***
The problem of the Filipino mind, at least that of the 2 percent of the population that toppled Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, is that it is too analytic and does not deal with possibilities and inner transformations. It is more aware of the past than that of the present moment--the here and there of what they call the "peoples' victory" that kept Filipinos bondage until now.
This analytical mind says, Ferdinand Marcos was a Hitler; therefore, his son is a Hitler. Look, Sergio Osmena: This is a false logic because it has a false premise.
Who is Hitler? Does this puerile Filipino mind know him or his first name or what he did to 6 million Jews in World War II? Does this mind knows Hitler's ideology?
It could not be that hundreds of professors in that Christian university have one captive, sterile mind that, like Mr. Pacquiao, has no room for the values of their supposed spiritual path: love, charity and understanding. It could not be that they, too, fell prey to the obsolete refrain, the Anti-Marcos Monologue of Hate and Anger, that the Yellow Media have been playing for the past 30 years.
*** Who was the writer who said that we must translate our psychic wounds into significant art or thought?
Multiple issues can be connected to the Honorable Emmanuel Pacquiao's diatribe against gays in his 30-second statement regarding them. The Philippine boxing legend, a member of Congress, left the Roman Catholic Church and joined another Christian group. His mentors in the latter must have succeeded in indoctrinating him certain beliefs that he must also preach to others to gain adherents.
But Mr.Pacquiao's faith as a Christian does not give him the license to crucify gays, for they, too, are created, like him, in the image of God. And, who knows, these gays are also Christians like him. Was it necessary to describe them as "worse than animals" with respect to their sexual orientation?
Given his stature as a boxing icon and representative of the, people in the Philippine Congress, would he have not used a more civilized language to drive home his point? We speak here of prudence, tact, savoir faire in dealing with sensitive issues like homosexuality.
As a boxing hero to Filipinos and the world, would he have been more heroic in defending the rights of gays because, they, too, have rights like any other children of God?
Instead of denigrating them, would he have been more generous--not with his riches--but with the values of the spiritual path, he said, he has been treading?
"Worse than animals." Words are things and sharp, as sharp as the sharpest kitchen knife, and cut deep inside. I hope that my nephew Gerry understand my issue against Mr. Pacquiao. It's not about marriage between man and woman. It's not about same sex marriage. It's about name-calling that takes away the person's dignity whether he is gay or straight, or whether she is a lesbian or a real woman.
Mr. Pacquiao's homophobic rhetoric before and after is wilting as he goes berserk with Bible verses to defend his cause. It appears he has a weak Bible background and there is a need for him to seek experts on the Scriptures in his Bible-preaching.
For the Bible-quoting boxer:
"As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor." (New International Version of the Bible)
In a more confrontational rendition, the verse says: One fly destroys a bottle of perfume.
Also, Mr. Pacquiao's Romanized name Emmanuel means in Hebrew, "God with us" (Immanuel).
As foretold:
Isaiah 7:14-16 says: So the Lord Himself will give you a special thing to see: A young woman who had never had a man will give birth to a son. She will give him the name Immanuel. He will eat milk and honey when he knows enough to have nothing to do with wrong-doing and chooses good....
Cross reference: Matthew 1:22-23--This happened as the Lord said it would happen through the early preacher. He said, "The young woman, who has never had a man, will give birth to a Son. They will give him the name Immanuel. This means God with us."
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