"To Hell with their 'Development'!"
(Or all after the month-long extravaganza that turned into a mess)
By Katleah Ulrike
rather than to accompany the "servants" on the path to triumph."
- Ernst Jünger
At first, this writer had to apologize for being quite politically incorrect in making this writeup.
That all after witnessing the month-long events before and after the elections, it's all but a hodge-podge of intrigue if not various rants, destroyed PCoS machines, election failures, and other kinds of election-related incidents in and around the country. Otherwise, to see people that seemingly trying to act intelligent as to blame the vast mass of people being wooed by empty-handed promises that time and again more of a rehash of the past.
In fact, quite strange so to speak that in seeing same people winning every seat, whether it be those of reelectionists or relatives whose surnames had known in the political arena. And to see Aquino, Escudero, Estrada, it's all but same old crap as this writer would like to say upon it. And to think that those people, including those of pseudo-newbies like Grace Poe, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, and Nancy Binay, had been in the top 12 of the latest polls, all but a continuation of sorts, rather than a force to create certain social changes despite their acclaim in a way people sought the opportunist Honasan afford to win over a volunteerist such as Gordon despite popular appeal of the latter.
Anyways, this kind of matter had been "officially" ended as the Commission on Elections hath said over, but the vast deposits, pitch of the past, whether election-related or a major issue had still remain especially those of never-resolved, easy to left problems and the like; as to see people from all walks of life had mixed reactions of glee to disgust after casting votes, having ink stained in their finger and wait for the results, it's all but crap guised as gold yet these same people may as well had chose not to think of it or perhaps disregard entirely the events as to escape and enjoy their self gratification such as those of playing video games, camwhoring and various kinds of self-centered mundane lifestyle.
Otherwise, to see these same people had becoming situationists without understanding. Simply because they vote, or perhaps looked at the results, of the campaign ads, of the issues being posted in the internet, tweeted, shared, yet didn't know what are they talking about despite venting it clearly to everybody else and not on themselves prior to the situation; becoming sort of trying hard political analysts while their minds shook on playing games and doing pictures in front of the mirror. And obviously, these aren't comprise of the poor whom the bourgeois dare to assail for being illiterate. Yes, they assail the poor such as those from the shantytowns for being used yet they didn't notice without knowing which is politically enlightened or a contented one, insulted instead of educating them thoroughly which is which, worse, disregarding a system that disregards education as to favor idiots and equating mendicancy as social justice.
Or as what Anton Dulce said:
"most of us become ‘instant political analysts’ once every three years, but remain apathetic and self-centered the rest of the time. For example, do you know why the average Filipino doesn’t make ‘informed’ (by our standards) choices? Do you know why the majority of Filipinos do not finish their schooling? Do you know anything about the education policies of the Administration?
We demand that the poor vote using the same guidelines, the same criteria, the same lenses as we have, but we forgot that they cannot. We demand that they make an ‘educated’ vote, but when activists come to our classes to invite us to walkout to demand a higher education budget, we dismiss them as nuisances. We demand that they do not sell their votes, but when workers are out in the streets protesting unemployment and high prices, we curse them for causing additional traffic.
In a manner of speaking, it is the poor who are actually political. They practice politics in their struggles to keep their jobs, raise wages, and make ends meet; they practice politics in saving their homes and delaying the impending demolition by yet another month; they practice politics by negotiating with their landlords over the division of the harvest and the terms of their contract."
In other words, why the poor be assailed yet they are the ones greatly affected by every situation such as land, labor, wage, everything related to their ends meet and not of today's self-gratifying "themselves" who are intentionally acting illiterate as they escape from the bounds of today's realities such as poverty and corruption in a way one person stated that "not everyone sees the bigger picture like some do." Just because they live in a shantytowns prone to crime? That they should be equated directly to the lumpens, scum of the earth that involves thieves, beggars, pimps, and prostitutes?
Then perhaps, right is the man who said:
"They'll only notice it when they're actually losing their lives. Kind of saddening, really, because those moments and lives they gained on candy crush is literally a trade off from the chance of a better life."
That somehow made these people add burden into the gates of hell Dan Brown hath stated. Further putting people in agony despite trying to escape from the sickening reality that ought to face. After all, they afford to comment, they can complain, but their lives had been limited to a cycle that consists of eating, sleeping, fucking, and fighting; that despite working and earning all had been into the four cycles, adding hell than giving a community a chance for a better one. Again, Brown may had been "right" for the description as long as everything gives aggravation to a situation gone worse.
Gates of Hell: misery and development entwined
Speaking of Dan Brown's "Gates of Hell," his depiction of Manila, although more of a fiction, is somehow a half-truth, yet a sickening half-truth as evidenced by its depiction such as "six hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, and a horrifying sex trade" that a state should address these problems. But come to think of this, these issues are all but a part of a greater one that brought "hell" to the Philippines and not just Manila in particular such as poverty, social injustice, corruption, everything what the late Manuel Quezon and not Dan Brown stated with leaders running the entire society like hell over and over again and its followers constantly opposing.
Otherwise, Manila's a microcosm of the Philippine society, other than being the capital itself. And this time, all after months-long extravaganza, lies a challenge that includes making people from all walks of life understand the bitter truth and how to make a new leaf out of it.
After all, Manila had been described as a City of Man by Imelda Marcos. And speaking of that "City of Man" nowadays people sought its worldly crap that dominated over a city that ought to be imbued with truthfulness, godliness and Beauty as the once governor said. How come Ermita had been full of girly bars same as Malate? How come development should been monstrous than humane in making the entire metropolis suitable place for the present generations to come especially that the Torre de Manila, if constructed had ruined the scene behind Rizal's monument-tomb? And all after seeing old buildings left to rot and eventually demolished by the greedy few whom thinks about profit and the like? "What really hurts is that because of the book, most people would be curious and would check Manila out and they might see the slums and the garbage." as one commentator said, but other than that people had sought vast hordes of people whom despite being educated chose to be idiotic and apathetic as to blame the poor for their woes.
Why the blame anyways? Just because they live in a shantytown? That most if not all of them are lumpens? Well, compared to those who had given up their lives for a prize in a facebook game, these people largely described as "lumpens", "urban poor scum" and everything derogatory had been politically enough as they practice politics in their struggles to keep their jobs, raise wages, and make ends meet; secondly, the state, despite speaking a smattering of rhetoric such as "progress and development" rather "use" them in their ambitions than seriously heed to their problems. Poverty? Why not create a comprehensive agrarian reform and industrialization program in the rural areas and mass housing as to move these people with employment given to them instead of a hodgepodge of rhetoric and band-aid solutions? Well, they can't offer these as they favor those who "can pay", the state had been reduced to an agent that approves those who can after a series of biddings, the people who supposedly cares about the community rather limits its own to a never ending quest of escapism.
After all, these leaders of today, or rather say the system behind the state, the economy, culture and other sorts of shit had made hell for the common people and heaven as to theirs. The massive megalomania they are trying to vent on had been redescribed as development as to poverty for austerity. Come to think of this: every president has to carry its own legacy of megalomania after their term as to impress the people such as the Film Palace and Marcos bust of the conjugal Dictatorship, the Flyovers of Cory Aquino that eases traffic for private vehicles; and for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: NLEX, SLEX, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, LRT Extention to EDSA and the Footbridges that signifies infrastructure of mobility.
Quite nice to see such infrastructure given, but to think that despite these how come shantytowns remained still and instead of productivity more of impression such as malls rather than factories and granaries? Of roads passing through estates owned by the landlords? Rising costs of commodities and services? Job mismatches and Proletarianization of the middle class? The system, treating development and infrastructure as all but facade, also treats it as a mere showcase of pride in a way boys had to prove which penis is bigger to impress girls during sex. Sorry but it's all but stupid as to those who limit themselves into the cycle earlier stated.
Anyways, all is but a facade to hid the stench as these people described as "development" just like walls to keep shanties away from the scene that is "developed."
Anyways, all is but a facade to hid the stench as these people described as "development" just like walls to keep shanties away from the scene that is "developed."
That perhaps made the protagonist felt the disgust as to feel the traffic jam in one of the major roads whose original intention is to ease traffic. And to think that some areas in Manila had been made to impress, so is prostitution thriving like those at Ermita and Malate; Dan Brown's work may actually spoke some examples within the microcosm but not the entire mess that made the entire place a gate of hell or hell itself.
So why the anger over an American writer instead of addressing the issue being stated? Why blaming the poor if most of the people who had been educated and having privileges becoming apathetic as caring for a prize in a computer game? Here lies hell behind the facade of glass and steel made to impress as to invoke the illusion of progress; so are the leaders, clique of plutocrats caring about their pride as to give mere crumbs and presenting the entire mess as progressive, developed, just, everything from their loudmouths.
PS: she plays candy crush, but she doesn't engage thoroughly in it everyday.