Saan ba dapat lumugar kapag hindi ka dilawan at tutol ka rin sa pagiging abusado ng estado? Today, the Philippine Daily Inquirer talked about a divided nation but I don’t think I agree with the dividing line–or at least, I have reservations. Being “yellow” and “pro-Duterte” are just some aspects of being Filipino and if the nation is divided as such then I’m afraid the limit of our political imagination is so narrow and obtuse, with our lenses unable to see the whole beyond these very noisy parts. I did not go to EDSA because I worship the yellows. I went because I read history and I understand the meaning of the 1986 People Power Revolution to us as a nation–despite being born two years after the fact. Yes, it was a fact.

So many people from my parent’s generation have tried to convince me to let this shit go. EDSA, in their view, was a failure because nothing’s changed blah blah blah and it was only about the elite’s blah blah blah. Every time I hear this being told to me, I bite my tongue in exasperation, hoping the topic would naturally switch so I won’t have to be my parent’s rude child. But as of late, the historical revisionism rife in their tirades has forced me to be a bit more vocal and aggressive.

First, when you bitch about EDSA being a failed revolution and decide to pitch camp in “strongman” Duterte’s lines, are you trying to assert that the Martial Law years were better? That we were free under the tyranny of a dictatorship (that left us in the kind of debt my generation is still paying for, btw) and that you prefer that over the non-violent overthrowing of said dictator? I’ve heard many of you express how fearful you were for your lives under Martial Law. Perhaps that explains the silence and while I find enough compassion in my heart to understand, that doesn’t change our complicity in the atrocities that happened during those years. In grade school, when we were tasked to ask our parents about ML, I felt it anti-climactic to hear that my parents kept to themselves but I realize now that the conditions then must have been so bad that even they who have always been civic-minded preferred to stay out of trouble.

Second, when you bitch about EDSA’s failures because it enabled elite capture and benefitted only a few, are we millennials supposed to assume that you just sat back and watched this happen? What part of People Power was so hard to come to terms with? Did it not occur to you that the task of nation-building involved citizen action and not the same apathy you lent to an already hurting country? At yan pa–elite, elite. Who the fuck are we speaking about when we say “elite”? Because in case you haven’t realized, there are elites on both sides and their faults cannot be denied especially if it is done only to win an argument that continues to “divide the nation” under very narrow divisions.

Third, when you bitch about EDSA because it didn’t change anything anyway could you be more specific about what you had in mind? What’s the vision? What is the character of this change you speak of? Change keeps winning people elections but up to now no one has articulated a vision for ALL Filipinos regardless of their political affiliations. I mean, wasn’t it the death of Cory Aquino that also plunged us into this rabid fanaticism that won us another Aquino in Malacañang? And Titos and Titas, weren’t you at the forefront of those calls to action as well? Believing in the power of the dead to inspire the living and knowing with some certainty that leadership belonging to parents can somehow also be transferred to their children? Necropolitics is alive and well, isn’t it? That was change, too, and now you deny it, opting for another change…so what has changed? What do you hope will change? If we are only propagating a history of vindictiveness then please, count me out of that. Besides, hindi lang kayo ang hurting, pwede. Napakaraming Pilipinong umasa at patuloy na pinapaasa ng mga punyetang lider-lideran na yan at ng middle class na tanging pagpapayaman lang sa angkan ang iniisip. So, kung hurt ka dahil hindi mo friends yung nasa previous admin or nanggagalaiti ka kasi sila lang yung friends mo at wala ka nang friends ngayon–naman.

Fourth, I get it. Jim Paredes was provoked and he fought back. Not classy, reflective of his privilege, blah blah blah. So many others had better analyses of this situation–for what reason, I wonder? Is he the end-all-and-be-all of EDSA? But the fact remains: a group of guys came to a rally–not with the intention of joining or engaging but clearly out to provoke, and the rest you’ve seen and now everyone’s upset but wait, who gives a hoot about Jim or those ten guys? I mean, seriously, critics and companions alike–did we really go to EDSA just to be entertained? To watch a scene between these people unfold and use that to dilute the essence of commemoration? Naman. I didn’t come for that shit.

I came to honor members of the Agrava Board who found that there was military conspiracy in the assassination of Ninoy Aquino (never mind his politics, the fact is he was murdered and the Commission discovered glaring things that were dangerous to reveal). I came to honor the 35 COMELEC workers who walked out of PICC, in protest of election fraud, and who sought refuge in Baclaran Church. I came to honor Radio Veritas, for being true to their name, and Cardinal Sin whose leadership gave courage to ordinary Filipinos. I came to honor brave women like Jun Keithley and Tina Monzon-Palma who spoke truth to power and did not flinch when Marcosian forces came upon them.

I went to the monument at EDSA last night because I wanted to be reminded about our democratic values and our history of resisting tyranny. These have little to do with what one man says he’ll do for all of us and have more to do with our collective sobriety and capacity to courageously say yes to the task of building this nation to benefit its peoples.

So, if you found yourself confused by today’s headlines and where you fit in the imposed divide, please know that you are not alone. That divide is illusory and imposed on us to confuse us. It seeks to mar our grasp of reality by framing the issues Filipinos face solely as valuable only to red or yellow, whatever the hell that even means. But let me tell you, the shit we have to face as a country today is messier than two bickering sides and let’s not be confused. We have a history worth studying critically–which doesn’t mean you throw lazy arguments like “EDSA was a revolution that failed” around. The materials and the people are out there. Engage them with a view to understand and when our elders are quick to criticize then tell us, “Bahala na kayo dyan.” Reel them back in, hold their hands, and say, “Last I checked, we’re in this together. Age is no excuse. This is your country too.”

Let’s not be confused. There are glaring inconsistencies out there and they cannot be ignored or silenced by bashing on social media. Hunger is as real today as it was yesterday and so is conflict in far-flung places. While these times have brought out the worst in us and in our Titos and Titas, remember that we’re all we’ve got so gently bring back the frustration to what matters: the right to life and liberty, access to healthcare, education, social protection, adequate compensation and employment opportunities. Let’s also push for justice that’s blind to political influence, that ensures that men and women are equal in the eyes of law.

May lugar tayo dito, hindi lang tayo shoot sa agenda ng iilan kaya wag din tayong magpapagamit, okey? At kapag maingay na ang talakayan ukol sa mababaw na dibisyon sa pagitan ng dilawan at ka-DDS, manahimik naman tayo at mag-isip. Eto na ba? Eto nalang ba ang puno’t dulo ng kasaysayan at pulitika ng bansang ito? Palagay ko hindi. ***