April 15, 2011

by Marne L. Kilates on Friday, April 15, 2011 at 7:53am

Some friends and I were exchanging notes about the whole Willie thing on our e-group. Some said the thing might have become overblown. Some were suggesting Willie himself had become the victim. I resisted the temptation of “overblowing” it myself, but eventually gave in and tried to put my thoughts down. Here’s my own take about the Willie thing below. It’s my own.

(But if you think it really needs some sort of concerted action from everyone, join John Silva’s fight against the counter-harassment he is now encountering for his justified and righteous [for me] blogging and letter-writing campaign against Willie and his supporters, advertisers, and simply bad programming in general. I have enlisted myself.)

“I REFUSE!”

IT’S REALLY NOT JUST ABOUT Willie (or even Pangilinan). It’s about the whole practice of TV noontime shows and other “entertainment” programs, especially those of, yes, Willie, and Tito, Vic, and Joey, and of some others,to insult, make fun, and do virtually what they want with their poor (literally impoverished) show participants (who are apparently recruited because they are poor). This is the practice that should stop. This is the kind of humor and entertainment at the expense of others, that exploit others, that should stop.

The argument has been posed that these show participants are “willing victims.” Precisely the reason the practice should be stopped. Victimizing others does not become right just because the “others want” to be victimized! Exploitation does not become right just because the ignorant want to be or are not aware that they are being exploited. It is the obligation (for survival) of even the slightly enlightened and non-ignorant to let the ignorant know that he is being fooled, otherwise everyone ends up being fools.

If no one complains, it does not become right either (otherwise we all become fools!). Now that many people are complaining (and it is not an accident that the subject of the complaint is the Willie program), all the more that something should be done about it. In fact Tito, Vic, and Joey, though right now there is no specific show that can pinpoint them as similarly guilty (they’ve been guilty all along, they are the direct ancestors of comedians like Willie), should be mentioned in the blogging, opinion-making, and the pillorying that our entertainment fare and media deserve and have done to themselves. No, it’s not “crab mentality,” [as one from our e-group commented]. It’s doing what is right. (Incidentally, this notion of “crab mentality” is an insult to crabs—whoever invented the idea. Crabs don’t pull each other down in order to get out of a tight situation, they use their “shoulders” to help each other up and get out of the tight situation.)

Now, this Willie Cult of Stupidity should stop. This capitalizing on and monetizing of (by TV networks and their advertisers and their audiences—we, us) of stupidity, inanity, tastelessness, crude and unintelligent humor, should be stopped. Because it is the kind of humor and way of seeing things that enable people or institutions in power to get away with exploitation and bad—no, execrable—taste, because they can pay for it (e.g., TV networks, their advertisers), or they are paid to do it (Willie, Tito, Vic, Joey, etc.), or they enjoy it (the TV audience, We, Us).

Let’s start not-patronizing, not-watching these TV shows, or not-buying the products of the advertisers of these TV shows, in the hope that they just stop airing or simply go out of business. That may be an “impossible” proposition, because business has never cared about taste or morality or true social responsibility (unless pressured with the threat of lower sales and lower profits). But something must start now. Something or someone, and ideally the mass of the people, should pressure these business concerns to give the public quality products (entertainment or anything produced and sold in supermarkets). If we don’t make ourselves heard, if we don’t join the protest, we will be condemned to live our lives with Willie, Tito,Vic, Joey, etc. dictating our viewing fare, shaping the tastes of our children, and making us generally and without exception STUPID.

And protesting against stupidity is NOT overblown. And demanding PROTECTION AGAINST STUPIDITY is not overblown.

This is therefore my own protest against Willie, Tito, Vic, Joey, etc. and their supporters and their patrons. I REFUSE TO LET THEM MAKE ME AND MY CHILDREN STUPID!

Like Howard Beale in “Network,” let us go out of our houses and shout, I REFUSE TO LET WILLIE, TITO, VIC, JOEY & THEIR ILK MAKE ME AND MY CHILDREN STUPID!

Let me say it again: Let us go out of our houses and shout, I REFUSE TO LET WILLIE, TITO, VIC, JOEY & THEIR ILK MAKE ME AND MY CHILDREN STUPID!

Marne Kilates

P.S. If this is too serious for you, well, let’s go dancing in streets and chant “I REFUSE…”