I’ve always thought that an EDSA-style insurrection was a great hack. Gather a sufficient number of people (usually pissed), and there is art and politics and rage and religion, and with some luck, actual change. It can be beautifully executed, distributed intelligence and diverse agendas converging to achieve shockingly fast political transitions, all with relatively no violence. I have heard my mom talk about Version 1.0, and I was there for Dos.
I’m not sure if I have it in me to go to another.
As beautiful and as enticing as it is, an “EDSA” (I think Makati is the place to be right now) is still a hack - a temporary solution. It is a well-placed application of mass and motion, like nudging a pinball machine with your hips. It’s sexy and exciting as hell, but like any hack, can have unexpected, unintended consequences. Case in point: today’s rally would probably be joined by Erap Estrada, recently convicted of plunder (later pardoned by GMA). Didn’t we already get rid of this sleazebag years ago? Aren’t we supposed to be raging about the kind of corruption that makes Erap free to join rallies? And don’t get me started with Joe “Moral Revolution”* De Venecia within the ranks of the protesters. I’m beginning to think we’ve arrived at the planet of the apes, where the apes ride on horseback and the humans are scurrying like vermin, and the whole world is upside down. Can we really build our futures on such paradoxes?
Maybe I’m just getting old, but really, I’ve had enough of this shit. I want something more elegant, more lasting.
* Smirk
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