'Stupid Is What Stupid Does'

Here's the thing about the showhost-turned-Senator, from my point of view. That 'joke'  in Sec. Taguiwalo's confirmation hearings, as my brother told me, should not have been given a bit of thought and effort, 'huwag patulan' were his terms. My good friend sent a text message telling me if I  watched Eat Bulaga more often, I would have 'gotten' the joke, and 'in fairness to the showhost-turned-Senator, he supported Taguiwalo 100%'. 

In my decades of being in the public service sector, I have seen one too many, of the showhost-turned-Senator type, you know: the men who prey upon the weaknesses of young women new in the service and try to take them on as mistresses; bosses who casually put their hands on the knees of  women wearing a skirt forming part of a uniform (the design of which is pencil-cut so it kinda stretched upward when a woman sits); men who loudly tell jokes of sexual nature and laugh at them, more loudly. 

I fended off being one of the mistresses; I reported the casual-hand-on-my-knee incident; I never laughed at the jokes. The man found a mistress alternative to me; I was told by the officer concerned about my report 'not to say anything about it because people will say I seduced the boss'; I walked away each time I knew a bad joke was coming. That was two decades ago. 

My daughter was extremely offended by the 'joke' on Taguiwalo having been 'na-ano lang', and she is not a 'Maria Clara' type at all. She laughs loudly, cackles really; she wears shorts and skirts which are comfortable, not sexy; she wears her lipstick red and bold. My son shared a post on the topic, clicked the 'haha' button regarding my post on the 'joke', did not say a thing but I could glean from those two that he didn't like it either. The joke, some of my friends tell me, was to make the deliberations 'lighter'. After all, they said, the showhost-turned-Senator voted for the confirmation.

I gave this 'joke' time and effort because that 'joke' was an insult and harassment, plain and simple. I have been through worse, so I know. I do watch Eat Bulaga, but not on a regular basis, because the hosts are really funny, normal day-today life in this country is made happier with the show. So I would like to think that I got the 'joke'. Yes, Sec. Taguiwalo was confirmed in the end, because why not? She is after all a million light years ahead of the showhost-turned-Senator when qualifications and experience on social welfare and development is concerned: her demeanor and reply in reaction to the 'joke' in one or two sentences is proof enough. It is not her 'utang na loob' from the showhost-turned-Senator that he gave his approval. 

Most importantly, my children took offense. These kids are part of a generation which is privileged to have access to information on the internet, taught by schools how to tell fake from true. They grew up in a society where equality, openness and being true to who you are, are the norms. They now face this world armed with the respect there must be for other people, including me as an individual, not their mother. Not because I taught them, but because they are just good kids. Their generation speaks of tolerance, for all that there may be out there, for the sake of unity and peace. I say it again, my children took offense. 

So excuse me for spending time and effort on the 'joke'. It was not right, it was not decent, it was not funny. Whether coming from a Senator or a noontime showhost, (I think the man got confused as to which he was at that time he said it.), it was not funny.