is all about.

PROF JAY:   Reminds me of an eye-catching poster on a wall: “There’s no limit to what one can do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.” Yes, Ann. [Raising his hand]

ANN:         He said there are matters that only the President can do which could be his reason for not appointing a DOH head.

PROF JAY:   Does everyone agree? Does anyone see it differently? Yes, James. [Raising his hand]

JAMES:       Delegation requires calculated risk-taking. It means he won’t be holding the steering wheel anymore. When he says nobody can do about a particular thing but himself, he’s giving into such fear of uncertainty in risk-taking. Giving up control is a basic ingredient of leadership.

PROF JAY:   Other perspectives? Yes, Beth. [Raising his hand]

BETH:           He may still be looking for someone he can trust.

PROF JAY:   Why is that important, Beth?

BETH:          It’s a fact of life. When a leader delegates, it is important that he does so to the right people.

PROF JAY:   Is that right? Any concerns? Yes, Phil. [Raising his hand]

PHIL:          Trust and loyalty are two peas in a pod. Often such twin crowd out competence. For example, a trusted generalist is appointed to a medical specialist position.

[After scrawling Phil’s condensed comment, Prof Jay looks over all his scribblings alongside highlighting boxes and interrelating arrows that have filled up the whole board.]

PROF JAY:   Are we missing anything? Yes, Ted. (Raising his hand]

TED:       Interestingly, just as he heads the DA, so, I would say, not appointing a DOH head is like heading it too – both actions brushed off the valuable delegating function.

[Prof Jay lowers down a new board signaling a transition to the next stage of his lesson plan. He condenses Ted’s statement and scribbles it on the board.]

PROF JAY:   Who would like to build on Ted’s point? Yes, Paul. [Raising his hand]

PAUL:        Two points. First, heading two busy-as-a-bee departments, let alone being the president, makes him appear hardworking – he equates activities with accomplishments. Second, having tried in delegating before but failed -- three cabinet secretaries resignations -- has made him feel uneasy about his delegating function.

PROF JAY:   Interesting perspectives. [He looks at the wall clock and figures out he can’t cover his whole lesson plan if he discusses fully Paul’s two challenging points at issue.] Why don’t we take that offline, Paul?

[After a long pause, taking deep breaths, Prof Jay moves on to the finale of his lesson plan.]

PROF JAY:   Any final comments before we move on? [Long pause] Now, moving on, what are the implications of delegation specifically in our DOH case? Yes, Leah. [Raising his hand]

LEAH:       As a time saving-mechanism, delegation provides more time for the President in focusing his precious limited time resources on more pressing aspects of his tough presidential job.

PROF JAY:   Other perspectives? Yes, Dave. [Raising his hand]

DAVE:          As a developmental approach, delegation provides DOH people with more opportunities to learn new skills. It shows that he trusts them which induces a much-needed motivational boost and brings about loyalty and increased performance.

PROF JAY:   [He looks at the clock and figures out he can still briefly raise Paul’s one challenging issue before he closes his lesson.] Paul mentioned the past delegating failure of the President as may be one reason why he is holding off his DOH head appointment. Why did his delegated people – the three resigned cabinet members – fail in their job performance? Yes, Luke. [Raising his hand]

LUKE:         He delegated the job to the wrong people. Yes, he trusted them. But, real trust as the foundation of leadership rests on the bedrock of competence and integrity. Public expectations of both solid-ground qualities crumbled on the character of the people he had delegated.

PROF JAY:    Thank you, everyone. Job well done. We just tasted a slice of the art of managing uncertainty. In our search for solutions to real-world problems and challenges, I mentioned in my opening statement we‘d deal with real leaders. Let me close our lesson today with quotes from two leaders:

                        George S. Patton: “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”

                       Ronald Reagan: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere.”

                     When all is said and done, it is worthy to note Jesus’ words in the Bible: “For I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me.” The same delegated authority he had received, he also gave to his disciples in driving out impure spirits and in healing every disease and sickness. Isn’t it amazing to know that delegated authority laid the foundation of humanity?

                      Take care, all!

             [The school buzzer sounded.]

Head still photo courtesy of istockphotodotcom

A handful of nuts and bolts of the case method teaching and the essence of delegation in this article were adapted from the following references:

Teaching By The Case Method, Harvard Business School

9 Reasons Leaders Don’t Delegate, Transforming Leader dot org

Delegation In Management – Why Leaders Need To Delegate, Revolution Learning

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE REMULLA?

 

(Sing to the tune of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria)

He’s in Geneva to tell

His boss’ human rights is real

While son taken for questioning

Caught with kush in drug deal

I hate to have to say it

But I very firmly feel

Remulla’s no longer an asset to Palace

I’d like to say a word in his behalf

Remulla… makes me… laugh (or cry, depending on who sings)

How do you solve a problem like Remulla?

(Adapted from The Sound of Music album)

To resign or not to resign -- that is the question preying on the minds of discerning Pinoys today about what Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ought to do in the thick of his son’s drug case.

Let’s get to the bottom of this dilemma by making the best use of the right tool – Personal SWOT Analysis – a method of individual assessment. Also called Situational Assessment, Wikipedia defines it as a strategic planning and strategic management technique used to help a person identify his Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T).

                                      How to carry out a Personal SWOT Analysis

Let’s ask some questions. As Sheryl Sandberg, Meta Platforms COO, holding questioning minds in high regard, quipped: “Don’t be afraid to ask the ‘dumb’ question; everyone else will be relieved you had the guts to ask!”

STRENGTH

           First question: Does his son’s drug case strengthen Sec. Remulla as Justice Secretary?

Answer: No. As Justice Secretary, the case will become an albatross around his neck. As a father though, it may strengthen him to be there for his son who needs him desperately during this sink or swim period in his life. As Pope Francis said: “Families will always have their trials; be living examples of love, forgiveness, and care.”

WEAKNESS

Second Question: Does his son’s drug case weaken Sec. Remulla as Justice Secretary?

“I am both a father and the Secretary of Justice, roles that I take very seriously.” (Sec. Remulla)

Answer: Yes. Based on Sec. Remulla’s statement above and using an analogy, the drug case has turned his son into both his “comrade” and his “prisoner of war.”  Hence, the duality will entangle Sec. Remulla in his job as precariously as juggling chain saws: carrying on his back a “wounded comrade” but also treating him as a “prisoner of war” to whom Sec. Remulla gives no quarter.

Imagine these two contrasting images. First, you are a soldier carrying a “wounded comrade” on your shoulder in the thick of the battle. Second, you are a field commander -- determined, uncompromising, relentless, shows no mercy – doesn’t care about the “prisoner of war” in trying to achieve your wartime goal. Maintaining your equilibrium between such duality will take a lot of your physical and mental energy. In the same way, the burden of such dilemma will sap the strength of Sec. Remulla.

OPPORTUNITIES

Third question: Does his son’s drug case present opportunities for Sec. Remulla to help him perform effectively his duties as Justice Secretary?

“It is the best example of the justice system working. The son of the DOJ secretary has a case and is in jail.” (Sec. Remulla)

Answer: Ummm. The outcome of the case is still up in the air. Far from it, the case can pave the way for many opportunities for garden-variety opportunists who are more than willing to help Sec. Remulla (with or without his asking for it) in performing his job for better or for worse that will overshadow his foresight.

Deeply rooted in Filipino culture, here are some of the old-time long-established opportunistic practices, among others:

Padrino system: “Pads, ako ang bahala.”

Old boy network. “Parts, alam mo ang style ko.”

Reciprocity. “Sir, may utang pa ako sa iyo.”

Professional courtesy. “Brod, let me handle it.”

Political families. “Manong, hindi ka nag-iisa.”

The power of influence of the above “support system” has no need even for his son’s drug case to reach the Justice Secretary’s desk to be settled.

                                                What is a Conflict of Interest?

THREAT

Fourth question: Does his son’s drug case pose a threat to Sec. Remulla in performing effectively his job as Justice Secretary?

Answer: Yes. And it’s too far-reaching. Sec. Remulla’s son’s drug case is a mock-up of nepotism stuff which, along with favoritism, eventually replicates its negative impacts. Nepotism is defined as the act of using power or influence to get unfair advantages for members of one’s family. True enough, Sec. Remulla, like any father, has sought not to be in the current tangled situation. Interestingly, the drug bust was a “force majeure” -- an unexpected event, a so-called “act of God” that did so.

But just the same, Sec. Remulla has been perceived to have the power or influence to get unfair advantages for his son. Like nepotism’s aftereffects, the drug case will “hinder the effectiveness and efficiency of [public service], diminish the public trust, and damage the perception that [the justice department] is serving the interest of their constituents.” (Fighting Nepotism within Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe, July 2019)

PARENTAL LOVE

Wrapping up this article, I feel the following excerpts from the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman will hit on the heart of the matter.

“Ponder the last moment of Gary and Mary Jane Chauncey, a couple completely devoted to their eleven-year-old daughter Andrea, who was confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy.

“The Chauncey family were passengers on an Amtrak train that crashed into a river after a barge hit and weakened a railroad bridge in Louisiana’s bayou country. Thinking first of their daughter, the couple tried their best to save Andrea as water rushed into the sinking train; somehow they managed to push Andrea through a window to rescuers. Then, as the car sank beneath the water, they perished.

“[F]rom the perspective of a parent making a desperate decision in a moment of crisis, it is about nothing other than love […]Only a potent love – the urgency of saving a cherished child  -- could lead a parent to override the impulse for personal survival.”

Goleman rounded out, “Seen from the intellect, their self-sacrifice was arguably irrational; seen from the heart, it was the only choice to make.”

                                                 Diner scene -- Beautiful Boy

Our SWOT Analysis has untangled the dilemma and straightened out the option of not resigning as a bad choice for Sec Remulla’s career and for our country. As a father of an apprehended son, Mr. Remulla, in making a crucial decision in a moment of crisis, unlike the Chauncey parents, doesn’t even need to override the impulse for his personal survival. Mr. Remulla has only to resign.

It is a better choice -- as easy as singing the Do-Re-Mi.

Do, a deer, a female deer

Re, a drop of golden sun

Mi, a name, I call myself … (fade)

(Taken from The Sound of Music album)

                            Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong
Head still photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska @ pixelsdotcom

DEADLIER CANCEL CULTURE THAN TONI-SHOPPEE BROUHAHA

 

          I came face to face with cancel culture situations long ago. Sort of.

One busy morning, I dropped in a crowded fast-food restaurant, and placed an order for breakfast. Sitting at my table for nearly half an hour, I refreshed my memory on the fast food appealing marketing pitch: burgers sit only for 15 minutes; chicken nuggets, 20 minutes; then, thrown out; drive-thru food served in 5 minutes.

Fed up waiting, I called out a staff, showed my order slip, and said I wanted to see the manager. Looking into it, his reflex facial reaction hinted at some screw-up. He took off and came back right away with the manager holding the counter clerk’s slip of my order. It turned out the clerk dropped my order slip on the floor as shown by a footwear smudge on the slip.

In less than no time, my order landed on my table. Having lost my appetite, I told the manager to serve my meal instead to a small kid outside the restaurant looking through the glass wall. I watched a staff handed my order with mixed feelings – not pleased about what had happened, but pleased enough about what to happen – a surprised small kid getting an unexpected gift.

On that day I cancelled the fast-food restaurant branch on my preference list.

PERSONAL CANCELLATION

 One cool evening, my family and I went in a nice diner to taste a variety of seafood dishes set amid a quiet and lovely ambiance of the place. Looking at the sumptuous spread on the table, I figured something special was missing – the “kinilaw” – a Filipino ceviche dish consisting of cubed raw fish marinated in vinegar along with spices.

I heaved a sigh of relief when I caught sight of a waiter with a plate of our ordered “kinilaw” closing in our corner. Getting past our table, the waiter, to my surprise, served the “kinilaw” on the nearby table of newly-arrived guests – VIPs as far as I knew. All at once, I asked for our order slip and found out our “kinilaw” was crossed out without our advice.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, our “kinilaw,” a mouth-watering appetizer, ended up as a welcome curtsy for the diner’s VIP guests.

That evening I cancelled the diner on our preference list.

Only “sort of” was I engaged in cancel culture in the above situations because, strictly speaking, my actions fell short of the following Merriam-Webster’s definition of cancel culture:

“The practice or tendency of engaging in mass cancelling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.”

My actions as ways of expressing disapproval were personal – the cancellation buck stopped with me and my family. By contrast, cancel culture, maybe personally sparked off, lead to mass cancellation – to exert social pressure – as showcased by the following Filipino-American family experience.

MASS CANCELLATION

Celebrating an aunt’s birthday at a restaurant, the Chan family was insulted and harassed by a man with racist language. The expletive-filled video Chan posted on social media, according to The Los Angeles Times, showed the man cursing and gesturing with his middle finger at the family: “Go back to whatever…Asian country you’re from …Trump’s gonna … you.”

The video went viral among country singer Kelly Clarkson and her millions of viewers. In the end, the man resigned as CEO of a California tech company and lamented, “My comments towards the family involved were racist, hurtful, and deeply inappropriate.”

So far so good for cancel culture for the above incident. But, by and large, the bottom line for cancel culture is a toss-up between the two opposing sides.

The Pew Research Center, asking the U.S. public what they think and feel about the very meaning of cancel culture, found a deeply divided nation: where some see calls for accountability, others see censorship and punishment.

 The clinching statement in The New York Times article “The Long and Tortured History of Cancel Culture” is illuminating:

“It’s instructive that, for all the fear that cancel culture elicits, it hasn’t succeeded in toppling any major figures – high-level politicians, corporate titans – let alone institutions.”

For Toni Gonzaga and Shoppee, such a statement may take the sting out of the cancel culture. But for Pinoys as a whole, there is a deadlier cancel culture than the Toni-Shoppee brouhaha has put before the public.

At this point, let me ask this seeming off-topic question: Have you seen the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1980s movie “Predator”?

In that movie, the protagonist is the elite paramilitary rescue team on a mission to save hostages in a jungle. The antagonist is a Predator, a humanoid equipped with a high-tech chameleon-like camouflaging device that can bend light -- creating the illusion of invisibility.

PREDATOR-LIKE CANCEL CULTURE

The deadlier cancel culture I’m referring to is like the Predator – it has created the illusion of invisibility – none of us Pinoys seems to be aware of its operation in our present political landscape. Let me expound.

“The concept of cancelling someone was created by communities of people [without] much power to begin with … without the social, political, or professional power to compel someone into meaningful atonement…” (Aja Romano, “The Second Wave of Cancel Culture,” Vox)

The above is the typical cancel culture concept. Here’s the predator-kind of cancel culture concept according to the Vox article:

“The concept may have become A WEAPON FOR PEOPLE IN POWER [emphasis mine] to use against those it was intended to help.”

To illustrate, let’s take these three samples (as in "Ingat baka ma-de Lima ka") from Randy David’s Inquirer unflinching column:

“Who would have thought that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, after five years of leading the country’s highest court, could be removed from her position by “quo warranto” – a legal action that questions a person’s authority to exercise or occupy a public office?

“Who would have thought that a sitting senator, Leila de Lima, Mr. Duterte’s fiercest critic, could be arrested and detained without bail, for conspiracy to trade in illegal drugs – on the basis of testimonies of convicted drug criminals?

“But, nothing perhaps can equal the absurdity of reopening the rebellion and coup d’etat charges against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, another outspoken critic of Mr. Duterte, on the ground that the amnesty he received, which had prompted the dropping of these charges, was void ab initio.”

Truth be told, in the realm of cancel culture, the trio above has been cancelled by the political weaponization of the law.

There are more. ABS-CBN franchise renewal was denied which virtually cancelled the people’s access to the largest media company in the country. Lately, there’s a brazen attempt in cancelling a judge for dismissing a government petition seeking to proscribe CPP-NPA-NDF as terrorists.

And it is in full swing: ranging from a silly attempt by the trolls’ countless numbers in cancelling the Nobel Prize Committee due to Maria Reesa’s award, to cancelling the life of the broadcaster Percival Mabasa, consequently, cancelling his freedom of expression – his right to say what he thinks, to share information, and to demand for a better life for Filipinos.

WALL OF REMEMBRANCE

The predator-like cancel culture poses in the U.S. as a handwriting on the wall: “People with too much power might use it for bad ends.” Here and now, it is adding names to the list on our nation’s Wall of Remembrance.

In the movie, Schwarzenegger equalized the “invisible” Predator’s red-tagging device (Sounds familiar, huh? A Predator sees in infrared.) by covering himself with “mud” to hide his heat-emitting body. As I write this article, I still have to find a fitting metaphor for such “mud” to equalize the predator-like cancel culture which our nation has endured.

          Could that “mud,” as equalizer, stand for Death (or our consciousness of it as deterrence) being the so-called the “great equalizer” of human beings? Well, the Bible affirms such essence and reminds us of our mortality: “We are made from earth, and we return to earth.” (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

We know Who knows all the answers to the questions on when, where, what, how, and why of every human death.

Head still photo courtesy of istockphotodotcom

F1 GRAND PRIX GETAWAY: PBBM'S KATRINA?

 

“It raised fundamental questions in people’s minds about how in touch he was while there was chaos in people’s lives, and how much he cared about it. And it raised questions about the basic competence of his administration.”

“It was a perception-altering event. People had questioned his ideology. People had even questioned his intelligence.”

“That’s a searing and very unfortunate image that doesn’t reflect the president’s compassion.”

Whose image popped up in your mind after you read the above comments? If it’s PBBM, then, give yourself a pat on the back. You have your finger on the pulse of our nation, and your moral values are intact, all in one piece.

Oops! You may scratch your head though to know who the above comments referred to -- former US President George W. Bush.

On one August weekend in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the US Gulf Coast with sustained winds of up to 280 kilometers per hour spread across 400 miles. Rolling across levees and drainage canals, a surge as high as 9 meters led to widespread flooding and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes that caused large-scale damage and a high death toll.

WHERE WAS BUSH?

He's peering out the window of the presidential plane Air Force One then at the devastation of Hurricane Katrina thousands of feet below as shown in the photo released to the public. He had cut short his vacation and flew back to his oval office to preside over the government response.

At first glance, that infamous photo appeared to be normal -- the president needed rest from time to time. But the backlash, one notable pundit said, was so damaging as to imprint “a real black mark on his administration that would stay with him for a long time,” let alone such blot would be read in every American textbook in school rooms throughout the land. In his memoir, “Decision Points,” Bush, to his credit, wrote, “That photo of me hovering over the damage suggested I was detached from the suffering on the ground.”

The parallel is striking.

Super Typhoon Karding last month hit our country with a peak intensity right before its first landfall with maximum sustained winds of up to 175 kilometers per hour. It ruined the bulk of the year’s remaining harvest in affected towns costing the nation’s agriculture sector at least P1.29 billion and affecting at least 82,158 farmers and fisher folks. The volume of production loss at 72,231 metric tons and 141,312 hectares of agricultural areas would likely drive inflation up according to the reports.

WHERE WAS MARCOS JR.?

“Singapore – Singapore’s eagerly awaited Formula One (F1) weekend this year saw a record turnout of 302,000 fans, including well-known personalities, ministers, and foreign dignitaries, as well as the partners of several F1 drivers. One face, in particular, stood out among the crowd – recently elected Philippine President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.

“News of Marcos’ weekend getaway to attend the event has been met with much criticism as thousands of families in the Philippines remain displaced and many more are still recovering from the devastating Typhoon [Karding], which hit the archipelago on Sept 25.”

(Excerpted from Today Online)

Today reported that senior lecturer Gideon Lasco of the University of the Philippines twitted: “Just days after a devastating typhoon, and amid an ever-worsening economic crisis, Bongbong Marcos jets off to Singapore to watch an event reserved for the elites: Unacceptable, inappropriate, and utterly disgusting.”

The news item added further that “despite numerous reports circulating online about Mr. Marcos’ trip over the weekend, his press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed the trip only early Monday (Oct 3) morning after Singapore’s Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng posted on Facebook a photo of the Philippine president at the F1 night race.”

“Ms. Angeles wrote in Tagalog in her Facebook post: President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr’s visit to Singapore was productive,” the news item rounded out.

Surprisingly, the following day (Oct 4), Ms. Angeles quit her press secretary job due to health reasons. She did not provide further details.

The inescapable backlash was staring PBBM right in his face. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas’ words in her local dialect were gut-wrenching.

“Hindi pa man din bumababa ang tubig sa maraming palayan na tinamaan ng bagyong Karding, nauna nang lumipad pa-Singapore ang presidente para manood ng F1 Grand Prix. Mabuti pa si Marcos Jr., may budget para sa VIP access kasama pa ang pamilya. Samantala, ang mga Pilipino, halos wala nang makain sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo nang bilihin.”

The statement of Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), (who blasted the Palace’s belated confirmation of PBBM’s trip as “trying to hide the actual details of the trip”) was as sharp as the two-edged sword.

“[W]e assert that the [trip] was insensitive, unnecessary, and irresponsible, given the crisis that the nation is in. Only the utterly callous and shamelessly entitled would not get this point.”

OUR BIG BROTHER GOT THE POINT

Putting, in a nutshell, the perceptions of many Americans about Bush’s performance after Katrina, entertainer Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” – the lopsided victims of Katrina. The sweeping value judgment tore Bush to pieces so gravely as to call such judgment “one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency.” He conceded such a photo a “huge mistake” which made him look “detached and uncaring” -- a glint of light that somehow got through a crack at the rock bottom of his presidency.

Do we Pinoys get the point too? Watching our countrymen crossing the road amid the traffic and turning a blind eye to the “No Jaywalking” sign, or, throwing thrashes anywhere shrugging off a garbage can provided in one corner, may catch our attention for a while. But, for all time, we just shake our heads, brush it off our minds, and just say to ourselves, “Pinoy Kasi.”

PINOY KASI

Most of us had been there, got a load of marked traits of our fellow Pinoys who dined with families and/or friends and charged the expenses as “marketing” initiatives to the taxpayers. Or, how about this attribute of our fellow Pinoys with an excess budget? Rather than turning them over to the public treasury as savings, spent them instead in needless “seminars” in five-star hotels with “lots of fun.” At times, our discerning minds might have opened our eyes to such unethical routines, yet we could have just said to ourselves, “Pinoy Kasi.”

Now, we have our new president and his Singapore F1 Grand Prix getaway. Like our American Big Brother, do we get the point? Or would we just say to ourselves, “Pinoy Kasi”? And move on?

When our home is in disarray, sometimes we need a neighbor to tell us what’s right and what's wrong with our family.

“Everywhere they settled, Filipinos outworked their Asian counterparts, with women migrants heavily concentrated in nursing and related medical fields.” (Excerpted from the book “The Other Americans” by Joel Millman)

WANTED: ROLE MODELS

On the flip side, specializing in Asian-American politics at the University of California, Professor Pei-te Lien and her colleagues have continuously wondered why the Filipino-American (a microcosm of liberated “damaged culture”) political power hasn’t followed the growth of its population.

Giving the game away, Lien put all the cards on the table: “You need some role models.”

Head still photos courtesy of pixabaydotcom