#but no we have the fucking marcoses in power and his cronies in the government!! putanginang timeline na 'to

[themagical1sa]

I remember hearing about the Filipino protests for ceasefire within Palestine.

I remember being glad to see the protests being done in solidarity with our fellow oppressed — having had a history of being colonized and all — and then, my father begrudgingly says, "Ang dami-dami na nga nating problema dito, nakikisawsaw pa kayo sa gulo!" [Tagalog: we already have so many problems here, but there you are joining in their chaos!]

I was immediately pissed — was it so bad to show our solidarity with Palestinians in our own land? — but, even in the moment, deep down, I knew my father's response was some form of valid. We can barely live in our own country still neck-deep in poverty as the corrupt manipulate their way into plundering the masses. I mean, if the 2022 national presidential elections was any indication, we were all fucking cheated systemically! We're living in a damned nightmare woven for decades upon decades by the rich and powerful, like the Marcoses.

A Facebook user once posted in a political discussion forum that we're living in a failed democracy. When I saw and stared at the post, I realized... yeah, we really fucking are. Putangina.

My father's comment about Filipino protests for Palestine implies a lot of valid points — we're in our own kind of hell, and we really should be striving to better ourselves first before we call help for other people... and yet, at the same time, I can't deny that, at least, in my head, heart, and soul, I'm fiercely chanting From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

I hope that one day we'll all see the day when we're all finally free — free from oppression. Free from corruption. Free to live and just be.

I hope that one day, we'll all be free.

[atelophobicity]

marcos-sara's tv commercial is stuck in my head and that's not a good thing

if someone like me, a person insulated ever since this pandemic started who barely logs in to social media sites and uses the tv as a background noise as a filipino in a typical filipino household does, gets to remember marcos-sara's promotional jingle then it means their promotional tactic is effective. and that's fucking scary.

i'm part of what they call the peti-b in this socioeconomic triangle. and so if someone who categorizes herself as, pardon my old slang, woke, can recognize how effective their brand recall is, then it means the people on my part of the triangle and the ones under my tier will also be impacted by marcos-sara's brand recall.

positively or negatively? i'm still not sure, we're still 3 months away from elections. but if i'm going to trust the survey polls, we know marcos already has the upper hand (as the polls want us to believe, and in my theory, that also shapes our worldview subconsciously). and if his team keeps with pretty, clean visuals (until it shows their faces, that is) with vague ass messages of change coming when he's elected, he might just win.

i'm not rooting for them to win, by the way! if someone even reads this, please know i think marcos is ugly and so is his son and misogyny can be excused if sara duterte is involved (JOKING)! it's also not that i don't have faith in the power of our masses. it's just that, we're two years in a pandemic, our government is shit, and it's still all downhill from here and we don't know when it ends. it's not surprising to hear that people have chosen the self-preservation and/or their family's survival over actively participating in a system that has only gotten more rotten the longer that it's been in effect.

majority of the masses won't care if marcos is blatantly avoiding invitations from presidential interviews that's not from a family crony. majority of the masses can't care less that he's a crybaby who doesn't have the balls to accept defeat. he's remembered as part of the marcoses that brought "prosperity and success" to the philippines, as our revised history tells us. he didn't do anything worthwhile while he was in any other political positions, but that's okay! he makes catchy commercials. he has a cute son. he's not a woman and he's not young and experienced. he'll have to do!

...pushing away the negativity aside for a small while, at this point in time, we need a plot twist. a deux ex machina, if you will. something so impactful that it compels us little folk to not vote for him; something so devastating that even the upper crust will rethink supporting him; something that even non-religious people would call a miracle. believe you me, i will be manifesting hard for this. i'll also try to participate in campaign initiatives for the candidate i'm rooting for, as that might make even a small difference.

in the meantime, i'm going to try and get out that fucking song of my head. and pray to whoever's out there to stop their team from making catchy jingles.