Thursday, February 19, 2004

Love Affairs with the Right Things



Passion is the thing, the force that keeps us alive.



This is not a belated offshoot of some Valentine notions of romance—but Valentines Day did serve as a catalyst for much thinking in my part as the previous Saturday unfolded in front of me in an orgy of hearts, roses, self-conscious lovers, and satisfied stomachs during what is proving to be not just a feast for the hearts, but also a feast for the gut. In the middle of the semi-crowded City Burger along Real Street, while eating sweet barbecued chicken (all they had left were paa—the harried waiters were constantly apologizing about quickly running out of pecho, even the night was still young), I had thought: “All these for a bogus Saint meeting some death… all these in the name of love.”



Of course, I was being cynical, if only partially. My generation, steeped in Marxism and social constructivism, has been well-taught in regarding the whole Valentine exercise as a Corporate Gimmick, which has become so much like Christmas—using what was once real and touchy-feely into a simple matter of merchandise (roses, chocolates, gifts, dinner reservations at the swankiest restaurants…). But advancing age (I am 28) has allowed me to mellow a bit, taking matters a bit less seriously, conscious still of the hidden agenda of “traditions,” but finally allowing a bit of nonchalance to enter life. So we went ahead and celebrated Valentines Day. Not in some overpriced restaurant, but in City Burger—cheaper and with better chicken, and blessed by open skies and stars. There were so many stars that Valentines night.



Between the shadows, around full tables, and in the traffic of people coming in and out of City Burger, it hit me: passion is the thing, the force that keeps us alive, and sane.



It keeps us on our toes, and it keeps us going at it in the grind of life, and despite so much odds: the obnoxious banalities and sameness of days, for example, or the wrath and cunning of fat, vagina-less women, or congressmen drafting bills that promise to be environmentally unsound as to kill lakes.



I am not making any sense right now, but I will be.



Passion.



“Passion” was what made Razceljan Luis Salvarita, Bacolod-and-Dumaguete wonderkid and prolific visual artist, to strip down to his briefs two weeks ago, paint the entirety of his body white, and parade around Dumaguete City, carrying a placard that carried an environmental message to save Lake Balinsasayao.



On any ordinary day and without extraordinary circumstances, he would have been deemed crazy, or at least plucky enough to do such a stunt. Naked! And walking around the streets in Dumaguete City! The tongues about town would surely cluck.



This time, the tongues did cluck, but positively. Razcel’s near-nudity (he had wanted to go all the way, but his teachers at the Silliman University School of Communication had wisely suggested to retain the underwear—or else face up to some ordinance dictating “public decency”) created media waves, even as far as Manila.





That's Donnie Calsena putting on white paint on Razcel.





Razcel on intersection of Perdices Street.



(Photos courtesy of fellow artist Michael Angelo Alano. Click here for the story and more pictures in the Manila Independent Media Collective Website.)



What was his cause?



The wisest thing to do to answer that question is to quote, verbatim, the entirety of his press release: “We, the youth of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, appeal to the Protected Area Management Board of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park (BTLNP), our Senators, Congressmen, and local government officials to hear our appeal to save the forests of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park.



“We are opposed to the approval of House Bill No. 1462 which seeks to reduce the area of the BTLNP from 8,749 hectares to a mere 3,749 hectares. The Protected Area Management Board of the BTLNP has decided to allow the Philippine National Oil Corporation to use the 5,000 hectares of forest for energy generation.



“We believe that reducing the already small forest area will compromise the integrity of the fresh water supply not only of Dumaguete City but also the adjacent towns of Sibulan, San Jose, and Valencia, which depend on this important watershed area, and we cannot give up this area even for ‘development purposes.’



“We believe that this move will compromise the last remaining habitat of southern Negros’s endangered and critically-endangered wildlife like the Philippine Spotted Deer, the Writhed Billed Hornbill, the Negros Bleeding Heart Pigeon, Golden-Crowned Flying Fox, the Negros Shrew, the Philippine Leopard Cat, the Philippine Tube-nosed Fruit Bat, and the Negros Forest Frog among others. We believe that the environment does not have to be sacrificed for the development and that alternative options for the sustainable development of Negros Oriental exists.



“We believe that water and biodiversity are more important than electricity. Development is important, but water is more essential. Without it, there will be no development, and no life. We appeal to our government officials to realize that they are putting out future at risk with this move to reduce the area of the BTLNP to less than half of its original size. We have less than three percent (3%) forest cover left on Negros Island and we just cannot afford to lose more. We assert our right to a secure future in an ecologically-stable society, in a world where we will not worry where our water will come from, where we will not worry about flashfloods when the heavy rains come, and where we can still enjoy the value of thriving biodiversity in living forests and not just in books.”



I don’t know how much this stunt by Razcel can affect the outcome of such legislative moves, but as of last weekend, the author of that bill, Rep. Emilio Macias III (whom I will not be voting for in the coming elections), has told MetroPost: “The Bill is dead.”



Remarkably, passion can indeed affect change.



This is the same call for change that ignites the efforts of another person of passion from Silliman University, Psychology instructor Bing Valbuena who, together with Dr. Margie Udarbe-Alvarez, is the captain at the helm of this year’s celebration of VDay.



“Again?” some people have queried me, quietly reminding me that last year we had also celebrated VDay and punctuated it with a brash and wildly successful performance of Eve Ensler’s powerful play The Vagina Monologues in Silliman Hall, directed by Laurie Raymundo.



“And why not?” I would reply back. VDay’s motto, after all, is “Until the Violence Stops.” Violence against women, that is. And has it stopped? Coming off a year that featured, among other things, the Dumaguete Sex Scandal, one guesses that the answer is “no.”



We need VDay to remind us over and over again that this type of advocacy is necessary, that there will always be more and more people to reach out to, to inform and enlighten. Even among the educated ranks of the university, there is a particular woman—a woman!—who deems all of these activities “immoral,” and has quietly engineered difficulties for the ragtag band of organizers.



Let us see, in detail, what she considers immoral:



“VDay is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls,” so goes the official line describing the celebration, ”a palpable energy, and a fierce catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. The celebrations hopes to broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence against women and girls including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation, and sexual slavery.



“Through VDay campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities. VDay itself stages large-scale benefits and promotes innovative gatherings and programs (The Afghan Women’s Summit, The Stop Rape Contest, Indian Country Project, and more) to change social attitudes towards violence against women. In 2002, more than 800 V-Day benefit events were presented by local volunteer activists around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. The V-Day movement is growing at a rapid pace throughout the world.”



This is immoral?



We are continuing the tradition this year knowing that part of the deal of celebrating VDay is the inevitable encounter with small minds and constricted hearts (and vaginas?). Part of this celebration, which starts February, is the staging of Ensler’s play, this time in a bigger and more plush venue (Luce Auditorium on the 12th of March), plus other activities including V-Talk, a forum on women’s issues, V-Walk, a torch parade to raise public awareness on the same, and V-Art and Poetry, a celebration of the more artistic side of the month-long event.



The fruits of passion beget change for, really, a better, more livable world.



[Thanks to Tagabukid in the City for the link]


[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

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