Thoughts on: Bandwagon (and Coconuts)

CONCEPT: The karaoke is on full blast, intro riff of Buko starts. A karaoke aficionado says "Ugh, that's so jejemon!" Everyone groans. 

PLOT TWIST: I pretend to groan along. 

"Ha ha, I agree. Truly, the worst song since Boom Tarat Tarat."

Look, I never really got why people hated Buko. It's catchy, the vocalist is okay, the lyrics could be less cheesy but it's not THAT awful to make everyone act as if their ears are bleeding when the infamous "tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw" drones on. 

But this entry is beyond Buko and beyond the mainstream OPM. Today I'd like to tackle a phenomenon i'd like to call: the bandwagon hate. 

Let's get one thing clear: there's nothing Filipino netizens love more than ganging up on an issue, criticizing the hell out of it, therefore causing their ego to blow up (which we all know cures acne, tuberculosis, and eczema, which is obviously why so many people do it). 

There's this particular kind of sadness I get when I see Filipinos do this, which I can only describe as similar to the sense of hopelessness that I get whenever I watch Willie Revillame's shows. And this may be due to the fact that bandwagon hate is rooted from a problem that has been an age-old issue not only in the Philippines but literally all around the globe: close-mindedness. 

Here's a fun exercise you and your family can enjoy: Find a movie review shared on Facebook that is written by a Filipino which harshly criticizes a mainstream local film. Grab a popcorn, and go to the comments section.

(Now, you have the perfect activity for when you're bored and could use some little anger in your system)

Seriously, Filipinos are SO good at blurring the boundaries between factual (or even moral) debates with personal attacks. And through years of perusing the Web, I think I finally came up with how to rebut the Filipino way:

1. State why the opposite party is wrong.
2. Now, garnish the argument with a physical attack based on the person's profile picture and/or cover photo.
3. End the comment by telling the person that no other opinion is acceptable but yours.
4. Get cured from acne.

We laugh at him, he laughs at our acne.

We let prejudice rule our final judgement which harms not only the subject of our criticism but also on our perception of the world. As Murakami put it:

 "If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

Dare to investigate, probe deeper, and broaden your horizon. Dare to liberate yourself from the dictations of public opinions, and have a more meaningful, tasteful, and healthy view of the world. I know this sounds like an Orwellian propaganda but seriously, Buko isn't THAT bad.

ppls loves titis