Category: Society

The tragedy of fraternity hazing seen through a former ditz’s eyes

November 9, 2012November 22, 2018 Kate Natividad 31 Comments

So I read today that some members of a San Beda College fraternity that goes by the name Lex Leonum Fraternitas were expelled after they were linked by that school’s disciplinary committee to the death of neophyte Marc Andre Marcos allegedly from injuries he sustained while participating in that fraternity’s initiation or “hazing” rights. According…

Culture, Education, Society

Barack Obama re-election: But the Philippines remains a third-rate copycat democracy

November 7, 2012 benign0 41 Comments

As the presidential elections in the United States draw to a close, Filipinos who closely followed it can only sigh and treasure the moments that they felt they were participating in something truly big. The United States after all is the daddy of Philippine “democracy”. And in this age of social media, ‘citizen journalism’, and…

Media, Politics, Society

Murderous batang hamogs and Filipino politicians: Is there really a difference?

November 7, 2012November 7, 2012 benign0 19 Comments

It’s the rallying cry of the “Pro-Life” mob: The right to life. The thinking there is that it is a heinous crime to the the heavens to deprive a brainless embryo floating inside the body of poor teenage girls of the “right” to be conceived, or to be born. Missing in this half-brained conceptual formula…

Politics, Religion, Society

Do the US presidential elections really matter to Filipinos THAT much?

November 5, 2012 benign0 27 Comments

I mean, really. What relevance does the outcome of the presidential elections in the United States have on the future fortunes of the average Filipino schmoe? If an entire raft of Philippine presidents have themselves exhibited pratically zero influence on the fortunes of entire generations of Filipinos, what impact can the very miniscule difference between…

Politics, Society

Filipinos do not know it yet but dynasties may actually be good for the country

November 4, 2012 benign0 57 Comments

It’s been glaringly obvious that the Philippines is a feudal society and has been ruled by dynasties since time immemorial. Dynasties, after all, are essential in a society renowned for its Heritage of Smallness. Nick Joaquin in that seminal essay observed: However far we go back in our history it’s the small we find–the nipa…

Culture, Politics, Society

Filipino pride in the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ invoked in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 benign0 33 Comments

Filipinos never pass up an opportunity to exhibit their renowned ethnocentrism. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy which devastated much of the eastern seaboard of the United States, there have been many heartening reports of how the level of preparedness and swift action of the US government to mitigate the foreseen effects of the storm…

Culture, Society

Online activism in the Philippines in decline as RA 10175 bares teeth

October 25, 2012 benign0 3 Comments

Here is a completely subjective back-of-the-envelope assessment of Philippine online “debate” and “activism” in the last couple of weeks based on casual observation of my Facebook and Twitter timelines: the edge in Philippine online chatter is progressively getting blunt. When I say it is getting blunt I say so in the sense that it is…

Media, Politics, Society, Tech Talk