I really loved this essay by Cynthia Patag (as posted on the Flips list, though the essay's source would have been nice), in the light of one of my recent posts about the Marcoses:
The first jolt came when I went to the West Visayas State University... The dean of education... mentioned casually that their guest speaker for this year's graduation rites was Congresswoman Imee Marcos.And so she talks further with the dean:
"As Christians, we must learn to forgive," the dean reminded me.Reminds me an awful lot of the same excuses that, say, my mom would make -- Christian forgiveness, sins of the fathers, and so on.I had to take a deep breath. "The Marcos family is not asking for forgiveness!" I told her.
During a visit to General Santos City, Imee Marcos, who many believe is seeking a senatorial post in 2004, said, "We are willing to apologize provided we know what it is we are supposed to say sorry for."
As for me, I simply refuse to believe that Filipinos are stupid. (Or are they too forgiving?) Filipinos are not stupid. But I can say that over and over until it loses meaning and the words are pulled from each other and all semantics disintegrate.