Trivial Pursuits

The recent "debacle" about Ms. Supsup's third runner up finish in the 2011 Ms. Universe pageant seemed like one giant circus to me: online beauty pageant junkies going racist on Ms. Angola for winning, Pinoys blaming Lea Salonga for making it easy for the winner to clinch the crown, Supsup having to defend her answer... I thought we were done with this last week, and yet, I open my online newspaper and the first thing I see is Supsup plastered all over giving a "conference".

What is it about us as a nation that we seem to be enthralled with matters that, frankly, have little to absolutely no importance in our daily lives and how we fare as a nation? Are we really THAT shallow?

I seem to remember P-Noy (President Noynoy Aquino) telling reporters in the not-too-distant past that they desist from asking him about his lovelife (him being the first Bachelor President) because he would like to concentrate on more "important" things.

But the week before the Ms. Universe pageant, you couldn't open your nightly newscast on TV without seeing a clip of P-Noy being asked about a "possible" romance blooming between him and a lady mayor or governor, who happened to be single and in her 30's. (That is a topic for another post, when women of a certain age are being pressured into marrying, because there are few things worse than an unmarried woman in her 30's in this country. RIGHT.)

I would have written it off as the fault of insipid news reporters who had nothing better to do, or ask the President, but the kicker was: it was P-Noy himself who opened the topic. In his speech for whatever official function he was supposed to be conducting, he used the local dialect to "appreciate" the beauty of the women of that particular place, with a "special mention" of the lady executive as a standout - in terms of beauty.

Is this a sampling of something "important"?

I know many of you will think of me as a grouch and a scrooge, for berating P-Noy on this. I can hear the defense now, people saying things like "he was just being carinyoso/malambing" (affectionate). But what worries me is that this overtook the news item: I don't even recall what P-Noy was there in that province for, the reporters took their cue from him and dwelled on the "romance" angle, and it segued right into his former girlfriend Shalani, who also arrived in that place and they crossed paths, prompting reporters to speculate about their relationship status, and even interviewing P-Noy about it.

(Photo courtesy of ofwnow.com)

And now, a week after the Ms. Universe non-win, we have the candidate still splashed over the (online) papers.

What is it, Philippines?

Is there nothing else to talk about?

Why do we persist in focusing on things that are, to put it bluntly, trivial?

Who cares if P-Noy gets a girlfriend or not?

Who cares if Supsup won or not?

I would rather know why until now, more than a year from his election, the promise of charging officials from the past adminstration for alleged fraud, corruption and decption is going at a glacial pace?

I would rather know what the new Department of Tourism head honcho plans to do about the fact that tourist arrivals in this country are a pale shadow of what our other Asian neighbors are receiving, translating to more revenue generation for them and not us?

One look at the TV shows that pervade the idiot box is enough to convince me that we really are a nation that prides in being masters on inutile things: entertainment shows that require you to gyrate lasciviously to get a sum of cash, serial dramas with the same "I've been wronged, I'll have my revenge" plots, or importing more of the same from other Asian or Latin American countries.

What will it take to elevate the Filipino mind and consciousness into a higher level of discourse? How long before we stop being an Asian Tiger cub, if we can even be considered as one at this point in time? Is this another attempt to "laugh our hardships away", the way I hear people defend their anti-RH (Reproductive Health) Bill stance, saying things like "it's OK that we're poor with 9 children and no means to feed or clothe them, as long as we're one big, happy family"?

How much further before we can see that the pursuits we've been so passionate about are sadly, painfully, trivial?

Have We Redefined The Words "Honor" And "Hero"?

I looked at dictionary.com for the definitions of these two words, and for everyone's perusal:

Honor - honesty, fairness or integrity in one's beliefs and actions.

Hero - a person of distinguished courage or ability, adnired for brave deeds or noble qualitites.

So it comes as a complete shock when people are now relating those two words with one Miss Shamcey Supsup, Ms. Universe 2011 Third Runner-Up.

(Photo courtesy of starmometer.com)

What comes to my mind when I see beauty pageants is one word: Meat.

Alternately, I also think of cattle. Or expanding on it, a meat market. For a certain, uh, segment/demographic of the male population. (When I first heard of Donald Trump buying the Ms. Universe organization, all I could think of was "What? He needs his own stable now?")

Let's call it what it is. Enough of the flowery words, or the supposed goodwill.

A candidate's score is based on how she looks in a swimsuit and a nightgown.

HELLO. (Hypocrites, you may desist from reading further.)

Anything that is based on one's looks, or how one's body is shaped in clothes - minimal and otherwise - can never be included in any definition of the words "honor" or "hero".

And yet, the internet and traditional media are all abuzz with how Supsup brought us "great honor" as a nation. And some comments in those reports have called her a "hero" and that she may somehow help us "regain our country's dignity".

Excuse me?

How does having a 36-24-36 figure, long held as the "ideal sexy body measurements", bring honor?

Is it heroic to possess a beautiful face or body?

And the physical attributes of one person regains our dignity as a nation?

Calling on the DECS (Department of Education, Culture and Sports) and CHED (Commission on Higher Education): We need to strengthen the vocabulary of our students. As well as of our lawmakers, apparently.

Even they think that Supsup has brought "honor". And one lawmaker, Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, wants to file a resolution to that effect. (http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/news/top-stories/13328-2-lawmakers-eye-shamcey-as-ph-tourism-booster) Good grief. I suppose it comes as no surprise, because our lawmakers are still referred to as "honorable" (as in The Honorable Congressman from so-and-so province), even if many of them are anything but what that word suggests and undeserving of any kind of respect. With so many pieces of legislation that need pressing attention, this is what they choose to focus on?

And for beauty pageant defenders, stop the hilarious justification that candidates' intelligence levels are also tested, with a single question.

I will concede that the nerves of a person are indeed tested, as it can never be easy for anyone to be placed on the spot, especially if you have to answer a question in front of millions of people while dressed next to nothing.

But to say that this is an effective gauge of one's intelligence is an insult to people who value it.

As well, the use of the words "honor" and "hero" are an insult to those individuals or groups that embody these concepts in their very lives.

A child who rushes back to her burning house to save her siblings - THAT'S a hero.

Firefighters and health workers who rushed into the attacked building on Sept. 11, 2001 to see who they could save, THAT'S heroism.

Equating an almost-win in an international beauty pageant to what these heroes risked for out of conviction and ideals is a monumental slap to them. Beauty pageants serve to glorify all the worst parts of humanity: an obsession with beauty, equating this obsession with same reverence we should be having for scientists who are constantly looking for ways to combat HIV, cancer and other life-threatening diseases, valuing a woman for her looks and only for that alone, the obvious treatment of these contestants as commodities, mere objects and toys to shine and parade around with, the utter degradation of women as well as setting back all the gains that women have achieved in their (it seems never-ending) quest for equality and to be seen as equals. (Even today, a tough man in business is called "a great boss" while a woman with the same temperament is labeled a "bitch".)

Which I am sure is what Ms. Supsup will be doing when she arrives back home: Be in an actual parade as she is paraded around as a testament of this country's "honor" and "dignity", a new "hero".

You'll excuse me if I don't show up, as I don't see any reason to be festive. I try not to be in places where IQ is not only devalued, but seen in a derisive light.

Just when I thought it was once again cool to be a nerd.