A rant against these petty activists in UP Manila. I would have wanted to scream in their faces: DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? I think one of the reasons why there are students who are indifferent to student activists is that they have seen how pathetic a "walk-out" can be, how stupid it would be to wear red on a "red shirt day" and how joining rallies, mobilizations or even merely listening out to these activists' cry for social change and enlightenment could be useless and unproductive - a waste of time. I could not agree more.
Earlier today a representative from a certain activist organization and a student council member came into our class and blabbered about fighting for the "Office of the Student Regent". But let's set that aside. Frankly, they themselves admitted that they did not know what was about to go on.
They soon dropped in economic terms like "financial crisis", "recession", and "slowdown". Do these people know what they are talking about? And do they know who they were talking to? I was, unfortunately, thrown in a class where all my classmates are freshmen. They are from a white college, and I do not mean to belittle them when I say that they probably would not even understand these two people who wished to increase their awareness. They failed to state why a charter change would be an "oppressive act." They kept on using the assumption that the president wants to extend her term. They failed to even explain what the fuck (I apologize for the profanity) a charter change is and how it takes place. Why was there such a proposal in the first place? Ha ha. Maybe they expected everybody to be just as politically aware as they are. Oh wait, are they?!
Their call against "charter change before gloria steps down" was, to use a term used against a junked impeachment complaint, lacks beef. If this was a court session, I hear nothing but accusations and complaints. Where's the evidence? What was it about the constitution that was to be amended, why did the government want the said sections to be changed (minus their assumptions), and why would these things "oppress" the Filipino people? Their speech was nothing but criticisms and protest.
Their hand-outs did not help any further. Other than stating the obvious and flowery Tagalog lines, there was nothing to squeeze out of the goddamn thing. Why is it that they never propose a workable agenda for change? They appear, to me, as people who are highly dependent on mob rallies, and these hand-outs that are barely readable (for their size 4 fonts and their incomprehensible flowery dialect). I think that I may be right when I say that while many students are affected by the problems they have enumerated, much more students do not agree to their political position and their methods of promoting social change.
And then there it came. A bond paper that asks for student's signatures. "Sign here if you are against ChaCha. I will collect the paper later." I was fumed. They, who lacked substantial explanation why we should go against the impending ChaCha, were asking us to support them. On what grounds? On the mere fact that they were "activists"? On their authority as student leaders? On their ability, as student leaders, to voice out what the students really want?
I do not think so. To sign that petition paper against ChaCha would be an unwise decision if one has not yet fully grasped the political roots and causes and the subsequent effects of such a move for the rest of the country. To sign that paper just because of two people making a speech and criticizing the government for lack of proper state subsidy and curtailing students' fundamental rights is nothing but ink that was persuaded out of a ballpen. To sign that paper, for believing in the stated assumptions that lacks substance and proof, is like judging based on emotional impulse.
Why am I ranting? Seriously, I think activists have the best intentions when they aim to raise students' awareness on issues and arouse the students to participate more in their surroundings. But the way their messages are delivered only glues indifferent people to their seats. The way they seek support from the majority of students is perplexing and quite honestly, they have done everything but raise people's awareness. They did nothing but talk about their biases.
It is time I talk about mine.
PS. I am also against the Charter Change, and am well-aware of what is transpiring both in the House and the Senate regarding the issue. However, I have no duty to educate the masses. Not this time.
* taken from Alex Magno's First Person
