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[giotrogenic]

Doing History

For historians and people trained in the discipline, history is hard work--tedious and rigorous. But it is also a rewarding experience, especially during Eureka moments.

One of my first Eureka moments was when, as a freshman in BA History, I learned that the Code of Kalantiaw was a hoax and that the Ten Datus of Madiaas (Borneo) where Datu Puti was written about was relegated as myth. 

Unlike many students of BA courses, I took this college program not as a last resort but as a first choice--by my own volition. Here I found like-minded people whose eyes sparkle at the prospect of handling 100+ year-old documents, students who do not know the real challenge that lies ahead, AKA history and what doing history really means. 

Students of history who grew a penchant for the pre-colonial Philippines can walk you through the rich culture of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands during the Entrada period (16th C). Thanks to William Henry Scott, knowledge about pre-colonial Philippines (or the historical period of "Amaya") comes in handy. But reading him is not really doing history. When, as a Second Year student we got to read the Relacion of Miguel de Loarca, and Padre Chirino, the Sucesos of Antonio Morga with Rizal's annotations, and read the Costumbres of Juan de Plasencia, we've started to do what Historians would actually do: read the documents and go for the primary source. 

And yet this is just a glimpse of doing history--not yet the tedious work of historiography. 

If we had the resources (time, money and brains) to go the extra mile to examine the documents, read them in original text (for good measure), corroborate them with other primary sources, read them through a theoretical lens, and write a scholarly work for the academic community to read and review, then we would have done what any proper historian should do--(or what William Henry Scott did when he wrote the "Barangay" (1998)). But alas, we were just penniless saguiguilid fed daily with siomai-rice. 

I experienced how tedious, slow-burn and toilsome a historian's craft was during junior and senior years when we wrote our senior essay (thesis) on the history of Theater in Manila, 1916-1926. I visited various libraries to look for books that were out of print. I spent numerous afternoons alone in the basement of Rizal Library in Ateneo freezing as I scan through microfilms of hundred-year old periodicals looking for advertisements and news reports. I survived the Philippine bureaucracy to get permission to open the Alumbrados Publicos from the National Archives. And painstakingly read handwritten spanish documents. I endured the wooden prose of municipal reports of the American Governor Generals to look for more data only to hit a wall: the 1915 map of Manila that will answer crucial portions of the essay was nowhere to be found--perhaps lost forever. Tired, penniless and frustrated, doing all these is just the first step in doing history which is to gather data. 

What you see in crime-thriller movies where the protagonist scavenges documents looking for a lead and goes to different places to follow a clue is not as exciting as it seems. Historian’s work is a slow-burn process. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance. I’d say it is not meant just for anybody. In fact, my experience of personally doing history, led me away from it and closer to cognate disciplines e.g., sociology and cultural studies. 

History and doing history are unlike what most people think they are. History as text, is a substantive work that is a result of a rigorous method of vetting the reliability of sources, certifying the authenticity of documents, finding out the veracity of content, and doing a hermeneutic reading of documents and other sources. That is why History is also a discipline. Doing history is a discipline practiced by scholars who diligently employ the methods, and who publish their work so that the academic community can review and comment on it, among other things. By this rigor, history tries to speak of the truth, as much closer to the truth. 

When I took BA History fresh from High School, I thought History is that which I learned from my HeKaSi and AP classes. But I didn’t know any better. The history we all knew from primary school is History from textbooks. Years post-High School, what little information retained in our head is just a memory. It is not history. Memory, it is well known, is not static. Especially when the neural pathways to retrieve it lay dormant through years of neglect, memory becomes marred and skewed by new experiences and sensations. Doing history from secondary literature is not really doing history.  And historical narratives culled from memory are not history, yet. (This is why Enrile’s accounts are problematic in so many levels. But this requires a separate discussion). Anything short of the academic rigor of the discipline is not history.

Doing history is like drinking cognac in a country club after a tee time. History is like Amex Black Card.

[giotrogenic]

Hindi ko matanaw ang hinaharap

Pilitin ko man magmasid

Wala akong makitang daratnan sa kinaumagahan

Ano ang paghahandaan ko?

Magbabanat ba ng buto o matutulog muna?

Ano ang kapananabikang maabot bukas at sa isang linggo?

Anong hihintayin sa isang taon?

Alam kong may bukas pang darating para sa 'kin.

Sisikat muli ang araw. Uulan at aalis rin ang kulimlim.

Ninipis ang hamog. Lilinaw ang tanaw ng isip.

Ngunit, ngayon isa pa lang natatanaw ko

ang kawalan na mas malawak pa sa kalawakan

Malabo pa ang kalangitan. Hindi pa ito ang araw ko.

[giotrogenic]

Lost space, shared time: how two years of remote work changed the concept of time in the workplace

We are at a significant conjuncture in history. Never before had a whole generation of people abandon the tangible reality of face-to-face work and migrate to the virtual world of telecommuting or work-from-home (WFH). Two years of WFH must have short-circuited our hardwired consciousness that had only known a face-to-face approach to work all our lives.

I want to hypothesize that our apprehension of space-time has become disfigured as we continue to acclimatize to being fully-fledged WFH workers. This hypothesis might be limited to the Philippines where the longest lockdown is in place and where a lot of Filipino workers aren’t returning yet to onsite face-to-face work since the pandemic lockdown in 2020. Two years of working from home powered by the internet, we have become well-adjusted in a virtual world where time is no longer contained by space, and space is not limited by time. 

In our great migration to working remotely, we began to inhabit an imagined world without borders, a shared space of no place; a shared time in separate spaces; a timeless reality suspended in borderless space.

Because remote-work has created an environment that negates any excuse for lack of time or lack of space, no longer would team meetings get canceled or rescheduled for lack of an available meeting room. We no longer encounter a business process clutched because a key stakeholder is out of office. This is perhaps why WFH gets more tiring and tedious as each working day comes. I never thought telecommuting can be more stressful and exhausting than onsite work. Just several months after the forced migration to WFH, the amount of tasks and projects have perceptibly grown by leaps and bounds. This is just one implication of this new conception of space-time.

Suddenly, the most important currency of capitalism has become free and available for the capitalist-oppressors to exploit. Workers can keep the production running at all times, anywhere. The lack of spatial constrains e.g., not having to go to the office that freed up huge amount of time from workers has given organizations the opportunity to scale up production, kickoff parallel projects, and push for all sorts of initiatives and programs. That the employees are working from home and does not need to wake up so early to drive/commute to and from office-site may have created a false notion of stress-free, energized human resources that can take up double the load they once could manage. Telecommuting catalyzed the idea of agile work. Learning to quickly “pivot”, and become “nimble” and “agile” became the buzzwords of pandemic-work. In my case, working in a media company felt like building a city in a day: each building rising simultaneously throughout.

Moreover, WFH has caused a homogenous simultaneity of time. I surmise that we are moving closer and closer towards mirroring each other's timetable: a reality where “meanwhile” slowly ebbs away as people live in a shared time, mirroring what each other was up to week by week, day by day, hour by hour--thanks to the power of real-time updates, notification alert, pings, DMs, shared calendar, etc. 

Recalling Mikhail Bakhtin's ruminations on the conception of time and space in Greek drama, we are practically living inside a reality similar to the wondrous world of Odysseus whose adventures are devoid of time and a time devoid of space. Greek heroes like him are encapsulated in ageless youth despite all battles and shipwrecks. We are as if living as a Greek hero/ heroine: we wake up each morning facing a plethora of possibilities (or uncertainties), fighting off monsters, solving puzzles and mazes, and just when we thought the narrative arc of this pandemic was about to come to dénouement, another variant would arise ready to restart the adventure-conflict. All these within a borderless empty time. We did not age in two years. Nothing happened and everything happened in the years of pandemic. Yet, like them in Homer’s Odyssey we strive and continue in this voyage, with the image of a home and the people we long and hope for in our mind.

[giotrogenic]

Ang paglikha ay pagbubukas ng sarili pagpapakilala ng pagkatao

Wala nang mas lalalim pa sa pagpapakilala kundi ang ilantad ang laman ng imahenasyon unatin ang salasalabit na pisi ng isip salukin ang lalim ng damdamin ipamalas ang tayog at lawak ng mundo ng sarili

Lahat ng ito'y naikakamada sa likha.

Mali. Ang paglikha ay ang pagiging sarili at pagpapakatao, pag-iral at pagme-meron

[giotrogenic]

Paglalaro ng saranggola ang pagtanda (adulting)

Sa pantaha ko, ang talagang hamon ng pagtanda (adulting) ay ang pagguhit ng sariling tadhana--ng buhay na tatahakin. Kailangan ng kongkretong desisyon at mga pagtanaw sa hinaharap habang tinitimbang ang kasalukuyan. Parang paglalaro ng saranggola. Ito ay pakikipaglaro sa ihip ng hangin, sa pagnanais na abutin ang langit. 

Noong nakaraang buwan, ako ay nasa mundo pa ng publishing at digital media. Noo'y isa rin akong masterado na ang pakay sana ay saliksikin ang impak ng digital media sa epistemolohiya at lipunang Pilipino. Ngunit, ngayong buwan, nasa larangan na ako ng Record Label, online music streaming at digital optimization. Sa susunod na buwan, kailangan kong magdesisyon kung itutuloy ang Masterado o hindi. Sadyang napalayo na ang landas ko sa realedad na gusto kong saliksikin. Siguro nga huwisyo lang ang akademiya sa kongkretong buhay ko sa digital media. Hindi ko kayang iwan ang 9-5 kong trabaho para sa Akademiya kung ayaw kong palayasin kami sa inuupahan at matanggalan ng mga luho ng kuryente, internet, Netflix at subscriptions.

Bakit nga ba ako nag-mamasteral?

Minsan, kapag natatanong ko ito, ang iniisip kong sagot ay para i-diversify ang kakanyahan: Kung maging obsolete man ako sa industriyang pinapasukan, puwede akong pumunta sa pagtuturo o pananaliksik. Nung nag-apply pa lang ako, ang sinabi kong dahilan kung bakit ko gusto magMasterado ay para saliksikin ang hugpungan ng akademiya at ng teknolohiya--akala mo naman ako ang kaisa-isang isinilang sa mundong ito para gawin 'yon. Pero halata namang palusot lang 'to.

History kasi ang tinapos ko noong kolehiyo. Ito talaga ang laman ng puso ko mula nang mahawakan ang mahiwagang Libro ng Almanac 2003 noong elementary. Kaso napag-alaman kong hindi lang pala "kaalaman" ang History, ito pala ay disiplina. Hindi lang pala kaalaman tungkol sa mga Bayani ang dapat na alam kapag History Major. May disiplina pala ito. Kaya ayun, mas nahubog ako sa disiplina: paanong bumo ng kasaysayan, kung paano magbasa ng dokumento, salain ang mga datos, suriin ang mga batis, alamin kung saan mahahanap ang batis, mag-isip ng halaga at kwenta sa mga kakarampot na datos, magdugtong ng mga padron at teorya, atbp.  

Ang kaso, pagiging obrero ng mga website ang naging una kong trabaho. Unang salang sa trabaho ay magsulat para sa mga kumpanyang nagbebenta ng security software, party supplies, at Pinball Machines.  Nagamit ko naman ung isa sa pinakamahalagang tool ng disiplina ng kasaysayan--pagsusulat--kaso in the crudest form. Hanggang sa napunta ako sa online magazines at ngayon record labels.

Kapag tinatanong ako ng mga kaibigan at mga kaaway kung ano ang ginagawa ko sa isang record label, at ano namang pinagkakaabalahan kong pag-aralan, isa lang ang tugon ko , "Mahirap ipaliwanag". Tapos gagawin ko pang mas mababaw ng isandaang porsyento ang mga pagsasalarawan at pagpapaliwanag kung ano ang trabaho ng isang audience development editor, kung ano ang digital optimization, at kung ano ang pinag-aaralan sa Philippine Studies. Budburan lang ng mga salitang social media para ilarawan ang trabaho, at "society and culture" para sa masterado, kumpleto na ang sangkap para ako at ang nagtanong sa akin ay magtagpo sa ideyang "Ang boring naman" ng ginagawa ko.  

Naiisip ko rin kung minsan, sana nga'y "boring" na lang ang ginagawa ko. Yun bang wala nang masyadong kumplikasyon, wala nang masyadong chechebureche. Hindi gaya ng buhay na may interes sa teknolohiya, sa internet at social media, sa algoritmo nito at kung paano nito hinuhubog ang kaunawaan at pagkilos ng tao. Sana nga’y simple na lang ang buhay ko na walang maselang kutob sa mga pangyayari sa paligid sa lente ng Kritikal na Teorya, postmodernismo o mapagpalayang kaisipan kaya. Sana nga'y hindi masalimuot ang mga interes ko sa buhay: na sana’y magkatambal ang gustong gawin at dapat gawin para naman habang nagpapagal sa trabaho'y hindi lamang bulsa ang pinatataba kundi kaisapan din at diwa kung saan nananahan ang puso't pagkatao. At habang umaarangkada ang karera ng buhay ay tumatayog din ang lipad ng diwa, ng puso at kaisipan. Na ako’y mas nagiging tao, at sa lalong paghalaw ng pagkatao’y maging tunay na makatao.

Kung ganito lamang sana kasimple ang buhay, hindi mahirap ang tumanda (adulting); kung mapag-iisa lamang ang bukal na interes sa buhay at ang hanapbuhay. Talaga nga na ang problema kong ito’y paglalaro ng saranggola: kailangang higit-higitin ang pisi habang nagpapa-ubaya sa ihip ng hangin habang umaasang mas lalong mapalapit ang lipad ng saranggola sa langit.

[giotrogenic]

Sa tuwina'y ginigising ako ng sigaw nilang dumanak ang dugo

Na yumakap sa mga ulap ng dapithapon na nagkubli ng liwanag kay Maryang ginapos at ginahasa.

Ginahasa ng malangis na haplos at mabubulaklak na salitang hatid ay ningning.

Ningning na bumulag sa mga inosenteng bastardong anak na di nasilayan ang liwanag

Na dapat ay unang nasulyapan, pagkabiyak ng kawayan sa pagsilang

Mula sa laman at katawan ni Maryang pinaliguan ng dugong dumanak

Para kalawangin at sirain yaong kadenang nagtanikala sa mga nuno'ng namuti ang mata

Kahihintay sa pagdating ng bagong umagang pinangako ng hele ng disgrasyadang ina.

----------------

P.S. Sinisingil na ako ng bayan. Pinaaalala ang dating panata na "ialay ang aking buhay, pangarap, pagsisikap" sa kanya.

[giotrogenic]

It feels like I shouldn't be working in the corporate world, neither teach in a university. In the past months, I am frustrating myself over becoming a coffee connoisseur, a shoemaker or a carpenter.

I want to be good at creating something useful or enjoyable.

Growing up in a fairly low working class family, I have lived most of my life drinking coffee. My parents couldn't afford to buy milk, so they stopped feeding men on milk after early childhood. My mornings, then, were accompanied by a cup of dark instant coffee. In the afternoon, I pour a cup of coffee to a bowl of rice-- leftover from lunch--as my merrienda. And in my maturity I drink coffee even at night, to accompany my daily bible-reading. (So now you know the reason behind the meagerness of my weight and the frailty of my physique)

Instant coffee runs through my veins. And perhaps no one can compare to my expertise in the area of instant coffee. (Joke). Then, Starbucks came to my life and I had a taste of the heavenly bitterness of brewed coffee. Im not an avid coffee shop consumer, but I always like to spend midnights with my church friends at a coffee shop.

Now, as a young member of the workforce and unfortunately oppressed by the capitalist system, I decided that I also want to be a capitalist (non-oppressor) and start my own coffee shop business. But, I told myself that first and foremost I should study coffee tasting, brewing and preparation: I want to taste all types of coffee blends and beans and learn how they are brewed/prepared before I enter that crowded business niche.

I saw that there aren't enough providers of quality to-go coffee in high foot traffic areas where the ordinarios obreros are passing through. I think Metro Manila employees tormented by deadly morning rush traffic is a potential market for fast food coffee business.

Meanwhile, I tried getting a pair of bespoke Marikina-made shoes. The Shoe capital is the place I call home, but I repine for not having an authentic pair my entire life--well, because in the Philippines, everything authentic and high quality is expensive.

Since I always wanted to become an educated consumer, I did my own research on men's shoes before my fitting. And that research opened the elegantly wonderful world of shoemaking to me.

I started to become savvy on the design of pair that I want. I learnt quite a bit about the types of leather for certain shoe design and I got interested in the creative process of shoemaking--sans the sales/marketing.

For now, I am eyeing on taking a shoemaking workshop before deciding on whether I really want to have my own brand. Joco Comendador, a millennial shoe designer is offering workshops from time to time. Im hopeful I can get myself enlisted in one of his workshops.

Lastly, for no meaningful reason other than experiencing the creative process of furniture designing, I wanted to become a carpenter. But not your ordinary carpenter. I want to become a wood carver+carpenter+furniture designer.

Libre lang naman mangarap. Sa ngayon, habang di pa kaya ng credit history ko mangutang ng capital, magmumuni muni muna ako sa isipan ng tagumpay sa mundo ng pagnenegosyo.

[giotrogenic]

#Underemployment: From History to Sales Marketing, and now to Data Science

I just finished the 1st week at my new job, and it's turning my world upside down.

I graduated with a degree in history, and I entered that program with the dream of becoming a researcher/professor.

Pero mapait ang ekonomiya at politika sa Pilipinas. Hindi ako makapasok sa mga schools bilang guro. Buti na lang, kasama sa skills na nadevelop (or supposedly nadevelop) sa akin ay pagsusulat. Kaya unang naging trabaho ko ay bilang isang content developer (writer, technically) na nagpupush sa mga websites na magrank sa Google, maging viral sa Social media at makapukaw ng maraming maraming viewers at readers.

Disclaimer: hindi po ito trabaho ng mga trolls.

Marami rin ako natutunan sa trabahong ito gaya ng mga sumusunod:

Applying sunscreen is on every beauty website's beauty tips--as in.

Filipinos love reading "shocking" and outrageous contents that involves death, crime, calamity and whatnot more than any type of contents.

The word "let" is a verb.

All asbestos contaminated products come from China.

Google is watching over us, all this time. Para siyang si Sauron (or Sauroman).

Natatrack ng webmasters ang mga visits mo (lagot!).

Sobrang talino lang ng Google for making algorithms that can analyse all things under the sun (pati lovelife mo).

Nagkokopyahan lang ang mga websites ng content nila. Ooops! (Not all, but many of them). So the challenge for all you students na ayaw maglibrary is to get the parent source.

Marami pa akong natutunan about the online environment at kung anik anik sa internet which proves na everything is for profit; privacy is just an illusion; the Giants (Google, Amazon, Bing, Xi Jinping) are watching over us, and the conspiracies are true! (Joke lang yung last, pero malapit na ako maniwala).

Conspiracies and Chinese's invisible hands aside, nabuksan din ang oportunidad na maging pamilyar ako sa SEO, SEM, copywriting, Sales at Marketing--which are all basically a capitalist's application of basic sociological principles.

So matagal din na inuto ko sarili ko na in line pa rin ako sa social sciences, kasi applied sociology (for profit) yung ginagawa ko.

Sabi ko noon kukuha lang ako ng experience dito at aalis din ako in 6 months, tapos di ko na lang namalayan, nagising ako isang araw, nakaka 1 year and 6 months na pala ako sa work na ito.

Hanggang sa kung anu-ano ang nangyari sa buhay kaya kailangan lumipat ng work.

In my musings sa internet nakakita ako ng vacancy sa Vogue, (joke lang). So nag-apply ako sa isang magazine publisher para maging assistant ni Devil sa Devil Wears Prada (este bilang audience development blah blah na di ko naman alam kung ano talaga yun). To make the long story short, ayun natanggap ako sa trabaho.

Puro mga glossy magazine-reading public na casual lang kung makipagkwentuhan in English ang nakikita at nakakasama ko in the past week. At mas mahaba ko pang kasama ang mga excel sheets kaysa sa pamilya ko.

Akala ko dati, plus minus multiply divide lang and ginagawa nga excel. Akala ko noon, pang calculate lang siya ng mga utang (ng mga truly rich and famous). Yun pala kaya nitong mag-automate ng reports, gumawa ng cool visualizations ng data at tumulong sa sanlibutan na mahanap ang pakatago-tagong fountain of youth.

Dahil =sumif() lang ang pinaka advanced na formulang alam ko, madalas maubos oras ko sa paghahanap ng excel tutorials sa YouTube at Google. Buti nalang maraming free time ang mga kano (at mga Indians) na magsasasagot sa mga forums.

At nalaman kong may programming language na maaaring magpadali ng buhay ko. Nagset ako ng one-on-one session with myself measuring the pros and cons para pagdesisyunan kung susuungin ko ba ang masukal at mapait na mundo ng data science at programming. We made a concensus na, itutuloy ko ang pag-aaral dito.

Imagine, from history to data science & programming! Whattanays!

Kung kaya, currently hindi ko alam kung makakabalik pa ba ako sa pag-aaral ng History, or mapapako na ako sa mundo ng modernity.

Underemployment. Ito marahil ang general drama of life ng mga Liberal arts graduate na binabalanse ang (1) need ng bansa upang iangat ang antas ng kultura, sining at pananaliksik, at ang (2) need na makaipon, makabili ng lupa, kotse at guminhawa ang buhay.

[giotrogenic]

Takaw, Takot

Napupundi rin ang imahinasyon at pupurol ang utak. Lalabnaw ang lapot ng haraya'ng sanay nakapagpapalaya ng damdamin at makapagpapaluwag ng dibdib. Ang sining na nagbibigay laman at struktura sa kalansay ng buhay ay maglalaho din.

Nakakatakot suungin ang realidad ng pagtanda, o ng pag-hinawa sa noo'y iniibig na sining. Na makalimutan ang sariling hitsura sa harap ng salamin: ang mapatunayang hindi ka na marunong at wala nang kakayanan gumawa ng obra.

Nakakawala ng bait lumingon sa nakaraan at marinig ang halakhak ng tagumpay ng kahapon na ngayo'y halakhak ng panunuya sa sariling hindi sumasalamin sa noo'y mas mahusay na sarili.

Ang malamang hindi na ako, ang ako, ito ang ikinatatakot ko.

[giotrogenic]

Into His narrative of Victory

January 20, 2018

Today, God taught me to embrace my Christianity.

It occurs to me that I am blessed beyond measure to actually be introduced with his scriptures, to take part and be part of His household, the Church, and to become a Christian as a whole. Not everyone has or have had the opportunity of receiving the Gospel due to various reasons. (I even thought--though not too seriously--that perhaps I was just a "collateral", a spillover.)

And for a considerable amount of time, I thought they are more "lucky" to be innocent of their actions, because in that way they are spared fom judgement or at least they'll be handled lightly.

But now I realized that it is for a purpose that I was introduced in the church and eventually became part of it.

That I was called for His ministry started to sink in my mind and soul. Well, the truth is, doing the minstries of bringing people to Christ is not something new to me. However for a long time, this was merely a dormant idea at the back of my mind. It was just a cliche for me, a given that's often overlooked. Everyone's talking about it to a point where it lost its grip on me. I dont give much thought about it.

But now, this idea struck my innermost being: God called me with a purpose to take part in His narrative of victory. God wants to use me. He wants me to take an active part in His ministry of saving the lost. And I should respond accordingly.

My prayer then, is this: that I may become a worthy instrument of His love and truth for the benefit of others. And this means, I should first experience God's love and forgiveness before I try to share it with other people.

###

[giotrogenic]

It’s sad how we love characters in our favorite novel who get along with us whenever we open its pages, but we tend not to love people around us who remain there beside us, around us when the sun comes up in the morning, and remains even as the moon sets at dusk. 

[giotrogenic]

Magsulat ka! Magpinta, o gumuhit kaya. Ilagay mo ang galing at talino sa papel. Kung hindi mo isusulat, ang lahat ng talini mo'y mananatiling kwentong barbero. Ang kapangyarihan ngayon ay nasa mga dokumento. Ang lahat ng sibilisasyon ay yumabong, nawasak ngunit naalala at dinadakila dahil may natutong magsulat at magbasa sa kanila. Kalaunan ang talino mo na naisalin sa papel ay magiging manuskrito: alaala ng nakaraan ng iyong kagalingan.

[giotrogenic]

Hinahanap ko pa rin ang sining na nagbibigay laman sa kalansay ng buhay, kasabay ng paghahanap ng paraan kung paanong makapagbabalik sa tunay na May-akda ng Sining. #sining #servitude

[giotrogenic]

Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Kristyanong Maka-kaliwa

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” Colossians 3:23 NIV Mga alipin ang kausap ni Pablo nang maisulat niya ang mga katagang ito sa Liham para sa mga taga-Colosse. Ginising ako ng proposisyon ng mga athiest at skeptics na nagsasabing nagtotolerate ng slavery ang Kristyanismo na pareho rin sinasabi ng mga progresibo at leftists..

Hindi ito bago. Sabi nga ni Marx: Religion is the Opiate of the masses. Relihiyon at idealismo bilang ugat ng pang-aapi

Ayon sa mga makakaliwa, ang  idealismo gaya ng pananampalataya ay isa sa mga ugat ng opresyon sa lipunan. Halimbawa,  ang sandamakmak na opresyon at krimen na idinulot ng pananampalataya sangalan ng simbahan. Noong kaayusang pyudal nagsamsam ng limpaklimpak na yaman at lupain ang kaparian habang laganap ang kahirapan at pangaalipin. At noong panahon ng kolonisasyon, sa ngalan ng pagpapasampalataya ng mga barbaro at indio, nagdulot ito ng genocide ng mga katutubo sa Amerikas, at malawakang displacement sa Australia & pang-aalipin sa Africa.

Ilang daang taon na tiniis ng mga itim ang pangaalipin ng mga puti. Gayundin na ilang daang taon napasailalim sa opresyon ang mga katutubo sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo.  Kung bakit nagtagal nang daan o libong taon ang opresyon sa ilalim ng simbahan ay hindi lamang dahil sa malawakang kurapsyon ng pinuno, bagkus ay dahil sa likas na kapangyarihan ng pananampalataya upang pasunurin ang mga tao at isangkot sila sa sariling pangaalipin.  Halimbawa, linggu-lingo na napakikinggan ng mga aliping negro ang mga pagtuturo ng mga pastor at landowners na nagdidiin sa pagsunod nila bilang alipin (cf. Colossians 3:23). Ang bibliya ang naging armas ng mga panginoong may lupa upang isemento sa isipan ng mga Negro na tanggapin ang pang-aalipin. Samantala, ang kampana, confessionario at tradisyon ang nagtanikala sa mga katutubong Pilipino upang manahimik at sumunod.

Hindi lang naman sa Judeo-Kristyanong relihiyon makikita ang eksenang ganito. (Ang Hinduismo, halimbawa ay nagtatakda ng habang buhay na pagkakaalipin dulot ng Caste System. Sa Islam ay ang opresyon sa kababaihan. Etc etc.) Kung susuriin, katambal ng pangaalipin at opresyon ang relihiyon sa pangkalahatan.

Sa kasaysayan ng sibilisasyon, ang relihiyon ay isinilang kasabay ng rebolusyong agraryo na nagturo sa sangkatauhan ng konsepto ng lupain, yaman, at pamana. At kapag pinagusapan na ang yaman, ay nandiyan papasok ang kahirapan. Kung may lupain, mayroong mga trabahador at alipin. At kung may pamana, nariyan din papasok ang pagikot ng yaman sa mga “select few” sa makatuwid, ang pagpapatuloy ng kapangyarihan. Ang PUP at Pakikibaka

Alam ko ito hindi lamang dahil Kasaysayan ang kursong kinuha ko ngunit dahil na rin sa pamantasang pinagbuhatan ko.

Sa PUP ako namulat ukol sa oppression sa lipunan at ang pangangailangang makibaka. Hindi ibig sabihin na hindi ko alam ang kahirapan at pangaapi bago ako makapasok sa PUP. Ngunit ang punto ko ay magkaibang sipatin ng mga Marxist reader ang kahirapan kumpara sa mga ordinayong tao na hayuk sa teleserye at facebook. Ibang lente ng pangunawa ang ibinibigay ng mga progresibong libro at paaralan. Matututunan sa mga ito na hindi sapat ang pag-abot ng tulong sa mga mahihirap; na ang generosity ng nasa poder ay isang uri ng opresyon at higit sa lahat, ang tunay na kalayaan ay makkaamit lamang sa pabagsak ng naghaharing systema sa lipunan.

Muntik nang yanigin ng mga kaisipang ito ang sarili kong pananampalataya dahil sinasabi nito na bahagi ng pangaalipin at opresyon ang pananampalataya. Higit pa, napakadaling maengganyo ng kaliweteng kaisipan. Una, dahil napakadaling maniwala sa mga bagay na nakikita. Lumabas ka lang ng bahay (kung wala ka sa subdivision) makakakita ka na ng mga pulubi at mga taong sinalanta ng kahirapan. Pangalawa, likas sa tao ang habag para sa mga kapwa na inapi at dinenggoy ng mga nasa poder. At pangatlo, upang wakasan ang pangaapi, napakasimple lang ng solusyong inihahain ng kaliweteng pananaw: mamulat at makibaka tungo sa kalayaan. Kung kaya, Maluwag kong tinanggap ang layunin ng kaliweteng pagiisip. Sino ba naman ang ayaw wakasan ang opresyon at yakapin ang pagkakapantay-pantay?

Kaya nagsimula na ring mabuo sa akin ang puso para sa mga katutubo, at mga mahihirap na walang boses sa lipunan at inaapi ng mga Abusadong kapitalistang nagtatago sa charity work ng kanilang Foundation.

Ngunit hindi naman ako humantong sa pakikibaka sa kalsada. At lalong hindi rin ako namundok. If I know, ung iba diyan sa mga ngrarally gusto lang makibaka sa pangaapi dahil may hang ups pa ng napanood na pangaapi ni Doña Santibañes at Amor Powers. *** Maulan ang umaga ng Sept 12 habang papasok ako sa opisina at nang mabasa ko ang bersikolo sa itaas. Gaya ng mga makakaliwa, natanong ko rin kung bakit hindi sinalungat ni Kristo ang pisikal na pangaalipin at pangaapi sa lipunan.

Ngunit naisip ko: nang namuhay si Kristo sa mundo, nakita rin naman niya ang opresyon, mga may sakit, mahihirap, inalipin at dinenggoy ng kaparian. Gaya ng mga nakikibaka sa kasalukuyan, isa rin siyang radikal na naglunsad ng (maituturing na) counter-cultural movement laban sa benighted at backward practices ng naghaharing systema sa panahon Niya. At gaya nila, Sinalungat din niya ang mga hipokritong kaparian e.g Pariseo at Saduseo.

Kung gayon, bakit hindi Siya nagrally complete with plackards at nasusunog na effigee? Bakit Hindi niya pinuntirya ang systema ng pamahalaan at produkasyon na nagpapatuloy ng kahirapan at pang-aapi. Bakit hindi niya inilunsad ang malawakang kilusan tungo sa kalayaan?

Dahil ibang uri ng “kalayaan sa pangaalipin” ang inialay Niya. Kalayaan mula sa tanikala ng kasalanan ang naging misyon Niya. Alam Niyang habang walang katuwiran ay hindi mananaig ang katarungan kahit na anupang uri o porma ng pamamahala o produksyon ang umiiral. Na kahit mapabagsak ang naghahahring sistema, kung walang matuwid na mamumuno  ay hindi ito magtatagumpay.

Hindi kalayaan sa makamundo o pisikal na pagkakagapos ang solusyong inihain ni Hesus. Para sa mga mananampalataya, para sa mga Kriatyano, alam natin na ang ugat ng lahat ng pagdurusa sa mundo ay kasalanan--ang pagkakalayo sa piling ng Dios, the Fall of man, sa Genesis 2.

Ngunit hindi ito ang nakikita ng maraming tao. Hindi nakikita and posibilidad ng “life hereafter”. Madalas ang solusyong hinahanap ng mundong ito ay panandalian at pisikal. Appealing to the immediate senses, parang love at first sight. Napakababaw ng nakikita ng tao: ang ngayon at bukas lang. Ang kalam ng tyan. At ganito rin mag-isip ang mga Hudyo noon:

Noong panahon ng pananakop ng Imperyong Romano sa mga Israelita naranasan nila ang pagmamalupit ng hari at mga opisyal. Ang kasalatan at kahirapan ay laganap. Ngunit ang bawat isa ay nananampalataya sa pagdating ng Messiah, ang Hari ng Hudyo sa linya ni Haring David, na maghahatid sa kanila ng kalayaan. Ngunit nang dumating si Hesu Kristo,nagulantang ang lahat at kakarampot lang ang tumanggap sa Kanya.

Bakit? Dahil hindi tulad niya ang inaasahan nilang Messiah at hindi solusyon niya ang hinahanap nila.

Walang naniwala dahil ang inaasahan nila ay ang Hari na gaya ni Caesar na may sundalong makikidigma laban sa mga Romano. Ngunit ang natagpuan nila ay isang karpintero na walang lupain, ni kaharian at armadong grupo.

Walang naniwala dahil ang kalayaang inaasahan nila ay kalayaan mula sa pananakop ng Roma at pagwawakas ng kahirapan. Ngunit ang inialay na kalayaan ni Hesus ay ang kalayaan sa tanikala ng kasalanan at ang kaparusahang katambal nito. At ang winakasan Niya ay ang ugat ng paghihirap (at kahirapan) sa mundo--muli, ang tanikala ng kasalanan.  

Bilang Kristyanong mananampalataya, ang digmaang bayan ba ang dapat kong ibigay bilang tulong sa mga inapi, inabuso at sinalanta ng kahirapan? O si Kristo na nag-aalay ng tunay na kalayaan sa ugat ng lahat ng pagdurusa sa mundo. Bilang Kristyano na nananampalataya sa pagdating ni Hesus at sa pagkakaligtas na iniaalay Niya, napaka-kitid ng paniniwalang malulutas ng digmaang bayan (o ng rally, at pakikibaka) ang pagdurusa at pang-aapi sa mundo.

Kung kalayaan mula sa kasalanan ang masusumpungan ng bawat isa, makakamit din naman ang resultang gustong abutin ng mga kaliwete: walang api dahil walang nangaapi. Suriin halimbawa kung paanong namuhay ang mga unang henerasyon ng Kristyano matapos ang kalbaryo ni Hesus. Mababasa ang kasaysayan nila sa book of Acts. Kung may leftist leaning ka at binasa mo ito nang walang panlilibak sa pananampalataya, hindi mo maiiwasang iugnay sa Kristyanong simbahan ang utopiang gustong kamtin ng komunismo (o sosyalismo) They sold their riches and shared their resources with one another. Kung kaya’t nabura sa pagitan nila ang uri ng mayaman at mahihirap.

Para sa mga Kristyanong may sentimiento para sa mga inapi, ninakawan ng lupa, tinanggalan ng oportunidad at binusabos, mas higit na mainam ang komunidad na gustong itaguyod ng kristyanismo kumpara sa lipunang gustong itaguyod ng mga maka-kaliwa na sa palagay ko ay “bound to fail”.

Sa makatuwid. Hindi rebolusyon ang solusyon.

[giotrogenic]

Photography & Power: On why I don't shoot poor and helpless strangers

If there is one spectacle through which the Philippines never fails to wow the world, it is Poverty porn. Well, we see great Filipino singers, here and there, but in the area of visual arts, our unique selling proposition is the unbelievable state of poverty--reeking with all sorts of oppression and crime.

Poverty porn in the Philippines is what wildlife safari to Africa and what exotic culture is to India. Film directors and photographers, even painters, and installation artists capitalize on the bursting emotions and “humanity” that their eyes can capture from the poor old lady begging along the streets or from a desolate family living in thatched stilt under the bridge.

And yes, slums and crime scenes are our favorite subject because capturing emotions and compelling story from these subjects come in handy.

But for me this practice is unethical and unfair for the voiceless subject, particularly if you're not a photo-journalist.

Why? Because a photographer is always in a position of power. You see, Photography is always a winning game: the subject of the picture, at the losing end. The faces, signs and places are at the command of the one who shoots. He takes to himself the task of articulating the essence of the subject, and morph its meaning/s the way he wants them to be preceived.

As the photographer, or a hobbyist for that matter, you strip the subject of their inherent right/power to articulate their "being" in the public, or assigning meaning for themselves.

This aspect of photography in the nuances of the meaning making process makes it political like its cousin literature and art. A photographer (or someone who shoots and publish) takes an active part in the creative and rather powerful process in which he reframes reality and segments truth. He has the capacity to frame and reframe the subject' stories, segment truth and hide anything according to his whim.

A photographer takes only a slice of truth with how he concoct angle, lighting, and focal length within the very limits of the frame of his camera. And the disenfranchised, impoverished subject has no part in doing so.

I find it unethical to capture their poverty and oppressed situation for the sake of art. It is unfair for them that a photographer or hobbyist leverages over their poverty for personal gain, be it for fame, prestige or money.

I may not have the authority to say, but I ask not to take their pictures unless the image is a call for help from the authorities & crowd . Unless the shot was made with a better purpose other than for an instagram post. Ask these people’s permission, because they have interesting stories to tell. They are more than their poverty stricken lives. They are more than how they look. Understand them and tell thier story through your shots. They’re not the embodiment of poverty. They're just a victim. So try not to victimize them.

[giotrogenic]

An Open Letter to My 16 Year Old Self

Sunday, Aug 13 ‘17 9:51pm

Pag-isipan mo ang kursong kukunin mo sa college. Huwag kang magpaakit sa maikling pila sa Psychology or Sociology kesho ang haba ng pila sa enrollment ng engineering or accountancy. Kapag pumili ka, i-consider mo ang employability. Hindi sapat na passion mo lang kaya pipiliin mo yung kurso mo. Magpakapraktikal ka rin ng kaunti: hindi ka tagapagmana ng koprahan, kailangan mong magtrabaho pagka-graduate.

Speaking of passion at trabaho, hindi totoo ang sinabi ni Rancho sa Three Idiots. Hindi madaling sundin ang “make your passion your profession”. Hindi ka bubuhayin ng passion mo. Kailangan mo ng utak, matinding kapal ng mukha at pananampalataya kapag tungtung mo sa mundo ng pagtatrabaho. Hindi yan basta gusto mo lang. Ang tanong, gusto ka ba? Gusto ba ng lipunang maging history teacher ka kung kailangang kailangan umunlad ng bayan sa teknolohiya at siyensiya?

Pero bago ka pa pumili ng kurso, paghandaan mo ang aplikasyon sa mga kolehiyo at unibersidad. Mapalad ang kabataan ngayon dahil libre ang kolehiyo sa mga SUCs. Pero hindi mo yun naabutan. Kaya pag-igihan mo ang highschool lalo na ang 3rd at 4th year dahil ang grado mo sa mga taong yan ang sisipatin ng mga scholarship foundations at schools kung impoverished enough ka ba para makatanggap ng educational assistance. Kung kaya, aplayan mo lahat ng schools at scholarship na kaya mo. The more, the merrier.

Huwag ka ring padadaaig sa anumang institusyon na kesyo matatalino lang or anak lang ng panginoong may lupa ang nakakapasok diyan. Subukan mo kung kaya, ibigay mo ang dabes mo pag sinubukan mo. Hindi mo malalaman kung hindi mo susubukan. Huwag mong hatulan agad ang sarili mo, na hindi ka papasa dun o hindi ka makakakuha ng scholarship don kasi ganito ka lang o ganyan ka lang. Huwag mong bigyan ng boses ang diskriminasyon ng lipunan. Tumindig ka para sa sarili mo.

Dapat mo ring iconsider na may kahirapan maghanap ng trabaho, pagka-graduate mo. Hindi porque graduate ka na sa kilalang unibersidad e may ticket to success ka na. Wala ka pang napapatunayan, tandaan mo yan. Kahit na tatatlong kilo ang bigat ng lahat ng medalya’t plaka na matatamo ko sa graduation, hindi yan aalamin ng cliente, customer, estudyante, o ainumang tao na kakaharapin at kaka-transaksyon-in mo pag nagtrabaho ka na.

Hindi rin sapat na ma-identify mo lang kung saan mo gusto magtrabaho. Sa Google PH? Sa San Miguel? Magturo sa UP? Maging curator sa Ayala Museum? Pag tungtong mo sa blues ng pagsusulat ng resume, cover letter at CV; kapag naghanap ka na ng job vacancy saka mo malalaman na hindi sing-dali ng iniisip mong makapasok sa gusto mong trabaho. Bukod sa kailangan mong maging mahusay, kailangan mo rin makalusot sa salasalabit na politika ng employment. Kaya, the best choice ay magpakahusay ka. Patunayan ang integridad kahit bata ka pa lang at manalig ka sa Dios. Matapat ang Dios sa kanyang anak.

Pero huwag kang mabulag sa: i-bebless ako ni Lord kasi naging ganito akong estudyante. Tandaan mong Hindi mo pwedeng singilin ang Dios. Waal kang patâgo sa Kanya. At Hindi rin siya Ginie in a bottle. Isipin mo rin na hindi wish-granting factory and mundo, lalo na ang Pilipinas. Pero pwede ka’ng magtiwala at manampalataya sa biyaya Niya. Given yun para sa mga anak Niya. Pero wag iyon ang unahin mong isipin. Maging concern ka muna kung paano ka magpapakahusay at maiaalay ang kahusayan mo sa Dios.

Marami pa sana akong gusto sabihin pero less than 15 min. lang pala ang attention span mo.

[giotrogenic]

I Fear that Day will Come

These are terrible times. In the past decades we saw a drift towards greater freedom and lesser constraints. While not widely realized, this freedom threatens moral standards and for Christians, the biblical standards.

These are the times when words mean as people would want them to be. When people assign new meanings and significations. When truth is relative and facts have alternatives.

I fear that my children and their children will grow up in a  community where marriage means the union of same sex; where family doesn't share love, care and truth; where friendship and brotherhood doesn't exist. Where social interaction means burrying faces on mobile screens. Where communication means mutual hipocrasy: I hide from you, you hide from me, and we meet on the same ground of lies.

I'm scared to see the world without the truth. The future when nothing is sacred and everything’s mundane. When faith is understood as irrationality and true worship as fanaticism. I fear that a day would come when the church will get bullied by all sides of the society. That the church would be emasculated from articulating the truth. I fear that day when the only resort for the church’s peaceful existence is to compromise.

And I’m afraid that the day has come when the whole community of people regardless of race and gender has such temerity to  stand for their cause when in actual fact their cause is at the expense of the poor, the neglected, the marginalized, the oppressed; when they acknowldge their faults and yet stood with their rationalizations. And I also fear that these are the days when people consider even the slightest constraint, an oppression. When you can’t write or read a book or say certain words lest they’d feel hurt, harassed, oppressed.

I fear that day.