My emotions were as high as the LGBT community's the moment I read of Manny Pacquiao's statement on Facebook 2 days ago. Although I am not part of the LGBT community per se - I have some very confusing moments during my highschool and early college days - I am quite appalled at the very strong words the Pambansang Kamao mentioned at that interview. And after reading - and reacting to - tons of forums and threads about this issue, I came to several conclusions which can be quite promising/disappointing, depending on your stance on the issue.
1. There are still a lot of people who are scared of getting "the cooties".
I honestly thought the cooties fever would end at second grade, when kids start realizing that "Hey, I think that girl/boy's cute. I want to spend time with her." Seriously, people. You won't "catch" it if you spend a day with gays/lesbians. As Susan Bunch from Friends say, "Well, you know, you have to take a course. Otherwise they don’t let you do it." Well, of course, you don't actually need to take a course to be one but it sure feels confusing the first time you realize it; much like the confusion you get when you step into the university for the very first time (I think).
2. A lot of Christians are judgemental as fuck.
I'm not even gonna lie; I've had my moments. I was born and raised to judge people the way they dress in public. I eyed that woman who wore a racy ensemble on the way to work. I laughed at the guy who wore Crocs with socks while he was running his errands. I even reprimanded a teen who had her cleavage on full display at the cafe near my then-office. I am judgemental, yes, but these self-proclaimed spokespersons of the Lord are much more judgemental than I am. I know it won't matter from God's perspective but I would just like to say that I just judge people based on their decisions on what to wear that morning. It ends there. If they wanted to have crazy monkey sex with their partners who are of the same gender at the end of the day with their socks on, be my guest. What happens inside their bedroom is none of my business, as it should be. Same is true with people who are not as open to same sex relationships/marriages as I am. They believe it's wrong and I respect that. I won't even begin to convince them to change their minds.
3. Hypocrites under the Anonymous guise are very much rampant on Facebook.
Anywhere online, really. I know they've been there before but when I was still part of the workforce, I never really put any attention to the comments section. I read an article on my timeline, close it, then open another one to read. 2 years ago, I've started the habit of reading the comments section and realized that it was, more often than not, a lot more entertaining than the actual article. So when this whole Manny Pacquiao thing blew out of proportion, I thought, "I'm so ready for this" but turns out, I wasn't. People quoting the Bible and pushing their beliefs down other people's throats started going at one another the moment I clicked on "View more comments". Come on, people. You know you started having sex at the tender age of 15. You know you've cheated on your husband at least twice this past week. You know you've masturbated your way to a good night's sleep last night. You've even gossiped about your friend's boobjob at your work's weekly inuman sesh. Stop copy-pasting "God's words" to "sinners'" comments. You know you are one.
4. Whatever he said, Manny Pacquiao still brought pride to us Filipinos.
I may have wanted to slap Manny's face when he uttered those words on-cam - you are a politician, man, not a pastor! - but I cannot take away the fact that at one point in my life, I could say that that "politician" made me proud to be a Filipino when he was still just an athlete. He's the best thing that happened to Philippine boxing since Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, no doubt.
5. There are at least 5 people on my Facebook friends list that kept on changing their "beliefs" in the 2 days this issue has been trending.
I should really unfriend them now. Mga walang paninindigan. Yes, I'm also critical of people's Facebook statuses.
We all have the need to feel we're right and that we're above someone else. I guess it's human nature. But at this age and after all that I've been through in life, can I just ask for one thing?
Let's all just agree to disagree on some things.
We were all raised differently, with different priorities and different values. We can never find one single thing that the entire human race will agree upon on. I can guarantee you that. Majority may agree, yes, but not EVERYONE will. Just let it go. That's one man's opinion. Why should I allow it to shake my core, right?
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