Hypocrisy check: several times I had to go back to myself and drive a nail through my personal reason for disliking ABS-CBN. Several reasons, actually:
1. PBB - I just don’t see the point of gathering strangers under one roof to watch them back stab and front stab each other. Entertainment? Maybe. In the vernacular, kanya-kanyang trip lang yan. It’s just not for me. The way I see it, it’s a show that capitalizes on the Filipino’s fondness for watching people making an ass of themselves. With the morale of the nation as low as it is now, this show is not particularly helpful in any genuinely constructive way.
2. News anchormen – especially the guys, with the way they intentionally speak in booming baritone as though they were recording voices for a cartoon show instead of reporting the news… I just can’t force myself to take them seriously. It’s annoying as hell.
3. Shows that promote superstition – too freaking many to mention
4. Telenovelas – same old same old same old same old same old same old same old same old same old same old same old… *sigh*
5. Gimmickry of mimicry – are they unaware that the people know how they imitate GMA 7 at almost every turn or do they simply not care?
6. Wowowee – self-explanatory
Those are just a few. But I’m not going to specify all of my reasons here, for the simple reason that this post is not about bashing ABS-CBN. I stated the above merely to drive a point: I know ABS-CBN’s programming, and I don’t like it.
Common sense, right? In order to dislike or despise something or someone, you have to know it first. Especially if you’re going to share your disgust with like minds.
Everyone has freedom of preference. Freedom to opinion. Freedom to like or dislike anyone or anything.
But if your disgust is based on nothing but a superficial view of indirectly gathered, very third-hand information… or worse, if your disgust is based on nothing but gut feel, then what you have is nothing but prejudice.
Judgment without reason.
And you’re nothing but a bigot.
It’s like judging people based on skin color.
Because really, how could anyone of us hope to say that a person is bad when we don’t really know that person well? Or at all?
“Shit, sister, don’t talk to that guy/girl! He/she’s an ass/a bitch!”
Really?
We know this for a fact?
Do we even know that person enough to know this for a fact?
If we couldn’t answer Yes to anyone of the above, then we should just shut the hell up.
I mean, let’s get real. Let’s be practical and truthful. No one ever judges the merits (or lack thereof) of a book without reading it first, right?
Do you know that we’re answerable to God for every despicable judgment we make against anyone, no matter if it’s true or not? How much more answerable do you think we’d be if we unleash judgment that are unfounded, based on nothing, and made from a position of ignorance? Or worse yet, how much more answerable would we be for being libelous liars?
I’m thinking if we do this, we deserve to have our tongues nailed on a wall. Literally.
Being prejudicial is uncool, dudes and dudettes. Let’s stop while we still can.
