WRITING COMES WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
oh jeez. this is my second time trying to write this entry. my internet connection is still "sketchy" at best. bayantel na talaga ako sa november. pwamis.
with all the brouhaha surrounding ms. MF's article(s) and predicament, eto lang masasabi ko: writing comes with great responsibility.
(ahhh badtrip! ang haba na ng naisulat ko kanina tapos di mag-publish kasi naputol connection ko)
ok, MF had the right to write her observations but what really got my goat (and other people's goat) is that she insulted -- and it was an insult talaga -- other people (regardless kung "heroes" sila o hindi basta the fact remains she insulted a group of pinoys) for her end, which is itaas ang estasyon nya sa buhay. to promote herself. period.
actually, it was quite irresponsible of her. she could have driven her point home (which i don't think she has a point at all since her insults were immaterial to her article that greece and boracay are like this and that) without being offensive.
but she didn't. and now the people are angry.
and publications don't tolerate that. vic agustin was suspended because of his rude behavior towards rey constantino. since agustin and inquirer didn't see eye-to-eye, he left. although he did not write it, it's more of the action that offended other people, still the point is, media outfits don't and shouldn't tolerate egotistic trippings like that.
same thing happened to don imus who also got sacked for his bigotry.
another point: the reason why other people asked for her resignation or firing was that people (like me) feel she's just a waste of precious column space. her rants and her insecurities don't merit such kind of space.
araw-araw kasi sa dyaryo ang labanan ay espasyo. SPACE. it's limited. lahat kami nagpapakamatay maghanap ng isusulat at magsulat pero hindi lahat nabibigyan ng espasyo. atsaka a publication like Manila Standard Today and People Asia (a publication of the Philippine Star) don't deserve a crass writer like her.
back to the thing that writing comes with great responsibility... kaya nga ang mga taong nabibigyan ng privilege na makapagsulat para sa madla ay may sinusunod na mga panuntunan dahil hindi basta-basta lang ang pagsusulat.
hindi ko na iisa-isahin pa ang basic tenets ng journalism. alam na ng tao yun. kahit na feature pa yung kay MF, dapat hindi ganon ka-iresponsable ang pagkakasulat. she was out of line.
kaya nga ang pagiging manunulat eh pagiging matapang ang sikmura kasi pag nagkamali ka, mahigpit ang kaparusahan...titirahin ka ng madla. it comes with the job. you write for the masses, then the public will nail you to the cross. fair game.
kaya nga if you can't take it, get out. or better yet, be more responsible. if you don't like it, then just blog.
kaya nga pinipilipit ang sikmura ko araw-araw pag nababasa ko yung mga sinusulat ko kasi baka mali ang datos. baka offensive. baka hindi fair, etc. lalo na pag features and special reports.
another point: she may have the right to write her opinion but for me her right ended when she insulted her fellow filipinos outright. yun ang turo ng magulang ko, you have the freedom to exercise your right but it ends when you step on other people's right. wag na tayong magpakateknikal dito.
(kakainis, hindi ko na maayos 'tong sinusulat ko. mas maganda yung kaninang nabura.)
that's why ang pagsusulat sa dyaryo o magazine of general circulation ay di madali. you can't just write fuck you, fuck you fuck you, tae tae tae sa broadsheets on a daily basis kasi it is offensive. same thing goes for MF's articles. reading fuck you fuck you fuck you may not be offensive to others but it is to some because it is bordering (o baka hindi na bordering) on bad taste. same thing goes for MF's articles.
i'm all for freedom of speech but it is not absolute. and the mere fact that the words slander, defamation and libel appear in our laws it is an indication that it is not absolute. (and oh dear lord, isang sem ko inaral yan kay atty. X. shet. mamili ka na lang dun kung si atty. x o si atty. y ba). and to be philosophical about it, freedom is not absolute. gaya ng turo ng magulang ko, your freedom ends when you step on somebody else's rights.
btw, the reason why i'm just using her initials is that people are accusing others that they are just riding on the issue and writing it in their blogs to earn more site hits. although i know i'm not one of those, mas maganda nang di searchable yung site ko sa google.
why can't some people understand that that is the reason why blogs became popular? kasi maraming nagrarant. like me.
