Righhhht. It seems as if it's 'in' to talk about the controversial Mendoza hostage- taking. I'm going to go with the flow as well, then.
I'm a very prideful person. I bet everyone can attest to that. However, I highly think that I use my pride only when I think it's highly needed. With an issue like this, actually, I don't expect Filipinos to hate the Hong kong government for tagging our country as a dangerous one, what with the outcome of that hostage-taking was. What I didn't expect is for my countrymen to downgrade themselves all out just for that one controversy. I understand fully that the event took place in our country and that definitely, we are partly to be blamed for not securing the area as much as how they expected us to. However, they can't ask us to expect crimes as big as that all the time, right? We can't go around running all scared everyday, fearing that someone might just go crazy while crossing the street or something.
The day after that event took place, I was browsing my friends' posts over Facebook and- voila! All of their posts are about the Mendoza hostage - taking. I wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't so annoying, seriously. I've got better things to do than to debate over that issue. I managed to almost end the day with my mouth shut and my hands doing nothing but move around the track pad, trying to control the pointer in different directions till I came across stupid posts. There are pictures of policemen playing arcade games in their uniforms, posts saying that Mendoza is such an asshole for doing such a thing, and of course, fan pages about the incident with names like ' Hong kong, we are so sorry :( '. I was like- whatttttt???
I'm not saying that we shouldn't be sorry at all. I feel bad for the victims as much as everyone does. It's just that, will it kill you to stop downgrading yourselves as Filipinos just because an event like that happened? Did the Americans downgraded themselves when the September 11 event happened? I don't think so. They mourned over the people who died, yes, but they didn't go around apologizing like poor puppies to everyone. They proved to the world that they are still as firm as ever and that one single mistake wouldn't shake their strong profile. Just so you know, I am not a pro-American myself so I am not saying this because I am some big fan of them.
Some points that I want to argue with you, my dear countrymen:
1. Policemen playing arcade games. Whaaaaat? Haven't you played in TimeZone or any other places like that in your uniforms before? How can you make such an issue regarding people who just wanted to spend some time off what with all of the pressures of being a policeman are? Just because there are pictures like that, does that sum up all of the things that they can do? If so, then there wouldn't be any criminals at all in our country, correct? Then for students, once you've failed a test, if your parents saw any pictures of you playing arcade games in your uniform, they have all the rights in the world to blame it on that. Great thinking.
2. Mendoza is such an asshole for doing such a thing. Maybe you are assholes for saying things that none of you understand at all. Ever read anything about him before judging him? I bet 90% of the people who claims that he's such a stupid man never even thought of researching as to why the guy did that. Yes, around 99.99% of the whole country knows that he used to be an ex-policeman and that he wants to be reinstated. Yes, he used to be one of our best policemen until his name was dragged into a terrible case. I can neither prove that that wasn't true as much as I can say that I know him personally. However, I came to read some articles in the morning paper and it was told that the guy who filed a case against him and his colleagues didn't even come to the hearing. Not once. YET, they still removed him from the team and they even removed his retirement privileges. Try working your ass off for a company and make them proud by receiving awards then have yourself unjustly removed, see if that doesn't change you.
3. Use fan pages to apologize like idiots to Hong kong. Yes, being sorry is nice BUT do not overdo it, please. Stop saying sorry then blame the police again. Just say sorry. It doesn't look cool to blame everything to our SWAT team. They did their best. Given the chance, I'm sure they would've done better. But, their lives were on the line as well that time. Have you ever thought about having a father or a brother as a policeman? Would you have wanted them to go barging in that bus when they know really well that they're too nervous to do it perfectly? That'd be like running into a burning house naked. Simply idiotic, right?
In the first place, we NEVER dragged those Chinese people in our country. Needless to say, whatever issues we have in our country, that came with the ticket that they bought prior to coming here. They came, anyway. So how can you take it so heavily? How can you criticize your own country's SWAT team when you probably don't even follow the simplest traffic rules? Everyone has their own share of faults in this event. No one should be blamed much more than the others. If you think that it's the SWAT team's fault, why not apply as a trainer for them, then? Better yet, you probably should've arrested Mendoza yourself when the event was being shown in TV.
Don't think that it's as easy as how it seems while you were watching it. Everything looks a hundred times better in television. That's the main reason why I don't watch television shows often. It does things to your way of thinking.
