The oh-so-noble journalists are at it again, this time, with Duterte’s Hitler comment. I am no Duterte fanatic. I criticize him more scathingly than anyone when his mouth is out of line. But this time, Duterte really didn’t say anything wrong. The real culprits behind the fuss over his Hitler comment are Karen Lema and Manuel Mogato, two Filipino reporters of the Reuters news agency, who wrote this article: “ Philippines’ Duterte likens himself to Hitler, wants to kill millions of drug addicts ”. Lema and Mogato are Filipinos. There’s no way they could have misunderstood what Duterte really meant in his speech. I watched the video and this is what the President said: “Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. There are 3 million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them. At least, if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have ….. my victims, all criminals, to finish a problem of my country, and save the next generation.” (See for yourself here . The Hitler part is at 14:40....
Late night realizations (aka distractions while I'm supposed to be working): The day before yesterday, I posted a sarcastic status on Mocha Uson and the hypocrites who wanted to shut down her page. Because it wasn't straightfoward, so many of her supporters came at me and bashed me and messaged me because they thought I was calling for the suspension of Mocha's page.(Actually some people are still messaging me now because they don't get it still). It was overwhelming in volume and emotion--and I thought I was passionate, LOL. While there were many jolog posts, and yes death wishes that bordered on inane and stupid, although never seriously dangerous (a favorite refrain seemed to be ' Magbigti ka na lang ,' but never ' Aabangan kita at papatayin ') I couldn't help but compare the "hate" from her supporters with the hate I see from the anti Duterte forces. The hate from Mocha's supporters were inextricably laced with frustratio...
While most Filipinos preoccupy themselves with minding the belief systems of other people, their public servants are getting away with not doing their jobs. There is a misguided notion among Filipinos that their public servants will eventually do what they are being paid to do. This is wrong and this is part of the reasons things never go according to plan in the Philippines. To be sure, one of the reasons why Filipinos are not used to pointing out their public servants' shortfalls is because of this belief that they are not supposed to be questioning authority. Where they got that belief is another story. In any organization, there is a system of checks and balances in place that ensures that things are working according to how they were meant to. If any part of that system fails, it would take a while before the goal of the organization can be met or in the worst case, the goal will not be met at all. Included in those checks and balances are the low-ranking members who need ...
Participants in new social media including online forums reveal a lot about themselves with the way they behave online. Some fool themselves into thinking that disrespectful behavior towards others is acceptable because they think that everything they do online is just an act or part of the game anyway. Unfortunately, what they think is just an "act" is actually the real them.
There are people who behave online as if they have been repressed all their lives; with the Internet giving them freedom for the first time. But instead of using their newfound "freedom" to communicate effectively, they use it to wreak havoc in small communities they are members of with their bad behavior.
Online anonymity can exacerbate brutish behavior the way drinking alcohol can. It can serve as a catalyst for those who are already predisposed to behaving like a buffoon. Typing away words from the safety of your armchair can give you a false sense of security and make you feel untouc...
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