Saturday, February 04, 2006
"One death is a tragedy; a thousand, a statistic."
It is 1 a.m. as I write this, and the events of the early morning are still roiling in my head, preventing me from sleeping.
As I write this, the death toll from the stampede at the Wowowee anniversary stands quotat 73, with hundreds injured. I watched the coverage by ABS-CBN on the aftermath of the stampede. I heard the wails of grief from bereaved relatives who identified the bodies of their loved ones. I looked at the chaos still left behind after the dead and injured had been taken away. I saw Willie Revillame in tears. I saw the survivors weeping and trembling from the ordeal. Another tragedy strikes.
I saw the battered bodies lying in the streets. Children were numbered among the dead, children who may have just tagged along on what should've been a fun outing. Families were torn, some child losing a parent, someone else losing a sister, or a grandmother. I saw people hugging body bags, some screaming, some silent.
I looked on as they showed Willie Revillame, in tears, announcing the cancellation of the show to the audience already inside the ULTRA, and winced as the mob hooted and cheered, not really listening to what he was telling them.
I saw the cameramen and reporters doing their jobs intruding into people's grief, letting all the human drama play out on tv screens across the nation.
I saw crowds watching as the faces of the dead were shown on a screen in hopes of someone coming forth to identify them.
I counted the numbers from the hospitals, then the funeral parlors.
I looked on as ABS-CBN, through its executives and talents, promised aid and succor to those affected.
As with all tragedies, after the initial tears, we'll look to fix blame, for someone to take responsibility for all this.
ABS-CBN's Gabby Lopez said that the network would take care of all the costs, for the dead and those injured. It was their show, after all, that all these people came to see, and that some of them died for. The security measures they took to control the crowd will be investigated. And of course those with an axe to grind against GMA would place the bodies at the gates of Malacanang, saying that this was all brought about by the desperate attempt to escape the poverty this administration has inflicted on the masses, that people would clutch at winning in a game show as their ticket out. But while poor crowd management or desperation may have had some part in this, I think greater blame lays elsewhere. I blame the mob. This may not be the most politically-correct statement to make, since all the victims were part of the mob. I am saddened by the deaths and injuries, but I cannot say that the network was wholly to blame. Nor can I so blithely lay the corpses at GMA's feet. When the thousands of people started pushing and shoving, what kind of crowd control would've worked? Cattle prods? Tear gas? Riot police with truncheons? Or was ABS-CBN at fault for giving people this game show to pin their hopes and dreams on? Should all such contests offering money or prizes be banned? Perhaps. To say that desperation moved these thousands of people to flock to the ULTRA may be too sweeping a statement. Were all the people in the crowds jobless? Underemployed? To say that poverty made all this happen and thus the government is to blame, one would have to prove first that these people were all impoverished, and that their poverty is really the government's fault. These are not statements I will accept without proof. And a rabid hatred for GMA is definitely not proof.
And of course those with an axe to grind against GMA would place the bodies at the gates of Malacanang, saying that this was all brought about by the desperate attempt to escape the poverty this administration has inflicted on the masses, that people would clutch at winning in a game show as their ticket out.
But while poor crowd management or desperation may have had some part in this, I think greater blame lays elsewhere.
I blame the mob.
This may not be the most politically-correct statement to make, since all the victims were part of the mob. I am saddened by the deaths and injuries, but I cannot say that the network was wholly to blame. Nor can I so blithely lay the corpses at GMA's feet.
When the thousands of people started pushing and shoving, what kind of crowd control would've worked? Cattle prods? Tear gas? Riot police with truncheons?
Or was ABS-CBN at fault for giving people this game show to pin their hopes and dreams on? Should all such contests offering money or prizes be banned? Perhaps.
To say that desperation moved these thousands of people to flock to the ULTRA may be too sweeping a statement. Were all the people in the crowds jobless? Underemployed? To say that poverty made all this happen and thus the government is to blame, one would have to prove first that these people were all impoverished, and that their poverty is really the government's fault. These are not statements I will accept without proof. And a rabid hatred for GMA is definitely not proof.
It strikes me how undisciplined Filipinos are. Simple rules just aren't followed. Look at the traffic jams, or even the traffic that moves. See buses swerving maniacally, jeepneys picking up or dropping off passengers in the middle of the road, and illegal counterflows. Look at pedestrians crossing UNDER a pedestrian overpass, and watch them give dagger looks when motorists honk their horns at them.
I've found that even getting into the mall at lunchtime is a struggle, as people crowd around to squeeze into one small doorway, instead of lining up single file and proceeding in an orderly fashion. Or in the supermarket, when people line up carts filled to the brim at the express lane, blissfully ignoring the sign "12 items or less." In the theaters, there is always one boor who will not turn off his cellphone or put it on "silent" mode. Too many people are just trying to get ahead of the pack, without consideration for those around them, without consideration for the consequences of their actions. If it benefits them, then they do it, without looking back. Desperation is one thing. Becoming uncivilized is another. We do not excuse criminals who do the things they do because of poverty. Nor should poverty and desperation be used as an excuse to let chaos run rampant. Poverty is not an excuse to trample over your fellow man in order to grab that brass ring. The chaos started because someone would not wait, someone was afraid of not getting in, and that someone started pushing. And the person he pushed, pushed the one in front of him. And as the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane, the human tidal wave was started, with all the innocents caught in its wake. I am sure the investigators will look into the measures ABS-CBN took to control the crowd. And I am sure plenty of people will want the network executives' heads on spikes for this tragedy, blaming them for negligence and corporate greed. As I am sure the government will bear its share of blows for the poverty and desperation that drove this mob on.
That blame would be misplaced.
The hands that are soiled with the blood of children are those of the person who gave that fatal first push.
Too many people are just trying to get ahead of the pack, without consideration for those around them, without consideration for the consequences of their actions. If it benefits them, then they do it, without looking back.
Desperation is one thing. Becoming uncivilized is another. We do not excuse criminals who do the things they do because of poverty. Nor should poverty and desperation be used as an excuse to let chaos run rampant. Poverty is not an excuse to trample over your fellow man in order to grab that brass ring.
The chaos started because someone would not wait, someone was afraid of not getting in, and that someone started pushing. And the person he pushed, pushed the one in front of him. And as the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane, the human tidal wave was started, with all the innocents caught in its wake.
I am sure the investigators will look into the measures ABS-CBN took to control the crowd. And I am sure plenty of people will want the network executives' heads on spikes for this tragedy, blaming them for negligence and corporate greed. As I am sure the government will bear its share of blows for the poverty and desperation that drove this mob on.
That blame would be misplaced.
The hands that are soiled with the blood of children are those of the person who gave that fatal first push.
It is 1 a.m. as I write this, and the events of the early morning are still roiling in my head, preventing me from sleeping.
As I write this, the death toll from the stampede at the Wowowee anniversary stands quotat 73, with hundreds injured. I watched the coverage by ABS-CBN on the aftermath of the stampede. I heard the wails of grief from bereaved relatives who identified the bodies of their loved ones. I looked at the chaos still left behind after the dead and injured had been taken away. I saw Willie Revillame in tears. I saw the survivors weeping and trembling from the ordeal. Another tragedy strikes.
I saw the battered bodies lying in the streets. Children were numbered among the dead, children who may have just tagged along on what should've been a fun outing. Families were torn, some child losing a parent, someone else losing a sister, or a grandmother. I saw people hugging body bags, some screaming, some silent.
I looked on as they showed Willie Revillame, in tears, announcing the cancellation of the show to the audience already inside the ULTRA, and winced as the mob hooted and cheered, not really listening to what he was telling them.
I saw the cameramen and reporters doing their jobs intruding into people's grief, letting all the human drama play out on tv screens across the nation.
I saw crowds watching as the faces of the dead were shown on a screen in hopes of someone coming forth to identify them.
I counted the numbers from the hospitals, then the funeral parlors.
I looked on as ABS-CBN, through its executives and talents, promised aid and succor to those affected.
As with all tragedies, after the initial tears, we'll look to fix blame, for someone to take responsibility for all this.
ABS-CBN's Gabby Lopez said that the network would take care of all the costs, for the dead and those injured. It was their show, after all, that all these people came to see, and that some of them died for. The security measures they took to control the crowd will be investigated. And of course those with an axe to grind against GMA would place the bodies at the gates of Malacanang, saying that this was all brought about by the desperate attempt to escape the poverty this administration has inflicted on the masses, that people would clutch at winning in a game show as their ticket out. But while poor crowd management or desperation may have had some part in this, I think greater blame lays elsewhere. I blame the mob. This may not be the most politically-correct statement to make, since all the victims were part of the mob. I am saddened by the deaths and injuries, but I cannot say that the network was wholly to blame. Nor can I so blithely lay the corpses at GMA's feet. When the thousands of people started pushing and shoving, what kind of crowd control would've worked? Cattle prods? Tear gas? Riot police with truncheons? Or was ABS-CBN at fault for giving people this game show to pin their hopes and dreams on? Should all such contests offering money or prizes be banned? Perhaps. To say that desperation moved these thousands of people to flock to the ULTRA may be too sweeping a statement. Were all the people in the crowds jobless? Underemployed? To say that poverty made all this happen and thus the government is to blame, one would have to prove first that these people were all impoverished, and that their poverty is really the government's fault. These are not statements I will accept without proof. And a rabid hatred for GMA is definitely not proof.
And of course those with an axe to grind against GMA would place the bodies at the gates of Malacanang, saying that this was all brought about by the desperate attempt to escape the poverty this administration has inflicted on the masses, that people would clutch at winning in a game show as their ticket out.
But while poor crowd management or desperation may have had some part in this, I think greater blame lays elsewhere.
I blame the mob.
This may not be the most politically-correct statement to make, since all the victims were part of the mob. I am saddened by the deaths and injuries, but I cannot say that the network was wholly to blame. Nor can I so blithely lay the corpses at GMA's feet.
When the thousands of people started pushing and shoving, what kind of crowd control would've worked? Cattle prods? Tear gas? Riot police with truncheons?
Or was ABS-CBN at fault for giving people this game show to pin their hopes and dreams on? Should all such contests offering money or prizes be banned? Perhaps.
To say that desperation moved these thousands of people to flock to the ULTRA may be too sweeping a statement. Were all the people in the crowds jobless? Underemployed? To say that poverty made all this happen and thus the government is to blame, one would have to prove first that these people were all impoverished, and that their poverty is really the government's fault. These are not statements I will accept without proof. And a rabid hatred for GMA is definitely not proof.
It strikes me how undisciplined Filipinos are. Simple rules just aren't followed. Look at the traffic jams, or even the traffic that moves. See buses swerving maniacally, jeepneys picking up or dropping off passengers in the middle of the road, and illegal counterflows. Look at pedestrians crossing UNDER a pedestrian overpass, and watch them give dagger looks when motorists honk their horns at them.
I've found that even getting into the mall at lunchtime is a struggle, as people crowd around to squeeze into one small doorway, instead of lining up single file and proceeding in an orderly fashion. Or in the supermarket, when people line up carts filled to the brim at the express lane, blissfully ignoring the sign "12 items or less." In the theaters, there is always one boor who will not turn off his cellphone or put it on "silent" mode. Too many people are just trying to get ahead of the pack, without consideration for those around them, without consideration for the consequences of their actions. If it benefits them, then they do it, without looking back. Desperation is one thing. Becoming uncivilized is another. We do not excuse criminals who do the things they do because of poverty. Nor should poverty and desperation be used as an excuse to let chaos run rampant. Poverty is not an excuse to trample over your fellow man in order to grab that brass ring. The chaos started because someone would not wait, someone was afraid of not getting in, and that someone started pushing. And the person he pushed, pushed the one in front of him. And as the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane, the human tidal wave was started, with all the innocents caught in its wake. I am sure the investigators will look into the measures ABS-CBN took to control the crowd. And I am sure plenty of people will want the network executives' heads on spikes for this tragedy, blaming them for negligence and corporate greed. As I am sure the government will bear its share of blows for the poverty and desperation that drove this mob on.
That blame would be misplaced.
The hands that are soiled with the blood of children are those of the person who gave that fatal first push.
Too many people are just trying to get ahead of the pack, without consideration for those around them, without consideration for the consequences of their actions. If it benefits them, then they do it, without looking back.
Desperation is one thing. Becoming uncivilized is another. We do not excuse criminals who do the things they do because of poverty. Nor should poverty and desperation be used as an excuse to let chaos run rampant. Poverty is not an excuse to trample over your fellow man in order to grab that brass ring.
The chaos started because someone would not wait, someone was afraid of not getting in, and that someone started pushing. And the person he pushed, pushed the one in front of him. And as the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane, the human tidal wave was started, with all the innocents caught in its wake.
I am sure the investigators will look into the measures ABS-CBN took to control the crowd. And I am sure plenty of people will want the network executives' heads on spikes for this tragedy, blaming them for negligence and corporate greed. As I am sure the government will bear its share of blows for the poverty and desperation that drove this mob on.
That blame would be misplaced.
The hands that are soiled with the blood of children are those of the person who gave that fatal first push.
