Tuesday, March 22, 2005
There Goes the Dream
March 20, 2005
As I write, Manny Pacquiao is getting a severe beating from the Mexican Morales. I have been getting text messages saying that he lost, which might be true due to the deep cut he received in the early rounds. My kuya remarked today that Pacquiao should win, at least to make people forget for a week their wretched existence and hail him as one of their own. Gloria and her apologists are perhaps also praying this hard now for him to emerge victorious as that would give her a reason to earn tremendous photo opportunities for the next coming days, with her pretending to be crowning a working-class hero. But with the prospects of his defeat, a dream will be shattered once again and the people will descend from the delusion they have with a Pacquiao win. After being hooked to the boob tube for a couple of long hours in the afternoon, the people will have to contend again with the objective realities of their existence, that of creeping fascism in their midst and a looming VAT measure set to be passed soon. It is funny, even, that the government took advantage of the media exposure brought about by Manny’s fight. The government infomercial on the necessity of a VAT increase is flashing on the people’s television sets every time the program breaks for commercial. Bear in mind, though, that boxing programs such as these do not have the typical one0minute commercial break. The commercials are far longer than can you ever imagine, longer than the rounds Pacquiao slugs it out with Morales! There, the government tries to misinform the minds of the people. But I can tell that the people will not buy that. They know their poverty all too well to be convinced by it. Nonetheless, the fight is really reminiscent of the glory days of Rome in which they sent the slaves to their deaths in the Coliseum, in order to make the people forget their poverty and the atrocities of the Republic against the masses. Such is the same in Manny Pacquiao’s fight. At a time of great political and economic contradictions, the dream of a poor boy making it out big in the land of the free is so seducing for the people that the exploiters and oppressors get a breather from the entire hype of the event, crafting the dream that perhaps one of the toiling masses will one day be like Manny and all the other contemporary poor boy hero who would not have boxed for cash had they been able to get their college degrees. Again, we go back to the objective reality of the times. Manny was great, yes, but his life is not ours to keep. The people will have to wake up again tomorrow contemplating on ways on how to make ends meet and wake up again from the dream, if at all, the nightmare if Manny loses.
As I write, Manny Pacquiao is getting a severe beating from the Mexican Morales. I have been getting text messages saying that he lost, which might be true due to the deep cut he received in the early rounds. My kuya remarked today that Pacquiao should win, at least to make people forget for a week their wretched existence and hail him as one of their own. Gloria and her apologists are perhaps also praying this hard now for him to emerge victorious as that would give her a reason to earn tremendous photo opportunities for the next coming days, with her pretending to be crowning a working-class hero. But with the prospects of his defeat, a dream will be shattered once again and the people will descend from the delusion they have with a Pacquiao win. After being hooked to the boob tube for a couple of long hours in the afternoon, the people will have to contend again with the objective realities of their existence, that of creeping fascism in their midst and a looming VAT measure set to be passed soon. It is funny, even, that the government took advantage of the media exposure brought about by Manny’s fight. The government infomercial on the necessity of a VAT increase is flashing on the people’s television sets every time the program breaks for commercial. Bear in mind, though, that boxing programs such as these do not have the typical one0minute commercial break. The commercials are far longer than can you ever imagine, longer than the rounds Pacquiao slugs it out with Morales! There, the government tries to misinform the minds of the people. But I can tell that the people will not buy that. They know their poverty all too well to be convinced by it. Nonetheless, the fight is really reminiscent of the glory days of Rome in which they sent the slaves to their deaths in the Coliseum, in order to make the people forget their poverty and the atrocities of the Republic against the masses. Such is the same in Manny Pacquiao’s fight. At a time of great political and economic contradictions, the dream of a poor boy making it out big in the land of the free is so seducing for the people that the exploiters and oppressors get a breather from the entire hype of the event, crafting the dream that perhaps one of the toiling masses will one day be like Manny and all the other contemporary poor boy hero who would not have boxed for cash had they been able to get their college degrees. Again, we go back to the objective reality of the times. Manny was great, yes, but his life is not ours to keep. The people will have to wake up again tomorrow contemplating on ways on how to make ends meet and wake up again from the dream, if at all, the nightmare if Manny loses.
# posted by Terry Ridon : 12:34 AM
