"If I will do it...who will"?
Posted on Sunday 20 March 2016
“If
I will not do it…who will?”
By Apolinario Villalobos
Until now, so many “friends” still keep on
asking why I am writing about other people’s lives. They can’t seem to
understand my objective to bring the virtues out of the subjects of my blogs to
inspire others. Obviously, these “friends” are the type of persons who are just
concerned about themselves.
These are also my supposed “friends” who
read my blogs without letting me know about it so that their “like” which is
one way of sounding off their view, will not add up to the other “likes” and
comments. They know that the more “like” my blogs generate the better
impression that my shared ideas give…which these “friends” do not like. By not
mentioning anything about my blogs every time we meet, they could have made me
feel better, but unfortunately, they pester me with annoying comments that are
tainted with hypocrisy.
These “friends” also cannot understand why
I go to the extent of exploring slums and befriend those who live on the
sidewalk. For the tenth time, I tell them that I just want to be authentic or
realistic in my presentation of what I write about. And, for the tenth time,
they also just shake their head in disbelief. They can’t imagine me eating
burnt rice with people I mention in my blogs, also eating with fingers, food
cooked out of the salvaged wilting vegetables with these same people. For them,
I am weird for doing those. My explanation to these “friends” that I relate
well with my subjects because I have been through such a life of want and
inadequacy, is futile.
Another thing that they cannot take is my
writing about the corrupt practices of some government officials and lawmakers.
They thought, they are helping me by giving admonition for me to leave these
maggots in the government alone. Understandably, these “friends” never care
because they are not affected as they are financially stable. They are not
affected by the traffic because they stay home most of the time and if they
venture out, they are driven by well-paid chauffer. They can’t feel the gnawing
effect of high prices of basic commodities because they lead a luxurious life.
In exasperation, just the other day, I
asked one of these “friends”……”if I will not do it, who will?”, adding
sarcastically, “why not try doing it as you might be able to write better than
I do?” I feel that he and the rest are just trying to pull me down. With such
kind of hypocrite crabs living with us, it is no wonder why the Philippines is
wallowing in a neck-deep muck of desolation.
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