Scorning society pages and all that jazz

I happened upon an online petition, or should I say, sig campaign, calling for the resignation of three columnists in a certain local broadsheet in the Philippines, whose names I shall not divulge for I know that for some, these names are of certain "prominence" in Philippine society. I leave the readers the liberty of reading the petition itself, in this page: http://www.petitiononline.com/nogucci/

Having gone over the petition itself, I agree with the person who shared this link with me--the contents of the petition were rather filled with personal attacks with no enough basis. So I decided to research a bit more on the issue especially after reading the comments of people who signed the petition.

You will have to find the blog where the full story behind the petition is posted, but I have the gist of it: one of the three columnists have been accused by someone of thievingm , fraud and every notion of freeloading and social-climbing I can think of.

So have the other two, even the drugs part.

Having dispensed that, allow me to continue.

I read some of the rather vicious comments of the petitioners and I am loathe to admit my disgust on the comments. They scream of how these writers lost credibility, of how they corrupt young minds, and how these freeloaders don't deserve any space in any newspaper.

Yet in the process of doing so, I have unveiled the cause of their rage--I mean, these are the people who actually read the work of the columnists before. I won't even be surprised if some of them are actually freeloaders themselves, if not struggling to fit in with the latest fashion.

These are the "elite" of Philippine society talking--raging about some people who have, it seems, fooled them that they belonged with them, and now they shun them aside after the discovery.

Oh, how very important it is to have these three resign, to have their lives--or rather, social statuses destroyed.

It is most important for them that these three pay for their sins. For fraud, for thieving, for the deception, for freeloading for everything.

So they are guilty, let us say. So what?

Is this what has become of Philippine Society? Chasing after "Gucci gangs" and all that crap, for some crime which may not be considered petty, but at some point, rather beside the point compared to other things happening.

Oh, the sensationalism.

Oh, the crap.

To think there are a good two thousand people who signed, raving about these columnists.

Their efforts are so very wasted. While morality and credibility create media practitioners' foundations of respect, to merely see these shortcomings for what they are is avoiding the deeper problems rooted beneath.

There's the issue of substance abuse. There's the issue of "elitism" and all that bullcrap they feed us. The high-end life and all that which most Filipinos silently aspire for. Getting newspaper everyday, they are led to believe that what they see in the papers' society pages are what they can become.

Some petitioners even called for Filipinos to not be apathetic. That this is an important issue.

I scoffed. Come on, some freeloaders being hunted by someone foolish enough to be...well...fooled, or conned?

Come on.

That's important? Oh, believe me, one of these days we'll just find the headlines of our newspapers bearing society and entertainment "news," or rumors, as I believe. Pages after pages of blind items and all sort of yellow journalism crap filling the newspapers.

These are exactly the individualistic endeavors which we must overcome.

Might I ask just how many of those two thousand individuals ever considered fighting the tyrranical political regime, or stop political killings happening everywhere? Did they ever join rallies of any sort? Even just for appearances?

Maybe they do. Or will. When the regime threatens their little butterfly haven of a society.

I doubt if they ever heard of the missing Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan...students, barely out of the schoolroom who may very well still be suffering for their cause...which I believe has more to be said about than trying to bring down louts who are freeloading their way to the "creme-de-la-creme" of society.

God, the day everyone is at the rage after some Gucci-loving fools is the day I declare the Philippines hopeless. And it can very well happen.

Or not. After all, I still count. And while I rage at this foolishness, I will never try and go after some low con-actors and try to give them a piece of my mind.

Society papers disgust me. And so are the artifices surrounding them.

And not because the people there are famous and I am jealous and envious. Fame has always been overrated, a fickle f(r)iend to those who seek it.

I never did care for appearances.