Wired Magazine, January 2012 Issue

I finally got my Wired Magazine January 2012 issue in the mail today. The first thing that I noticed, the front page texts say – “How Social Media Fuels Social Unrest”. I could not believe my eyes. This topic is very timely and will surely create a huge impact on people in my hometown in the Philippines, if  they read it.

If I may reiterate my previous posts, my hometown was hit by a tragic calamity a few days ago. A deadly typhoon, Sendong, brought sorrow to the whole nation. As of yesterday, the death toll reached 652 and more than 800 still missing. Tell me, what could be more tragic than celebrating Christmas with a death in the family?

In a tightly-knit country, bound by the spirit of bayanihan(camaraderie), negativity is not welcome in time of distress.  When most of the people are sympathetic, two daring Filipinos chose the other side of the fence. They posted very disturbing comments concerning the Typhoon Sendong victims in their less-private Facebook Wall.  They cussed and wished ill to the residents of the affected area. The culprits – Van Carumba, a Filipina currently working in Dubai, and Celine Acut, a Filipino living in France. You would think that this is nothing. Such harsh remark is just a product of an idle mind. True. But guess what, it shook the whole nation. Thanks to the site’s  Share and Tag capability, a virtual riot was launched. A number of blog posts were written, hurtful words were said, and some fictitious Facebook fan page was created. In fact, a law suit is even mentioned. Such chaos, such a disgrace.

Here is my take on this –

Whatever these two Filipinos wrote in their Facebook Wall is none of my concern. First – I do not know them. Second – it is their Wall, it is their space. Third – There is so much going on in my life and I got no time to spare lambasting them. And lastly, it is their point-of-view, and let it stay that way. As for those who reacted not to well, move on. This is the first-and-last post that I will have regarding this issue. Sayonara.