The Bebigerls: Misguided Glorification

.:Finally, I Chime In:.

If they are free to blog and write the way they wish, then I believe I should be free to wonder about them in this manner as well.

A few weeks after the Bebigerls issue has somewhat died down, I've decided to mull things over and talk about it, now that hopefully, nobody would care that I talk about them.

For the sake of disclosure, I am an intellectual elitist, and I am unapologetic for it. I communicate my thoughts as clearly as I could, and if for some reason, I cannot express myself in English, hindi ako mag-aatubiling Tagalugin na lang ang gusto kong sabihin.

Initially, when I saw the site, and its declarations of "straightforwardness to the point of rudiness", I must admit that the grammar Nazi in me laughed and cried at the same time. It's the way I am. I find horrible grammar and spelling (In both languages.) funny and depressing at the same time. As a former English teacher, I couldn't help but facepalm, to be honest. I understand how horrible this may come off to people reading this right now, but I was brought up to respect language. If you intend to speak a language or write in a language, my implicit expectation is that you do it competently, at the very least.

So yeah, we had our lulz, and we chuckled at their poor grasp of English and even their poor grasp of the Filipino language, but a deeper trend that I noticed in them compelled me to write this post, and that's what I'd rather talk about, because as they said, "our English sucks, but the hell we care!" It doesn't really mean anything to them, and insulting them further will make me lose the point I wanted to bring up here...

.:A Trend That Bears Watching:.

In the 80's, moral guardians were upset with a lot of things in the local film industry. Sure, we had the requisite "ST" (Sex Trip) films that alarmed moral guardians, but for once, they were also disturbed by the action films that were being offered by the major movie producers. With films like "Baby Ama", "Alyas Pogi", "Bad Boy", and so forth, it seemed to be the case that these action films were glorifying the lives of criminals. Some of these so-called biopics were really just excuses for a shoot 'em up, but what moral guardians found alarming was the "bida" of a lot of 80's action films was not a hero at all, but in fact, an anti-hero. Ironically, this is one time where we were way ahead of the curve, as it took the 90's for America to realize how "cool" anti-heroes are.

Anyways, I digress. In the 80's, films about the life stories of certain criminals became the norm, and they were lionized in the eyes of the public. It communicated the wrong values to viewers, especially if somehow, an impressionable kid got to watch the film (Most of these films were PG-15, if I'm not mistaken.). The reasoning was apparent: these movies made it cool to be a criminal. As long as you have a heart, as long as deep down, you're a good person, your crimes don't matter.

But wasn't it Batman who said, "It's not who you are inside, but what you do that defines you?"

.:The Dealbreaker:.

I am not a moral guardian. Despite being an ethicist, I do not seek to impose my standards upon others if they are not within my circle of influence. In fact, for the most part, as long as they do not impose their own behavior upon me, even within my own circle, I tend to live and let live.

I do not subscribe to the Jack Thompsonesque way of thinking: blaming anything but a person for their own actions, using media, video games, or any other factors. Responsibility cannot be ignored, and these outside factors don't necessarily affect people all the time.

But that they are capable of affecting certain people given certain circumstances cannot be denied. It is not my intention to rail against these factors, but it is my intention to analyze how this has led to a way of thinking that I found alarming when I read the Bebigerls blog. It is a way of thinking that is alarmingly becoming more commonplace, when you look at it.

Like the criminal biopics in the 80's, people now find that it's cool to be a "bitch", or to be a "slut", or to be any other derogatory term they label to themselves. I'm not immune to this. I, for example, take pride in being a "jack@$$" sometimes, particularly when I find myself embroiled in an argument. I'd like to think that it's not my defining trait, though. I can be a jack@$$ at times, but I'm known more for telling it like it is, and if that entails being a jack@$$, then so be it.

So I hope you understand my consternation when I see people calling themselves "sluts' and being proud of it. I don't intend to change them. I just think there are better things to aspire for than to be known as a "slut" or a "bitch" or a "prick", for that matter.

I won't pass judgment on the quality of people the Bebigerls are. For all I know, they might be great human beings deep inside. But it is what they do that defines them, not who they are deep inside, and if their tag cloud is any indication, then there is a disturbing emphasis on "kalandian". They are defined online as a bunch of people who want to be known as "Devil Bloggers". It boggles the mind.

I don't get it. Since when have people found these things worthy of aspiring for? How is this becoming a goal in and by itself instead of a mere side effect of a quirk of your personality? Even the 80's films took the pains to emphasize that even the most hardened criminal wants nothing but to have a simple life and to be loved by someone, as incredulous as that may seem. Fame is a shallow but understandable goal. Fortune is a perfectly understandable goal. But this? Why?

I try to understand where this kind of thinking comes from. I try to contemplate how a human person's function of excellence could possibly be by being a "bitch" or a "prick". Aristotle didn't call it a higher value that the human person aspires to, but merely the fulfillment of his function. To excel, to flourish, to be eudaimon, is a goal that may take many different forms, but is ultimately a worthwhile course of action. Attaching labels like these to yourself and making it your defining characteristic is far from it.

Was this a product of upbringing? Was this a product of an internet culture that finds fans for even the least laudable causes? I'm not a sociologist who can look at the bigger picture and see what factors could possibly lead to this kind of a net culture. Do they recognize this about themselves? Or is self-awareness too much to ask for?

I am not here to tell the Bebigerls that they're wrong, or that their English sucks. Been there, done that, and doesn't help them one bit. What I am doing here is trying to understand how our culture has gotten to the point where such shallowness and triviality has become pursuits for people to aspire for. To me, this is ultimately a pursuit for understanding.

Your life, your rules. It's easy to say that there's more to you than this, but when this is all you show for public consumption, does it not make sense to feel a tad concerned?

What do you think? Is this really a trend? Or just an isolated case?