Activism?

The world is full of ideals. Ideals fill containers. These containers are people and people are full of themselves.

PUPians logged into Facebook last night on the wake of a happening that's sure to put another stain in their resumes: Students throwing chairs off balconies and burning them to embers to stop a tuition hike. "How radical," my right brain thought. "How desperate," my left brain answered.

Granted that there are many forms of expressing oneself, these activists chose to make an utter display of barbarism just to vent out their beliefs. Due process is a good thing to believe in but in bird's eye view, it's a long, crowded highway filled with dirty politics acting like tar pits. It's tempting to go off-road but it's a gray area. Before you know it, you're in some isolated community in the mountains, cocking your AK and chanting "Viva CPP NPA!" 

Road rage is more common than sparrows. Month after month, the same activists pit themselves with placards and megaphones across the Polytechnic University of the Philippines campus under belief that utopia can be achieved through such bullish tactics. Ridiculing government officials, discrediting members of the school administration, shouting how oppressed the youth and the poor are--they do these administration after administration. No matter who ruled over the Philippines and the university, they are never satisfied.

If you don't believe them, you have a closed mind; you're a conformist square. But if you do, your wearing a scarlet letter; you're a bad influence. It's the hippie revolution all over again.

Self-proclaimed heroes, maybe if they spent more time seeping through the cracks to aid legislation and enforcement, they wouldn't be looked down upon today. The system can't be beat, it can only be painstakingly reformed. It is good you are standing up for something but reducing yourselves to destruction of property, no matter how useless the said property was already according to your organization, is cowardly violence as clear as day. It's as desperate as burning your drunkard father's underwear in front of a news crew just to get him to notice you.

But are they really doing this just to stop a one peso hike in tuition? Let's take a deeper perspective. 

Politicians and points of authority are almost automatically demonized in the eyes of the common man. If the economy rose 6 percent (which is an awful lot) during PNoy's term, does it make a sound? It's mentioned in the State of The Nation Address and is forgotten forever. But everyday the Filipino is bombarded by news exposes about corrupt politicians, atrocities of corporations, police brutality, forced evictions, and everything wrong about those who govern. 

Put a Filipino in front of a political ad and what does he say? "Bleh. Mga politiko. Mga walang ginawang mabuti." ("Bah. Politicians. Those no-goods.") On these grounds, it's safe to say activists are acting upon this effect of exposure to stimuli often magnified by individual turmoil. Most of them lacked an authoritative figure in their lives or had ones that lacked authority in their lives, too.

Another factor to consider is that most students' financial struggles are from many aspects of life. The rising costs of food and transportation, water and electric companies hogging more of their parents' budgets and the constant social pressure put on by BlackBerry phones and digital tablets also add to the pains of those who study below the poverty line.

So in a sense, these people are admirable. They see a wrinkle in the way things work and they go out of their way to straighten it out. Ever since the early days of Filipino civilization, there were activists fighting for what they understand is good for the masses; the greatest among them being Jose Rizal who believed in due process, and the near-second greatest being Andres Bonifacio whose blood-littered path is slowly being tread by modern-day demonstrators.

There was once an anecdote saying that PUP itself is borne out of activism. But with a closer eye on the university's history, it's more of activism through due process. They didn't vandal, they didn't call anyone a pig, and they didn't burn chairs; they pulled through all the red tape and claimed what was rightfully theirs--a university which today blossoms with minds of brilliant students. To those who made charcoal out of "unusable" chairs yesterday, take heed of PUP's lesson.

It's all in the execution. Do not act surprised if your drastic measures are an unwelcome sight to society.

All American Idol fans at one point wanted to scream at Simon Cowell, "Let's see you sing it!" This is a similar scenario. If you think the school administration or the government is railed with demons, then commit. Study up and get a shot at cleansing it.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” --Margaret Mead.