If in case you were out partying on a Friday night, then you would have missed the thing to watch on local television last night wherein you see a man who seems to have not learned his lesson launch a tirade against his detractors and in doing so, dug his own grave.
For years now, local TV has been subject to the crass and unsatisfying antics and ploys of reality TV show host, Willie Revillame. In the aftermath, of that debacle on an episode on his show, Willing Willie, that aired on March, Willie has been the subject of many an attack from all forms of media; from talk shows, to printed media and the maybe the most viral, the internet namely on Twitter and YouTube. Then again given the fact that we saw what he did and what he didn’t do in that specific segment, any sane and rational person can see that it was not right. He was not in his right mind and knowing that the kid who danced the way that he did, was not right as well it could’ve been made right had he handled it with tact and class. But then again, people who were not born with it cannot be counted on to amass any semblance of that much needed combination should they not even know what it’s for let alone aspire to have any.
In short a perfect Friday night for most became more than not right. It was unheard of on local TV. It was the rabid tantrums of a man who was given too much power and as such misused it to no end. As can be seen in the video link below, Willie stopped the show and started addressing the issue of his sponsors leaving and then blaming fellow celebrities who condemned him on Twitter & others on the web. It was clear that there was no remorse in his words and tone.
From Lea Salonga Jim Paredes, Aiza Seguerra, Mylene Dizon, Agot Isidro, Leah Navarro to Bianca Gonzales of Abs Cbn, he blames the rich for labeling him the "bad guy". He also counters and ask what have the rich actually done for the poor, when he in fact has shelled out millions of pesos to help bring back the many overseas Filipino workers (OFW's). But then again, a good deed need not be announced in such a self-glorifying way, right?
In line with these developments and given the fact that the story even made the front pages of this morning’s Philippine Daily Inquirer, it’s indeed ironic and sad that we glorify the poor and needy and not champion those who can really make a difference? What kind of poverty/victim/woe-is-me consciousness has the masses embraced? Are we to defend it and say that it’s our culture? Or is culture like the people who keep it alive subject to change and betterment and in keeping with a generation that aims to make life better for them and for the next ones to come?
In doing nothing and constantly deferring to that, we only condemn ourselves to saying that once born poor, we can never aspire to be anything else in life and that those who are born with more than half of the luck and money we have can rot in their mansions and condos for they refuse to help and ease our plight. But should they really? Aren’t we all accountable for our own lives? It’s not the responsibility of a reality show to feed your victim-centered mentality and give you weekly handouts so you can relieve yourselves of the responsibility you have only to come back after begging for more.
Willie you have not taught the masses right. You have warped & abused your opportunity as well as position to make a real and positive difference in people's lives. You have brainwashed the masses to no end. The Filipino should stop seeing themselves as victims of their circumstances & begin to realize that they are the captain and master of their lives.
In brainwashing them in the process; you spoon feed them every time and leaving them in the dark about the true potential that they can truly change their lives if they want to. Instead you breed them incessantly and condition them to think that living hand to mouth is all there is of their existence; that to be born poor is actually a fixed and constant way of life. And that the way only way out of that morass is a handout. Some influence you are having. :(
But it’s time to repair the damage that has been done. With the attention this controversy has been getting, I can only hope that more people will wake up to the malicious and blind approach that Willie is applying on the poor. We who are fortunate to have had our minds open by our education and experience need to turn this around. It is never too late. It will be so, if no one does anything.
