Netnet Camomot
READING old newspapers is like reading about history. You already know who won, who lost, and who pretended to win even if he lost. That last one is still in constant denial and may make more attempts in the future to grab the top seat which he continues to aspire for. Unless it's his boss ordering him to grab the seat.
His boss became our neighbor for a day. I'm not telling the how, where and when, but I could have crossed the short distance between us, knocked on his door, and asked how he's doing.
I almost voted for that boss in the last election because I pitied him. There were rumors he was sick, which should be bad news to the voter, but there I was, thinking, Wawa naman, enough to convince me he deserves one more chance to occupy the top seat in the city. I shared this with my family and friends, and their reaction was one and the same: Whaaaaat?!
Each candidate, no matter the bad press he has to deal with, is a human being. He was once a baby, dependent on his parents during the first years of his life in this wonderful world. But then, he grows up, becomes a politician, and the image of the cute baby is gone forever.
Still, you're aware of the cute baby lurking inside the politician's brain, ready to be revealed to this present world his adult version now lives in.
If only the skeptical and cynical voter could see the baby version. But of course he doesn't as he learns about the allegations being hurled against the politician, including the graft and corruption the latter reportedly plays around with.
Yes, he still plays, but not like a baby anymore--his toys have morphed from rattles to, hmmm, rattlesnakes? You know, ahas, halas, snakes.
The Urban Dictionary defines a snake as "a scamming backstabber. Someone who does something just to get something out of it. A snitch."
The politician can use the snake to his advantage if that snake considers the other political party as his enemy. But if the snake is now backstabbing his own political party, aguy, certified halas na gyud na. Bigyan ng jacket 'yan! Or not.
Snakes are not exclusive to political parties. They can exist here, there, and everywhere. They shed skin but they remain snakes forever and ever, amen.
An image of Medusa comes to mind. To represent all the snakes in the world.
Have you ever met someone whose face you now associate with evil? Each time you see him, your first thought is, Evil has a face. He's the person you least expect to be the snake in your life. He doesn't necessarily have the face of a devil. In fact, he may have the most angelic face in the world, but beware of what lurks behind it. He can easily convince other people, lure them to his side of the fence, thanks to his angelic face and angelic ways.
Politicians are so used to having snakes in their political party. It's kind of the norm and has reached the point where the party's leader is no longer shocked each time he learns of one more snake snaking his way in or out of some political situation.
But for snakes to also exist in the life of the madlang pehpohl, that's another story. We don't belong to any political party, we are merely trying to meet the duties and responsibilities we have committed to, and yet, here's this snake snaking his way to the hearts and brains of other people, and that's without an apple, huh.
At least terrorists are expected to terrorize, and coup plotters are expected to plot a coup. But the least-expected-to-be-a-snake is the worst of them all. You confided in him, you trusted him, you considered him as one of your closest friends. And now he has the nerve to say, nagmahay siya sa imo. Whaaaaat?! Dapat ikaw ang magmahay, after all the s#!t he has done to you.
But thanks to his angelic face and angelic ways, he has everything covered with his angelic hands.
The world continues to turn, the sun rises, the sun sets. There's a bigger universe out there waiting to be discovered, and you're now in the next chapter.
Refrain from dwelling on history but be constantly reminded of the lessons learned from there.
History proves one thing: whatever is happening now did happen in the past, too. Crab mentality. Grapevine. Frenemies.
And politicians have been there, done that with history's lessons which they can use as the foundation for their future plans. Well, this is true even for non-political pehpohl who have to move forward after going through sh*t.
But recent events in Pinas with the country's new president at the helm are not exactly a been-there-done-that story. About 65,000 drug users and pushers have surrendered so far. Wow.
That got me hooked on how to spell surrenderees. With two sets of double Rs? With the first set of Rs as double, and the second set single? Ano ba talaga, Kuya?!
Yes, 65,000 surrenderees. I don't know if the present administration's war against drugs is enough to stop the users from going back for more suyop, and the pushers from selling more.
I guess I can relate, although not in the drugs department. How many times have I promised not to eat chocolates? They're sugar, they're bad for my throat, waist and weight, they keep me awake at night. Still, there's the fridge and its constant supply of chocolates, which I've promised to be the last batch--tama na, sobra na, palitan na.
Wait, palitan na? With what? Recent history says a no-sugar diet is the best of all. Hmmm. Nuts have no sugar, right?
