Archive for November, 2008

Here’s a gem of a quote today from Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita:

“Let’s pacify people rather than encourage talks on People Power.”

Uh… yeah.

Lately the Palace and This Government have been at the center of quite a lot of slip-of-the-tongue occurences that, to be honest, I find rather amusing.  And yet, I find them insulting.

Like that one time when Press Secretary Jesus Dureza made the “light” prayer that the President guide and govern this country “until 2010, and perhaps, even beyond.”  Or when Rep. Pablo Garcia likened Gloria Arroyo’s impeachment to the passion and crucifixion of Jesus.  Now we have Sec. Ermita saying that we, the people, should be pacified.

Of course, what made this a very yummy prospect was a boodle fight that involved lechon manok, fish fillet, pancit and eggplants.  Yummy… I like lechon manok myself, just so you know.

Still, I can’t get my mind off the idea of “pacification.”  I hope that we don’t descend into chaos for the sake of our common peace; but to “pacify people” means to treat them as warmongering folk, or worse, to treat them as infants.  Pacification is to practically castrate and neuter the public, rendering them incapable of resistance and action.  Sec. Ermita’s comment was, at least to me, a very telling moment of what The Government’s priorities are.

We’d rather be pacified than satisfied.  We’d rather kiss the hand that feeds us than bite the hand that oppresses us.  We are placated, rather than empowered.  Perhaps every single act of resistance against the power will, from here on in, be given the proverbial pacifier treatment.  It is that telling moment that manifested itself in the junking of the impeachment complaint, that the Government would rather silence and repress all opposition than to, at the very least, listen to it.

It is that telling moment that rather than shove the truth in our faces just to get things over with, we’re being shoved the proverbial tsupon. That’s all we’ll get; to paraphrase a popular pro-wrestling group, if we’re not down with that, we’d rather suck it.

As for myself, I’m not buying it.  I’m way too old for tsupon.

Sabi mo, sana balang araw, huwag na akong magkaroon ng hinanakit sa Gobyerno.  Nanggugulo lang ako  Magtrabaho na lang ako, magsikap, at huwag ko nang batikusin ang pamahalaan o ang Pangulo.  Sa bagay, tama ka naman.  Di ko masisisi ang lahat ng ito sa Gobyerno, lalung-lalo na ang kondisyon ng kamay ko.  Tama ka.  Nanggugulo lamang ako. Nagtratrabaho, nagsisikap, ngunit nanggugulo pa rin.

Sana makita mo ang kondisyon ng mga kamay ko, at maranasan ang sakit na nadarama nito.  Mahirap maging manunulat.  Di ko ito sinisisi sa Gobyerno; tutal, kasalanan ko ito. Di kasi maayos ang posisyon ng mga kamay ko tuwing ako’y nagsusulat.  Kung sana hindi ko na iniintindi yun, di ko na sana binabalot ang mga kamay ko pagsapit ng gabi, para naman meron akong sariling problema na pwedeng-pwede akong umangal.  Na pwede akong mag-emo.

Pero ano nga ba naman ang sakit sa kamay kung nakikita mo ang pagdurusa ng kapwa mo Pilipino na mas malala pa ang dinaranas kaysa sa iyo?

I was walking at a mall last night when I ran into an old friend.  Her walk was more of a trudge; the look of a woman who, in her prime, was dealt a heavy blow, knocked out and defeated.  Not too long ago, my friend had a spring in her step and a smile on her face.  That afternoon, she walked as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.  When I asked her what happened, her answer was as good as my guess.

My friend lost her job.

You hear of rumors here and there that call centers and BPOs are laying off employees, but this was the first time I heard of a story that hit so close to home.  What made a call center job so tantalizing before was that when you needed a job, any given call center out there is always hiring.  These days, it’s not necessarily true: not only do you have to contend with looking for a job at the end of the year, but you also kind of wonder if call centers and BPOs still have openings.  What makes things worse for my friend – and perhaps any random call center employee out there – is that her career plans have so far led her to three or four call centers.

The Japanese have a saying for it: shikata ga nai, or “it cannot be helped.”  For everything that has been said about outsourcing – the unsustainable, unstable, and exploitative business and economic model as it is – you can only take your hat off to employees who put up with repetitive work, low pay, job insecurity, and workers’ rights.  At the end of the day, these are things that can be compromised, and have already been compromised.

And yet… shikata ga nai.