Original image first appears on ABS-CBN Sports
Social media network is burning and it took Manny Paquiao to light the fire. It was fueled by a remark from the Pambansang Kamao when he said that homosexuals are worse than animals as the birds and the bees and other creatures in the animal kingdom know that they only mate with the opposite sex. And little did Paquiao knew that his punch line is not welcomed by many Filipinos especially among the LGBT community.
Of course, word wars
followed and the more the merrier with prestigious personalities joining the war. High
profile celebrities dug in too like Boy Abunda, Vice Ganda, and Aiza Seguerra
for example. Heated arguments ranging
from below the belt remarks to lecturing about homosexual behaviors not only in
the animal kingdom but also from the ferns and the plants were fired. It seems that each contributor is claiming
that they are correct. The more colorful
the language, the better and there were some clamoring for his head. Thankfully, there was no demand to serve it on a silver platter.
Well, there is a brighter
side in this situation. First, it made
an issue out of same sex marriage.
Before Pacquiao’s minor slip, the issues were personality based;
character assassination and mudslinging.
The politicians forgot that issues and platforms are more
important. LGBT people are voters too
and part of the society so it is imperative that political candidates should
make a stand with regards to them.
Pacquiao has said his piece, who else will follow?
The second bright spot in
this viral issue is that it reveals just how shallow many Filipinos are when it
comes to defending both sides. Those who
were aghast with Manny’s words resorted to mockery. They called him a monkey,
attacked his morality, and exposed his dirty linens too. Those who agree with the boxer quoted the
Bible in defense. What both parties
failed to do is to open their eyes and try to put the words in proper
context. For example, his being ugly is
not relevant to his statements in the same manner that his defenders only
acknowledged his views relevant to their own views but ignore the “masahol pa
sa hayop” phrase. It is not a wonder
that the fire escalated as both parties only dwell on the trivialities of the
issue.
The third bright spot is to let it be a lesson for everyone that words cut like a knife and very cheap
at that. It is easy to mince words but
difficult to get them back. Once these
things escape from the mouth, you can no longer hold on to it; instead, it will
travel fast and the longer it travels, the worst interpretations can
happen.
First, there was Duterte
who unwittingly put educational qualification at the forefront of election
issues. Then comes Manny who brought
forward the same sex marriage issue. These are just two social issues that need to
be addressed during this campaign period and there are other very pressing social
issues that voters should be informed on where these politicians stand. Let us
hope that the campaign will dwell on issues instead of treating it like
watching a reality TV show. Let us make
this election serious instead of making it an audition and be entertained.
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