On the "disente" crowd's shame campaign against Duterte supporters

Have you experienced being shamed for your support of Duterte? I have. Many times, every day, and I see it happening all over.

First, they make you feel stupid and unworthy of their friendship, their respect, and their time if you do not agree with them. They tell you that by supporting the President you are a bloodthirsty idiot, that you're unthinking, that you're fascist, that you're not part of decent society, that you're jologs.

When that doesn't work, because you know yourself and what you stand for and because you give zero fucks, they use your gender against you. "Kababae mong tao, gusto mo yung bastos sa babae," as if you think a lewd, sexist, morbid joke and a wolf whistle--not repeated again, by the way--are enough for you to forget that this man protects prostitutes in Davao, the LGBT community, that single mothers in his city can rely on daycare centers to take their children so they can work.

They say just because you don't support De Lima, you're a traitor to your sex. Sorry, that's a load of bullshit. I don't support De Lima the same way I do not support Trillanes. It's not because of gender; it's because I really do not support lying, thieving traitors who think so little of Filipinos they dare bring to the Senate one of the most ridiculous witnesses ever, to my expense as a taxpayer. Even if I deplore the smallmindedness and misogyny of our Congressmen who wants to watch that damned sex tape, I won't pretend to take up her cause. If De Lima can sell this country to the highest bidder, then she can very well defend herself. De Lima is not every woman.

And then when gender shaming  doesn't work, because you know that while you condemn Duterte's rude jokes, there's more to him than that, they use your economic situation against you. If you're a wealthy Duterte supporter, you're unfeeling because you're safe in your gated village anyway. If you're a poor Duterte supporter, you're an unthinking, maleducated/uneducated troll who cannot think for himself.
If you're middle class, you're sheep and just follow everyone.

And when that still doesn't work, because being a woman to you doesn't equate to using the battlecry of feminism when it doesn't (and shouldn't) apply, they use religion. Remember when we were all terrified about the threat of fire and brimstone and never saying anything bad about Father? That's long gone. We've unmasked not the Church but its priests. There is NOTHING more evil than a selfish person using religion to further our own causes. See: Spanish Inquisition; see colonialism; God, glory, gold, goons. The God I know and understand  is not the god of a hypocritical priest. My own God and I have our own journey, and you do not have the right to tell me that your interpretation of God is the only interpretation acceptable.

And still, when that doesn't work, because we don't live in the Dark Ages anymore, they attack your profession. They threaten your means of income. This, I take issue against. A certain Dr. A called for all doctors who support Duterte to undergo an ethics review. She says doctors must preserve life and she would like to see doctors who are pro-Duterte stripped of their licenses. Dr. A blithely and conveniently forgets that by supporting the drug war, doctors want to save the lives of the innocent. A big part of anti Duterte sentiment rests purely on conjecture, the unfounded, unproven belief that all EJKs must be the work of Duterte.

If you honestly think that Duterte and the legitimate police force are the ones behind the carton/duct tape killings, you need to haul your ass to your nearest police station and stay there for 3 days going through old records. Policemen have never been known to spend much time on their victims, unlike cartels, who like to make a show of it. Police unload a bullet in your body, haul your body to the nearest/farthest talahib, and leave you there. Policemen do not have the resources to go around killing people, unless they are funded by someone else.

If you work in media, they expect you to take the side of all media. If you work freelance, your clients will make you feel the full brunt of their displeasure by not hiring you because of your opposing views. This has been the quiet but pervasive movement those in power have exercised.

And this is where the cognitive dissonance comes in: You, who decry Martial Law and censoring, have the temerity to make people feel ashamed for voting a leader they believe in? You shut up people by labeling EVERYONE who doesnt believe in the same things as you do as TROLLS? Trolls, how? Because they dont buy your BS? Because they cannot express themselves in English? So you shut them up and embarrass them and render them silent, because all the years they've been ignored is not enough?

Wherever did you get the idea that you are more decent, that your choices and your opinions are more valid than the opinion of the 91 percent? On which universal, unimpeachable truth did you found the misguided belief that your choice is the only choice, the valid choice, the moral choice? On a campaign premise crafted by wily, malicious, expensive people like Richard Greene, Mar Roxas's international political strategist?

Magkalinawagan tayo: You do not have the right to make Filipinos feel defensive for choosing and supporting Duterte. You do not have the moral ascendancy, seeing as how YOUR choice has/have liberally fucked this country many times over. You cannot label people who dont believe in your polished lies as trolls. The 91 percent has spoken, and they've spoken loud, clear, and angrily.

The truth is, you are fucked either way. You are fucked if Duterte stays in power for 6 more years because of your own stubborn will not to help this government, and you are fucked if Duterte is overthrown or assassinated, because revolution will come, and it will come hard and fast. (See: F. Sionil Jose).

Is the shame campaign effective? Yes, but only to people who care more about what other people think than they care about their own opinions, people who have no respect for themselves, and there are many in a superficial, brand conscious society as ours.

(If you have changed your mind, after a good introspection, okay, that's fine, but if you've changed your mind to conform--ano ka, Grade 2?)

But here's what I want to tell those who are in the fence about their support for Duterte because of the fear of being branded stupid and blind by "polite" society:

There's nothing more shameful than giving up your personal beliefs and giving in to pressure, to not fight for this country when it needs you the most at this critical junction in our history. Not fighting for what you believe in is the MOST SHAMEFUL thing of all.


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Krizette Laureta Chu as posted on Facebook.