Grin and Bear It

by Mr Oldtowner for Rus in Urbe September 17, 2008

“If you can not beat em join em,” thus is what the saying goes with alacrity even though it sounds like guile to the ears. And because freedom and democracy is what the people of today’s world is shouting about, they assert it with eagerness and in most cases using it irresponsibly.

Take for example the social illness that continues to bring damage to the community of people. The social illness that we know is huge and varies in degrees. And no one could put an end to it. Not even goodness could stop the persisting social illness in our surroundings. The cycle goes on and on as long as the human beings exist in this planet earth.

That is why the people in the know, particularly the authorities in association with the so-called social activists cum extremists were in connivance with each other in drafting new techniques in dealing with social illness. And take note, the highlight of this undertaking is all about unconventional social action. And they insisted the positive side of it.

The negative side of it is not an issue. All that it takes is the social acceptance on how to face the social illness by initiating the “if you can not beat em join em” kind of attitude. In which case, others could just grin and bear it so as to accept it as part of a new social order.

To illustrate an example of this new order is when the authorities shamelessly kowtow to the bad guys like gangs and fraternities (which is part of the social illness) doing malicious things in the community. When such an idea was initiated, it seemed like the authorities lost in their moral and legal battle to confront the recalcitrant organized bad eggs in the society.

Doing this kind of approach towards organized groups in a society where the people have had enough of gangs and fraternities loitering around like hyenas are senseless and impractical. Seeing the authorities and gangs and fraternities gathers in a venue assuring the other party of their existence in the community with a good pat on the back is absolutely illogical and immoral.

This is social diplomacy gone wrong. Tolerance to troublemakers is nuts. Helpless? Just grin and bear it. Baguio City is now leaning towards social activism laden with extremism.