Author: dzandueta

I’m frankly not sure what to write about here this 2021, so I’ll write here my thoughts—especially my feelings—on something affecting me in that moment.

One thing I hope is my writing helps someone in some way. To become clear, to maybe disagree and offer another view, etc. I might even appreciate that disagreeing view so who knows.

Here’s to starting 2021 on a note that affects some change in some way.

Thanks to a book titled Principles by Ray Dalio, I’m writing down my set of principles.

This thing is a work in progress and my basis for my actions and decisions.  As time goes by, I’ll update my principles and their wording for (more) clarity—which anyone is welcome to use.

Well, here is version 1 of my principles.

• Mostly, I consider the public’s welfare at large above my own. By demonstrating that princple, I hope to show care and consideration for others even if they don’t.
• I strive to understand others as I learned how easy it is to be wrong about them.
• I ask feedback even if it hurts, so long as it’s honest and grounded in truth.
• I reserve judgment when I can.
• I tell people to tell me if I’m judging them harshly or without basis of fact.
• People judge. Unfortunately, some people (including me) misjudge.
• I help others when I can in some way, without compromising myself.
• People interpret as they see fit. While I can’t change how or what they interpret, always at that, I can ask them to clarify if ever.
• My own rule of thirds (that I learned from a media professional named Gerard Braud): a 3rd of people will agree with you, a 3rd won’t or will even despise you, and another 3rd will be undecided. Thus, the undecided is who I’ll attend to 1st.

Those are my principles for now. I’ll revisit them as time goes by, then update when needed.

Feel free to use the principles above or share yours.

I see people have been raging why the outrage for Kian Loyd delos Santos and not for victims of drug addicts. That’s so unfair, as those people say.

Maybe they’re right.

Some even cite an incident in Bulacan last June as a recent example of the lack of outrage for victims. Reports indicate a suspect or suspects, under the influence of drugs, raped two family members out of five before killing all of them. Based on that last sentence alone, people should feel outrage.

So what gives?

Now, I have some ideas (and some questions) that might help to make some sense of all this. But before I go on, let me be clear about a few things:

First, I write this post to express and not to impress.

Second, I write for what people want to know rather than what they want to hear.

Third, I write not to please anyone or any other interests but to share.

I might be wrong especially out of overthinking, any of you might be right somehow, no worries as long as all of us understand each other—and seek to understand this thing better.

Outrage, Then What?

Plenty of outrage to go around, really. Outrage for Kian, for drug addicts’ victims, for every other tragedy here that occurred.

On that Bulacan incident, by the way: if some of the comments here, here and here (which I know aren’t the best examples) are any indication, some people did express the same for those victims. Just not as much as the one generated by Kian’s tragedy.

At the least, we outrage for the sheer…outrage of the tragedy, which shouldn’t happen but did.

Is that all, though? Or we do such because, say, we want someone to do something about the tragedy?

If we want someone to do something about, say, that Bulacan incident, then we can rest assured that someone did. To be exact, police have a suspect in custody and charged that person. That’s what police should do in that instance, right?

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem the case with Kian. Worse is what happened to him can befall anyone as has befallen 27 other minors.

So unlike outrage towards a tragedy caused by drug addicts or similar, this one occurred due to people in authority. People entrusted by the public for protection, for safety, for peace and order. Even if some of them go rogue for whatever reason, then the government should pursue them—and drug suspects or other criminals—to assure the public that it’s handling the situation.

At least, that last part is what’s supposed to happen.

Is All This Unfair?

Yes, all this isn’t fair.

What happened to drug addicts’ victims isn’t fair. What happened to Kian isn’t fair, too.

I suppose Kian’s tragedy fueling outrage during the past few weeks over drug addicts’ victims isn’t fair as well. Last I checked, though, all that isn’t some competition for attention (albeit some people might put it that way). The government is attending to both of those and then some aside from its other problems.

What might help is to remember why all of it happened in the first place and what should happen after that.

So when a drug addict or more victimizes someone, then the government via its police should go after them. If the police victimizes someone, then the government should also go after the former. In either or both instances, can people trust the government to do its job?

And when a tragedy occurs, I hope people do more than just outrage.