LET FREEDOM RING
Hi,
To those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Anatalia Nerea “Talí” de Larrañaga y Galán (Filipina, 25 y.o.), of the Cebuano Larrañagas. My sister and I have been members of AP for almost a month now, courtesy of our dear friends who introduced us to this wonderful and dynamic group of intellectuals and professionals.I’d love to make a long-winded introduction, praising the merits of having a group such as AP around, and providing a hundred reasons why we really enjoy being here as well… but I wouldn’t be ME if I didn’t get straight to the point.
You see, I’ve been a bit concerned about two of the most recent developments here in the AP Crowd, and I think most you know exactly what I’m talking about. One of them involves the issue of censoring “freedom of expression/speech”, and the other is about subjecting members to a witch-hunt/trial by publicity and invading their privacy while they aren’t around to defend themselves from public scrutiny.I was actually under the impression that AP, being a loose group of intellectuals and industry pundits with an impressive lineup of authors/experts at its core, would be above such things… Which is why I really felt like I was slapped in the face when recent events proved to me that my assumption was wrong.
As a relatively new member, I also admit to being curious as to who our enigmatic and mysterious figureheads really were. Of course we all know that Orion is Orion, and that Bong is really Bong, despite their differences in perspectives… but Ilda and Benign0? They give off that same mysterious vibe which we usually equate with the likes of Daft Punk or the Gorillaz, and that’s why they’re so intriguing to many of us.
However, curiosity also has its limits… we have healthy and constructive speculation on one hand, and yet we also have morbid, destructive speculation on the other. There’s actually a very thin line separating the both of them, and unfortunately, what happened to Ilda and I was more of the latter.Morbid speculation absolutely has no place in a group such as AP. Here, we have the freedom to criticize the government all we want, and hurl countless other insults at the very system which most of us feel should be changed… but making personal attacks on other members, such as maliciously casting doubts and aspersions to the point of uttering oral defamation, and intruding on their private affairs, especially when they’re conspicuously absent, speaks of ill breeding and barely-disguised contempt. That, coupled with miscommunication and a tendency to jump into conclusions can only get you so far, but throw in a fair amount of herd-mentality/stupidity and you’ve got an even bigger recipe for social disaster.
I believe that all of us here are civilized, mature people, and that’s why we’ve formed this small community of “thinkers” so that we can learn from each other and update ourselves on the things which are really happening in our country. We’re all here because we were drawn to the AP cause, and we’re still here because we feel compelled to support it… otherwise, we may choose to leave the group at any given time. If any personal issue(s) should arise, we should settle it/them like proper adults, and not resort to insults, backstabbing, childlike and immature “pissing contests”, or any other tactics favored by the very same people/culture we’re desperately fighting against.I value my own privacy as much as anyone else’s, and I’ve never masked my identity by appearing as someone else just to stir up trouble… and neither am I a “front” for someone else in the group as well, or even an “infiltrator” posing as a new member, for that matter. Creating “doubles” may be a common practice for some, for whatever purpose it may serve them, but I personally find it abhorrent. So… what you see is definitely what you will get.
And there you have it… I’m sorry to disappoint some of the conspiracy theorists out there, but I AM a woman. Sure, I may appear unconventional at times, but that is exactly who I am. Beneath my often playful exterior, I also like defying common stereotypes about women and pushing people’s expectations of me to the limit. Some people are often surprised or taken aback whenever we women speak our minds, and so we are often labeled as “bitches”, and sometimes even our sexual orientation/gender is also questioned. Men, for example, are often confused when they encounter a model with brains. Despite that, nothing’s actually more satisfying than proving that beauty can also coexist with brainpower, as well as the ability to air one’s thoughts out in a logical and reasonable manner… which was why I was immediately drawn to the articles on Antipinoy.com, and not only because they were well-written and thought-provoking, or because the site includes talented women authors like Carmen and Ilda.By that same token, I also believe that I can prove that Ilda is a woman, since she writes with a womanly eye for detail. She can perceive patterns WHICH ONLY A WOMAN (or an extremely well-trained man) CAN DETECT through her observations, and she deconstructs problems and situations the way a mother would… yet she still allows her readers to form their own conclusions without revealing her cognitive bias.
Any mother who’s worth her salt would do the same, by letting her growing children learn the answers for themselves instead of directly spoon-feeding them… because that’s the fastest way to develop their mental skills and encourage critical thinking at an early stage. In a way, “newborn” AP readers can be likened to children as well….Regarding the issue on censorship in AP, I believe that everyone here, including Ulong Pare, has the same rights in airing out his or her views. The dissenting voices of a few shouldn’t be silenced… The fact that they are dissenting at all means that they might have some concerns which they feel should be brought to the attention of everyone, and are therefore worth listening to. Who are we to say that what other people are pointing out here in AP is nonsense?
No one here has the monopoly on truth, and no one here is all-knowing… we’re all here to learn from each other, and what may be stated as “truth” will always be subject to change, anyway. AP is a dynamic group, and we must all learn to accept the fact that “change is the only constant”.I think we should all re-learn the value of humility as well… It’s okay to admit that we’ve made mistakes. It’s even okay to say that we were stupid all along… But it’s never okay to say that we will never be wrong, even if everything is currently in our favor.
There, I’ve said my piece. I’m sorry for not issuing a statement earlier, since I was too busy attending to charitable causes. One cannot afford to be idle these days.Have a good day, everyone!
Classic!