I find it funny how quickly FV set its sights inward into petty internal bickering (what else can I say but this: all-too-typically-Pinoy) while the Inquirer.net, fresh from a pilit coverage of last week’s flacid “interfaith” rally shifts its attention (and those of its readers) way WAY outward, to more pressing matters such as the 37,000 jobs up for grabs in Qatar.
Even more striking is the utter dearth of post-hoc insight here in FV (remember the word in bold fellow “bloggers”?) on the aftermath (or lack of it) left by this latest ocho-ocho exercise considering how much poetry was waxed about it in the last 2-3 weeks.
All I could find was this rather revealing snippet, again, from the Inquirer:
Last Friday’s rally wasn’t as big as the interfaith one last February, but it was a lot angrier. An anger made all the more thunderous and luminous for being expressed in the wondrous colors of Christmas, in the vibrant tones of song and dance, in the barbed-wired words of parody and satire. Some of those who spoke there expressed their anger as well completely literally, in the language of curse and expostulation. One who did so was a pretty unlikely candidate for it.
For those who know me too well, my take would not require a 2000-word editorial that lamely attempts to highlight the “rage” to mask the obvious lack of numbers and substance of this latest and most FLACID of ocho-ocho rallies.
So while everyone here shrinks back to the world of the droll and unintelligent, focused on the trivial or the irrelevant (these last several posts plumbing unprecedented lows), the Average Pinoy Schmoe goes back to what is REAL: finding a livelihood out there to fill a gap that singlehandedly reflects the utter failure of our society to focus on WHAT IS IMPORTANT.
============
Join us on Facebook!
Popularity: 1% [?]
why call the makati rally “flaccid”? where you there?
Are you reflecting on some personal physical problems?
equalizer, I believe the world is not “reflecting” but projecting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection
Brian:agree. even the “plumbing” title suggests it.
Off topic, equalizer, can’t believe bush ducked and avoided a 15-foot hurl. The guy is a fast ducker.
employment news is better than this flaccid rally
No I wasn’t there Equalizer. So tell me then. As a person who was there (presumably) and who begs to differ on my asserting that it was a flacid show of “indignation”, what specifically is it about this flacid rally that you think WASN’T flacid?
Any small-minded schmoe can evade the point by digressing into Tito-Vic-and-Joey humour, dude. Of course that quintessentially Pinoy style gets the most traction amongst the Wowowee set and most likely in Ellenville too, but what separates the men from the boys is the ability to put a bit of substance behind their one-liners.
Up to the challenge?
hahaha. What a baduy usage of the perfectly wonderful word FLACCID. First time it’s ever been used in reference to a mass action.
Takes a Pinoy know it all to prove the opposite.
You need to read more Discover magazines at the dentist. Or check out the vocabulary power column in Reader’s Digest.
benigz,
You are the smallest mind of all, truly. You’re not even original. Check out the character Ybanez in the El Fili. He’s a spitting image of you!
DJB, too bad that “expert” mind of yours is of no use in helping you go beyond that quintessentially Pinoy way that you respond to my astute observations. :D
Unless you can convince us that this “rally” was anything more than yet another instance of the typically inane way Pinoys — led by their “expert” leaders — practice their “democratic power”, well, the adjective flacid pretty much sticks to it no matter how “baduy” you think it is.
Tough luck.
sandali, ano ba ang ‘flaccid’ sa context na ito? what is the magic number that turns a weak protest into a strong one? why are we fixated on the number of people?
speaking of small-mindedness, obscured by all the procedural debate is something thats always bothered me:
WHAT part of the constitution do they (arroyo) want to change?
yan ang problema ko sa mga politico na pinoy, matagal na.
She doesn’t bother explaining anything. what does she want to change? why? any evidence why this is an important question?
GabbyD, I mentioned numbers and substance.
Actually I posted this blog hoping to be proven wrong.
So far all of what are supposed to be the best “expert” minds this side of the blogosphere could come up with is a fixation on my use of the word “flacid”.
And the irony here (ironies tend to consistently escape the typical Pinoy mind, to be fair) is that I’ve been accused of “projecting“. :D
@benign0
ok. numbers AND substance…
i repeat, what kind of numbers is the “right” one.
second, what does substance mean here? it is an interfaith rally against charter change. By definition, it has only one (1) characteristic: that the rallyists not be of the same faith, and that they all successfully communicate that they are against charter change.
i think they nailed it on both counts.
on the number of people, i’m not sure. i’m not even sure if the number of people is even relevant.
What kind of substance did you expect an interfaith rally against charter change to have? What is an example of a rally that has substance?
now, i get that you don’t agree with rallies in general. But to accuse a rally of not having substance is a strawman complaint, because the purpose of a peaceful rally is to communicate a group(s) political position.
Gabby D,
Philippine Charter Change- an old Issue
If I may, The EQ’s zingers — allusions to limp noodlehood and the psychoanalyzing of the Freudian use of the word ‘plumbing’ in the title — are hardly T-V-J staples. Admit it, benny. Those zingers were pretty good, eh? :-D.
GabbyD,
Numbers were relevant because the assertion underpinning these “rallies” is that they represent a strong and popular sentiment. So if said sentiment were actually strong and popular, presumably lots of people will go out of their way (i.e. see this as a priority above certain things they need to do and certain other places they need to be at on the day of the “rally”) to attend this momentus occasion.
Furthermore, the Dingman pointed out here that:
El Shaddai ALONE could already have accounted for the “target” number of 10,000 (note that even this “target” number was a flacid one). And yet even with a “other groups” that pitched in, the numbers amassed were more flacid than the flacid target. :D
As for the substance part, I think this quaint passage from the Inquirer article I quoted sez it all:
So if these are what one considers substance…
:D Christmas colours
:D Vibrant tones of song and dance
:D Parody and satire
… then I apologise for my mistake then. We did exhibit quite a bit of “substance” in the 12th of December “interfaith” rally.
Actually they were, Jeg.
By Pinoy standards, that is.
There IS “hope” after all! :D
Flaccid?
is that the number of people attending a Flaccido Domingo Concierto?
Hey Mr. Astute Benign0! At least learn to spell the word you insist on misusing: FLACCID
There ain’t no English word “flacid”
–Miriam Webster
“Numbers and substance”–hey benigs, in the post and the comments, I count you writing “flacid” six times.
Not to be a spelling bee, but don’t they have a spell checker in your power point, you lovely genius you!
Benign0,
think think think think! how do you get out of this one? What’s the smart comeback against that smart aleck punk outing you with your dunce cap on?
Are your brain muscles turning flaccid? The Ca t got ur tongue? You can pee in ur pants, we won’t know!
But really, if you can’t spell the word, how do we know you know what it means???
So please use “flaccid” in five sensible English sentences to convince us. (You may refer to your pudenda, if you like.)
Benigs,
All your umbrage against “experts” reveals a basically anti-intellectual stance, typical of lower management and the petit bourgeoisie. You think the grand solutions lie in org charts and trite slogans. Paradoxically, you berate experts while peddling yourself off as a power pointie operations managment expert. Expert at flow charts, vibrating clip art, and droll solipsisms. You are as crisp as a fresh ream of bond paper, and just as empty. You are full of plans and projects and folders and documents. But you are also on the other side of the world. In more ways than the physical.
There! Now I can go Christmas shopping with a light heart!
Hey DJB:
Excuse my wrong spelling then.
F-L-A-C-C-I-D. :D
As I’ve been telling GabbyD a while ago:
Somehow, the idea of an “expert” reduced to being my personal spelling checker comes across as a bit, well, ironic doesn’t it? ;)
@benign0 on December 15th, 2008 2:16 pm
now, i’m really confused by what ur opinion on rallies are…
FIRST you say these are ocho-ocho (a fad), and that the reason they are so popular is because of a cultural weakness in pinoys that forces them to attend rallies.
if this is true, the large numbers of people in rallies mean pinoys are driven by fads.
NOW you say that numbers are an important way to judge the content and value of the protest/rally… i quote:
“Numbers were relevant because the assertion underpinning these “rallies” is that they represent a strong and popular sentiment. So if said sentiment were actually strong and popular, presumably lots of people will go out of their way (i.e. see this as a priority above certain things they need to do and certain other places they need to be at on the day of the “rally”) to attend this momentus occasion.”
you can’t have BOTH: believe that numbers in a rally are a symptom of a cultural flaw on the one hand, AND believe that they are a signal of how important (non-flaccid) the rally is at the SAME TIME.
Happy to clarify, GabbyD.
As you yourself highlighted, I said “relevant because the assertion underpinning these ‘rallies’ is that they represent a strong and popular sentiment”. I’m not saying said assertion is mine, GabbyD. I’m saying that it is the assertion of those who find value in said rallies.
And in this blog article I assert that even using the measures of success of the organisers themselves, Friday’s “interfaith” rally comes across as flaccid (with a double-”c” ;) ).
My assertion on the other hand is that whether such rallies are attended by millions or mere thousands, they represent exercises devoid of substance which is why my collection of Pinoy ocho-ocho infamy transcends numbers. They are all the same to me — undertakings that demonstrate our society’s moronic grasp of democratic power.
To the organisers and to those (the “experts”) who presume to model its behaviour, ocho-ocho rallies and “revolutions” are successful when they are well attended (and more hopefully to them morph into the next ‘peaceful change of leadership’) — which is why there is a focus on getting El Shaddai and INC involved in these and the use of ‘pastoral letters’ to mobilise warm bodies.
if the rage is to be believed, it wasn’t really flaccid. it’s erect and proud, just miniscule. even then, size doesn’t matter. it’s the performance that counts to achieve revolutionary climax.
the numbers start with you benigs, and we all have to start somewhere small..drop everything and devote full time to your framework.
Why does it have to be an all-or-nothing proposition? I can have my cake and eat it, can’t I?
When you consider the “experts” who have put all of their thinking in the one proverbial basket which they then use to day trade in trivial political factoids, you begin to understand why Pinoy society remains imprisoned in a poignant inability to think outside the square. :D
speaking of interesting debates, maybe someone here at FV can start substantive debate as to the specific changes they want to effect to the constitution.
yan ang problema ko sa cha-cha effort na ito. ano ba ang gusto nilang palitan at bakit? no one is making an argument, and it irks me that what occupies our time is the procedural debate, as opposed to some substantive studies/pag-aaral sa mga nais nila g baguhin…
Gabbyd,
if you have read the link i provided above, you can clearly see why Makati Business Club is against it. The provision includes economic liberation and ” opening up” to foreign investors. The small and medium size businesses are for Chacha. Of course , the big business will lose its power in terms of policymaking when they are subject to competition by foreign firms. Some also argue that it is not a good time to ” open up” our economy because there will be few foreign investors out there due to global economic crisis. But when do we need to be ready? this issue is long overdue. In the next two years? a great example of manana habit.
There’s also a provision of decentralization of power. Have you noticed that almost all 23 senators are against it? it is because decentralization of power may abolish the Senate, decrease the size of the Senate and to reduce the Pork. In the process of Federalism, local district and the provinces can elect their own senator thru direct /local representation and not having all Senators from manila- centralization thus the provision is decentralization.
“Opening up” will prepare our country for more employment. Small business and medium size businesses will have more access to imports and exports instead of being monopolize by the larger firms.
Decentralization and Local Autonomy have been proven to work by many economists and experts in this industry. It’s not a threat but will actually provide competition. Competition is one of the true essence of democracy. Pinoy are very competitive when opportunity is provided.
This rally is flaccid.
@ leytenian
the blog won’t let me include a link, but i found an annoucement at the MBC website saying that they don’t like Con-Ass, but they want some Cha-cha for certain provisions…
____________________________________________________
hahaha. What a baduy usage of the perfectly wonderful word FLACCID. First time it’s ever been used in reference to a mass action. DJB
________________________________________________________
flaccid is not a wonderful word. you need viagra to have the the opposite. :)
gabbyd,
makati business club is not our policymaker. this entity cannot influence any provisions, changes or amendments to our constitution.
Other Provisions to enhance our own public entities such as chambers of commerce, small business organizations, women in business and other public programs should be the center of policymaking. this provision is also supported by APEC.
when a rally is supported by businesses- conflict of interest will occur as a result or a confirmation that conflict of interest has already occured. this whole thing is flaccid. :)
@leytenian
oh definitely they aren’t policy makers. They can influence, and lobby, but thats all they can do…
its only that you mention in :
leytenian on December 16th, 2008 7:56 am
that they are against it, when in fact i think they are in favor of it. they are against con-ass tho… so the wiki site u linked to is factually inaccurate also.
thats it, FYI lang.
gabbyd,
LOL, i could never find accuracy on the internet. thanks to FYI. let me research a bit. so are you for chacha? con-ass or con con?