THE PHILIPPINES finally got its first-ever Olympic gold in the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympiad.
Won by a woman in the weightlifting event.
Which some (feminist and/or gay) sectors push to the point of “it-takes-a-woman-to…”
Oh, please!
***
After the gold medal, the cash reward count.
Among other incentives.
P10M by law. Another P10M from a sports patron, another P10M from a business tycoon, another P3M from a politician, and so on and so forth.
The last reported count was P55M.
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And then, the inevitable “sanaol” on social media.
Which annoys me because Filipinos are so full of stupid wishful thinking.
Sanaol — for “wishfully, everybody” or wishing everybody else gets so lucky — is just wrong.
Especially for people who wish for overnight success.
Especially for people who wish only for the rewards part, without even thinking of the pains and guts needed to get the glory.
***
I’m more interested in the blistered and calloused hand of the Filipina weightlifter.
I wanna see what the P55M hands look like.
I wanna know how often it bled during training.
How often it blistered.
How thick and un“lady”like they are.
***
I have soft hands.
Writerly. An artist’s hand.
Ladylike. Some say candlelike. Like a pianist’s.
Thank God for hand lotions, soft-touch keypads, and touch screens!
***
I do not see myself weightlifting even if it means P100M.
And like most Filipinos, I can hardly carry or lift my plate after eating.
Much more wash the dishes.
So, I don’t “sanaol” for the P55M. And I think that’s fair.
***
Did it matter that our Philippine National Anthem was played at the winners’ podium?
Did it matter that after almost a century of trying, the country finally got the elusive Olympic gold?
In a country largely divided (never mind what the official press release says), I don’t think so.
***
Half of the country, maybe more, was at one time convinced that the athlete in spotlight was part of the oust-the-President movement, or initiative, or something.
That’s how effective redtagging was.
And after the President’s last SONA, at least one-fourth of the country has turned coat to celebrate the Olympic athlete.
And why not?
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It’s pretty nice to turn coat when convenient.
The Philippines thrives on turncoatism.
The Filipinos survive on that ability.
As I always say, “Next to sweet mangoes, balimbing is our second national fruit.”
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Balimbing is starfruit, of course. The carambola.
The turncoat reference, often with political implications, is deduced from its “many sides.”
When you eat carambola, any side is as good as the other.
When you go balimbing, any (political) color is as good as the other.
***
But to be fair, the athlete’s former bashers have all the right to celebrate her triumph.
I mean, isn’t that what the Olympics is all about?
Transcending differences?
Sports uniting all peoples and all the politics of the world?
***
We are a divided country, you can believe it or not.
More divided than ever.
I blame social media for it.
I blame our politicians for it.
I blame our slow discerning people for it.
I blame my super intelligence for it.
***
I’ve seen how Donald Trump divided America.
And it wasn’t a good picture.
I even think that some of the unvaccinated population is really but a picture of divided America just wanting to stay divided.
So, it is clearly not lost on me that the divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans could also be just the political divide between the Democrats and Republicans.
***
Anyway, the divide will serve as well in the Philippine elections next year .
So will turncoatism.
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Although, I’m also hearing that because of the pandemic, everything is being fixed in the lowest levels to maintain the status quo.
Meaning, alliances are being forged, if not already, so that there wouldn’t be much need for campaigning.
Trust me, most of the incumbents eligible for reelection will go unchallenged next year.
***
And in 2022, we will forget how divided we were as Filipinos in 2021 as we sent our Miss Universe candidate, or our redtagged weightlifter to the Olympics.
How unsupportive we were in the “all-out support” kind of way.
Uniting only after we see them on our TV screens performing their best.
Well, “sanaol” balimbing!/PN
