Death of a dream

It is said that there’s always 2 sides to a story but when a story involves death or in this case suicide, the easiest way to go for some is to point fingers. When emotions get the better of us, in most cases we become inclined to pass judgment on others. We view the facts distortedly, create biased assumptions, and to some extent build an air of hate and contempt. In Kristel’s passing one could only wish that there won’t be 2 suicides or another suicide to this story.

Kristel died the day she mourned what she thought was the death of her dream. It could be a fact or it could be just my biased assumption, I do not know. We may never know for sure what was going on inside her head during her last few minutes. And to say that she was too weak or that she could have been stronger had she turned to God or Faith and she might have survived would be hypocritical of us. People have different thresholds when it comes to pain or frustration, and for her, it could have been the last straw. We could go on and on about what she could have done, what she should have done, or what her family should have done to prevent her from taking her own life but that’s what I think is the wrong angle to ponder on.

UP Professor and Columnist Randy David wrote "When the poor’s access to good education is blocked by their lack of capacity to pay, education becomes yet another contributing factor in the reproduction of inequality. This is what has happened in the Philippines.  By transferring to the private sector the main responsibility for providing quality education at all levels, the government in effect reinforces the inequality that is found everywhere in our society. The resulting lack of educational qualification of the poor then becomes the warrant for their further exclusion and marginalization.  Education has to be harnessed as a means to interrupt this intergenerational transfer of inequality." So much energy has been wasted on debates about her suicide, who to blame, was it the only way out etcetera etcetera when in fact there is no one culprit that we can pin the blame on. 

I am in awe when I see articles written about her suicide that tries to dissect her death as if they're experts in psychology and sociology. Even worse are the ones that put her suicide in such a bad light just to stress on their own mightiness that they would never resort to such a thing as unforgiveable as suicide because they have God, or they know better to try other solutions. Blessed are those who have never once had a problem paying their expensive tuition. You have all the right to criticize her. 

The bigger story here is the death of a dream, that was choked and strangled by a stifling system. Today Kristel's body will finally be laid to rest. Yet I wish that her dreams would not be buried along with her  but rather may it live through the students who still carry that passion for knowledge the way she did. 

True Justice for Kristel means access to good education, true reforms, greater state subsidies to state education and that her death did so much to change our state policies towards education.

Suicide Hero

The country was stunned last week when Former Defense Sec. Angelo Reyes apparently took his own life in front of his parent’s grave. Within an hour the suicide was all over the news and became a headline the next day.

For what greater story can there be, than a man who at his final days saw his name dragged to obscurity and ridicule. 65 years that was capped by allegations of corruption in the armed forces.

Not so surprising though. Think of any government agency here in our country that doesn’t reek of corruption. If everyone would have the same reaction after an allegation, I say accuse every official in every department. Maybe that will help the current administration uphold its slogan of “Kung walang corrupt walang mahirap” (If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor) and effectively rid its agencies of these bastards.

What’s even more bothering though is the angle that says it was heroic. I am not suggesting that Reyes was guilty or that he should be condemned forever. I am appalled with the thought that such an act can be considered an act of heroism. Col. Edgard De Leon believes that the Former AFP Chief of Staff took his own life to “save the AFP.” (from an article in Manila Bulletin, It was a valiant act, Aide says by Elena Aben) Another headline from the Philippine Star last February 9, has Fernando Martinez quoted as saying that what Reyes did was heroic.

Since when did committing suicide become a valiant act? In some cultures maybe, like in Japan where Harakiri or Seppuku (a ritual act of disembowelment) was practiced by samurais in honor of the Bushido code. Somehow the logic of it eludes me. Suicide to be tagged as an act of courage rather than a form of escapism defies all moral reasoning. Sure, it takes guts to point the gun to your chest and pull the trigger but that doesn't make it heroic.

If it is an act of courage, then I dare everyone in the AFP to take their guns out and start shooting each other or for every god damned government agency for that matter. What moral implication does this teach our children? That the end justifies the means because you can end it anyway.

If for anything, what his death meant for the public is that it showed how badly screwed up our government is. (Not a big news anymore) Assuming that he was innocent, Reyes himself showed no trust in our justice system.

Maybe it was heroic after all, if what it does is to free everyone from the stench of selfishness and greed that is perfectly embodied by our government. It was heroic, if what it does is to aid the investigation and eventually shell out the truth. Until then, I say he would have done his country a big favor had he faced the raps and spoke the truth instead of cowardly dimming the lights for a grand escape.

Also posted on http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8197668-suicide-hero