Hayop sa pagpatay ah!

Nothing infuriates me more than when I hear news of Abu Sayaff and NPA rebels capturing a soldier and ‘liquidating’ him (before torturing) and vice versa. WHY are we so cruel to each other? Tell me, please! What do we get from torturing and killing people? I don’t want an answer on how the military is also doing the same to captured rebels or activists. I don’t want to hear about the history of violence and hostility associated with both groups. I don’t care that they are supposedly fighting for some distorted idealism or belief that God knows no one clearly understands. Discrimination, intolerance, Communism, Marxism, Socialism, racism, at lahat ng isms na yan! They’re dead ideologies, people. They’re dead ends. Wala kayong pinaglalaban! Yang mga rebeldeng yan, akala mo naiintindihan nila ang pinaglalaban nila. Akala mo gamay na gamay na nila ang ideyolohiyang pinamana sa kanila. Pero puno’t dulo lang naman ng problemang pinaglalaban talaga ay kahirapan. POVERTY. Dahil yun lang talaga ang pinamana sa kanila. Kung mahirap ka, karapatan mo inaapakan at naaapakan. Kung mahirap ka, kulang ka sa kaalaman at akses sa edukasyon. Kung mahirap ka, at hindi makakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw, at lalo na’t inaabuso ng gobyerno o ng mga corrupt na politiko na nagkalat sa bansang ito, di ba’t magagalit ka talaga dahil sa wala ka ng magawa? At san ka pa papanig kundi dun sa mga kapwa naaapi? Eh paano kayo lalaban niyan, hindi nga kayo edukado?

Then poor people will take arms, will try to fight by force, try to fight in whatever way they can. Kaya yang mga rebeldeng yan, they’re all just common terrorists. They’re a ragtag bunch of stupid, ignorant guerillas and their stupidity is either congenital or temporary. And what do poor people do best? Of course refer to their poverty! They always want to magnify how poor and deprived they are. They never get out from that mentality. Puro nalang sila “mahirap kami”. Tumigil nga kayo! There is always something we can do to alleviate our situations. We are never left without a choice. And may I say, a choice to do what is right.

So tell me, please, why are we doing this to each other? Tell me why human beings are acting like beasts. Diba ang mga hayop walang pinagaralan?

Sabihin niyo sakin paano nating kinakayang pumatay ng kapwa tao? Hindi ba’t tao din kayo at pinahahalagahan ang sarili ninyong buhay? O di kaya mistulang mga hayop na din kayo na walang pananagutan sa kapwa hayop?

O baka naman iniisip ninyo kayo ang Diyos na may karapatang kumuha ng buhay ng may buhay? Fine: hayop nalang. Mas mahirap ang isiping nagpapaka diyos kayo.