The Ripples : FLESH

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

THE RIPPLES

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

MENU A Family Affair ....................... p1 Editorial ................................... p2 Fair is Unfair ........................... p4 The Scarlet Spotlight .............. p6 Areolright ................................. p8 Take It From the Big Guy ....... p10 SOGIE ........................................ p12 Soulmate for Sale .................... p16 $ellebrity .................................. p20 Ballistic Sanctity ..................... p22 #ffffffFather ............................. p25 Dolly and the Rosary .............. p27 Dear Despondencies ................ p29 A Good Death ........................... p32 Juvenile Exposure ................... p38 Of Stalkers and Strangers ...... p40 Negative One ............................ p42

THE RIPPLES

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The famous line, “It’s not what you know but who you know” has justified itself true many times in countless fields of profession, or simply in life itself. Sure, it comes handy to know the right people in the right positions who hold the right power to cater one’s needs. When you’re lucky enough to have these people in your family, wouldn’t everything be just nice with all the sugar and spice?

“A MAN’S INTEGRITY IS NOT PASSED DOWN; QUALIFICATIONS TO SERVE ARE NOT HEREDITARY” WORDS ANGELENE L. DIAZ GRAPHICS CHRISTOPH SAGEMULLER

The Filipino culture, above all the other infamous traits, is best known for its wellknitted family ties. With this strong sense of family-first principles, it wouldn’t come as a surprise seeing Filipinos shamelessly putting their relatives into positions of privilege, or favor them on job opportunities.

It would actually even be a norm to situate one’s family’s interest over others and secure the kin’s societal status. However, this line of thinking has made ambitious families believe that public positions are like heirlooms; a family possession that should be passed on.

This practice is called Nepotism and it can be traced way back in history when leaders such as datus and rajas appointed their own family members to rule over tribal communities. This has caused power to be concentrated only within a few families, and each community was somewhat synonymous to a particular family. Centuries have passed, and nepotism is still practiced albeit the hard fight against corruption. Undeniably, it still offers more seats of power for political families and those allied with the right people.

Take for an instance the appointment of 11 people with the surname Abad under President Aquino’s administration, to which the Palace had defended as “not nepotism”.

In that defense they state that each member is highly qualified for the position and was not appoint based on their relationship.

In spite of the justification, the problem still lies with the mismatch of concepts; nepotism and anti-corruption just doesn’t go well. Civil Service Commission chair Francis Duque explained, “[Nepotism] promotes patronage politics, and breeds public distrust on government.”

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Another budding government family affair comes in the growing number of political dynasties. At present, there are 178 political dynasties, with 2 or more related politicians in position, ruling the country in 73 out of the 80 provinces. These alarming numbers reflect how these prominent personalities perceive governance, government and public service. Certainly, building a dynasty must not become one of their phony family affairs when in the first place they were elected by the people to serve every one of their constituents, and make to better use of the resources placed into their hands, not into their pockets. Apparently, the political dynasty has become the modern day monarchy; by means of public service, it leeches the hunger for power, wealth and fame.

Although filial culture may play a big role in the increased number of political dynasties, it isn’t the sole cause of this problem. It is much more than the cultural context because it reflects the mandate of Filipino voters. However, by the thread of these successful political dynasties, the growth of mature and politically responsible voters is still questionable,

explaining why these politicians keep on winning.

The key of their success to winning the elections would always be face-andname recognition. This explains why it wouldn’t be a shock if politicians are already bombarding national televisions with paid-by-friends advertisements, saving themselves from accusations of premature campaigning, and countless other form of advertisements to keep their names resonating. Not only do they spend millions of funds for air time, their rat-race to familiarity is also evident in the choice of projects they aim. A Social Weather Survey (SWS) indicates that dynastic representatives focus more on giving scholarships and push livelihood projects because these can earn them direct credit, thus boiling down to patronage or, “utang na loob” of the recipients.

It’s a shame how even up to this point in time, these palpable practices of corruption still exists. It is high time for Filipinos to realize that politics is more than just a game of name’s sake. It is not a guarantee that a name would bring about the best service

to the people. More so, a name could not guarantee to produce the same quality of leader from its roots. When will we realize that a man’s integrity is not passed down, and certainly, qualifications to serve are not hereditary?

While these political dynasties work hard to continue their reign, aspiring new leaders are as hard at work to put their names on the limelight. However, it would take much more than hard work to sit on that sweet seat in politics; it would require stable financial support and artillery of supporters to replace an old name.

We would like to believe that the mandate of the Filipino voters is more than just based from mainstream media information that is obviously filtered to cater the ones who pays the bigger bundle. Let the work, character and quality of service already rendered by these political aspirants be the basis for our choices. Raymond Palatino, a youth sector representative in Congress stands, “I refuse to believe that out of a population of 92 million, only a few families have this monopoly of intellect, passion and intention to serve our people.”

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

In November 13, 2015, ISIS or The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria unleashed a series of attacks on the city of Paris, France. As of Monday, November 16, 2015, these attacks are said to have claimed a total of 132 lives and injured hundreds more. The news exploded all around the world, and social media was filled to the brim with messages of sympathy and prayers for Paris. While writing this, 8 million tweets have been sent containing the hashtag #PrayForParis, creating a shockwave of information, conspiracies, terror and worry for the people of France.

Profile pictures were changed into the French flag in solidarity with the people of France with their mourning for the lost lives. This was initiated

by Facebook as a morale-boosting to lift the hearts of the French people and the world.

Before those 8 million tweets were sent, before your profile pictures turned blue, white and red, over 40 lives of innocent people have been robbed a day before the event in France, in Beirut, Lebanon. A suicide bombing had occurred in a neighborhood market that had also left 200 injured. During that attack, two men in motorcycles stormed the market, strapped with bombing vests and detonated these in two separate areas.

Why didn’t we hear about it in the media? Why didn’t #PrayForBeirut trend on Twitter? It is probably because Paris is a romantic city, filled with our memories or dreams of the perfect location for love, art and the love of art. It is home to some of humanity’s cultural and artistic icons, which is probably one of the reasons why the Paris attack seemed like a hit closer to home than the blasts in Beirut. Probably, more than one-third of the people posting on Facebook have no idea what country Beirut belongs to and don’t have a clear picture of it on their minds.

We cannot deny the fact that Lebanon has recently just got out of a string of civil wars from the 90s and is still on the process of rising from all the rubble by the war. After comparing these two incidents of carnage, one can’t help but ask if maybe some lives matter more than the others.

Was Paris more deserving of the attention of the media than Beirut?

Should we have been given the chance to change our profile pictures into that of the flag of Lebanon? For ISIS, those lives don’t matter as long as they get media coverage for their fear mongering. They made most of the world populace, composed of 7.3 billion people, stop at their tracks and shiver in fear while the death toll rises. They immobilized netizens, the clergy, the politicians, the businessmen and the European union from just one show. The ISIS successfully balkanized the world with terror, dividing Muslims and the other religions or the lack thereof, closed the borders for the fleeing immigrants and waged war between the politically correct keyboard warriors on social media. ISIS is not against France nor Lebanon; ISIS is against everyone. Unless we recognize the Islamic State as a global problem, divided, indeed, we fall.

ILLUSTRATION BY MATT YRAD

THE RIPPLES

WORDS VINCENT ROSE SARNATE GRAPHICS JOANN JULIANO

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The first man and woman had indolent children. Their slothfulness seemed like a daily routine and they were practically useless. One day, the father ran out of patience and chased them away with a stick. In sheer panic, the children fled to escape their father’s wrath. Some ran a short distance and remained in the country while others hastened to farther regions. Those who ran a little near became the Filipinos whose skin was brown like that of the earth. Those who fled to cold regions became the white people; those who took refuge in countries where the soil was red became the red race; and those who settled in hot regions turned black and were named the black people. (Mixed Blessing: The Impact of the American Colonial Experience on Politics and Society in the Philippines) Our forefathers were outright lazy and we became the tan-skinned Filipinos all because they didn’t run that far. That lazy part aside, I need you to tell me honestly— did you somehow hope that our ancestors could have at least sprinted all the way to colder regions? We could have been a fairer race. But then again, this is just a myth. However, it somehow rhymes the truth.

“In our cultures, some people think women with light skin are the most beautiful. This beauty standard pushes many girls to depigment their skin. What we see in the media is the lighter one’s skin is, the better one’s life,” said Ekra Elidje, a dermatologist at the Treichville university hospital in Abidjan. “The World’s” Phillip Martin has been exploring the phenomenon of skin whitening in Asia and has this report: Walking beside a rushing stream in Hsingchu, Taiwan, 18-year-old Hilda Chu balances an umbrella in one hand and textbooks in the other. Her skin is ghostly white. Hilda says she carries an umbrella mainly to avoid skin cancer, but also to preserve her light complexion: “I try hard to make my skin white, yes. If my skin is lighter, I think I will be happier.”

Anxiety has been deeply ingrained in the fabric of Asian society. Beijing-based author Lijia Zang knows this firsthand, and writes about it in her recent memoir ‘Socialism is Great’: “I have often been called a “peasant girl”. Even my sister sometimes calls me a peasant girl. I don’t think my father liked me very much because I was not a pretty child. I was dark, and I remember he said to me repeatedly that I was not their natural daughter. They picked me up from a coal dump, which was why my skin was so dark.”

(PRI’sTheWorld) “Mestizo” and “mestiza”—westernization has gone more than skin deep; it dominated mentalities. “What’s your mix?” clothing brand Bayo asked Filipina women in its heavily-lampooned ad campaign from last month. The ad drew criticism for excluding 100-percent Filipinos, and glorifying the “50-precent Filipina” instead, thereby feeding the beauty industry’s obsession with so-called mestizas. But as it turns out, all Filipinos are mestizos of a sort—and it comes down to matter of semantics.

Apparently, the word “mestizo” has long suffered from widespread misuse, at least according to cultural anthropologist Dr. Fernando Zialcita. To most Filipinos, “mestizo” refers to fellow Pinoys who are fairer-skinned than others, usually those who descended from American or European parents or grandparents. But in a lecture at the Instituto Cervantes Tuesday, Zialcita said that the original meaning of the word “mestizo” has nothing to do with skin color.

The anthropologist explained that “mestizo” is a Spanish word derived from the Latin, “mixtus,” so it can therefore refer to anyone who is of mixed origins—and in the Philippines, that means almost everyone.

“Mestizo can be a mixture of anything. It can be Ibanag with Ifugao, or Maranao with Spaniard, or Maranao with Chinese,” Zialcita said. “It’s a mixture, but we have tended to narrow it too much today to just somebody with Spanish blood, which is very erroneous,” he added. (GMA News Online)

Our skin is more than just a business battleground, a focal point of racism or even a beauty meter. It has wonders that extend into the adipose, the last skin layer.

The skin is an organ of protection. Its primary function is to act as a barrier. The skin provides protection from: mechanical impacts and pressure, variations in temperature, micro-organisms, radiation and chemicals. It is an organ of regulation.

The skin regulates several aspects of physiology, including: body temperature via sweat and hair, and changes in peripheral circulation and fluid balance via sweat. It also acts as a reservoir for the synthesis of Vitamin D. The skin is an organ of sensation. It contains an extensive network of nerve cells that detect and relay changes in the environment. There are separate receptors for heat, cold, touch, and pain. (Clinimed) The skin is and always will be executing these functions regardless of its type and of course, color.

“God’s not fair. She was born white and attractive while I’m left here contemplating my tan-skinned plainness.” Isn’t it unfair when you say that God is not fair? A darker skin shade does not make your dignity a notch lower. Please, what if you were born without skin? Nobody will surely be better off like that. The point I was trying to make is that God has created our skin to give the best external and internal shelter. Our skin is home and it literally embraces us. Not our ancestors, nor genetics, nor God—not even the society—is to be accursed. If we want fair, we don’t have to be whiter; just braver, to love and accept the skin we’re in—whether it’s light or even dark.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of that tapestry are equal in value no matter their color.”

–Maya Angelou

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3. We love a good rebel story.

“WHY THE TRUTH IS OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE AS COMPARED TO THE SINS” WORDS FRANCINE VARCAS GRAPHICS MARK ESPUERTA

This is a familiar scene. It’s Scarlet Letter all over again. It’s Easy A. It’s the sinner. It’s that letter. It’s that story that we all love to hear and bask into as though it was novelty.

One thing we all know about this is that the truth is of little importance. It’s the scandal that we want.

The word “scandal” has a multitude of definitions, with intensities ranging from the dishonouring immoral conduct that may lead to exile or exclusion, to the mild effects of gossip. There is the defamation, and there is the damage to the reputation, but even without the definition or etymology, we know a scandal by heart. We greet it like an old friend, scorn it like an enemy, and we let it entertain us with so much crap to last for weeks. Given that we live in the 5th largest Christian country in the whole world, subscribing to the dynamics of such stories is the guilty pleasure of many, if not all. You can deny it all you want, but you know you want to find out about it. To hell with the backstory, we want the sins.

It’s not wrong to be curious. In fact, curiosity is an inherent tendency that jives alongside the existence of our intellect.

There is a psychology behind our attraction to the titillating yet self-destructive actions of more or less ordinary people. It eventually boils down to the reality that we are just human, but here’s a breakdown:

1. These are stories that are close to home.

The struggle of the transgressor is so familiar that we can actually learn from how they manage the situation they are in. We can empathize at their weaknesses because there were times when we, or someone we know, had encountered the same problem ourselves. These stories let us experience the anger, the lust, the outrage, the understanding, and other heightened emotions that eventually offer us answers without having to engage in risky behaviour.

2. We love the power of being permitted to judge.

Basically, when we point out who’s right and who’s wrong, we love the feel of power at our fingertips. We play God at this point, self-proclaiming our own superiority over the wrongdoer. Furthermore, we sometimes want to see ourselves as the “good” that restores faith and order in humanity. We get to say “If I had been in their position, I would’ve done this…” even when we know that we wouldn’t turn out as flawless and noble if we had been in their place. Still, we would be as eager to sew and pin that embroidered velvety A to the adulterer, as though we were any better.

In contrast to the point aforementioned, we, at times, also want to be the ones to witness the downfall of established systems. Tales of transgression are enticing. Deep inside, there is an anarchy wanting to overthrow the order of society with our own ideals, and existing alongside it is the pacifist resistance to cause chaos.

When the anarchy within cannot be resisted and a person goes against the accepted norms, we feel an underlying sense of admiration as though we’ve seen a hero behind the villain.

4. These are stories that remind us that we are at a better place at the social spectrum.

It’s not that we want misery for others.

It’s that somehow we benefit from the thought that we are somewhere safer, better and free from public scrutiny. When someone of prestige and honor falls into the trap of temptation and gets caught, we get a sense of being elevated. It reminds us of the times we had committed that same sin but had gotten away with it. We relish in the duping delight and revel at our luck of not having to face the penalty of the scandalized. We all just love the feeling of getting away with it.

5. We are fascinated with secrets, especially the ones that reflect our own.

The wrongdoings of others, no matter how repulsive and disgusting, will not be greeted by outrage alone. It may be upsetting to see another person do something immoral, but we would not be wholly honest to ourselves if we claim to maintain a pure and moral character in the secrecy of our own dark corners.

We love secrets because we want to hold the keys to different doors. We use them to discover, to manipulate, to pleasure, to expose and to destroy, falling back to our tendency to lust for power. In addition to all that, scandals let us have a glimpse of people’s lives who have the same secrets as we do, and how society would respond to them. In other words, secrets are bombs, and the scandal is the explosion.

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We are well aware of the possibly irreversible damage we can cause others when we participate in scandals, but we choose to brush that under the rug so we can take part in it. You see, we feel a great need to have a say in these matters, not because it’s in the news, but because it has become the news.

Scandals have the elements to stir the masses, and they fill the news feeds of Facebook, get millions of retweets, acquire millions of views in video-sharing websites, and circulate through the blogs of different people.

Given that, it is harder for us to ignore the commotion going viral, and the emergence of social media paves the way for people to broadcast their unsolicited points of view.

Scandals reflect the current situation of the frequently changing course of society. What had been scandalous then may no longer be scandalous now. Soft porn, for example, is a viewed material that would never be aired on national television a few decades ago, or would slip through the cracks and be shown on late nights when the children are already tucked and asleep. Nowadays, barely-dressed people parade as models, and bikini-clad women occupy the TV screens for noontime shows. Promiscuous behaviour is condoned in movies and reality shows.

Nobody seems fazed by intense sarcasm and excessive profanity anymore. Entertainment changed drastically in a matter of years, and as of the moment, the things that we used to find revolting and mortifying are now what entertain us every day.

I’ve mentioned it once, let me mention it again: It all boils down to us being humans.

We will have to do what we have to do to survive, and that’s not necessarily called selfish; it’s natural. There is no need for these statements to include any particular scandal, but we all have at least one at the back of our head, or we may even be a part of one. Scandals take a rather ordinary purpose in society, same as gossip, and these things occur to remind us of something that we, most of the time, forget. They remind us that we are all sinners, but not necessarily bad people. We are all judges, but not necessarily right all the time, and if we remove the spotlight from specific people and we all bask under the sun, we are all the same. No one is above. No one is below. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

THE RIPPLES

“IT’S SIMPLY ABOUT HAVING THE CHOICE” WORDS SAMANTHA CRUZ PHOTO JOANN JULIANO

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“Women should be able to do what they want with their bodies. In some states, women can get jailed or fined for being topless. If it becomes legal to show your nipples in public, do you honestly think all women are going to run around topless?

“Free the nipple” is simply about having the choice.”

– Lina Esco

It all started out with a movie.

In 2014, a documentary film entitled “Free the Nipple” was released by American activist and filmmaker Lina Esco. It follows a group of women in New York who protested against the cultural taboos associated with female breasts through various publicity stunts including parading topless in the streets and creating graffiti installations.

The film mainly aims to decriminalize being topless in public for females. Since the release of the film, the revolution has caught on in real life. The campaign has spread worldwide through the internet using the hashtag #freethenipple, gaining support from different celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevigne, Willow Smith, and Scout Willis.

The movement grew and rose because there seems to be a censorship bias in our society. Men are able to go topless in public, while it is offensive for women to do so.

In social media, pictures of topless men are acceptable. When a woman’s breast is shown on the other hand, the picture is taken down. What makes the male and female nipple different when they both look the same?

In the womb, our nipples develop in the early stages of pregnancy, before we develop sex organs. We all start out with the same body parts. It is only when the sex hormones kick in during the second trimester of pregnancy where our sex organs start to develop and differentiate.

These sex hormones are also responsible for causing female breasts to enlarge during puberty and eventually produce milk for offspring during pregnancy. This is essentially the main purpose of breasts not only in humans, but mammals in general.

Since males do not have these hormones, they cannot produce milk.

Why are female nipples considered as sexual? Studies have shown that nipples may have a sexual function but this was only conducted on women. Both male and female nipples contain a large number of nerve tissues, making them sensitive to touch. The difference is that female nipples have more and larger erogenous zones. Yes, nipples may have a sexual function especially in women, but why are we so focused on this? This is only a secondary trait.

Aside from its function of breastfeeding, there’s really not much difference between the male and female nipple. There is nothing sexual about breastfeeding, so why does breastfeeding in public make most men and women uncomfortable?

This is one of the most important issues that could be addressed by the campaign. Some women are ashamed of breastfeeding in public due to the fact that they need to expose their breast. They may feel unsafe and fear the exposure would attract unwarranted attention. Women should feel comfortable to nurse their child whenever the child needs to be fed. It is sad that in some cases, women are asked to stop breastfeeding their child and look for a more private area. It is not offensive or vulgar act to nourish your baby.

The problem may be how we see breasts or female bodies in general and culture plays a big role in this. It is considered offensive to show women’s breasts in most cultures.

However, in tribal societies, where it is normal for women to bare their chests, breasts are no big deal. Sociologist Georgia Platts says that, “Fetishes are created by selectively hiding and revealing – making

that which is hidden enticing”. In the Victorian era, ankles were considered sexy because they are usually covered. Women lifting their skirts to reveal ankles were already being scandalous. During the Islamic revolution where women strictly covered themselves except for the face, men would go wild over a bit of a woman’s hairline showing.

Many people have questioned the Free the Nipple campaign, saying that this is only an excuse for women to show their breasts.

Is it really necessary for women to be able to go topless in public? According to Rachel Kramer Bussel of Time, “By normalizing toplessness, we’re taking away some of the cultural power that dictates women’s breasts can only be sex symbols”. When bodies are regularly seen in non-sexual situations they become less sexualized than if only seen in porn or sex. It will take a while for this goal to be fully achieved but it is possible. It wasn’t legal for men to go topless in public before the 1930’s but they fought for it and won.

The Free the Nipple campaign may be a bit too radical but this definitely got everyone’s attention. The campaign is not just about being able to show women’s breasts. This is only a part of a bigger issue of how we view women’s bodies and sexuality. This campaign is the fuel needed for us to start questioning the double standards between sexes and moving towards gender equality.

“Women should be able to do what they want with their bodies. In some states, women can get jailed or fined for being topless. If it becomes legal to show your nipples in public, do you honestly think all women are going to run around topless?

“Free the nipple” is simply about having the choice.” – Lina Esco

THE RIPPLES

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REFLECTING ON REFLECTIONS WORDS & GRAPHICS CHRISTOPH SAGEMULLER

How do you feel about your body? Do you feel awkward or even embarrassed to look into a mirror sometimes? Have you gazed upon what is standing in front of you and just had to completely loathe at your own reflection? Why do we even judge ourselves so harshly? We seem to be so quick to write ourselves off as invaluable or inferior just by the way we look, and the question is, why?

We allow ourselves to be dictated by the mostly unattainable and unrealistic standards set for us. These standards have become our checklist of what still needs to be done in order for us to look ideal or even perfect, and every check off the list makes you believe you are one step closer to becoming one. But who sets these so called “standards” for which we insist on comparing our lives to? Most of it can be attributed to the media. Movies, Television, Social Media, Magazines, you name it; they’re all aimed at doing one thing-telling you who you should be. The media throws all of these celebrities, idols, and models at us telling us that these are the templates for the ideal human being.

The media makes us believe that we should all be cookie cutter copies of these icons if we are to feel good about ourselves, but is that really the case? Can we really feel good about ourselves without living up to these “expectations”?

I’d like to share my story, because I’ve struggled with my self-worth and body image my whole life. You see, I’ve always been the tallest amongst my peers, which I really didn’t mind. However, my being tall got me way too much attention, and it definitely was not the good kind. What really got to me was my weight. I had always been fat - obese actually, and so I got bullied and even harassed for it every single day.

Because of that, I hated myself. I hated my body. I hated the fact that I wasn’t like everyone else. I hated that everyone else hated me just because of the way I looked. I hated it. I really hated it.

I couldn’t wrap my head around how I was feeling. I wasn’t sure what I felt worse about: being fat or having everyone else discriminating me for it. Everyone ridiculed me, bullied me and I wish I could say that name calling was the worst of it. My peers decided to make a game in which the rules were to pretend that I didn’t exist. No one was to talk to me or even acknowledge me, and everyone played along, save for a few. That game lasted for around a year. Not only that, I even had an entire club named after me, the ACS – or the Anti-Christoph Society (It’s amazing what kids could come up with). Its prerogative: making my life hell. There was only one kid in school keeping me sane-my only friend. Despite that, I was miserable.

Sadly, that episode lasted for several years.

It was only recently that I learned to not hate myself, and as cliché as it is, I learned to not care what other people think. Had I known then what I know now, I would have lived a much happier life. You cannot hate yourself for what you’ve been given.

You cannot hate yourself for not being like everyone else, because guess what, no one is. Everyone wishes they could be like “everyone else”. Whatever you think you are-tall, short, fat, skinny, weird, deformed, awkward, there will always be someone out there that thinks you’re perfectly fine, just the way you are, even if that person has to be you. I learned that feeling good about yourself is key.

Ironically, I only started losing weight when I started to feel good about myself because I no longer wanted to lose weight for other people; I wanted to lose weight for myself, on my own terms. I wanted to lose weight so I could lead a healthier life, look better, and feel better.

I no longer struggle with my body image.

I am what I am, and no one can make me feel bad for it. I implore everyone who has ever felt bad about themselves, about the way they look, to try to realize that the way you look does not define who you are. What you are, is not who you are. The only opinion of you that matters is your own. So better live your life and be happy knowing that there is someone out there that thinks you’re perfect.

THE RIPPLES

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(SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION) WORDS ANA SALVE SERANNO GRAPHICS JOANN JULIANO X GINOE OJOY

While the world is busy talking about terrorism, infidelity, religion and global warming, here I am, writing and addressing this special message to all uninformed citizens about our faulty society. Gender identity and equality issues have grown and developed many phases since the youth got involved. These issues, otherwise, were compromised and it appeared vaguely to the citizens since it was publicized. The youth is more vocal now than they were, years ago.

With all the latest technology and the rise of social media, people have created different concepts about SOGIE that brought confusion to many.

and actresses, writers, artists, musicians who were all intelligent and advocates of freedom.

The youth, no matter how they were brought up, has gone through stages of change. It is not the simple stage of physical transformation; some of these phases has been the nightmare of the in denial and irate parents of today. Long ago, depending on your belief, when the dinosaurs strayed the earth or Adam and Eve dominated all living creatures, there was this particular certainty instilled to many that there are only two genders present and that they are to love each other; but history suggests otherwise because there are hundreds of historical personalities who swung both sides or even loved the same. There were actors

Gender – social roles based on the sex of the person. It describes the characteristics that a society or culture defines as masculine or feminine. Example: woman, man, girl, boy

To give more light to this subject, let’s break down SOGIE. Here are the things you should keep in mind when dealing with people in different sexes. You may know someone in this particular community and/ or you yourself need identification.

Sex – you are assigned to your own biological sex at birth it refers to biological variances; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs.

Sexual Orientation – refers to your romantic interest. Everyone has their own sexual orientation it deals more with what you feel as you observe others and how your body reacts to your feelings.

Sexual Preference – refers to the choice a person makes as to whom they’re having a relationship with.

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Gender Identity – it’s a psychological sense of oneself as a man, woman, both, in between or neither. Gender Identity may or may not be linked to your gender at birth.

Gender Expression – For some of us, our gender expression may not match our biological sex. It refers to the ways you express your identity. Example: the way you dress, walk and talk.

Heterosexual refers to a person who is attracted to the members of the opposite sex; also referred to as “straight” because it represents their basic sexual orientation.

Homosexual refers to a person who has romantic attraction towards the members of the same gender. They are often referred to as the gays and lesbians.

Gays and Lesbians are people who are attracted to the members of their own sex.

Bisexual people are those who are attracted to both men and women. Bisexuality can be a transitional step for a person but it can also be stable and long term identification to oneself. Pansexual refers to someone who is attracted toward people of any sex or gender; they are also referred to as “gender blind” because for them, sex is irrelevant in determining their romantic preference.

Asexuality or non-sexuality means you have no sexual desire or liking to the members of any sex.

Transgender and transsexual people refer to those who have been born in the “wrong body”. Transsexuals are people who transition from one sex to another. A person born as a male can be identified as female through the use of hormones and/or surgical procedures; and a person born as a female can become recognizably male. It is often said sex is a matter of the body, while gender occurs in the mind. Transgender, unlike transsexual, is a term for people whose

identity, expression, behavior, or general sense of self does not match their biological sex at birth.

The term Queer surfaced in the late 19thcentury and it is a term used by the LGBT community. It is similar to the concept of genderqueer. It is an in-group term that sometimes denotes as an insult depending on the generation, location and relationship with the word.

The community also includes cross dressers, drag king and queens who refer to those who impersonate gays and lesbians in a flamboyant way. Intersex refers to a person who is born with both male and lady parts. Cisexual and Cisgender refer to the heterosexual members of the community.

They are people who are identified with the same sex and gender assigned at birth.

An ally is a heterosexual, cissexual or cisgender person who supports and celebrates LGBTQ identities, interjects and challenges queer-phobic and heterosexist comments and action of others. Allies are the supporters of this community.

It is very important to respect people’s choice on self-identification. We should never assume another person’s identity based on appearance. It is always best to ask them how they identify themselves, including what pronouns they prefer.

You might be raising your eyebrow at this topic now but believe me when I say that it isn’t necessary later or tomorrow. The world has been infiltrated by rainbows of different shapes and sizes and it’s a good thing. This planet has been so colorful since the LGBTQA community found their voice. They deserve all the respect and love because being gay doesn’t make you any different. They have two eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth and willpower just like you so what makes you think you’re superior?

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

THE RIPPLES

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

THE KILIG FACTOR IS NEVER ENOUGH

WORDS JORDAN MATTI AND FRANCINE VARCAS PHOTO BENCENT GOHING X GINOE OJOY

“You could tell your soul mate by the light in their eyes, and since the time began, that has been how people have recognized their true love.”

- Paulo Coelho, Brida

We all want to be loved. We are all looking for our soul mate. We are all looking for that light, but we live in a well-lit world of incandescent mornings and dazzling evenings. We literally don’t know where to go and what to do with the feeling. In our search, we see that the television light is unusually bright and vibrant; it’s calling out to us like a moth to a flame.

You can call it cheap and sappy, but we, Filipinos, just adore love stories. We don’t mind anticipating different shows with “the same plot - just different characters”, if it means getting to feel “kilig”. We would

complain how superficial it is, yet the irony of it is that we stay up for the late night reality shows and involve ourselves in celebrity love teams just as eagerly. We just LOVE love, so much that we don’t mind being fed with the twisted ideas of it.

It’s not that we don’t have an idea how love works in this world, but don’t you just love how cinematic and wonderful it looked when the girl entered the classroom and the guy just stopped, stared and marvelled at how perfect she seemed? Don’t we wish that we could be that girl? Don’t we wish that we could experience what the guy just did? Don’t we all want to meet our soul mate? This is the part where we go wrong. You see, you won’t even know if anyone is your soul mate at first glance. You never get to know people the first time you lay your eyes on them. You don’t fall in love with people’s personality at first sight,

so what makes you think that you can see people’s soul the moment you see them?

Sometimes in life, we do have to go through that single-man, soloist, lonewolf journey, even without the guarantee of eventually finding your other one. We forget that we set foot into this world alone, that we will leave on our own, and the in-between consists of us interacting with others while remaining as individuals. The principle embedded is that we must work on being the right one, before demanding to find the right one, but that’s not what mainstream media shows us. It tells that one story of the rebellious guy who bumps against a kind girl in a hallway – one scene that would change their lives forever. We get the idea that no matter who we are, there will always be that one person who will love us no matter what. It’s not entirely

THE RIPPLES

wrong, but it doesn’t actually motivate us to be the best we can be for the people we love. The formula, although not easy, tends to appear simpler than what the media had portrayed it to be, with less drama and more consideration to others. In spite of that, we like things complicated, because that way, we can inject more drama into mediocre situations. When the idea is romanticized, it’s easy to forget practicality and buy in to the irrationality of drama.

There is this pattern in the conceptualization of the mainstream media shown to us. It’s about the simple thoughts that get complicated, like crushes turning into true loves; like a secret that slips through as a misunderstood story; like the observation that becomes a conclusion.

These approaches are not superficial, they are not even that bad, it’s just that they have been so overused in love stories for years, and the drama is messing with our heads.

Erik Matti, the esteemed director of the award-winning movie entry for 2013 Cannes’ Film Festival – On The Job, mentioned in a

student’s interview that shows these days are uninteresting – always exclaiming unrealistic romance that would never concern the same scenario for the viewer, and that is undeniably true. Not to spite or degrade the quality of Filipino media as a whole, but the concepts used shouldn’t be repeated, rinsed and recycled over and over again, then given different cheesy titles. There was a time when the local television channels had great displays that showcased scenarios of true and genuine struggle, and not some teenager’s wallowing because she couldn’t have her bestfriend as her boyfriend. There was a time when we actually had amazing actors and actresses, and not celebrities that “can-act”, “can-dance” and “can-sing”.

When Lea Salonga tweeted, “Okay lang sa akin ang kababawan, pero hanggang doon na lamang ba tayo? #NagtatanongLangPo”, which was then presumed to throw shade at the now phenomenal Aldub, the Filipino masses cried an outrage. Look at the picture, though, because even when she cleared out that it wasn’t particularly for the love team, we could not deny the fact how low we’ve all

gone. Yes, Aldub appears to be a great hit, alongside all the other love teams, but could we deny the truth behind the speculated shallowness of the shows we subscribe to?

Entertainment is an element incredibly dissimilar to Philosophy. With that, we must remember that the ideas we find to be amusing must not be the same with the ideas we will stand for during times of trials.

Kilig is fine, but this is not the indication of real love. Mainstream media had corrupted our idea of what is real and what is not, but let us draw the line ourselves. We are blessed with intellect to guide our choices.

We don’t need to be sages to know if something feels right or it doesn’t. For now, the question is not “to be (in love) or not to be (in love)” because we have been breathed into life and forged into form with love. We were always loved, somewhere, somehow, by someone we may or may not acknowledge. We must remember that, in our pursuit to love others, we must love ourselves also, enough for us to nourish our own souls, even if it be on our own.

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

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VOLUME XI | NOV 2015 21

THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF A PHENOMENON ENCOURAGES MORE PEOPLE TO “GET ON THE BANDWAGON”.

WORDS ANA SALVE SERANO GRAPHICS JOANN JULIANO X GINOE OJOY

Was there a time where people didn’t feel the need to wait for an episode of a TV show, the release of a certain song or a sequel of a movie to get motivated, excited and going?

When was the last time you experienced something for yourself to prove a point or to authenticate your own thoughts and feelings without consulting others? Which one of you has ever tried to compare their life, romantic relationship, and dreams to the people behind the screen playing pretend and make believe? If you’re guilty like me, raise your right hand and say “aye”.

Celebrity worship is a global, cultural phenomenon which is a side effect of something as simple as watching the television. It starts out benign. One gossip about a celebrity could turn someone, into a fan or the total opposite. Gossip is what fuels people to devote. Fans will then crave for more. By more, I mean scraps of information about that certain person.

This phenomenon affects all. It preys on the younger generation because of the vulnerability of their minds. With the use of social media, the youth has gained more access to the realm of stardom.

Teens have been more liberated with their decisions especially in choosing their role models. They tend to associate their lives with the stars behind the film reel. People have an inner life colonized by multiple archetypes. An archetype is a perfect example of something which we have and continue having every day. We think of our

archetypes and it changes daily depending on what we want. What makes this occurrence dangerous is the lack of filter and control in maintaining the shows and making it morally pleasing.

The show “Keeping up with the Kardashians” is very popular. If you haven’t seen an episode of this reality show, you might know one member of their family.

(Like seriously, if you haven’t, then you probably have been living under a king-sized rock.) I, myself think it’s irrelevant but when an episode is on, I can’t seem to look away.

The show is raw and unfiltered because it’s what they do; its reality TV. It may not be acceptable to some but the Kardashians have a huge sum of supporters. Why is this happening? Why are the infamous ALDUB, OTWOL, SHOWTIME, etc. always trending #1 nationwide? Are these shows really that important? Why can’t people trend-set with something more realistic and intelligent?

The common understanding to this behavior would probably be the crowd’s need for something that’s larger than banal reality. I hate to admit it, but decency hardly sells these days. The increasing popularity of a phenomenon encourages more people to “get on the bandwagon”. People yearn for something that gives them thrill and excitement. We tend to shape our future using the ideas we see on others. The sad thing is, people are more fascinated with make believe that they forget how to fully

appreciate what is there before them. They tend to look straight into the flashing lights than dive into the deep, explore and feel the real rush of living. People care more about the stars behind cameras than the millions planted above them.

What we need to do now is focus on things that are morally right and socially acceptable. We could idolize celebrities but always remember that they fade away just as fast as their shows end. They don’t last a lifetime. The spotlight will eventually die down and the twerking will end. What we need to do is invest our time watching shows that are informative and life changing.

Documentaries and Discoveries will always have a lasting impression than what noontime shows has to offer (insert pabebe wave).

As young adults, we need to encourage the younger ones to participate in something that would enable them to experience life and its different colors, and not stick to ’50 shades of grey’. More importantly, we need to learn how to appreciate everything that life has to offer. It may appear that people “worship” celebrities, but seem to enjoy abusing them in an equal manner. It is important for us to engage into conversation not confrontation. Run while you still can, appreciate your own beauty and never belittle your existence because there is a bigger world waiting for you outside that big old box.

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VOLUME XI | NOV 2015 23

IN OUR SUPPOSEDLY CIVILIZED WORLD, MANY STILL CAN’T ASSESS THE VALUE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. WORDS & GRAPHICS GINOE OJOY

The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country. More than eighty percent of our population is an avid follower of this religion. We are considered one of the five biggest Catholic nations of the world number one in Asia.

Growing up, I always had a question in mind - do other religions exist? If they do, are they as correct (or as I was made to believe) as the faith system I was born and grew up 2? It seems that this question can never be answered, because debating about the validity of religions in this increasingly secular and logical world would only result to a zealous battle of ego and faithful mythologies.

The origin of religion is not a clear picture; defining religion itself is an argument waiting to happen. It is a complex web of reverence for the sacred, the belief in something divine or supreme, and the responsibility to do good to your fellowmen.

Along with these innocent aims come some odd and absurd rules that, when put into

context with the modern world, would turn the intestines of an average human being. I won’t go into detail about what these weird rules are because ultimately, what’s weird for me isn’t that weird for everybody else, especially to those who practice it with vigor.

According to the books, religion started as early as 4500 BC. You would expect that it will mature as it ages, but this wasn’t the case for religion. As civilizations developed and culture flourished, religion began gaining traction and popularity. It became one of the central elements of human life at that time. Temples were built for the gods and deities, shrines were constructed to cultivate a space for the faithful, and altars adorned the houses of the members of the congregation. Believers would flock these places of worship and offer all kinds of things; ranging from their cattle, prayers and salutations, silver and gold, salt, and to an extent, their families or themselves.

The clergies of each culture eventually gained power and status. Religious systems promised them salvation and guidance for their whole lives in exchange for their

loyalty, faith and wealth. At first it seemed like a foolproof part of our society, the idea that religion gives solace to those who need it, but we never suspected that we were the ones unconsciously putting our heads right into the mouth of beast, which is Violence.

Man’s self-preserving nature came into play when alien belief systems started to propagate themselves to garner more area and influence. The minority religion always does the defending, while the influential half of the sacred wars always had the spoils and the conversion of peoples in mind. Human as we are, we always approach something new to us cautiously, but in the case of the medieval world - with hostility. Thousands of years have passed since the first religions were established and we were still settling our differences like we were fighting over a corpse of a boar after a hunt - through impulsive combat.

The jihads, crusades and holy wars swept the globe with a hurricane of scripture, swords and shields. Even though some

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of these religions put emphasis on an internal holy war - battling your demons, temptations and ego - most of their leaders used this to drive their congregation toward violent and bloody encounters. This was all in the subtle attempt to satisfy their political, economic and personal ambitions.

If you think about it, this is in great contradiction to one of the theoretical reasons why man resorted to religion consolation. During the prehistoric times, we don’t necessarily know what we know now. We did not know how precipitation occurs, that the tides were the result of gravitational pull and up to this moment, we are not entirely sure what happens after we take our last gasp of air, except for the fact that our physical body ceases to function.

Religion, temporarily and in some cases, permanently, answered our questions about phenomena and the human experience.

It was our refuge from all the gripping confusion we get from the many questions we ask ourselves about the natural world and the world within us. Religion made us hopeful and optimistic about the afterlife.

It gave us answers and something to look forward to.

Another peculiar thing about religion and how people propagated it is that most, if not all faith systems in the world, revere the concept of sharing our resources and helping the poor, needy, hungry, challenged, and more of that sort. In fact, most of them also have strict rules against inflicting pain and suffering to your fellowmen. The nature of our religions often make me question the credibility of the generalizations saying that some religions are more violent than the others, or the statement that having a religion makes one primitive and more prone to violence, as compared to an atheist, the modern and secular counterpart.

Can an idea be violent? I say no. Can a carrier of an idea lash out when it is attacked or challenged by another idea? Definitely yes. It’s a perfectly human response, with utterly gruesome and inhumane consequences. An idea, no matter how irksome it is, cannot and will not attack a person on its own. It needs a carrier charged with massive amounts of ego and selfrighteousness for it to be written on our history books, for the wrong reasons.

Prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews as an ethnic, religious, or racial group, or Antisemitism written on the scripture wasn’t able to wipe out waves of Jews on its own. It needed a charismatic leader, enough ego, and hatred towards a group of people for it to be able to poach the lives of millions. Unfortunately for us, Antisemitism found the perfect vessel - Adolf Hitler.

It is appalling to think that religion has been present for over 4000 years and we’re still feeding the beast that is our violence.

For centuries, humans commit these kind of blunders and backs them with the scripture.

Up to now, these walking bloodlust-ridden lumps of flesh are just looking for an excuse to continually bloat the belly of

the beast, and that excuse is their religion.

Organizations like the ISIL/ISIS continue to pillage some of our brothers and sisters of their culture, shelter, and ultimately, their lives. They do it with such fervor that leads you to question if it is inspired by Islam or if they just use their belief as a sad excuse to act like children with explosives and bad temper tantrums. Extremists, like the Westboro Baptist Church, who have the audacity to call themselves Christians still cast the first stone to our fellow humans, lobbying to rid them of their basic human rights because it is not in line with their own scripture interpretation. Often, they physically harass our LGBTQ brothers and sisters while parading placards saying God Hates Fags. Unfortunately, these are not stupid novelties from the middle ages, all of these happened within the last 5 years.

It’s rather interesting to see how something created to comfort our uneasiness with uncertainty now became an excuse to propagate contrived states of mind that eventually end up in a choke hold.

In our supposedly civilized world, many still can’t assess the value of the individual.

In our supposedly enlightened society, we still seem unable to tame the primitive beast that’s been overfed.

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

OUR FATHER, WHY ARE YOU WHITE?

WORDS MATTHEW YRAD PHOTOS TAKEN FROM THE INTERNET

THE RIPPLES 26

When I was young I would accompany my mother and grandmother to church and I would be in awe under the art in the cathedral. I would spend hours upon hours Sunday after Sunday staring up at wonderful, miraculous images of the divine and the paradise that awaits us. However, even at a young age I noticed that something was off –the portrayal of Christ as WhiteEuropean-Caucasian. I looked at myself and realized I wasn’t European Caucasian and wondered why I was different from God. I remember asking the priest and my Sunday school teacher about this and they could only seem to mutter a jumbled answer and remind me to not question these things. Years later when my family and I moved to the US, I was exposed to many different people. I begin to notice alternative depictions of Jesus as different ethnicities as well as alternative religions and their depictions of their deities in their art.

Call it being inquisitive or heretical but I have never stopped thinking about this fact and why it is the way it is. Why is Jesus portrayed as Caucasian? Why does this view of Christ endure? Why don’t we have a Filipino-centric view of Christ in our collective bank of imagery? Why is it so important to be light-skinned in our society? Is this the legacy of three hundred years’ worth of cultural rape and servitude resulting in a cultural inferiority complex?

Maybe.

In popular culture Jesus has been and still is depicted as a tall, beautiful, bearded man with long hair and handsome –dressed all in white. However Jesus’ description in the Bible is a stark contrast to this idea of Jesus. In Isaiah he is described, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by

mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53: 2-3).

This goes against every depiction of Christ I have seen here in Bacolod. The prophet Isaiah says he is not beautiful, and had no majesty, reminding us that Christ for most of his life was a carpenter working in the dirt, out in the hot Sun, with his hands – hard manual labor.

This emphasizes that Christ’s life was not one of a king but a humble carpenter with callused hands, rough, lived in features looking with tired eyes. This is one of the most important facts that Christians need to remind themselves –Christ lived a life of a simple carpenter, plain, humble but died and lives on as the King of Kings. The image this paints in someone’s head is infinitely more amazing and powerful than a pretty, white, rock star-king that just chilled through his life on earth and died then continued being king in heaven.

The rise of this depiction Christ as Caucasian rose in popularity during the Renaissance in Europe and “White Jesus” has been with us ever since. For me I see this early depiction and association as a tool for people to see themselves close to their god and in a very visible sense –like their god. I find it interesting that this culture and people can identify the Divine as looking like them in a sense that they see themselves that close to their god.

Other cultures and religions appropriate the image of their holy people to their race –like with Europeans and white Jesus.

Buddhism and all the cultures that follow Buddhism do this too.

As Buddhism spread from its birthplace in India images of the Buddha start

to transform from Indian Buddha, to Chinese Buddha and Japanese Buddha it is interesting that these cultures appropriated the images of the holy person to look like them to bring them closer to their revered person and to have more in common with them. Images of Christ started like this at the beginning of Christianity. As Christianity spread it was adopted by many of these European cultures and they appropriated images of Christ to look like them this is completely natural as art and religion flourish, but why didn’t Filipinos appropriate Jesus to look like them? Why does Jesus remain white in our cathedrals and tarps?

The prevalence of white Jesus in Filipino culture is really odd in the sense that the image of white Jesus kind of alienates because Filipinos can never be white and gives rise to this “White is good” /“we have to be white” mentality is poison. This is counter-intuitive to a sense of pride because it gives the wrong idea that white-European culture or things are the best. I’ve heard arguments about saints that are Filipino or about the Black Nazarene as examples of cultural imagery present in Christian liturgical imagery. However, Filipino saints still have to pray to a white God and the Black Nazarene is simply a charred, ashy Jesus.

This simple image of a white Jesus at the head of a brown-Filipino congregation also adds to this unsaid but omnipresent sense of cultural insecurity because for one, it makes people want to be something they can never be and it also is a vulgar reminder of the Spanish rule, which is ultimately their greatest legacy. At some point, one is presented the question: does the complexion of Jesus’ images influence the strength of your faith?

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015 27 “AIDS is rampant in our country. Please pray that you don’t get infected because I’m praying that you do.”

November 6, 2015, 12:53 am, a young keyboard warrior from Bacolod named Dolly (not her real name) aggressively tweets from the safe haven of her abode (her favorite synonym for house). Angered by a certain homosexual man whom she doesn’t even know personally, she decides to start praying the rosary and include AIDS in her intentions.

Since it was a Friday, she celebrated the five sorrowful mysteries. As the perfect little girl she was, she prays solemnly and willfully for the doom of another person, without guilt and hesitation.

THE FIVE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES OF STIGMA WORDS GINOE OJOY GRAPHICS AIKAWA ERI

The first mystery is the Agony of Jesus in the Garden. You see, when we subject our LGBTQ brothers and sisters to this kind of prejudice, we put them in the same position as Christ when he was praying in the gardens of Gethsemane.

When LGBTQ people become targets of scrutiny and ridicule based on their sexual orientations/identities, we make them feel isolation, grief and sorrow. According to the analyzed data of Eric Julian Manalastas’ Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk in the Philippines: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample of Young Filipino Men , “Sexual orientation appears to be significantly associated with suicide risk, with young Filipino gay and bisexual Filipino men at disproportionately higher risk for suicide ideation than heterosexual peers.” This is a manifestation that sexual orientation is often times used as ammunition to attack others, causing psychological and emotional wounds that often lead to depression and sometimes ideation and attempts on suicide. I hope Dolly understands that LGBTQ people are not defined by their sexuality and identity and these terms should never be used in a derogatory manner. I wonder how the gay peers of Dolly felt when they saw her tweet.

The second mystery is the Scourging at the Pillar. Jesus was tormented, mocked and laughed at. Accused and questioned, He didn’t utter a single word. The fact that Dolly assumed that her unsuspecting online target was automatically prone to AIDS because he was a homosexual man is comparable to the second mystery. Dolly subtly accused the gay man of promiscuity and immense sexual

THE RIPPLES 28 activity with the generalization that he is prone to AIDS without having the slightest idea of his sexual and physical states. The gay man might be celibate, he might be a virgin or maybe he practices safe sex. However, just because he’s gay, doesn’t equate to him having AIDS. She didn’t even consider the possibility of heterosexuals contracting the HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It seemed to her that one of the symptoms of AIDS is being gay.

The third sorrowful mystery is the Crowning with Thorns. Jesus was crowned with thorns that pierced through his head.

Dolly is about to get education pierced through her head because it seems that she is as ignorant as she is tacky on social media. First, HIV is what’s rampant in The Philippines, not AIDS. She should get her facts straight and not believe in everything she hears. According to the World Health Organization, as of July 2015, the Philippines has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world. The health department recorded 667 new cases, bringing to 24,376 the cumulative cases since 1984. These numbers are as alarming as Dolly’s ignorance, and they need our attention. Second, you can’t just pray HIV/ AIDS away, you need information and healthcare to go with that novena. You see, HIV cases are at an all-time high because of the lack of sexual health education among the youth, especially with young men engaging in sexual intercourse with other men. They are among the groups with the highest risk of contracting the virus.

Abstinence is one method of prevention, but the use of condoms is highly recommended if you can’t hold it in. I’m not saying everyone should engage in premarital sex, but if they did, they should use protection, especially if they have multiple sexual partners. Young men and women should get their HIV status checked at least once to three times a year, depending on their sexual activity and the frequency of their practice of safe sex. If you’re modest and exemplary like Dolly, you don’t need to get your HIV status checked because you don’t do promiscuous things. What Dolly needs to get checked out is her mental health. And oh, Dolly, HIV can’t be transmitted through saliva. That’s tuberculosis, darling.

The fourth sorrowful mystery is the

Carrying of the Cross. The HIV/AIDS is one of the crosses of our modern society, most especially for the youth. So technically, Dolly prayed that one of our crosses be heavier so she can justify her bigotry and hatred to herself, to the world and to God. Even though only a fraction of our population is infected with HIV/AIDS, controlling the epidemic should be our national interest.

Because of the passing of the controversial RH Law; preventive care, contraception as well as maintenance for HIV+ cases is made available to the public. It is with our collective effort in lifting this cross that we can significantly alleviate the spread of the virus. For starters, we should eradicate all the stigma about HIV/AIDS and the way it’s attributed only/mainly to gay men.

Heterosexual people, especially sex workers can contract the virus, too. HIV is not airborne and you don’t get it from sharing the same glass of water or when you’re breathing the same air. It can however be transmitted by sharing of contaminated and unsanitized needles. We should never listen to paranoid hearsays by the untrained and the gossipers. Every time we educate a person about HIV/AIDS, we make the cross lighter.

And the final sorrowful mystery, The Crucifixion. I crucified Dolly. I dismissed her as ignorant and hateful towards me, the guy she is talking about in her tweet. While writing this article, I realized that Dolly isn’t actually my enemy here, its her ignorance and hate; the perfect ingredients for stigma.

While I rant about how uneducated her tweet was, I also unconsciously stigmatized her, not knowing everything about her but being hostile towards her because of a single tweet. While pointing out what she did to me, I was also doing what she was doing, stigmatizing her and further victimizing myself. It then hit me that the real solution to the stigma conencted with HIV/AIDS is not retaliating to those who spit out homophobic remarks - it is educating them and helping them with their ignorance.

Acting like a victim would make me seem helpless and it would further increase their reasons of stigmatizing me, and then connect it to HIV. It is our responsibility, the ones who truly know about this disease, to make it easy for our peers who aren’t really well-versed regarding this matter. The world is already full of hate, why add more?

DISCLAIMER: These tweets and person(s) are purely fictional and are used as vessels to express a thought/idea. Any similarities in real life are purely conincidential. Dolly and the tweet does not exist.

VOLUME XI | NOV 2015

WHEN WE FEEL THE FUNERAL IN OUR BRAINS WORDS FRANCINE VARCAS & PIERRE JARMONILLA GRAPHICS MATTHEW YRAD

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A FUNERAL IN MY BRAIN Emily Dickinson

empty) or observation made by others, most of each day

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, And Mourners to and fro Kept treading - treading - till it seemed That Sense was breaking through – And when they all were seated, A Service, like a Drum Kept beating - beating - till I thought My mind was going numb And then I heard them lift a Box And creak across my Soul With those same Boots of Lead, again, Then Space - began to toll,

2. Decreased interest or pleasure, in most activities, most of each day.

3. Significant weight change (5%) or change in appetite

As all the Heavens were a Bell, And Being, but an Ear, And I, and Silence, some strange Race, Wrecked, solitary, here -

7. Guilt or worthlessness: Feelings of worthlessness or excessive, inappropriate guilt

And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down And hit a World, at every plunge, And Finished knowing – then

Depression is one of the iconic states of mind that are widely referenced, commonly romanticized and frequently misrepresented. It is defined as a mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life. It is a disease of the mind that can greatly alter a person’s attitude and way of thinking.

The definitions are plenty, and the points of how it is viewed are just as much, but let us settle with the DSM - IV (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) criteria as our basis if a person is indeed under Depression.

Specific symptoms: (at least 5 of these 9 are present nearly every day): 1. Depressed mood or irritable most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g. feels sad or

4. Change in sleep: Insomnia or Hypersomnia 5. Change in activity: Psychomotor agitation or retardation 6. Fatigue or loss of energy

8. Concentration: diminished ability to think or concentrate, or more indecisiveness 9. Suicidality: thoughts of death or suicide, or has suicide plan As of 2012, 350 million from all over the world are suffering from Depression, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A study of the same organization also shows that one out of three Filipinos suffering from Depression will seek the help of a specialist; one of the same three will opt not to see medical help, and the remaining one will go on living unaware of his/her condition. Although Philippines is known for being a rather cheerful country, the 2012 World Happiness Report says otherwise, ranking the country 103rd out of 155th surveyed countries worldwide, with the 1st as the happiest. With that to consider, it should be a wonder how such an accommodating and vibrant nation has the highest incidence of Depression in Southeast Asia, with 93 suicides in every 100,000 Filipinos.

Why is Depression such a secret? It’s a

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disease, and yet we don’t respond to it as we would cancer, or AIDS. We look at it as too much sadness, too much grief, or simply a result of having to be in unfortunate impoverished financial states, but not as the invisible gripping hand that slowly clutches and crushes the hearts of many to death. Yes, man has indeed learned to adapt over time, and we could say that Depression is something we will all have to go through – the way we will encounter joy, fear, excitement and other emotions in great intensities. However, Depression is maladaptive. It’s not according to your mood, and like any other sickness, it will hit you no matter who you are. It’s also a common thought that Depression is a noun used to name the feeling when the well-off appear unfulfilled, despite of their status, but that is not the case. Cases of this disorder are spread evenly among the diverse populace, and will twice as likely impact those who live in poverty; nor is Depression a normal part of adolescence. We cannot deny the fact that the hormones are causing turbulences in the minds of teenagers, but that doesn’t equate to them wallowing into great sorrow and unproductivity.

The problem lies with how we look at Depression. Here is a direct quote from a talk given by Andrew Solomon, someone who has been researching and had experienced the vulnerability himself.

“You don’t think (in depression) that you’ve put on a gray veil and are seeing the world through the haze of a bad mood. You think that the veil had been taken away, the veil of happiness, and that now you’re seeing truly. It’s easy to help schizophrenics who perceive that there’s something foreign inside of them that needs to be exorcised, but it’s difficult with depressives, because we believe we are seeing the truth.”

You can’t just tell a depressed person that many people love and care for them, because they won’t believe you. The more you

push yourself towards them, even in good faith, they will feel more suspicious of your intentions and will tend to retreat deeper into their shells. Intervention is not easy, and if you probe them the wrong way, or decide to leave them alone for too long, they could resort to their dark corners and even hurt themselves.

There is a cure for Depression – both philosophical and medical. Medication and therapies had improved over the course of time, and it had lead many depressives to emerge, so there is no doubt that there really are medical measures that work. The philosophical aspect, however, takes a harder stride because we all have different emotional quotients and defence mechanisms. It is a disorder that drills through the mind and takes root in the soul, eventually rendering your body dysfunctional and your organs deteriorating.

Withal, it is an illness of feeling. If you have Depression, and you find something that makes you feel good, then you are getting better. The fact that the disorder nullifies your emotion, and yet you are able to feel happy even by doing something random like weaving baskets, means that you are now recovering.

We have all been dealing with stigma in all its forms, and we take part in it mostly because ignorance is bliss. When we are informed of the circumstances revolving around complex psychological states like Depression, we become aware that it’s no longer fun and games, that we should all take a step back and understand the situation before speaking about it. If we lack the data to make the conclusion, let us do the world a favour by not speaking ill about others, especially those who are suffering things that many of us have yet experienced. It all boils down to respect for privacy and life, so we would know when to leave people to their devices, but always be there to remind them that their existence is appreciated.

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The doctor walks in and breaks the news: the chances of survival in these situations are low. Lucy nods her head and tries to fight back tears. Her mother, diagnosed with cancer, has been in and out of the hospital for the past year. They have sought medical help from different doctors and gone through different therapies and surgeries to fight the sickness.

Having a loved one with terminal illness is a tough situation for everyone. Nobody would want to experience that but one cannot avoid the eventual deterioration of our physical health. In situations like Lucy’s, people are usually faced with two options: would you prolong the sick person’s ordeal or decide to help end it? Euthanasia is a complex topic that has long been debated throughout history. Let us try to understand this further.

WORDS SAMANTHA CRUZ GRAPHICS RYO TUPAS

Many people have tried to define euthanasia. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek words eu meaning “good” and thanatos meaning “death”. It is the practice of ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.

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Euthanasia can be active or passive.

Active euthanasia means a procedure or a drug is given to the kill the patient. A good example of this is administering a morphine overdose. Passive euthanasia on the other hand means that medication or treatment is not given to the patient which results to death. This can mean disconnecting the dialysis machine to a person with kidney disease who needs it to survive.

A lot of people have experienced losing a loved one. Eventually, we will all have to go.

Here in the Philippines, we have an option to be prepared for situations like this. In the case that a person falls terminally ill, he or she can make an advanced directive to save their loved ones from having to make all the medical decisions without knowing the patient’s opinion.

Advanced directives detail the patient’s requests regarding the type of care they want to be given in case they become terminally ill. The patient can write a living will, a written legal document, where one can describe the medical procedures that are agreeable in case of a

terminal illness. Using a Special Power of Attorney, the patient can also designate another person to make medical decisions in place of them in case he/she can no longer decide.

Based on the patient’s advanced directive, a doctor may also write a DoNot Resuscitate (DNR) order. This is a legal document that withholds CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or Advances Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) in respect of the patient’s wishes in case their heart was to stop or they were to stop breathing. This does not mean that medication or treatments needed by the patient is withdrawn. It simply means that extra treatment is not given in case the patient’s body has finally given up.

As much as possible, we should try to preserve life. While a terminally ill patient is still conscious, what we can do as loved ones is to always be there to provide them physical, emotional, and spiritual support. When a patient has not given any advanced directives and is not capable of deciding their medical

treatment for themselves, it is usually their closest relatives who will have to decide. It is a heavy burden to have another person’s life put in our control.

Despite the many definitions and debates regarding euthanasia, it all ultimately results in the death of a person. One cannot really say if euthanasia is ultimately good or bad. There will always be two sides of the coin. It is best to remember what many religions teach us: all human lives are valuable. Whatever our choice may be, all have to agree upon the most peaceful solution.

Cancer is a long, hard battle and this has been true for Lucy’s mother. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, her mother eventually succumbed to death. Her mother’s last moments were filled with love and support coming from everyone who came to help.

Although it has been a painful experience, Lucy is thankful for the strength that this situation has given her and her family.

What is important is they have managed to make this experience a celebration and culmination of her mother’s life.

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IT’S A MATERIAL WORLD, MAKING MATERIAL GIRLS WORDS LUNA JOY DELA CERNA GRAPHICS BENCENT GOHING x RYO TUPAS

For some women wearing makeup is a necessity, to others it is an option, or nonessential and to some an offensive work of art - natural beauty. Women who wear makeup are likely perceived as confident and trustworthy for as long as they do not overdo it. Thus, cosmetics heighten woman’s charm and desirability. Women would always find ways to enhance their beauty. Beauty wasn’t made to be plain black and white. Just like a kaleidoscope every turn and every change is a new beautiful experience. Beauty is in the beholder they say. So, the question is what makes one really beautiful?

Theresa E DiDonato Ph.D., a social psychologist and assistant professor at Loyola University, Maryland stated that, “Despite cultural variation, a few physical characteristics are generally considered universal markers of beauty.

Human preferences may have evolved over millions of years to favor certain physical characteristics linked to reproductive fitness—youthfulness, for example, is a generally reliable cue for fertility, potentially explaining why it’s considered attractive. Likewise, skin homogeneity and facial similarity, both signs of good health, have wide appeal. To a lesser extent, other features associated with sexual arousal (plump lips, for example) may be perceived as beautiful, because they have reliably

fostered reproduction.”

Every race has its own ideal concept of beauty. Tracing back the history of cosmetics and makeup, in early civilizations people used cosmetics. Roman women used cosmetics such as eye shadow. Roman ladies would apply cosmetics through employed kohl for darkening eyelashes and eyelids, chalk for whitening the complexion, rouge and depilatory creams, and pumice for cleaning the teeth. The Egyptians are known for their cleanliness (they bathed frequently) and they used many cosmetics. They used black eyeliner and green pigment for their eyelids. They also used rouge for their cheeks. The Egyptians also used perfume (Lambert, 2014).

There is this also the Paint War of the Native American; prehistoric people many have painted or tattooed themselves. There was also widespread custom of foot binding in China which believed that the smaller the ladies’ foot the prettier the lady is. And of course, the African beauty practice of elongating the neck which makes women more appealing. Through time, people have found various ways to enhance or exaggerate features of face, to color and highlight the body parts, to contour bones and structures of the face, all for one cause, to become beautiful and attractive.

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Until now, beauty is evolving. Women used cosmetics to enhance their looks.

Cosmetics manufacturing companies made various cosmetics products. Cosmetics is the term applied to all preparations used externally to condition and beautify the body by cleaning, coloring, softening, or protecting the skin, nail, hair, lips, eyes, or the body in general. Cosmetic companies have not only provided beauty products but have also established the concept of beauty through the years. With the aid of multi-media, women’s magazine, billboards we have been made to believe that in order to be beautiful, we must use these beauty products. And they have succeeded because these products’ annual retail sales (both men and women) today make cosmetic manufacturing a multibillion-dollar industry.

The products they sell would promise the sparks of acceptance, invigorating power of youth, and tiny taste of perfection.

They made the lips redder than red, the foundations paler than ever, it is as if they made ghosts out of the living. Beasts out of beauty. Wearing makeup can enhance beauty provided one does not overdo it.

People’s concept of beauty relied on how thick one puts on a makeup.

In every beauty pageant, beauty is an allaround package deal, a pretty face, a witty brain and a good personality. What would you do with a pretty face if she looks like she is carrying all the burdens of the world with her frown?

Beauty has not just become a basis of social acceptance but also a factor of finding

a partner. For short term relationships (not romantic in general exactly), external beauty may be seen as essential. But for long-term relationships, one must go beyond what can be seen externally, one must focus on inner beauty as cliche goes, external beauty fades through time but an inner beauty last for a lifetime.

In the article published by Catherine Saint Louis in the New York Times online version, she stated that Professor Hamermesh, the author of “Beauty Pays” of Princetone University Press, 2011 said he wished that good looking people were not treated differently, but said he was a realist “Like any other thing that society rewards, people will take advantage of makeup. I’m an economist, so I say, why not? But I wish society didn’t reward this. I think we’d be a fairer world if beauty were not rewarded, but it is.”

So before fitting into standards set to us by the society, let us first know ourselves and be comfortable in our own skin. Damn what they say! Be what you feel to be. If you feel beautiful in a sweatshirt, a sparkly dress, a bikini, a t-shirt, or in a ragged clothe, then be it. Don’t let anybody define what is beautiful for you. If you think you are ugly without makeup, then put some if you think that it can present better form of your natural self; even if the difference is only noticeable to the discerning eye.

Wear it for yourself, not for anyone else.

We don’t need to subscribe to the idea that makeup can make a person beautiful or may enhance self-worth. One must take care of their skin and well – being so the natural glow must come from within. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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into everything a young man does.

EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WORDS AND GRAPHICS IRA CASTANDIELLO

Although the advent of the Internet has made television less popular than it used to be a decade ago, one can still be found in almost every household and in every building. We still love catching shows and watching the news. Not a day goes by without the majority of us glancing at the screen. We are a society seemingly dependent upon what happens in the media, whether we openly admit it or not. That being said, the influence of media can be so strong, that television—most especially reality or live-action TV— has to censor themselves for the sake of the younger audience, e.g minors. And while all of that is fine and dandy, there still remains a bothersome question:

In the case of the new Pinoy Big Brother season, 737, we follow the lives and everyday challenges of teenage house mates, with a few of them being under-age. Since its debut in 2005, PBB’s received a lot of controversy surrounding the occurrences were broadcast in its show. Even though we haven’t been more than a few weeks in with the newest season at this point in writing, at least two issues have landed on its plate. One with the behaviour of a certain housemate towards his fellow; and another regarding the abuse of the livestream by unruly netizens who take screen shots of normally very wholesome scenes but at very specific moments in time, can be taken wildly out of context.

What about the minors in the media themselves, from little kids to teenagers, are they protected?

I know what you’re thinking, they’ve likely signed agreements and waivers for this, and both issues have been fixed by now, so why bother with this again?

I’m not talking about child actors in your favourite soap o pera. I’m talking about kids in the adult world of live-streamed television and late-night shows. We are often so engrossed in hearing the latest ”juicy bits” that we often overlook how they would feel inside and subject them to the emotional probing of their colleagues in showbiz or tactless TV hosts.

The answer is: we could have prevented it all. It’s irksome to know how matters like these are being easily brushed off by so many. These are individuals. They have their own lives, their own feelings, and for Pete’s sake, they’re children. And yet, we love putting a spotlight on a young woman and questioning her virginity or putting malice

The sad thing here is that, being the receiver, the audience, the screen often times create an illusion that the things happening on the other side is all make believe unless it hits close to home. What’s worse is that all of this happens on free TV alone, which thousands---if not millions--of viewers subscribe to, especially those without easy access to neither internet nor cable. Imagine the influence it has over society. Sometimes things like these happen and they somehow get away with it.

And then, we believe that it is acceptable.

We laugh it off, because it’s all fun and games.

In a twisted way, we expose minors in the media to public and exploitation. Moreover, we seem to condone it. But allowing these things to happen is okay, as long as we get rich and famous, right?

Wrong.

The more people think it’s okay in the media, the more they think it’s okay in real life. And the more people who watch and condone these shows, the more that these shows will pop up in the near future.

The media is a vicious cycle of factors and products, and sometimes it is us, the viewers, that choose what to add or subtract in the mix. In the end, this reflects on ourselves as not only an audience, but also the way we are as a society. Allowing ourselves to be shown these images and to be brainwashed that this is acceptable, promoted—worshipped by fanatics, even— in society nowadays only shows how much the media controls our lives. Sometimes the things we allow to spawn out of this can range from being downright rude to becoming full-fledged perverted. And that is never, ever okay.

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WHEN A STALKER PROWLS IN THE SHADOWS. WORDS ROBIN CASTILLO GRAPHICS CYRIL HOFILENA

Being attractive is not easy. The whole class knows you; half of them pining for your attention, the other half is pining for the attention of the ones who are pining for yours. You can’t help it, though. It’s not surprising for people to be enticed to interact with you; some, a lot more than others, and some, way too much. One can only like you so much before they start going over the thin line between being immensely annoying and just outright creepy. This is where we put the stalkers in.

Stalkers are sneaky, unpredictable, unbearably persistent, and they are after you. Whatever it is they want from you, their way of trying to achieve it sends chills down the spine, and that’s enough to consider the subject a victim.

Are you a victim? If you are, you’re probably reading this under layers of blankets in the corner of your own room, then glancing outside the window from time to time whenever you hear so much as a tinkle from your dog’s leash. If not, then congratulations! Not only do you feel completely safe when approaching the corners of hallways, you also don’t have

to get blood on your own hands, which is probably the only way to get rid of a stalker.

Don’t start plotting a murder. That’s not what I meant. I’m talking personal confrontation. Get blood on your hands by stabbing the pursuer right in the heart with the cold, hard truth – the plain fact that you don’t want them in your life. If they can’t get the hints, there’s no need to give them any more. Get straight to the point. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings, because knocking some sense into them is for their own good. Only you can do it, but don’t do it alone. Neither of you want to go as far as calling the police.

If plan A fails, then you’re one step closer to getting the authorities involved, but for now, make do by reporting your stalker to a less harsh version of the police – the school’s guidance counsellor. If you can’t talk them out of leaving you alone, then maybe a professional psychologist can. If even that fails, then maybe a week’s suspension will do the trick, that is, if both of you go to the same school. If the problem persists even after that, then consider your words useless.

You’re going to need more than charismatic

force to get this desperate dingus off your tail. Bona fide stalkers see rejection as a cue to try and redeem themselves for whatever it was they did wrong; causing any attempts to talk them out of stalking will make them stalk you even harder.

That’s when you plan the murder.

Okay, maybe not really a murder. Killing is never the answer, but if it comes to a point that your stalker is the one that considers that, reporting the whole issue to the police won’t seem too far-fetched.

Stalkers are unpredictable, so it’s best that you talk action before they do anything unexpected… or fatal. Don’t be sorry about it.

Remember, you’re doing this for the good of all, and yours too. They can’t spend the rest of their lives walking in your shadow, and though their lives might be ruined for that, at least you’re giving them a chance to start a new one. This time, it’s a life where they can focus less on the pursuit of others and more on improving themselves. Who knows, maybe they’re the ones who’ll end up being stalked this time, then they’d get a taste of their medicine.

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THE MATHEMATICS OF “HENERAL LUNA” WORDS VINCENT ROSE SARNATE GRAPHICS RYO TUPAS

A calculation not artillery is the epidermis of warfare. The US Navy’s world champion chess player, Reuben Fine was the one to calculate where the enemy submarines might surface on the basis of positional probability during the Second World War. Yes, it pays to be mathematically-armed.

Looking back into the Philippines’ Dark Ages, let us do a little bit of Math. When a country basically has nothing—no defense, no wealth, no will—it has the numerical value of zero (0). However, it occurs to have one exceptionally brilliant general who happened to be under the tutelage of General Gerard Leman, the first hero of World War I. So, now this general is numerically equal to one (1). But, what would happen to our calculation if this country which has practically nothing (0), gets rid of the only clever general it should have had (1)? Substitutions would result to this equation: 0(country)-1(general) = -1.

Therefore, Philippine is negative one in the number line—so distant from the vantage point of battles and the mileage of conquest.

“The Filipinos only had one general, and they have killed him.”- American General Hughes How many battles would it take to make us understand we have nothing but one left?

The Filipinos only had one country, and the leaders have been plundering it since 1565. It was 333 years later, in 1898, when the Philippine-American War broke out. A little progress in revolts here and there was never enough to drive United States out of our soil and seas. We so desperately needed someone who is apt to raise victory; and no, it wasn’t the president. It was his military commander— General Antonio Luna.

The Filipinos only had one chance to prevail, and they disposed it. February of

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1899 when President Aguinaldo staged another revolt against the US rule. Four months later, General Luna was assassinated by his own “insubordinates” right when the battle’s yet to reach its denouement. The timing’s never been more perfect. The only military commander who can drive those Americans 13,208 kilometers away from us is now 6 feet below the ground.

The Filipinos had one movie to see, and they are bound to unveil history. Directed

by Jerrold Tarog, produced by Artikulo Uno, and released on September 9, 2015, “Heneral Luna” is the historical film of the year. “Set during the Philippine-American war, a short-tempered Filipino general faces an enemy more formidable than the American army: his own treacherous countrymen. In 1898, General Antonio Luna (John Arcilla), commander of the revolutionary army, is spoiling for a fight. He wants freedom but members of the elite would rather strike a deal with the United States. Ultimately, it is the general’s legendary temper and pride that bring him to his death when a pack of presidential guards assassinate him in broad daylight.” (http://henerallunathemovie. com) No film in Philippine history could quite live up to the standard of historical accuracy and abundance, save this one. It will definitely prove some of our patriotic dogmas and heroic theories wrong. A country is never ill-fated in the hands of an ill-tempered commander; it will be doomed in the shadow of personal merits and political profits.

I confess I wasn’t too familiar with General Antonio Luna as much as I am with common valiant names in my history textbooks. Nonetheless, one hour and fifty-eight minutes spent in the movie theatre got me closely acquainted with the unpredictable general and his remarkable subordinates. “We present our heroes as

victims. I didn’t want that for Luna. Henry and I agreed that Luna would be an antihero and Aguinaldo would be an antivillain.” With Francia doing the research, they “agreed on key events of Luna’s life.”

Things “evolved organically” as Rocha structured the script (GMA News). I agree that General Luna isn’t your traditional distressed protagonist, and this was displayed the entire running time. “He was right to call his murderers “Assassins and cowards.” He had been inflicted with more than 40 bullets and stab wounds, causing his intestines to hang out of his abdomen.

Through it all, Luna fought back and tried to aim his revolver at his assailants. In defiance, he continued gritting his teeth and clenching his fist in anger even when he slumped to the ground. Before he finally died, he instinctively turned to his right side. The reflex scared his attackers—who thought that Luna might get up—that those in the front quickly stepped back, causing those behind them to fall down. If anything, the incident shows not just how cowardly his assassins were, but also how fearsome Luna was to the very end.” (http://www. filipiknow.net) The film was indeed beyond compare. Never have I seen such remarkable cinematography in a historical motion picture. What’s more notable is that right after the film, all of us applauded for like, a really long time. It’s akin to watching a live tip top performance.

For the time being, let us go back to the mathematics of “Heneral Luna”. Negative one is an integer even less than zero itself. It pretty much sums up the static retrogression of the Philippines. If only the 19th century cabinet members had calculated in the midst of war, they could’ve seen the pricelessness of such general.

Even mathematics itself cannot define the value of an altruistic hero.

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The theme for this year’s Ebb and Tide is “High on Life”.

Euphoric moments and cheerful snippets of our lives.

Let’s fill this year’s literary artfolio with positivity and happiness!

Literary Submission: Poetry is the only accepted form of literary submission. Haikus, Poems, Sonnets, Songs are some of the acceptable examples of literary entries.

Deadline for submission of entries is on December 29, 2015.

Submit your entries at rippleslccbcontests@gmail.com Contact us on fb.com/TheRipplesLCCB for your questions regarding the submission.

ART BY ROBIN CASTILLO

Art Contest: Artworks/photographs/collages should be in letter size (8.5 in x 11 in), and should be high quality (minimum of 150ppi). It should be in line with this year’s theme of the “high” that happiness gives us.

The best artwork will receive one thousand pesos (P1,000.00) and the next 5 artworks will receive two hundred pesos (P200.00) each andwill be exhibited during the release of the folio.

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THE RIPPLES // EDITORIAL STAFF 1 • MELONA GUITCHE / ADVISER 2 • GINOE OJOY / EDITOR IN CHIEF 3 • ANGELENE DIAZ / FEATURE EDITOR 4 • FRANCINE VARCAS / ASSOCIATE EDITOR 5 • MATTHEW YRAD / ASSOCIATE EDITOR 6 • LUNA DELA CERNA / STAFF WRITER 7 • ANA SALVE / STAFF WRITER 8 • MARK ESPUERTA / MANAGING EDITOR 9 • CHRISTOPH SAGEMULLER / GRAPHIC ARTIST 10 • ROBIN CASTILLO / STAFF WRITER 11 • VINCENT SARNATE / CONTRIBUTOR 12 • DARLA MAMUYAC / STYLIST 13 • JORDAN MATTI / STAFF WRITER 14 • JO-AN JULIANO / PHOTOGRAPHER 15 • JUDY SAYSON/ LAYOUT ARTIST 16 • SAMANTHA CRUZ/ STAFF WRITER 17 • PIERRE JARMONILLA / STAFF WRITER 18 • SHAIRA SARA / NEWS EDITOR 19 • CYRIL HOFILEÑA / GRAPHIC ARTIST 20 • JOHN SEVA / GRAPHIC ARTIST 21 • IRA CASTANDIELLO / STAFF WRITER 22 • MIGUEL SAN MIGUEL / VIDEOGRAPHER 23 • GEOCEL MANA-AY / STAFF WRITER

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This cover is inspired by the moment we first see someone.

We scrutinize every detail and discover an interweaving complexity present in each person. It also symbolizes the state of our world, embracing diversity while coexisting in this pale blue dot we call our earth.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOANN JULIANO STYLED BY DARLA MAMUYAC CONCEPT + EDITING BY GINOE OJOY

KEVIN BUPJIN

JOHN LENDRE SUCALDITO

KATHLYN GUATELARA

AILA STERLING

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