I was never really mindful of what was on TV, because for the longest time I lived without it. Even when I got myself a set, I still managed to only watch shows on DVD. I had no antenna, and I did not have the patience to deal with it. The concept of local shows, or even those in cable, are a bit foreign to me. Talk to me about shows I've patronized in my childhood and we will have a conversation. Current ones, at least the ones shown in the last six years, I don't really know. So, finding out that a child was abused on national TV was surprising for me. People have questioned if this was really an example of child abuse. Well, it is. That is a fact, and nothing can change that. No amount of suing people in a Facebook page or asking how much you have given to the poor will change that. A child was abused. What bothers me most is the fact that an entire audience just sat there and watched. His parents even watched. They encouraged him to do it. For ten thousand pesos. How poor of a society are we? And I'm not even talking about poorness in relation to economy. For a country so deeply immersed in religion, we have a very twisted sense of morality.
I feel sad about that. Sad and angry. Sad, because we have grown way past apathetic. I'm including myself here. I have gone to a point where nothing seems to surprise me. Nothing, until this. Angry, because I cannot believe we are willing to put up with it. People have asked, what have I done to help my country? I have never donated a million pesos to charity. I do not have it. And since I'm not in the habit of lying, I can tell you that even if I have a million pesos, I will not donate it to charity. If I earn that monthly, though, I will. Twelve million in a year? What the hell do I do with that?
I said earlier that I never really cared what's on TV. Until I heard about the infamous TV show not even worth mentioning and that incident. Some of the questions that I had in my head then were; Is this the kind of entertainment I want my nephew to grow up to? Do I want him to grow up not even knowing his rights? Do I want him to believe that dancing like a gigolo at the age of six for ten thousand pesos is right? I don't think so. I want him to grow up knowing when to say "no". I want him to grow up knowing he can fight for what he believes in. And by God, he will learn to tell people off if he's being harassed. Maybe, my perspective started to shift when my nephew was born. I do not have to be a mother to know the difference between right and wrong. The world is messed up as it is, I know that well enough. I got messed up by the world. I was the wimpy kid. Sure, tough luck made me strong. But do I really want him to get messed up the same way?
Thinking about it, I guess, this is one of those conversations I would definitely have with the Lord in the afterlife. This is one of those things I Think God Can Explain (Splender). Well, He can try. For the time being, I want to express vigilance. Einstein said that the world is a dangerous place to live in; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who do not do anything about it.
Sis what is the latest na ba about the issue? i heard the parents of the boy are planning to sue. Libel case daw but I'm not sure who they are filing against. I agree with you na this issue is sort of a wake-up call for me in terms of not realizing how bad na things have gotten with us in terms of moral issues. From the time the dancing happened and the whole audience was laughing while watching him, to this point where some people are still defending it and seeing nothing wrong with what happened. Nakakalungkot.
ReplyDelete@Joanne: The parents of the boy sued a child psychologist, Dr. Honey Carandang, the admin of the FB page, Froilan Grate, and a blogger, John Silva. Libel daw. Ang malupit niyan, sinabi ng parents nung bata na wala nga daw pinto yung bahay nila pero kaya nilang magbayad ng abogado para magdemanda ng tatlong tao. Sige, give them the benefit of the doubt. Pwedeng sa PAO sila nag-file. Libre abogado. Pero sa Manila Polo Club ang press con? Ang mag-anak na wala ni pinto ang bahay e kayang magpa-presscon sa Manila Polo Club kung saan hindi ka makakapasok kung wala kang kasamang member. At magkano ang membership? 100K ang pinakamura. Lokohan diba?
ReplyDeleteIt is really sad how things are going in our country today, more so in the entertainment industry.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the video too pero I can imagine kung ano ang ginawa nung kid. Nakakalungkot lang na people called it entertainment pa at the expense of the child.
ReplyDeleteYung nag-file, anak niya si Ricky Carandang, spokesperson ng Malacanang. Buti pa the mother had the sense to file a case samantalang yung mga nanuod natawa lang.
I don't think this was the first time parents are pushing kids to do stuff in public (and private) for money. Just take a moment in our streets. Child beggars/vendors are an evidence that our society has never been child-friendly for a long time now.
ReplyDelete@Cha: It is. I was listening to a forum on children's right in the media earlier today. IT was a very good discussion of what children should and should not be doing in the media.
ReplyDelete@Dianne: I thought about that, sis. Bakit walang nag-react sa audience? Then I realized, nobody watching it really thought it was wrong. Which makes it worse, really. Because that speaks about a nation uneducated about their own rights and laws. It's depressing.
@Chew On This: You're right, it isn't. I don't know if the conspiracy theory behind it is as colorful as some people say it is, but at the end of the day it doesn't change the fact that a child was abused on national TV. Kung yun mismong flagrant action na yun e papalampasin, we will never be able to take the children off the streets. I believe this can potentially be a small first step.
So many people idolize the host and believe he's done no wrong with the boy. I doubt that the parents themselves are paying for the libel suits - whoever is backing them must either have a lot hanging on the line or a lot to gain.
ReplyDeleteHow different are child beggars versus a boy doing sexy dancing for prize money? They both involve children being pushed forward to make money when the parents should be the ones caring for and nurturing them. Instead it seems like the parents and exploitative shows like these encourage a dole-out culture. It's just that the dancing incident was on TV and involved a notorious host that it's getting a lot of notice. One boy versus hundreds? thousands? of child beggars? To focus on one boy seems like only a drop in the bucket of exploitation, but the publicity it is garnering can serve as a lesson that needs to be learned. So I'm glad that people are speaking out against this and sponsors are pulling their ads from the show. As they say, "the only thing needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."
@Gwacie: Well said. I have the same sentiments.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post, sis. I don't really read news about what's happening back home na but sometimes I get to know about it because of updates on my twitter and this one was quite a hot topic.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction was what in the world is happening to our country now? I know that host is really something but this is just too much. And more bothering than the host is the reaction of the audience (including the parents).
Same with you sis, I don't want my niece to grow up thinking something like this is ok. Ours seem to be a very sick society. We need drastic change but can only be done if we start within ourselves... something that I think we're not ready to do yet.
@Pink: You make a very good point with saying that the change with us, but there's a question on our readiness to take on this change. The question is, I guess, when will we be ready?
ReplyDeletei agree-we've gone past apathetic. i think a lot of us, including myself, have become obtuse na nga eh. and that's the thing that angers me too. how did we end up like this? it used to be that the smallest things stir s*it up. now, we just glean over them as if it's nothing new. :P
ReplyDelete@Mooncake: At one point I just thought that it's part of growing up, but there's something wrong about that.
ReplyDelete