A few months ago, being new on Twitter, I clicked "Follow" beside Jim Paredes' name. It wasn't long before I decided, without any second thoughts, to click "Unfollow". At first, I wondered if I would miss out on anything, but as it turns out, the only thing I would miss is his regular rants about, well, almost everything.
And then it happened: the now-infamous Jim Paredes vs. Gringo Honasan Twitter war on TweetConPH, which was hosted by Newsbreak on EDSA's 25th anniversary. Like many others logged onto the event's timeline at that moment, I felt embarrassed for being witness to two old men slapping each other silly. I wonder if one of them would ever apologize to the other for the harsh words exchanged publicly that day -- of all days, it was on the 25th anniversary of when PH was freed without bloodshed from a delirious tyrant. Shame on them both. I think they both owe us TweetConPH participants the apology even more because an argument like that shouldn't have played out publicly.
But, what disgusted me more was how Jim Paredes continued his tirade even after Gringo Honasan bowed out of a heated discussion that had clearly blown out of proportion. Para sya'ng naghahanap ng kakampi. What's up with that? A day of unity and freedom was suddenly turned into Jim Paredes Day on Twitter.
Yet, before that blew over, Mr. "Handog Ng Pilipino Sa Mundo" gave us something new to talk about: his reprimand for who he calls "armchair revolutionaries". Who are they? Well, they're just you, and me, and almost every blogger and social media user who posts/reposts, tweets/retweets, blogs, shares online information but, supposedly, do not get their tushies off their sweet comfy chairs to actually go out and get their hands dirty.
Riiiiight...
Hingang malalim.
I didn't want to post any reactions. Ayaw ko sana sya'ng patulan. But here is a guy who is so full of himself, he just had to open his big mouth and spew out stuff so nasty that even people who have un-followed him on Twitter still got burned. What is this about, really? Is he going through some sort of mid-life crisis, and the only way he could deal with his frustrations now is to keep ranting about everything and everyone? Including social media, a tool that he uses frequently to display all his oh-so-precious thoughts about the world? Pasalamat nga ako that there are now more Pinoys learning to put social media to good use, especially when the need arises for them to do so. It seems that Jim Paredes needs a lesson about social media.
Before social media became the living organism that we know it to be now, we had only traditional and limited means of communication. Information had to go through gatekeepers (i.e., journalists) and other media. But now, information sources/seekers themselves are able to take action based on reliable 1:1 knowledge sharing. Granted, we still have much to learn about verifying information, but the technology available now makes doing even that easier and faster.
Case in point: Operation Ondoy. No one can ever refute that it was the united army of armchair revolutionaries that got things going -- in less than 2 hours after the floods began wreaking havoc upon Metro Manila, when it took the NDCC forever to get their act together. In less than 10 hours, private citizens had already banded together in an organized manner with various groups, including the Phil. Red Cross, the Army, the Navy, the Coast Guard, various media outlets, surfers, divers, dragonboat rowers, churches, truck owners, etc. via the social media machine. As rescue efforts went underway, it was also the armchair revolutionaries who had the foresight to immediately organize relief operations -- within 4 hours after the floods rose. How do I know these? Because I was one of those lowly, lazy bums that Jim Paredes chided.
I even told some friends that I felt guilty for not doing more than collating and dispatching information. I wanted to also help gather donations and deliver relief goods to the shelters. But at the time, the fractured bones in my left leg were still healing after an accident, so being an armchair revolutionary was all I could be. But my friends assured me that I was doing a great thing; one of them even called me "command center". They said that because of my tireless updates, people were getting mobilized to do various things. They knew where next to go, who to contact, what else to do.
Yes, I am an armchair revolutionary. I still am.
Hey, Jim Paredes, remember Radikal Chick? She's also an armchair revolutionary. You pissed her off, too, and she wrote you a letter.
Let's not forget that it was also the armchair revolutionaries that stopped the horrendous mistake that was "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" from being launched into global shame. It is armchair revolutionaries who make up the influential and inspiring hashtag #helpDOT, which is doing what PKG failed to do. It was armchair revolutionaries who spread the word about Bgy. Ayala Alabang's warped RH ordinance. It was armchair revolutionaries who first took up their torches and spread the fire started by Carlos Celdran when he silently protested "DAMASO". It was armchair revolutionaries who helped put the Azkals on the world's consciousness by making #Azkals (as well as #Younghusband) top trending topics during their games. It is armchair revolutionaries who are persistently reminding Pinoys to vote for the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature". It is armchair revolutionaries who created awareness about the mining-related violence and politics in Palawan. The list goes on and on and on.
In case you haven't noticed, Jim Paredes, armchair revolutionaries are the ones who care the most, because social media gives us the ability to participate in more causes in more ways than just going out and getting our hands dirty literally. If you must know, I also do get off my chair and actually take part in the action. But, getting information out -- and persistently -- is an equally challenging thing to do. Making people aware and pushing essential knowledge out -- that's not easy to do. And because social media gives us access to not just 1, not 2, not 3, but 20, 50, 100, or even 1000 people immediately, then that gives us armchair revolutionaries reason to keep doing our part right where we are.
Also remember that maybe most of us armchair revolutionaries need to stay in our armchairs at work, so that we can also keep a roof over our heads and warm food in our tummies, as we help keep our advocacies alive. No sense helping others if you can't first take care of yourself.
Next time you pick a fight, Jim Paredes, maybe you ought to first consider on whose toes you're stepping. There's a whole army of us Armchair Revolutionaries. We are not the enemy, so don't mess with us.
And then it happened: the now-infamous Jim Paredes vs. Gringo Honasan Twitter war on TweetConPH, which was hosted by Newsbreak on EDSA's 25th anniversary. Like many others logged onto the event's timeline at that moment, I felt embarrassed for being witness to two old men slapping each other silly. I wonder if one of them would ever apologize to the other for the harsh words exchanged publicly that day -- of all days, it was on the 25th anniversary of when PH was freed without bloodshed from a delirious tyrant. Shame on them both. I think they both owe us TweetConPH participants the apology even more because an argument like that shouldn't have played out publicly.
But, what disgusted me more was how Jim Paredes continued his tirade even after Gringo Honasan bowed out of a heated discussion that had clearly blown out of proportion. Para sya'ng naghahanap ng kakampi. What's up with that? A day of unity and freedom was suddenly turned into Jim Paredes Day on Twitter.
Yet, before that blew over, Mr. "Handog Ng Pilipino Sa Mundo" gave us something new to talk about: his reprimand for who he calls "armchair revolutionaries". Who are they? Well, they're just you, and me, and almost every blogger and social media user who posts/reposts, tweets/retweets, blogs, shares online information but, supposedly, do not get their tushies off their sweet comfy chairs to actually go out and get their hands dirty.
Riiiiight...
Hingang malalim.
I didn't want to post any reactions. Ayaw ko sana sya'ng patulan. But here is a guy who is so full of himself, he just had to open his big mouth and spew out stuff so nasty that even people who have un-followed him on Twitter still got burned. What is this about, really? Is he going through some sort of mid-life crisis, and the only way he could deal with his frustrations now is to keep ranting about everything and everyone? Including social media, a tool that he uses frequently to display all his oh-so-precious thoughts about the world? Pasalamat nga ako that there are now more Pinoys learning to put social media to good use, especially when the need arises for them to do so. It seems that Jim Paredes needs a lesson about social media.
Before social media became the living organism that we know it to be now, we had only traditional and limited means of communication. Information had to go through gatekeepers (i.e., journalists) and other media. But now, information sources/seekers themselves are able to take action based on reliable 1:1 knowledge sharing. Granted, we still have much to learn about verifying information, but the technology available now makes doing even that easier and faster.
Case in point: Operation Ondoy. No one can ever refute that it was the united army of armchair revolutionaries that got things going -- in less than 2 hours after the floods began wreaking havoc upon Metro Manila, when it took the NDCC forever to get their act together. In less than 10 hours, private citizens had already banded together in an organized manner with various groups, including the Phil. Red Cross, the Army, the Navy, the Coast Guard, various media outlets, surfers, divers, dragonboat rowers, churches, truck owners, etc. via the social media machine. As rescue efforts went underway, it was also the armchair revolutionaries who had the foresight to immediately organize relief operations -- within 4 hours after the floods rose. How do I know these? Because I was one of those lowly, lazy bums that Jim Paredes chided.
I even told some friends that I felt guilty for not doing more than collating and dispatching information. I wanted to also help gather donations and deliver relief goods to the shelters. But at the time, the fractured bones in my left leg were still healing after an accident, so being an armchair revolutionary was all I could be. But my friends assured me that I was doing a great thing; one of them even called me "command center". They said that because of my tireless updates, people were getting mobilized to do various things. They knew where next to go, who to contact, what else to do.
Yes, I am an armchair revolutionary. I still am.
Hey, Jim Paredes, remember Radikal Chick? She's also an armchair revolutionary. You pissed her off, too, and she wrote you a letter.
Let's not forget that it was also the armchair revolutionaries that stopped the horrendous mistake that was "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" from being launched into global shame. It is armchair revolutionaries who make up the influential and inspiring hashtag #helpDOT, which is doing what PKG failed to do. It was armchair revolutionaries who spread the word about Bgy. Ayala Alabang's warped RH ordinance. It was armchair revolutionaries who first took up their torches and spread the fire started by Carlos Celdran when he silently protested "DAMASO". It was armchair revolutionaries who helped put the Azkals on the world's consciousness by making #Azkals (as well as #Younghusband) top trending topics during their games. It is armchair revolutionaries who are persistently reminding Pinoys to vote for the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature". It is armchair revolutionaries who created awareness about the mining-related violence and politics in Palawan. The list goes on and on and on.
In case you haven't noticed, Jim Paredes, armchair revolutionaries are the ones who care the most, because social media gives us the ability to participate in more causes in more ways than just going out and getting our hands dirty literally. If you must know, I also do get off my chair and actually take part in the action. But, getting information out -- and persistently -- is an equally challenging thing to do. Making people aware and pushing essential knowledge out -- that's not easy to do. And because social media gives us access to not just 1, not 2, not 3, but 20, 50, 100, or even 1000 people immediately, then that gives us armchair revolutionaries reason to keep doing our part right where we are.
Also remember that maybe most of us armchair revolutionaries need to stay in our armchairs at work, so that we can also keep a roof over our heads and warm food in our tummies, as we help keep our advocacies alive. No sense helping others if you can't first take care of yourself.
Next time you pick a fight, Jim Paredes, maybe you ought to first consider on whose toes you're stepping. There's a whole army of us Armchair Revolutionaries. We are not the enemy, so don't mess with us.
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