Realizing "Supersize Me"

Yes, there are lots of thoughts in my head. But, I just have enough time for a number of them. I have to pick what I want to write about. And, here is what I would like to write about last for "tonight" (technically, it is morning already, but I shall consider and call it night because it is dark):

I just had a McDonald's cheeseburger value meal with large fries, and a big plastic cup of Coke. I call them now as a value meal, but later I will refer to them as "value meals" with double open-close quotes. But, to tell you honestly, what I just wanted was a large fries (in McDo terms, it was actually just medium), and a cheeseburger. I craved for it when I saw an amateur video online that, for a very brief moment, displayed a cheeseburger on top of a table (of course, it was at a McDonald's).

I then decided to grab my wallet with me and head straight to the nearest McDo franchise -- the one in Quirino Station. I am staying at a condo unit here in Manila to be able to focus more on my thesis, and give it more time (not really sure if that is what's exactly happening, haha, but it helps if school is a lot closer and nearer, based on experience).

I walked my way to McDonalds; it was just a 5-10 minute walk from the condominium tower I was staying in. I brought with me my all-time favorite Walkman that was about to die from a low-battery (its LED indicator was already blinking orange, and I have forgotten to charge it for a few days now).

When I got to McDo, it was a relief except that the queue was a bit long. I got there at around 11:15-11:30, and got back home at around 11:45. But, anyway, when I got my turn to order, I first asked the lady in the counter about my options for ordering. I already had what I want in mind, but I had to ask how things work. For a first, I felt like I had a choice, but then the reality of McDonald's "Supersize Me" ideal set in a bit later.

I wanted me some Large Fries (again, a medium for McDo) and a single Cheeseburger. I didn't want any drinks. I'd rather drink water at home than drink a really cold (plastic) cup of Coke (or some other softdrink). I usually don't finish them anyway, and I just do because of the feeling of waste whenever I leave food or drinks unfinished. I also remembered them never asking me what I wanted for a drink, because they just served me with a Coke. What if I did not want a Coke, but wanted something else? Well, I will reserve my thoughts about that for later. So there, what I had in mind was the two food items. The only thing left is making clear to the order-taker what I had in mind, so she gets it fully well because it wasn't a "value meal" that everyone orders. It wasn't a package that McDo perfectly cut for a regular "Juan" or "Joe", if you will. It was a menu that I created for myself.

I should not forget to mention that they had a menu of "budget" food items. You can order a small-sized french fries for 25 bucks, and a cheeseburger for 39 bucks. That was a total of 64 bucks. But, I also saw in their menu that you just had to add 10 bucks to upsize your french fries (or get a large one). So, that is what I wanted. I wanted to spend 74 bucks to get a cheeseburger, and an upsized, or "large" fries. Without drinks, I must not forget.

So, I asked away, and what followed was the reply of the lady. I first asked, to verify, how much the large fries would cost. She said that it costs 50-something bucks. Gosh. That was one and the most surprising response I got there. It was the most surprising, because the reality later set in, and there was more learning afterwards. It was the defining moment that set the whole mood of my experience this night in McDonald's. If you do not order the "value meal" (the one with the drink on it), you'll have to pay a bigger sum. I was of course shocked, and asked why it was so priced like that. The explanation was quite ambiguous and I only understood later that they do not sell "medium-sized" french fries, which is what I wanted. They only sold "large" fries, which is only available when you order a "value meal". I am the one who will "consume"; in this case, the one who will eat. And, what I wanted for food was just the cheeseburger and my "large" fries. But, later on I realized that McDonald's wanted something for me from the very start.

I can vent out my disappointed at the cashier, or their manager, but I also realized that they are not my enemy. They may be part of this oppressing system, but they are also only just victims like everyone else. They work to get paid. They only tell you what they're told to tell you. Some may tell you more, but it's not the usual thing that would happen when you walk into a McDo store on a a regular day.

I got confused. I thought I had a choice, and that I could make a wise decision when I entered the doorsteps of McDonald's. I thought that I was going to be a wise buyer, and maximize my funds while I am away from home, from Laguna. I thought that I could spend my money well, and probably even get to try out some "nasty" food like those from fastfood stores (McDo, etc.), and street sides (barbecues), and expensive foods like those from convenience stores (Mini Stop, etc.), and from wee bit expensive restaurants along Taft.

But, I realized that this is where the reality of domination sets in. This is how controlling corporations can be. In a desire to standardize, to maximize profit, and to streamline the processes in selling fastfood, customers have less choices, less power, and less of everything (health and whatnot). But, the individual customer does not readily realize that, especially the majority of eaters. However, if from a bigger point of view, it can be seen how massive and detrimental is the effect of this corporate thinking of domination and profit. What makes it more doable is just you are trying to scatter the bad effects to a vast number of consumers, not a single one, so it is not easily perceived nor felt.

In my opinion, we need knowledge, and we can use it to obtain power. Our decisions and actions are the realizations of our potential, and our power. It is our own personal power if it isn't (our decisions) driven or pushed by other beings, big or small, be us aware or unaware of it. This kind of knowledge, this truth, gives freedom. From this thought, I will quote a popular biblical passage about truth:

"³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -- John 8:32

The truth indeed empowers, and sets free those who are enslaved by the powers of deceit. Ignorance is a great cause for inferiority. Another biblical passage that I would like to quote is the following:

"⁶ my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." -- Hosea 4:6

To continue my story about my night with a McDonald's meal, I ended up eating what I originally did not intend to have. I did not really want large fries, or at least the "large" size that McDonald's have in mind. That is a simple but grand display of how invisible yet tangible the imposing power of corporations like McDonald's is. I only wanted the "medium" one, for the money I intended to buy the food with. Next, I'm glad I had the cheeseburger. But, I did not want the Coke. Aside from me hating that extra sugar that stains my teeth, what could be worse is to have a large-sized one (a medium for McDonald's), and I just had one. Plus, all at the extra cost. I could have re-done my calculation, but things would be more complicated. The people behind the line I was in would start to complain, and the cashier would have to ask their manager to "void" my initial orders if I would try to experiment to find out what the perfect order combination for me would be. From that scene alone, it can be seen that I, the consumer, is not the only powerless. Even the layman who works for the "god" that is McDo does not have power. They need to ask a superior to "void" a simple change of order. That complexity in the process, that hierarchy makes it more difficult for people to be more flexible in their decisions, and to customize according to their needs.

You do not really have much of a choice when you step in a McDonald's, especially if you're just one small citizen. It's either you order what they tell you to order, both implied and intrinsic, or get nothing at all. Or, maybe you'll get to have what you want, but at the cost of making a scene.

Some of the other realizations I gained from this night's McDonald's experience also include the realization of why I dislike fastfood, and do not know why exactly. I'm glad I am able to understand it much clearer, if not the clearest. It's that feeling of being powerless, of having to do what McDonald's tells you to do, instead of you having the power to do what you want to do for yourself. It's that fact that you don't know what or what they do not put into your food--what you are taking and, or what you are missing. It's that deceiving label of a "value meal", if it really is for the consumers, or if it is for their corporation. Is it about the kids who know nothing about the dynamics and complexities of power, or is it about that red-head clown who hides a wicked, scary smile, and has the capacity for infernal thinking?

In a tiny way I can relate this to my discussion with a friend about the feebleness and the deceitful nature of the broadband companies in the Philippines. It started when I complained about how fast the internet was for a moment, and how rare that happened. I also expressed how I expect it to not last, as it has always happened. Then, my mate told me how misleading the ad that the internet service providers claim of their service as "4G", while in fact it is only 3G / HSDPA. I then linked to that chain the earlier instance when Smart Broadband (Smart Bro) first branded itself as Smart Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a wrong term to refer to wireless broadband internet connection (what a loser, I exclaimed to myself during my conversation with the said friend). They (Smart) later changed their name to Smart Bro.

The talk went on to discussing how national politics, capitalism, ignorance, and the opportunistic grab and claim of power from the people's ignorance comes into play. At one point I expressed how I think that the citizens do not have power, in the form of the government protecting them, because the government itself is not powerful enough (or knowledgeable enough for that matter) to take this issue in its hands. There are lots of other stuff that I feel like the government cannot handle well yet for them to start delving into this issue about consumer rights, and a stronger protection of that entitlement.

Boy, am I glad I am not a commoner who lack knowledge about these things, although I may still be really ignorant. I am open to the fact that I may think that I know, but really do not. But, at least, I am proud to have been able to talk about this pressing issue on how the "big players" in the world oppress the small ones. It is better than being like straw, pushed to and fro by the wind, carried by and to wherever the wind blows*. I want to grow up standing on my own feet, treading places where I know I must go, not to where the clouds whisper to my ear that I go.

Notes: It took me a half-hour to at most an hour to finish this. Ugh! I am sleeping late again. :(

The friend I had a discussion with was Justin Go, who is also my thesis-mate. I am hoping to pass this project, despite the negative thoughts that I share with my other colleague, who is also named Matthew. We share the same thoughts because we are assigned to code the whole project, and we know what's going on.

I am also relating this again to my previous post about the question "What is Evil?" (Find post here: http://thedaywriter.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-destruction-only-evil.html)

I have high respect for the bible for the wisdom hidden within the folds of its pages and its words. Here is another one to quote about what I noted on ignorance, immaturity, and powerlessness (I have previously marked it in my writing with an asterisk):

* "¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming." -- Ephesians 4:14

The problem with generalizing rich people like Villar.

Note: we should learn how to differentiate people who got rich by corruption versus with hard-work.

Ang problema sa mga mahihirap, o karamihan ng mga mahihirap, o middle class, na people is kapag merong mayayaman like Villar, nagiging umaasa sa pera ni Villar instead of standing on their own feet. Dapat magsumikap din sila hindi yung hingi lang ng pera kay Villar. Di porke't merong pera ang isang mayaman o pulitiko, ipamimigay na yan sa mga mahihirap. Dapat pa ding gastusin ng matalino para tumagal at maging mas mapapakinabangan sa pang-matagalan.

Yung mga tao kasi biased kaagad kay Villar na "bakit hindi mo na lang ipamigay mo yan sa mga mahihirap, mangungurakot ka lang, mahal mo yung pera kaya hindi mo minumudmod pera mo sa kanila". Maling pag-iisip yun. Walang matalinong tao ang gagawa noon. Pang mga makikitid lang ang utak iyon. Hihirap ka sa ganong pag-iisip.

Dapat hindi sarado isip ng mga tao, at MABILIS manghusga kay Villar, o kahit sa ibang mga taong YUMAMAN HINDI DAHIL SA PANGUNGURAKOT. Ang nangyayari pa nga ngayon ay mas sinusuportahan pa yung mga kurakot na yumaman na pulitiko, kesho daw magaling, tapos si Villar kurakot daw eh hindi naman kilala at binatuhan lang ng mga isyu nitong eleksyon (para hindi manalo, the way I see it). Kabulagan para sa'ken yon.

Bottom-line: WE MISSED YOU VILLAR. :P

"Let's be part of the solution, and not contribute to the headache by being part of the problem."

Noynoy's Leadership in Facebook Perspective (A Youth's Perspective)

Noynoy's Leadership in Facebook Perspective (A Youth's Perspective)

I've been reading some write-ups about why Noynoy should not be voted for as president this coming 2010. However, I do not intend to discuss anything about that. I only wish to discuss how disorderly and inappropriate the comments in Noynoy's Faceboy fanpage are, specifically those made by Admin-2 who calling himself as "Pogi". This is so because I believe that it has some bearing about how his leadership might be if elected. Let us not box ourselves, though.

Why I Supported Noynoy

I have been a supporter of Noynoy for a number of reasons. The greatest of them is that I believe that Noynoy's campaign is not for himself, but for the people around him. This can be good, but it cannot be denied that it can also be a bad thing. I still believed, though, that he is a great unifying tool. Filipinos are not really as united as they could be the last year 2009, except during the demise of our late President Corazon Aquino.

As a youth, it is a momentous and amazing sight to see people gather together just to express their gratefulness for President Cory. I was on the road the day that Pres. Cory was scheduled to be delivered to her mausoleum. The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) was closed. And, at the time that Pres. Cory's parade was along SLEX already, people were gathering up, both young and old. In my mind I find it senseless because majority of them probably only know very little about who Pres. Cory was aside from what can be seen on TV and other media. I can say that because it speaks true for myself. I have a habit of not celebrating anything that I do not fully understand.

However, as much as I am against going with the bandwagon, I could not help but feel the sincerity of the people to extend their condolence. And, what I liked most about it was, being my first time to behold such an historical event, the way that I felt like it was surreal due to the flock of people. Unity might be the closest word I can describe it with. It was really historical. I have never seen anything like it.

Senator Noynoy's Outstanding Advocacy

After that event, people started coaxing Noynoy to run for President. It started out as a little impractical suggestion for me at first. I doubted that it would be good for Noynoy to take on that proposition because it would clearly be a display of him using his parents' names. But, as time went on, I saw politicians only seeking after the good of their own name. There were those who were fighting over who gets to bear the flag of being the next big politician boss. It was a tragedy. Nobody wanted to lay down his or her own crown (except, maybe, Senator Chiz).

Then again, Senatory Noynoy came back to the picture. He was the perfect tool to stop it all. He was not after his own name at all. This time, he was after the name of his parents (as he so declares in his TV "infomercials"), and the cries of the people who wanted somebody who could lead, and who could unify them. I believe that this is Senatory Noynoy's advocacy, and this is the reason why I supported him.

A Glimpse of What Noynoy's Leadership Can Be (In the Eyes of An Innocent Youth)

As a sign of my support for Senator Noynoy's plausible advocacy, I became a supporter of his Facebook fanpage. It was not something that I would usually do. I do not like tangling myself with politics and doing something that a lot of people would do. However, I found it worth doing. I even followed some of the admin's suggestion to add everyone on my friends list, which I did. Normally, too, I would not do it. I do not like being sent mass invites to, and so I do not wish to do so to others. But, I overcame it in the end. I have also noticed that I was posting on Noy's Facebook page some supportive articles about Noynoy.

It was until one time that I noticed a particular post of another supporter that mocked another political candidate. As a natural response, I commented on it saying that it was not appropriate to do especially on Senatory Noynoy's Facebook page. Proper respect and only appropriate content/comments should ideally be there. As Noynoy supporters ask the other camps to stop their trolling, I believe that they should also not commit the same acts. It is a simple application of the golden rule: do not do unto others what you do not want others to do to you. I added a comment to reverse the message of the post by stating some real facts just to balance things out. It was just a simple act of loving an enemy, even just in the field of politics.

"Trolling" (definition: informal Computing an e-mail message or posting on the Internet intended to provoke an indignant response in the reader) is rampant across different Presidential candidates' Facebook pages. The admins in fact always send messages against its practice.

The responses I received were the most unexpected and shocking of all, especially that of the admin's. Instead of the admin correcting and regulating the original post of mockery, I was the one who got banned. My initial reply post stated that we should not bash others nor play that/their type of game because Noy supporters know better. It was so ironic that it got deleted by the admin, considering the message. The admin then left my second reply post stating some real facts about the mocked candidate, just to balance things out. It then turned out, as wonderfully orchestrated by the admin, to look like I was a supporter of that "other" candidate whom another Noy supporter mocked. (But then, even if I really was, but sadly am not, I should not have been banned from posting any questions.)

Other replies started flooding in. Most of them approved of the mockery that the original post contained. The others threw insults at me. I did not mind it because I know that they simply do not understand the situation. But, ideally speaking, people should not hastily comment whatever the situation may be. It is simple wisdom in words. But then, I might also be a student if we talk about wisdom in words.

The most horrific reply was that of the admin. To be specific, it was Admin-2 who claimed his name to be "Pogi". He began throwing childish and cowardly insults. He even condoned and honored the original post that mocked another political candidate. The worst was that later, he started throwing questions directed to me like, "hey Matthew, where are you now? You've been gone for an hour. Seems like you've chickened out." He did that in front of his audience who were beginning to praise what he was doing. What's most funny and infuriating about it is that he knows I cannot respond to any of the posts, not even clear/clarify myself because he blocked me. In my head was the question if it was appropriate for an admin of Noy's cyber image to do that. He carried Noy's image over the internet, and he should be more careful with his words. Also, he is under Noy's flagship. Anything he does can reflect Senator Noy's name.

I got banned by the admin from posting any more replies. I wanted to clarify myself and protect my dignity. I also wished to save myself from being wrongly framed of being anti-Noy for I was not like that at all. The claim was the exact opposite of who I was, finding out later on that it might actually be a good stand. However, from thereon, I just could not reply anymore. Worse is that I got banned from using Facebook for a time just a few moments after the incident. Someone might have reported my profile as offensive just because of that. People I do not know might have done it.

I am not alone in this event. I can only speak of my own story, but there are others who experienced the same thing. In fact, that admin is also victimizing others by now. If people ask or show doubt about Senatory Noy's capabilities, or even just ask the simplest but most honest of questions about him, they get blocked for the simple reason that the question might not be the most favorable to Senator Noy. Admin-2 is even scouting for some of the people he banned/blocked from replying, then starts taking a screenshot of their names only to post it on Noy's page to be ridiculed by him and other supporters. What's more saddening is that others get sent foul words by Noynoy supporters on Facebook, by people they do not know.

What Do Noynoy Supporters Really Fight For?

Wow. Is that what Noy's fight is all about, since his fight is for what the people wants? Will the Noynoy administration not be able to accept any questions from civilians who might act unfavorably towards Sen. Noy? Will they only listen to what they believe in and close their eyes and ears from the others who do not agree with them? This is really saddening. What's more frightening is that Noynoy's supporter on Facebook is growing in number by the day. I can only hope that those numbers are not representative of the real turnout of votes. Because, from what those numbers have shown through their responses, I can only conclude that most of them are blind followers.

I think that one lesson here is that we should not only look to politicians or political leaders for solutions. We must also check if we ourselves have the right reasons to fight for. This country gets corrupted not only be our leaders' deeds, but also of our own as well. As I have shared to some of my friends, "the only corruption we can eliminate is our own".

Preparedness: An Ingredient of the Bigger Recipe

This really is not a reason for me to not vote for Noynoy. But, this event just gave me a picture of what could happen under Senator Noynoy's leadership. Yes, he might have noble advocacies, but is that enough? Unity might be a good ingredient for good governance. But, that does not complete the recipe.

Things should be done at the right time. Even our good Lord Jesus Christ exemplified this through His own life. He did not show up until the time was right, that was when He was on his thirtieth (30th) year. Only little has been detailed about His younger years, because it was simply just not His time yet. Yes, He was the Messiah, but He was not sent on to His mission until He was prepared, until it was time.

May God bless the Philippines!

Disclaimer: these are only my opinion. I hope that nobody take this against me. We all have our right to express our opinions, and I ask that mine be respected. I do not intend to go against any group or personality. I shared my sentiments to this group because I have faith that the members here have high respect for others' thoughts.

P.S.

Writer's notes: okay na sana lahat eh... wag lang sana yung i-block ako na gumamit ng Facebook para lang sa maliit at walang kakwenta-kwentang away-pulitikang yun? Pathetic! Hehe. :p

Jonathan Swift - "May you live every day of your life."