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Rant: Modern Philippine Politics (Sick of all this sh*t)

I’m sick of the idea that one’s fluency in English is the best measure of intelligence. First of all, we’re Filipinos, not American or English. Our national language is Filipino/Tagalog. Most of us are bilingual. Being fluent in English may be a great sign of literacy but let’s not use that as a tool to measure whether someone is smart. You could master the English language and still be an idiot. Language is a tool for communication, and that tool is only as useful based on how well you use it. Leni Robredo is fluent in English, but sentences like “I have 3 daughters; they’re all girls” just screams “stupid”.

Many Filpinos are fools for the mother-figure. Some people say Filipinos are fools for electing a strict, authoritarian that is Duterte. Well, we could say the damn country could use some discipline from a strict parent, and that is how many Duterte supporters see the current president, hence one of his monikers - “Tay Digong”. On the other hand, many look to the gentle, caring mother-figure. This role was first played by the country’s first female president, the late Corey Aquino. She stood in contrast to the late president, Ferdinand Marcos who was also known to be firm & strict. She was the worst example for femininity as she lacked substance. She was simply an actress; she had done nothing beneficial to Filipinos. The decline of the country only started the moment she came into power, and yet her legacy is played up to the point of being petitioned to be canonised. barf In the present, this is the same image that Leni Robredo is presenting. She looks, moves & speaks as a kind, motherly figure to appeal to those who are naive. Unfortunately, she is pretty much another Corey Aquino. She and/or her family has links to some organised crime groups; she’s an airhead who has shown time & again that she is clueless about her surroundings & her own job. I think the people who support women like Corey Aquino and Leni Robredo aren’t simply looking for a mother figure who is completely inept & unqualified for such a high position. They’re looking for enablers, the kind of toxic mothers who smother their kids with understanding, looking the other way when they make a wrong. Even worse, these mother figures aren’t just that, they’re the stepmother who coddles their child to manipulate them out of their own inheritance.

I’m also sick of foreign journalists/media who side with Filipino journalists associated with ABS-CBN & the Lopez group. They’re quick to label Duterte to be as bad as other dictators, censoring the media because they go against his agenda. Those journalists are quick to say all journalists/media are unbiased, they only serve to spread the truth. What bullshit. Journalists are humans, subject to bias. Ever heard of Rupert Murdoch & his empire? In this generation, people seem to easily fall for the fake tears. A group of people cry wolf, and suddenly everyone wants the wolves extinct. Also, these foreign media (I’m talking the loud ones in the US & the UK) have no idea what it’s like to live in a country where 1 media company has near-monopoly of the airwaves. The media company, ABS-CBN, has very close ties with the Aquino clan & has been a very dominant figure in Philippine politics for decades. Imagine having only FOX news corp in the US drilling their agenda into your head with news & entertainment. You think you’re fine if you don’t watch the news, but they still get you through their TV shows. Other rival networks are present but they’re very small & can only be viewed if you have cable. Most people in the Philippines can’t afford cable TV, so they only get what’s aired for free - that is, in most areas, ABS-CBN. If you’re lucky, you might get GMA, a rival network. Oh and another thing, the ABS-CBN borrowed a huge sum from the then Marcos government to bail them out. They never paid back the loan, which is taxpayer money, the land the main company building is on is government property but they acted like it was theirs. The company president is also believed to have conspired with foreign forces against the interest of the Philippines for their own gain. Treasonous. Also, even if you have cable TV, you’re still forced to watch ads in their channel which is ridiculous!

A former president who only approved of projects and didn’t actually contribute or have done anything to its fulfillment doesn’t get credit for it. Many Dilawan (Aquino supporters) cry out that PNoy (late former president Benigno Aquino III) should be credited for many of the recently completed infrastructure as the projects for those were approved during his time. That’s like saying the moment your teacher wrote up the exam questions for your finals, you already automatically got a perfect score in the test. Stupid! In the end, I just hope Filipinos, whichever candidate they may support, pull their head out of their asses & look to a president who is cunning but humane, strict but fair, and has the interest of Filipinos in mind. Our country has long in the mud wet with garbage water. Many countries look at us and have unsavory impressions of our people (that we’re lowly, bumbling maids or nannies; our women marry white men because that’s the only thing they can do to send money back home; our diving team is a mockery of the sport). People think they can still be proud of our tourist spots. Well, had Duterte not stepped in to save Boracay, the Philippines would be offering a literal sh*thole for a beach as a tourist attraction. Now, we have more & better roads, bridges & other infrastructure that’s essential for progress. Politicians who say the Build, Build, Build program is a sham are just salty they couldn’t pocket the money... the fking pigs.

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US and its healthapathy system

When I was growing up in the Philippines, many Filipinos would always compare our country and society to the American's. We perceived the US to be much better at everything - they have the latest technology, lots of jobs, there was no such thing as poverty in their country. But then I grew up, moved to other countries and learned of more things. I also learned about the many struggles of Americans, particularly the non-whites and the middle class. Honestly, I find it almost laughable how a country that is often depicted as superior to others can't even so much as provide decent healthcare for its citizens. Unless they have money, power, (preferrably both), people are deemed about or even lower than animals. For a country that claims to be the prime example of what a 1st world country should be, it treats its citizens like they're no better than those from a 3rd world country. . . . . . Well, what the hell do I know. Soon, the leader of the free world will be a trigger-happy bad businessman with terrible hair, a minor but disturbing sexual obsession with his own daughter, and has all the reasons for radical groups like IS to terrorize and bomb the rest of the world.

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Extinction due to stupid

When I was a first year student at uni, I had to memorise about "herd immunity" but never really learned it coz I figured "We're in a civilised society where parents all around actually think of their kids' health and get them vaccinated. We're fine. I don't need to retain this information post-exam." Turns out I was wrong, dead wrong... And there are people out there with low IQ, lack common sense, or are just too gullible it's a surprise they're still alive, making babies who may be doomed to a life of preventable disfiguring disease/s, or just a really short life. The future contains either an unsustainable, uninhabitable planet, or a sickly, short-lived species. The human race could practically die out because of 'stupid'.

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I saw this piece of news and some public shares of the story on Facebook. I know the LGBT community in general is not welcomed by a vocal proportion of people but I think it's a huge leap to go from "oppression" to "genocide" based on a story with limited information. I also don't see how "genocide" and "eugenics" could be implied from this story. It's a terrible, terrible death - and if it's true that the victim's face had indeed been skinned off, it's not the kind of form any person should be in in death. Anyway, I really don't see how a tragic death/crime could be a plot against the gay community. There are more plausible ones out there - "praying the gay away", "de-gaying/heterosexualising", ignoring the LGBT community's pleas for fairness and demoting them to non-humans/some lower form of animals - these are more plausible (already happening) ones. Genocide/eugenics don't even make sense to be put in a combination... unless the person doesn't know what those two words mean. All I'm saying is promote humanity by promoting tolerance acceptance and acknowledgment of LGBT as PEOPLE, not as some subhuman species. Many know the plight they experience, but really, being paranoid doesn't help. As for the story, may the victim find justice and rest in peace. Quick note: In case you don't know, the "adopted son" in the news article is actually the victim's partner. In Japan, gay people can't get married (as in if the couple identify to be of the same gender). For gay couples to get around this and enjoy the perks of being "legally" family with their partner, they adopt them into their family registry with them ending up as "parent and child" in the eyes of the law. So don't get freaked out that the "adoptive son" is also in a relationship with the deceased. It's not like some twisted incest-like relationship.

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Internet Use

Here's a little something some friends and I agree on, and this came up earlier while we were discussing the Internet, online bullying, and online gaming: "Many people online seem to act like this disembodied opinion on the Internet doesn't have a human person behind it."

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Meat

I'm just gonna ramble here about something I read. Earlier this month (July 2015), Cecil the lion was baited, hunted, skinned and decapitated by a group of men including an American dentist named Walter James Palmer. The news was very upsetting as Cecil is somewhat of a local celebrity and has been a subject of a research program by Oxford University.

This news has little to no relation to me. I'm not Zimbabwean, not related to the American or other locals involved in the killing, nor am I a lion. Still, the story has an effect. I am an animal-lover. I think with my brain, and know and understand the relationship between lions and their habitat, and I certainly understand that killing for sport is of no benefit to anyone but some asshole's ego. I could go on about how disgusting it is to kill a defenseless lion for the sake of keeping some of its remains as trophy but many decent, civilised people already understand that, I'm sure. What bothers me is what other vegans are saying, in particular, Kat Von D.

According to the Facebook page, Kat Von D is a public figure. Well, I don't think I've heard of her nor do I care. What upsets me is her ignorant statement about Cecil's death and meat.

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It’s hard for me to empathize with those of you who are upset about the recent killing of an innocent lion, yet choose...

Posted by Kat Von D on Wednesday, July 29, 2015

I don't know about you, but for a meat-eater like me, I still have enough sympathy for animals to feel terrible about what happened to, not only Cecil but to many animals that are poached and killed for no good reason. There's at least a few differences between people like Walter Palmer and people like me - I only eat meat as part of my diet, and that meat is from animals raised mainly for that purpose. Lions are not a part of a human being's staple diet. Humans may be part of the same food chain that a lion is also part of, but given the advances in agriculture, the only time we should ever be directly involved with lions in the food chain is when a person is being stupid and decides to provoke a starving lion within the same space.

Now if you think I hate vegans, well, I only hate certain ones - like Kat Von D, and those who act like they're a supreme race for only having plants to eat. I respect vegans for their eating habits but (1), I don't care if you don't eat meat. I don't eat crickets, but you don't see me announcing that to anyone I meet. (2) Just because I eat meat, that doesn't mean I will eat ANYTHING that has muscle fibers. I have had dogs, and none of them were ever eaten by me or anyone. I raised my dogs because I love having them as companions. Sure, people in parts of Asia eat them but I don't even though I do eat meat. The kind of logic that Kat Von D has regarding this is just astoundingly stupid, or should I have cheered at the news of Cecil's demise? Well, I couldn't, not even for a bit.

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Friends+Internet=Disappointment

When the Internet became a bit more open and more accessible, I had hoped that information would become easier to access that people would become more knowledgeable and educated. It seems people just can't discriminate between legitimate facts and clickbait nonsense that the world is becoming dumber and dumber. (NO! CHERRIES DON'T CURE CANCER. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!)