Date/Time: September 26, 2011, 12:10 AM (Phil. Standard Time)
-----INCOMING TRANSMISSION-----
More than a year has passed...
For a simple person, everyday is just like the rest of his life: either trying to make a name at least for himself (something to remember him by), or just going to join the ever-massing sea of common folk on the streets. However for 44 Law students, it would be the day that left a lingering scar (in all aspects) on theirs.
It was a great shock for a lot of people when the 2010 Bar Exam Blast happened on the afternoon of this very same day. For those who previously lost loved ones due to hazing incidents, and those who did not even bother with extending sympathy, I can guess that they be saying "I told you so", maybe out of relief or scorning. I can, at some point understand where they are getting this, since either: A) they still have a trace of memory from that fateful moment that they lost someone close to them; or B) they all rely too much on how the media feed the stigma into them, thus brandishing all fraternities as a bunch of hooligans.
But how about the victims who received a shrapnel through their flesh? How about the three sorority members who, of all moments to be losing something, virtually lost their mobility for quite a long while? How about the other casualties, psychologically scarred from the sound of that Mk2 Grenade that sent shockwaves as it sent bits and pieces flying indiscrimately?
As one of the victims, and an erstwhile colleague in the field of campus journalism (despite me having retired for quite a while), have stated in her Facebook note:
"As someone from the outside looking in, it is easy to disengage your emotions and even feel apathy. But for us who have become the offended party, we are more involved and now, even more frustrated and disappointed that even to us future administrators of justice, it is elusive."As also a law student and an experienced visionary, I have long frowned upon the element of apathy in a culture-enriched community such as my country. It can, at one point rip apart the society from within, or open up an opportunity for others to destroy the same. I mean it has already happened to tightly-knit ones, from 9-26 to 9-11; it can, and probably will happen to a populace that does not even give a s**t.
I think it is about time we try to remove from ourselves that habit of locking ourselves away from the opportunity to extend sympathy. We are not mere organisms without backbone, without conscience, without even a speck of understanding or moral values (leave that to dictators, hot-blooded terrorists, or hypocrites who care for nothing but the urge to inflate their egos to the point of bursting).
It is also the right moment for everyone within fraternities, sororities, and what have you, to start policing their ranks for a change. They created their own society to promote the very essence of brotherhood/sisterhood; they must also know what their limitations are in the first place, before someone within them exploits them to the detriment of their reputation.
After all, we are all human beings, first and foremost. And we all have our responsibility to care for each other, all for the sake of preserving wisdom...
Ending this hodge-podged excuse for a commemorative essay, I gratefully extend my prayers for a proper closure for this event - with the realization of what really transpired, and of who the responsible parties really were...
"Tell me would you kill to save a life?
Tell me would you kill to prove you're right?"
- 30 Seconds to Mars, Hurricane
