That the would-be “revolution” that failed the most miserably happens to be the one that was led by the lady who started it all!
Rest in peace Pinoy-style People Power. Congratulations Philippines!
Quoted from An Epitaph to Filipino-style “People Power”
. . .
Indeed, contrary to what some here may think, there is just so much to be said about this “substance” we imagine our society to possses. Take the following excerpt from today’s Op-Ed section on the Inquirer.net:
The continuing harassment of Lozada and his family is not going unnoticed by civil society. Former President Corazon Aquino has thrown her support behind Lozada and has urged those “who support the truth” to speak out against his impending arrest on the perjury charge. Former President Joseph Estrada has joined Aquino’s call. Estrada said, “It is not a democracy where those who speak the truth are imprisoned or threatened to be imprisoned while those who abuse the people run free.” [...]
What is wrong with the picture painted by the words above?
Is it just moi who sees something so obviously disturbing in the above statement? I suppose so, most likely because not too many people process things the way my insightful mind does.
So let me spell it out:
How is it that we are able to use the names Cory Aquino and Joseph Estrada in the same sentence as civil society?
Only in the Philippines can such a cast of grotesque characters be assembled to collectively represent a concept such as “civil society”. One is a lady who we put on a pedestal fit for “heroes” after presiding over — and then perverting — the only real collective “achievement” Filipinos foolishly latch on to: Edsa ‘People Power’ Revolutions. Among the most “successful” of these “revolutions” that Cory Aquino “endorsed” is the one that ousted then President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada back in 2001 — philanderer and hard drinker extraordinaire, and convicted plunderer — a true and duly elected leader of the Filipino people indeed.
As if to highlight the utter pointlessness of that whole “people power” delusion that captivated Filipinos’ vacuous minds for the better part of a quarter of a century, recall that Madame Cory recently apologised to Erap for all that — effectively making FOOLS of the millions of Filipinos who flooded the streets of Manila in that 2001 spectacle.
And now, as if to capitalise on the institutionalised stupidity in our society, here we see a major media outfit defining “civil society” by dropping these two names.
Classy indeed.
And as for the esteemed Jun Lozada? Well there’s really not much I can say other than it can be quite hard to bring one’s self to respect a man whose trademark public performance is one that involves hiding behind nuns’ skirts.
But then this is Philippine Society we are talking about here — a society whose definition of its “civil” sector speaks a lot about the nature of the substance it imagines it possesses.
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Actually Pinoys don't need a person like me to make them look like fools.
Erap and Cory did that job for me already.
From the venerable open source Wikipedia:
Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's political system) and commercial institutions of the market.
Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as:
registered charities
development non-governmental organizations
community groups
women's organizations
faith-based organizations
professional associations
trade unions
self-help groups
social movements
business associations
coalitions and
advocacy groups
Marx further argued that "civil society" and the state as the executive arms of the bourgeoisie, therefore, both should be withered away.
****
"Civil society", in the Philippine context refers to the very-slightly-left-of-center organizations made up of steak commandoes and paper tigers, the oxymoron called "intelligentsia" that continuous to be dominated by Padre Damaso's lapdogs. Though, for the Erap-oriented instiutions – I prefer to use "groupies" as in starstruck ignoramuses.
It is this same "civil society" that has provided the apology for Arroyo's controversial administration under the guise that the alternative, an Estrada comeback, is worse.
Cory Aquino and Erap Estrada are used in the same sentence as civil societybecause they both headed, influenced, swayed, cajoled, even bullied "civic societies" to follow the respective agendas of the oligarch Aquinos and the populist Estrada. The respective leaders of the "civil society" groups often brandish their "hotline connections" – to the powers that be. And of course, the powers-that-be remind the talking heads of "civil society" that for a sustainable "hotline", the talking heads toe the line of the powers that be, sure smacks of patronage politics.
Which kinda gives you an indication whether there is intelligence in the "intellegentsia" that make up "civic society". Ika nga – Pigs of the same rind, waddle in the same pigsty together. <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/coldpassion/pig.gif">
Filipinos vacuous minds?
Substance we imagine our society to possess?
Not too many people process things the way my insightful mind does?
Utter pointlessness …?
institutional stupidity in our society …?
And many more. My point is this – we have been seeing these 'pieces of furniture' everywhere and anywhere in every blog written by him. Why do we allow this nonsense to creep? I don't know, some of us probably do not have any option either but to read everything posted on this FV screen.
Yes. Like yours, Primer.
Let benign0 rant.
His Pinoy bashing is like Gollum: twisted, withered, and wretched.
Preciiiooouuussss entertainment, if you ask me!
Bring it on, Benign0! I always enjoy your pieces. Just don't mind the Benign0-envy fellows. ;)
well, Neil, if you enjoy BenigNo bashing your race, then, there's a problem. It just validated what BeniGno is saying–that those who read his blog pieces have vacuous minds.
those who usually write this way are those who have'nt even taken part in any of the historical events that shaped the very lives of every Filipino in recent History. Hence, don't expect them to appreciate the sacrifices of people who risked their lives and futures so that people like BeniGno would be able to go to Australia to work.
Why is it that truth hurts? Benign0 is showing us the truths that Filipinos are in denial.
I thought that "TRUTH SETS YOU FREE" as long as it's not on me … HA!HA!HA!HA!HA! Let's get real Flips … TRUTH IS VERY SCARCE IN THE FLIPSIDE …. From ZTE to Fertilizer … NO TRUTH CAME OUT OF IT because Flips hate truths …. HA!HA!HA!HA!
Pat:
For all you know, some of the people who read Benign0s pieces come from a group of people who risked their lives in the 80s, or was part of the core group that launched the first Welgang Bayan which was replicated all over the country, former hardcore militants who are now in the mainstream.
A group that steadily conducted agit-prop campaigns to create the polarized politicized atmosphere leading to the fall of Marcos, but as history would have it, the oligarchs in sheep's clothing hijacked the process as the group was divided between pro and anti-boycott camps.
A sitting oligarch was replaced with another oligarch – and as of 2009, the oligarchs are back with a vengeance. Governance-wise, we are back to square 1, circa 1984.
All those pol-ed, nat-sit, planning-and-programming, arouse-organize-mobilize and ideological-political-organizational work, gone to naught.
Seeing the hubris that proliferates today, these same "vacuous minds" are second guessing themselves. It is frustrating, disappointing, and totally disgusting. Perhaps, the flipazz isn't worth dying for – but worth SMACKING.
We can see through your fabricated patriotism, Pat. You can chant “A New EDSA Revolution Is Upon Us” all you want, but you’ll never shed your skin as a politician’s hack.
Civil society defined – everyone and everything that isn't the State.
That's more than the personalities our newspapers like to pick up on.
Then you can differentiate between those who have the capacity and leisure to indulge in civic duties and those too busy surviving day to day.
I wouldn't fault those who belong to the latter group for not having anything constructive to do or say.
Now those who belong to the first group but have nothing at all useful to do or say, what a shame.
"Now those who belong to the first group but have nothing at all useful to do or say, what a shame."
Now that, caffeinesparks, I hope, should douse a pail of ice water on benigno's head, heheh.
EDSA was an accidental revolution supposedly "led" by coward, scampering scammers of society helped by the balut vendors, cigarette vendors, iced-water vendors, istanbays, homeless and hopeless, unemployables, jobless who thronged for free entertainment between Marcos and Honasan Ramos et al to witness who'd be the victors.
When the tsismosos and tsismosas reached to a critical point that they cannot be mowed down by mashine gone, the priests came out and hijacked it from the tsismosos and tismossas and vendors and called it Miracle at EDSA.
Big businesses not to be outdone came out in force with the tisoys and tisays and june keithley as their spokeswoman and called it politically as EDSA REVOLUTION.
Then the environmentalists and flower people came to roost in EDSA, too. They called it PEOPLE POWER … whatever ….
People, people, people! OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!! This is not a civil society. This is a democratic society where we can do whatever we want to do that is why our streets are congested as always because there are no rules. There are rules but they are just decoration like a diploma hanging in your living room.
From the venerable open source Wikipedia:
Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's political system) and commercial institutions of the market.
Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as:
* registered charities
* development non-governmental organizations
* community groups
* women's organizations
* faith-based organizations
* professional associations
* trade unions
* self-help groups
* social movements
* business associations
* coalitions and
* advocacy groups
Marx further argued that "civil society" and the state as the executive arms of the bourgeoisie, therefore, both should be withered away.
****
"Civil society", in the Philippine context refers to the very-slightly-right-of center; centrist; and very-slightly-left-of-center organizations whose members are made up of steak commandoes and paper tigers, the oxymoron called "intelligentsia" that continuous to be dominated by Padre Damaso's lapdogs. Though, for the Erap-oriented instiutions – I prefer to use "jolog groupies" as in starstruck ignoramuses.
It is this same "civil society" that has provided the apology for Arroyo's controversial administration under the guise that the alternative, an Estrada comeback, is worse.
Cory Aquino and Erap Estrada are used in the same sentence as civil society because they both headed, influenced, swayed, cajoled, and bullied "civic societies" to follow the respective agendas of the oligarch Aquinos and the populist thug Estrada.
The respective leaders of the "civil society" groups often brandish their "hotline connections" – to the powers that be. And of course, the powers-that-be remind the talking heads of "civil society" that for a sustainable "hotline" or to remain "astig", "sikat", "in the loop", the talking heads must toe the line of the powers that be. Such a relationship is anything but "civil" but sure smacks of patronage politics.
Which kinda gives you an indication whether there is intelligence in the "intellegentsia" that make up "civic society". Ika nga – Pigs of the same rind, waddle in the same pigsty together.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/coldpassion/pig.gif">