Filipinos, it has been pointed out by numerous studies, are one of the heaviest consumers of social media in the world.
It’s not surprising, therefore, to see “netizens” speaking out against the dizzying (but not really surprising) allegations of massive corruption in flood-control projects.
I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg on what can be called a massive conspiracy to loot the national treasury and rob the masses of the money that should’ve been earmarked for public benefit.
The trouble is, that anger on social media rarely gets translated into concrete action in the real world, according to some observers.
I’ll be not just talking about the comparison of our situation here with the recent events in Indonesia and Nepal. (I, personally, abhor violence, but one can understand that all around the world, ordinary masses are saying “Enough!” to a system that clearly benefits only a few and treats the vast majority like toys whom they can manipulate and kill off for their sport.)
I’ll grant that expressing our outrage on social media is already a form of resistance, albeit a passive one. Passive, because we must face the fact: the world of social media is NOT the real world. Hindi sapat na mang-istalk lang tayo ng mga “nepo babies” o gumawa ng milyong memes para iritahin ang mga troll. Social media is only a miniscule part of our lives.
You know what will make a better impact? Go outside. Hindi lamang upang magprotesta, kundi upang turuan ang masa. Engage people in meaningful conversations. Talk to the people out there on the street. Kausapin ang mga vendor, ang mga jeepney driver. Ipaunawa natin sa kanila kung ano ang ating ipinaglalaban, at kung bakit tayo lumalaban.
Of course, naysayers are bound to find excuses like, “Nah, babarahin lang kami nila.” “Nah, sobrang close-minded na sila.” “Huwag na, baka sigawan pa kami at sabihan na kami ang bayaran.”
Natural lang iyan, sa totoo lang. Sa mahigit isang dekada kong pagtatrabaho sa isang media outlet na gaya ng OpinYon, kung saan opinyon mo at opinyon ko ang aming ibinabandera, natanggap ko na na may mga taong iba ang opinyon sa atin. Huwag tayong mag-expect na sasang-ayon ang mga tao sa ating sariling mga pananaw.
It’s a long, painful process of convincing people. At kailangan nating isantabi ang sarili nating mga panghuhusga o bias kapag sumalungat sila sa ating mga pananaw. Pero ang mahalaga, gaya nga ng sinabi noon ni Bob Ong, sang-ayon man sila sa inyo o hindi, tinubuan sila ng pakialam na dati ay wala. Malay natin, baka mapag-isip-isip nila nang totoo ang ating mga sinabi, and in the end, we might even be able to convince the naysayers.
Kung nais nating muling mapagkaisa ang mga tao gaya ng nangyari halos apat na dekada na ang nakararaan, we have to get off the comfort zone that is social media and engage with people in the real world.
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