Prudence and Madness

UPDATE: Somebody uploaded the Media In Focus videos, so I’m posting it here.

Author’s note: While composing the post, I realized that it has become too lengthy to be posted as one entry. So, I’ve decided to break this up into two posts. I guess there’s just so much brewing inside me, having held myself back from responding to those that I’ve read, waiting for the right time. Well, I think the time has arrived to let it all out.

For tonight, I give you the first part of the series.

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For 2 weeks there has been an ongoing furor on the Malu Fernandez article published in People Asia Magazine and her supposed apology statement. Everyone who was been appalled, dismayed, or insulted by her statements and who has access to the Internet must have given their opinions and sentiments on the issue, of which some were raw, while others were more controlled. All of these happening online, of course. But it’s about time that the issue be tackled in the real world.

The Malu Fernandez Issue in ANC’s Media In Focus

Part I

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=TYXt8bBfyhg]

Part II

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=RNifd1QExSo]

Part III

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=XL6oHyt9eso]

Part IV

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=kkUNWMuFCpE]

Part V

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=2SdQdPpOh9w]

Part VI

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=AO6gIjOjJh0]

(Videos uploaded in YouTube by bluethehero)

The issue, I think, reached its height when it was picked up by mainstream media, which has brought it to the attention of those who’re not bloggers or those who’re not aware of the skirmishes happening online. The issue, then, became a topic in ANC’s Media in Focus last night, August 30, with Benj Espina (not Medina) of Atheista.net and Josel Gonzales of selvo.wordpress.com representing the bloggers and Alex Magno, Lorraine Belmonte, and Ricky Carandang representing the mainstream media (though Ricky Carandang can be said to represent bloggers as well because he is a blogger himself). Questions regarding internet culture, blogging responsibility, the impact of new media vs. traditional media, and a lot more were discussed, in the light of the awareness raised by the Malu Fernandez issue. The discussion closed with Che Che Lazaro saying that Malu Fernandez made a mistake in writing such crass and discriminatory remarks against the OFWs but those who were offended and retaliated should have acted more decently and responsibly and with less crass.

Overall, I liked how the discussion flowed. There are two things that I want to point out, though:

• It seems that the segment portrayed the entire blogging community as a lynch mob. I beg to disagree. While that there are those who obviously and undeniably behaved like they were part of a mob (I will try to discuss more about mob psychology in a later post), there are those who, even with different opinions, still held on to what reason tells them what is right. While almost all bloggers (except for one blogger who supposedly posted something in defense of Malu Fernandez) do have the opinion that Malu Fernandez did wrong, it is the manner of disagreement that spelled the difference between those who wanted to settle the issue in a more sensible and rational manner and those who simply wanted the issue to end by screaming that they were offended and that it was enough reason why the demand for Malu’s resignation and apology is outright fair. As I’ve said in one of my posts (or was it in the comments section of a post?), this issue indeed triggered a lot of emotions and these emotions tell us that something wrong was done to us. However, it is not enough that we succumb to “emotion reason” to settle this as rational human beings. We need to point out the flaws and the fallacies which are evidence why this issue must be settled by asking for Malu Fernandez to acknowledge her mistake.

• While that most of Ricky Carandang’s statements in the show are brilliant, I just have to disagree when he said that the difference between physically harming Malu Fernandez and insulting her with statements such as “she’s a pig!” is that being told the latter is better because “at least, she’s still alive”. I suppose in the sense of being criminally liable, yes, it could be said that the insult is way better than being physically harmed. However, I do believe that a psychological attack can indeed be as harmful as a physical attack, if not, more powerful. In this case, the pen can be mightier than the sword because it could condition some susceptible individuals to insurmountable anger which could cause them to actually carry out a particular violent act. For those who haven’t read much of the comments in numerous blogs, the “she’s a pig” comment is rather tame. It gets more murderous and disturbing as you go through the comments.

It is good that the issue got exposure in TV because more people realized that there is such power in the internet that the users can harness, which is blogging, and it can be used as a tool for both good and evil, depending upon the person who wields it.

It is undeniable that the furor in the blogging community must have pushed Malu Fernandez to submit her voluntary resignation, though to know whether it was because her mistake finally dawned on her or because she find it hard to ignore the mudslinging is a question that needed an answer and only she can provide such.

Elitism vs. Reverse Elitism

I remember Josel saying that the OFWs are average people and we cannot blame them if only by name-calling and mudslinging are they able to express their dismay (which is an understatement) because not all of them have received education enough to be able to do so otherwise.

I beg to disagree with this statement.

Some people have accused me of snobbery and elitism just because I called for a more sensible approach to the situation. By being intellectually mean, one does not have to be a higher intellectual. It only requires one to be rational and reasonable. Aren’t high school graduates capable of this? I’m sure those who use the Internet aren’t complete illiterates because simply accessing the Internet requires some degree of competency in basic operation of the computer. So, am I wrong to expect that those who are using the Internet have that intellectual capacity to be reasonable?

It really makes me wonder why some would rather choose to be irrational when they have all the means to be rational. But then perhaps, this only proves one of my assumptions wrong: that we could trust people, especially bloggers, to choose to be rational when they can help it. We are not talking about “crimes of passion” here. This issue have gone on for weeks. It would have been understandable if the knee-jerk reactions consisted of name-callings and curses. But thereafter? Doesn’t this show the kind of breeding we have? That we cannot even manage our own anger?

Somebody in the comment thread said that nobody is born an intellectual (there, at least I have corrected the grammar somehow). And yes, I very much agree because, though we are born with the capacity to be intellectual, intellect is very much what has been gathered through years of existence. But it is the choice of the person if he/she will use what she have learned or if he/she will disregard it and fall back to his baser instincts, without regard to his more rational aspect.

What I’ve seen in the comment threads is that reverse-elitism has become a common strategy used by some to attack their opponent in debates. It is a technique by which you paint yourself a victim or you paint your opponent as being part of an exclusive group, therefore implying that his opinion is not reflective of the general opinion. Often those who use this strategy paint themselves as representative of the “masses”, wearing a mask of humility. This, of course, makes them perceive that they’re in the higher moral ground and the opponent is below them. Unfortunately, this approach has often been successful when used because, in some ways, we have come to value mediocrity over effort to improve ourselves.

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In Part 2, I will discuss “Prejudice vs. Prejudice” in the light of this Malu Fernandez issue.

Filed under: Blogging, News And Social Issues, People, The Philippine Blogosphere by Prudence