GetRealPhilippines: Attack of the Noynoy Taliban!

MONDAY, 04 JANUARY 2010 16:44 BENIGN0

The Noynoy Aquino Taliban recently struck a blow to the forces of free inquiry as Pinoy Buzz personality Paul Farol was removed from the roll of bloggers in emerging online e-zine Asian Correspondent where he once held a blogger post also as Pinoy Buzz. The editors of Asian Correspondent (AC) reportedly cited risks to their "reputation" as a reason for the decision to boot out Farol from their blog roll. According to AC editors, they have been receiving many complaints from pro-Noynoy supporters about Farol's writing. Blogger BetterPhilippines re-published Farol's final blog entry on AC in his post "Yellow Censorship". In his farewell entry in AC Farol concedes to the forces of primitivism for now.

Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III is a presidential candidate that enjoys cult status. His supporters are drawn to him on the basis of a largely (if not entirely) emotional appeal. As such, like mostcult figures Noynoy commands a following of exceptional virulence. His followers act in an emotionally charged manner and are quick to judge those who are seen to be not "one of them". One of them. Sounds a bit ominous, doesn't it?

What then does it mean to be "one of them"?

Ironically, this is the question that most infuriates Aquino's supporters. Because when one attempts to answer this question, one finds that there is nothing to work with. As a matter of fact, local social networking czar Carlo Ople beat everyone to the conclusion that Aquino has in fact become a high priest of vacuous substance in his recent article "The cult of Noynoy Aquino" where he makes the following observation:

I wrote an article recently about how Noynoy Aquino has to answer the questions being raised against him, especially with the surfacing of old news clips of him defending the dispersement of the farmers in Hacienda Luisita, which eventually resulted into a bloody massacre.  Some people screamed that it was black propaganda. They put more weight on the blogger writing negatively about Noynoy than the content of the actual post.

Indeed, one can almost picture long-bearded Aquino supporters riding around in Toyota Hi-Lux pickup trucks wielding Kalashnikovs rifles patrolling the Philippine political blogosphere. The almost Taliban-like zealotry of Aquino supporters is disturbing to say the least. This kind of zealotry for a future president of the Republic can only lead to two outcomes:

• A further polarisation of society into those who are "one of them" and those who beg to think, possibly resulting in further inbreeding in an already inbred Philippine Media; or,

• Mass disillusionment and a reversion back to wholesale fragmentation of our society if Aquino fails to deliver anything during his administration (in essence, a return the Square One that, ironically, was the state that Aquino's supporters claim we will be delivered from under their man).

In either case, we will be seeing a further degeneration of the quality and dignity of Philippine politics and its partner in crime Filipino journalism.

If even now we are already seeing the kind of inclination towards suppression of free inquiry amongst the supporters of The Popular One, it becomes quite easy to imagine what actual political power conferred upon Aquino will turn his supporters into.

As a friend of mine quipped recently in light of Farol's plight:

Even GMA who's been thought to be dictatorial never censors the press as they continue to bad-mouth and demonize her, yet these noynoyistas at this stage already silence those who are against noynoy. I guess we can agree that, here, GMA and Noynoy are indeed opposites.

Carlo Ople for his part issues a challenge to supporters of whoever candidate that remains and will remain relevant particularly in these times when a cult candidate dominates the polls:

To end, let me just say that if you really want to help this country, then don't be stupid and defend your candidate like a faithful guard dog. Ask questions, challenge the campaign staff, and push him/her to take action. Don't forget that more than a supporter of Noynoy, you are also a Filipino and I don't think nationalism entails blind whole-hearted trust to your candidate of choice. Put that passion and energy into actual things that can help the country and maybe then you can make a real difference.

The rise of a politician of nil substance who commands a cult following is a dangerous development. Without substance, followers of such figures are prone to exercise extreme liberties in their efforts to support their choice.