Noontime God

i just heard something very disturbing today. it just proved to me how gullible and forgetful we Filipinos are, and how easily we let those in power whitewash their mistakes.

i went to the barbershop to have my monthly trimming. On the tv was Wowowee, and it seemed to ba an episode broadcasting from another country. There was someone singing (though i couldn't see who it was because i had my glasses on) an oldie of which i could not place the title. The song was basically about hope (which isn't nowadays?) and every now and then, the guy, whom i was sure was not Willie Revillame, kept adlibbing "Mabuhay ang mga OFW!" and "Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!" with the occasional speech on how the overseas countryman would slave over his work for long hours in the name of the motherland. That was not at all surprising, nor was it uncommon. but what DID catch my attention was the line:

"Mabuhay si Willie, ang PROPETA ng kasiyahan!"

To my shock, some of the sudience responded with an Amen, and that the gesture did not bother them at all! It was as if they, immortalized him, idolized him, EVEN WORSHIPPED HIM! The singer, whom i saw as a faceless man, came to make like that of a preacher. He was addressing the workers as if he came to deliver them from their troubles, in the name of Willie, his god.

Is that it, then? Is that how easily we forget? i sure haven't...

I hold no personal grudge against Willie, nor do i blame him for the Ultra incident. He is merely a frontman, a face with whom the masses can grow affectionate with. In even simpler words, he is their puppet. But what does strike a chord in was not that he had the audacity to allow the reinstatement of the show (what media company, in their right mind, would entirely scrap a show that has garnered insane amounts of viewer ratings? Conscience? i sincerley doubt it), but to run it as if the whole incident never occured! Oh sure, there were infomercials teaching people on the proper ins and outs of proper conduct before, during, and after each taping, how to safely exit the premises should another emergency ever occur, and even how sorry they were (though i'm not saying they aren't) to the families whose lives will forever be scarred by this most unfortunate of tragedies.

But please, will that really matter if they're still feeding the same old crap to the impoverished and the desparate? There will STILL be those who see Wowowee and its likenesses as beacons of hope, a way out of the miserable state of their lives. They will STILL squeeze in line just to get a glimpse of their god. They will STILL leave behind their less-secure jobs (but jobs nonetheless) to risk life and limb for a handful of entry passes. They will STILL insist on staying in the queues, even if there are no more seats available in the studio. They will STILL allow themselves to be paddled around by unrelenting hosts, degrading themselves in front of the country for a temporary relief, one that will soon leave them the way they were, only hungrier for the fleeting taste of a so-called "paradise"...

And yes, given the chance, they will STILL be smiling and cheering, even though they trampled on other's lives, just because they're on television.

As I see it, there's no point on arguing with the Media on this... in another 4 months or so, they'll make all of you forget that i evn bothered to stand against their prophet.