THE ONSLAUGHT of this virus has made social divides wider and wider.
This is evident back home in the Philippines. The line between the wealthy and the poor, the obedient and the stubborn, the healthy and the weak, as well as the pro- and anti-government.
A few weeks ago the slogan “Pray for our President” was trending when he made his sappy speech about the crisis the country is facing. He expressed how “tired” and “fearful” he was.
This brought about mixed emotions from the general public. Some truly pitied him while others called out his hypocrisy. Both sides were very vocal on social media.
As I was absent-mindedly browsing through Facebook I came across a post from a girl. It was a long tirade about how foolish it is to “pity” the President as he had done nothing to help the country even before the coronavirus outbreak.
I checked out the comments to see what our dear countrymen made of this and I found the usual divide. Some were agreeing with her while some were bashing her, saying she should try being president.
The one comment that really turned me off though was this guy who said, “Maganda ka sana, taga-UP ka pa, pero ang tanga mo.”
The comment itself is nothing different from a usual internet troll, but what really got my blood boiling was the fact that he posted a PICTURE of her on the comment that he took from her profile; pictures where she was wearing a bathing suit and posing, proving the point that “maganda siya sana.”
The gall of this guy to dig into her profile to back up such shallow idiotic reasoning shocked me.
Some of you might be thinking, “If she doesn’t want everyone seeing her personal pictures she shouldn’t post them!”
In no ethical way, however, does an ignorant, misogynistic idiot who doesn’t even know her, have the right to humiliate her like that. Even for people who share his opinion, defending his argument like that is disgusting and embarrassing.
I shudder to think about how he treats the women close to him.
On the bright side, I was glad to see several netizens call him out, telling him there was no need for “harassment”. What I regret was not having enough courage to be one of those commenters.
It’s a lesson for me and for all of you, too. If you ever see or hear something like that, speak up! Even if you’re just one of a hundred that is one more voice that proves to these arrogant people that their ways are not tolerated.
No matter what gender, age, social status, or opinion you have, no one deserves to be disrespected like that. (angelica.panaynews@gmail.com/PN)
