“This clip from BBC’s new segment has gained a recent popularity amongst our ‘makabayans’; notice how I use ‘makabayan’ instead of ‘kababayans’. When I had first seen the link on facebook, only a few had been commenting on the clip, most of which disapproved of what the comedian had said. Now though, in my opinion, the issue, which should not have been an issue in the first place, has been blown to proportions of epicness. The fact that it has even reached the pages of abs-cbn, enabling it to be called “newsworthy,” is beyond me.
“Now while the ethics of the “netizens” involved in mocking the joke appear to be non-existent – and I believe I have every right to be as rude and as obnoxious to them as they are being to the poor comedian – this is a post about the article itself and not on the embarrassing demeanor of my fellow citizens (I really hope not). Though I’m pretty sure I’ve said enough about ‘them’.
“The article gets straight to the point where it caught public eye. No pre-made comments, no welcoming speeches and no segues; just a well-cut title and the heart of the issue. It presents clear pictures of both sides, of the comedian and the positive and (alarming rate of) negative feedback. There was no underlying implications on what the writer’s stand on the issue was. She presented an issue, showed every side of the equation and left the reader to make their own decisions. No lines were crossed in how the report was handled and I believe everyone was given a fair chance at the spotlight. I commend her for not hinting at whether or not she found the clip ‘racist’ and treated the story tactfully.
“As for the clip itself. The whole thing was a joke. The person who posted it should’ve posted the whole segment and not just parts of it. Clearly an unethical pursuit according to the code for points of omission and bias. This would have defeated the whole purpose of proving his point but at least I wouldn’t be judging him as someone who was seeking attention: “Oh look, someone said something bad about my country, I should edit this and post it and have people all see how good I was for saving the country.” Srsly? Even then, the title clearly said it all, need I stress on the word “unlikely”? People who took offense from it should’ve just said so but refrained from throwing in names and insults. Solving conflict with more conflict is counter productive.
“I definitely admire how Katherine Ryan stood her ground against the vulgarity of those who opposed her. Even more, I admire the (very few) Filipinos who opposed those who had nothing good to say about her. Ryan was not as offensive. Instead, she helped those who didn’t get the joke understand the whole scenario. She was the ‘bigger man,’ and she gets my approval.” posted by Arvin Reno Labrador
