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The problem with today’s youth is either that they are phony punks or they are emo-kids – it is just disturbing to see that these kids feel that they can translate into the future.
The University of the Philippines (UP) has always been a haven for the student activists who rise to the challenge whenever a threat is posed upon the masa (the proletariat, as they are called) and the rest of society. Due to experience with various issues regarding student-activism, I am beginning to sense that student-activists largely define this threat to be the government and its allies.
I won’t be hypocritical and say that student-activism is not good – because it is. The youth of the nation is aware of their role in the society and they are working to become the future leaders of the downtrodden masa. But then, since I already am under the impression that I shouldn’t be hypocritical, I would also say that it is not completely good. I think I should go to the extremes and say that nothing is perfect – to be precise, nothing is near-perfect, even.
Although activism is defined as an “aggressive action pursuing a political or social end”, I don’t think that it is safe to assume that activism is well on its way to releasing society from all forms of “restraints”.
To be able to understand what I mean about the imperfection of student activism, it is, therefore, important that I go back to our phony punks and emo-kids who, by some chance, happen to believe that they can translate into the future of the Philippines.
By punk, we refer to a youth movement of the late 1970s, distinguished by their loud aggressive rock music, confrontational attitudes, body piercing, and unconventional fashion sense. By phony-punks, I refer to teenagers who happen to believe that they are punk, sans the music. Their most prominent trait would be that of having confrontational attitudes.
As for the emo-kids, they are those who happen to find it that life is out to get them and they had better run for it or kill themselves. Their definition of angst is bound to curl Martin Heidegger’s hair if he were alive. To the emo-kids, angst comes in the form of teenage angst which is a “profound and deep-seated spiritual condition of self-obsession and utter fatuousness” (this definition is from Uncyclopedia.org, whose sarcasm has gained my respect). They’d scream f*** it over and over again until someone stops them. The long string of obscenity and profanity that falls from their lips would be considered unfounded to one who considers obscenity and profanity forms of self-expression.
It is unfortunate to see that these teenagers have infiltrated the alliance of the student-activists, producing havoc and wrecking the name of good student-activism. While we do have student-activists who know what they are fighting for, there are those who remain blissfully ignorant of student-activism’s role in the Philippine society.
I have written an article a few years back with the title Pseudo-Activism, wherein I discussed how student-activism in the UP Baguio has turned stale because of the reason that a lot of those who are participating in it don’t understand what they are doing. A lot of them act like they understand societal issues or the logic of the fight they are in. In reality, however, they don’t understand anything.
It took quite a while for me to identify that these teenagers who act like so are the phony-punks and the emo-kids. They are those who skip class so they can go to a rally they have no idea on; those who brag about them being Iskolar ng Bayan (loose translation: Scholars of the Nation – this is a usual tag for students of the UP, for the masa pay taxes for their education) and yet let their grades slide down dramatically; those who complain a lot and scream that there must be something down about the problems in society and yet can't even solve their own problems.
To the imbeciles who scream that they are Iskolar ng Bayan: How dare you uphold yourselves as such? The masa you claim to be paying taxes for your education are being shortchanged because you don’t put it into your heads that you have to study apart from being politically and socially active!
About two years ago, Alex Magno, columnist of the Philippine Star wrote about UP student-activists throwing eggs at a visiting military officer. My eyebrows knitted in horror that time. To be a UP student, I believe, is to hold honor and dignity. That stunt, of course, reduced the UP student to a mere barbarian, uneducated, maladroit. You don’t throw eggs at anyone. Even those from the medieval ages throw rotten vegetables and rocks at those they detest – not fresh eggs. Besides eggs are a staple food, and throwing them at someone you hate is wasting good money. How decadent.
The last thing the Philippines needs is the proliferation of the student-activist who doesn’t know how to properly confront the political and social challenges of the country. Remember George Orwell’s Animal Farm? In the story, revolution against the humans (in this case, the ruling class) was futile in the end because the pigs (they would be those who are ridiculously ignorant student-activists) put their interests first.
In the end the phony-punks and emo-kids who are all in the circle of student-activism will be the downfall. Someone in the alliance ought to do some cleaning.
Of course, “dumb people are always blissfully unaware of how dumb they really are” (and yes, I quote Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants, who probably is of higher intelligence than the rest of the pseudo-activists in our country) and, indeed, this country is going, not to the dogs, but to the pigs. Speaking of pigs, the time when they set aside their interests is when pigs fly. Let me translate that: never.
The University of the Philippines (UP) has always been a haven for the student activists who rise to the challenge whenever a threat is posed upon the masa (the proletariat, as they are called) and the rest of society. Due to experience with various issues regarding student-activism, I am beginning to sense that student-activists largely define this threat to be the government and its allies.
I won’t be hypocritical and say that student-activism is not good – because it is. The youth of the nation is aware of their role in the society and they are working to become the future leaders of the downtrodden masa. But then, since I already am under the impression that I shouldn’t be hypocritical, I would also say that it is not completely good. I think I should go to the extremes and say that nothing is perfect – to be precise, nothing is near-perfect, even.
Although activism is defined as an “aggressive action pursuing a political or social end”, I don’t think that it is safe to assume that activism is well on its way to releasing society from all forms of “restraints”.
To be able to understand what I mean about the imperfection of student activism, it is, therefore, important that I go back to our phony punks and emo-kids who, by some chance, happen to believe that they can translate into the future of the Philippines.
By punk, we refer to a youth movement of the late 1970s, distinguished by their loud aggressive rock music, confrontational attitudes, body piercing, and unconventional fashion sense. By phony-punks, I refer to teenagers who happen to believe that they are punk, sans the music. Their most prominent trait would be that of having confrontational attitudes.
As for the emo-kids, they are those who happen to find it that life is out to get them and they had better run for it or kill themselves. Their definition of angst is bound to curl Martin Heidegger’s hair if he were alive. To the emo-kids, angst comes in the form of teenage angst which is a “profound and deep-seated spiritual condition of self-obsession and utter fatuousness” (this definition is from Uncyclopedia.org, whose sarcasm has gained my respect). They’d scream f*** it over and over again until someone stops them. The long string of obscenity and profanity that falls from their lips would be considered unfounded to one who considers obscenity and profanity forms of self-expression.
It is unfortunate to see that these teenagers have infiltrated the alliance of the student-activists, producing havoc and wrecking the name of good student-activism. While we do have student-activists who know what they are fighting for, there are those who remain blissfully ignorant of student-activism’s role in the Philippine society.
I have written an article a few years back with the title Pseudo-Activism, wherein I discussed how student-activism in the UP Baguio has turned stale because of the reason that a lot of those who are participating in it don’t understand what they are doing. A lot of them act like they understand societal issues or the logic of the fight they are in. In reality, however, they don’t understand anything.
It took quite a while for me to identify that these teenagers who act like so are the phony-punks and the emo-kids. They are those who skip class so they can go to a rally they have no idea on; those who brag about them being Iskolar ng Bayan (loose translation: Scholars of the Nation – this is a usual tag for students of the UP, for the masa pay taxes for their education) and yet let their grades slide down dramatically; those who complain a lot and scream that there must be something down about the problems in society and yet can't even solve their own problems.
To the imbeciles who scream that they are Iskolar ng Bayan: How dare you uphold yourselves as such? The masa you claim to be paying taxes for your education are being shortchanged because you don’t put it into your heads that you have to study apart from being politically and socially active!
About two years ago, Alex Magno, columnist of the Philippine Star wrote about UP student-activists throwing eggs at a visiting military officer. My eyebrows knitted in horror that time. To be a UP student, I believe, is to hold honor and dignity. That stunt, of course, reduced the UP student to a mere barbarian, uneducated, maladroit. You don’t throw eggs at anyone. Even those from the medieval ages throw rotten vegetables and rocks at those they detest – not fresh eggs. Besides eggs are a staple food, and throwing them at someone you hate is wasting good money. How decadent.
The last thing the Philippines needs is the proliferation of the student-activist who doesn’t know how to properly confront the political and social challenges of the country. Remember George Orwell’s Animal Farm? In the story, revolution against the humans (in this case, the ruling class) was futile in the end because the pigs (they would be those who are ridiculously ignorant student-activists) put their interests first.
In the end the phony-punks and emo-kids who are all in the circle of student-activism will be the downfall. Someone in the alliance ought to do some cleaning.
Of course, “dumb people are always blissfully unaware of how dumb they really are” (and yes, I quote Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants, who probably is of higher intelligence than the rest of the pseudo-activists in our country) and, indeed, this country is going, not to the dogs, but to the pigs. Speaking of pigs, the time when they set aside their interests is when pigs fly. Let me translate that: never.
I'm glad you see these pseudo-activists for what they really are. Believe me I've had experience dealing with them (several of my friends are pseudo-activists). They infuriate me to no end with their talk of anarchy and reconstructing government to their liking.
They get their inspiration from figures like Che Guevara and even the character V from V for Vendetta. It's kind of pathetic in a way, as their ideology is flawed in so many ways. I commend their resolve to enlighten the masses, but they just need to tone it down.