Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
We, The Poor
natawa ako when i realized this...
a lot of the forums i attend to discuss problems of "the poor." even the everyday conversations i have with colleagues and friends elevate to discussions about the issues confronting "the poor."
napaisip lang ako bigla nung nakatanggap ako ng isang medyo senti na email from one friend. he said that he "sometimes" rides ordinary busses to be able to mingle with "the poor." hindi ko naman dina-doubt ang goodness ng friends ko na ito, what struck me in his statement was how it markedly placed the poor in the third person. Tapos naisip ko na for the most part, ganito ko rin kine-carry out ang language ng discourse ko, with "the poor" in third person form.
The "othering" move, while (to me) it appears understandable para sa kaibigan ko (considering mayaman naman talaga sila. haha!), to me it sounded odd to refer to this economic bracket in the third person kase i belong to this group.
dapat ang sinasabi ko "We, the poor."
May isa pa akong kaibigan who told me that one of the most moving moments of his life was when he saw a squatters area in Manila. Sabi nya dun daw yung point where he was "politicized." I immediately retorted, "pumunta ka pa sa Maynila, eh dito lag sa amin eh squatters area na" (and we live inside campus ha)... he just said, "at least hindi ka kawawa!"
sure, hindi naman kami sumasala sa three meals a day, but as far as demographics go, i think i belong to the poor, in general. ang naging kaibahan ko nga lang ay nakapag-aral ako at ngayon ay nakahanap ng trabaho na, sabihin na nating allows me to live a relatively secure life. if it wasnt for my education and my networks, i would be nothing now.
The universe has been good to me... Sana pati rin sa co-poor ko. :) hmmmm...
a lot of the forums i attend to discuss problems of "the poor." even the everyday conversations i have with colleagues and friends elevate to discussions about the issues confronting "the poor."
napaisip lang ako bigla nung nakatanggap ako ng isang medyo senti na email from one friend. he said that he "sometimes" rides ordinary busses to be able to mingle with "the poor." hindi ko naman dina-doubt ang goodness ng friends ko na ito, what struck me in his statement was how it markedly placed the poor in the third person. Tapos naisip ko na for the most part, ganito ko rin kine-carry out ang language ng discourse ko, with "the poor" in third person form.
The "othering" move, while (to me) it appears understandable para sa kaibigan ko (considering mayaman naman talaga sila. haha!), to me it sounded odd to refer to this economic bracket in the third person kase i belong to this group.
dapat ang sinasabi ko "We, the poor."
May isa pa akong kaibigan who told me that one of the most moving moments of his life was when he saw a squatters area in Manila. Sabi nya dun daw yung point where he was "politicized." I immediately retorted, "pumunta ka pa sa Maynila, eh dito lag sa amin eh squatters area na" (and we live inside campus ha)... he just said, "at least hindi ka kawawa!"
sure, hindi naman kami sumasala sa three meals a day, but as far as demographics go, i think i belong to the poor, in general. ang naging kaibahan ko nga lang ay nakapag-aral ako at ngayon ay nakahanap ng trabaho na, sabihin na nating allows me to live a relatively secure life. if it wasnt for my education and my networks, i would be nothing now.
The universe has been good to me... Sana pati rin sa co-poor ko. :) hmmmm...
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