My Turf

Mapayapa akong nagba-bloghop kahapon, nang may mabasa akong entry mula sa isang nag-ngingitngit na blogger. Tungkol ito sa isa na namang kontrobersyal na artikulong sinulat ni (who else?) Malu Fernandez–the same writer who, in a pathetic effort to be witty and funny (and failing miserably, if I may add)–dissed the OFWs and never heard the end of it.

Bago niyo ipagpatuloy ang pagbabasa ng blog entry na ito, paki-paraanan muna ang mga katawa-tawa at kaasar-asar na pinagsasasabi ng nasabing awtor sa Manila Standard Today article na ito.

Nabasa mo na? Ayos. At least pare-parehas na nating naiintindihan kung bakit talagang nakakapanginig ng laman ang mga bagong patutsada ng babaeng ito.

Una nyang binanatan eh yung mga bloggers na hirit daw ng hirit tapos ayaw namang magpakilala. Sabay nagmaka-defensive pa at sinabing ang "angst" (na pilit nyang itinatago, pero umaalingasaw pa rin!) nya towards bloggers ay wala naman daw kaugnayan doon sa libo-libong humirit sa kanya dahil sa sinulat niya noon about the OFWs. Naiinis lang daw sya sa mga tao who "write under false names or anonymity." Period. Yeah right, Malu. Sure.

Malu wrote about the bloggers:

"…first of all I believe in the freedom of speech. By all means say what you need to say. Unfortunately for most of the bloggers without advertising you get paid nothing. If in fact you do get paid then hooray for you. But blogging, aside from Perez Hilton and the other big time bloggers (you know who you are) is for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect. Unless you’re in bloody Siberia or in a Gulag prison, try stepping outside your comfort zone and turn off the laptop or pc, you just might find some real live people to talk to instead of typing away in cyber space."

A medium and pastime for lonely people to connect?! What an absurd, rude, reckless comment! How could such a generalization be made about the budding blogging community? Honestly speaking, the most interesting people I know keep blogs–these are men and women who live exceptional lives and who also happen to have exceptional talent in writing as well. There is NO WAY you could have any subject to write about if you do not have anything of interest to say–if you are merely "typing away in cyberspace" but do not really have any life to speak of, there would be no stories to tell, no people to write about, no experiences to share, no opinion to express…in short, no blog entry. Personally, since I started blogigng a couple of years back, I noticed that I have become more conscious of the details whenever I find myself in a new surrounding or with new people, because I want to write about the experience in my blog as accurately as I could. I write blogs not because I have nothing better to do (or because I am lonely, unable to get out of my comfort zone or have no ‘real live people’ to socialize with). I write blogs because I have a lot of these things and I want to tell others about it.      

The reason why blogging has become a major hit among people from all ages is because it is an effective medium for a free-sharing of ideas. Bloggers learn from each others’ accounts of actual experiences. Through blogging, the world has become smaller–less scary, less intimidating, less overwhelming–because you know that somewhere out there is someone who shares the same fears, the same hope and longing, the same feelings of elation or of anger or loneliness. You find out about stories you otherwise never would have learned about, you meet people you otherwise never would have met. On the web, each of us shares almost equal space–there is no such thing as a louder voice that could drown out everyone else’s (sadly, some governments and institutions have found ways to curtail this freedom, but this issue does not belong in this entry). New avenues of expression, understanding , acceptance, and celebration of each others’ similarities and differences have opened up, and almost everyone with Internet access are free to read up and join in. Blogging has made all these possible.

Tapos, right after the paragraph I quoted above, bigla naman kumambyo itong si Malu at sinabing:

On the flipside blogging can be a good source of information and a great way to exchange ideas. This I strongly encourage whether it is about politics, fashion, food or whatever topic you may choose. Friendly and healthy discussions are always great.

Ang gulo-gulo mo! Ang writing mo, hija, walang coherence of thought! Sinumulan ang article sa pangungutya sa mga bloggers, sabay babawiin at sasabihing she "strongly encourages" the use of blogging as an information source and a way for people to exchange ideas! Ano ba kasi talaga ang gusto mong iparating? Baket ba nabibigyan ng espasyo sa magazines at dyaryo ang ganitong klaseng writer?!

May isa pa syang banat na talagang gusto ko syang hagilapin para ipakain ko sa kanya ang printout ng sarili nyang article! Eto:

Perhaps it is the Filipino culture to foster backstabbing because they never mean what they say face to face. Just how many times have you dealt with co-workers who will smile in your face when you ask them to perform a task or engage in just plain conversation, when in fact they are quite uncomfortable with the situation and are forced to do what they absolutely detest with a smiling face. I guess it’s the kind of culture brought about by 300 years of Spanish colonization. To one particular blogger of Spanish descent but with an Indio face, don’t act like a peninsulares and quote Spanish words from the generation of your abuelita… jeez and they call me elitist. The Spanish rule is over, get over yourself and your Español relatives who used to have power… but I digress (oops, my bad…)

Una sa lahat, I call that "politeness," not backstabbing. Just reacting without giving its repercussions any thought–like what Malu seems to have a knack at doing–is tactlessness and carelessness, not honesty. At sige ha, tawagin mo pa ang Pilipinong ‘Indio!’ Hindi ka talaga nag-iisip! Ano ba ang ‘Indio’ face ha?! Ibagay mo nga yung pananalita mo sa sarili mo ha…

Hindi ko lang talaga maintindihan kung baket ba parang hiyang-hiya siya sa kapwa Pilipino, sa mga asal at pananalita nila, eh yung pagsasabi nya kaya ng masasama tungkol sa mga kababayan natin, ang pag-tutuligsa sa kapwa–hindi ba yun ang mas kahiya-hiya?!

It’s just like all this hullabaloo about ousting GMA. You deposed ERAP in Edsa Dos. Now you’re unhappy with his replacement. Make up your minds. (For the record I’m not pro anybody I’m pro whatever lesser evil is out there). You can’t overthrow one president then decide you made a mistake with your second choice. I’s not like buying a green Hermes bag and suddenly deciding, oops I should have gotten the black one instead. Unfortunately that’s the kind of nation we have become, a bunch of wishy-washy whiners who whine about everything under the sun and found the blog sphere to be the new medium for whining. Yes we do what we have to do as a nation to get things done and stop corruption and evil (I’m all for that) but we never seem to be happy with what we have, hence the complaining and whining. It just never stops.

Tsk.Tsk. Tsk.

Such irresponsible, baseless, biased, self-serving writing. And you have the gall to call yourself a journalist.