Urchins!
I’ve been working in Metro Manila for six years now and I swear the metropolis is taking a piece of my soul every single fucking day. From the retarded shit I post in my blog and all over the internet you may surmise that I am one nasty fucktard. What you don’t know is that I wasn’t always a misanthrope. Nope. Once I believed that human beings are basically good. Once I believed that we are all potential heroes waiting for our shining moment. Not anymore.
Storytime.
Believe it or not, I have a soft, wet spot in my heart for street kids. I always feel bad for little urchins driven into vagrancy by poverty. My heart especially weeps for those who shake their plastic cups at me whenever I’m running down the steps of the Quezon Avenue MRT Station. Sometimes I find them sleeping on the cold, dirty steps and I wonder what they dream about.
I’m not so naive as to give these kids money, though. I know that they have handlers. I know that it’s all a scam. Even so, these kids are still genuinely poor and hungry. They deserve better in life. That’s why one day I decided to do my share to ease their pain. I decided to give them food instead.
So there I was, descending the steps of the MRT station. My eyes fell upon the sorry sight of a dirty little girl. She was perhaps nine years old. As I saw her, she saw me. I could’ve sworn I saw the spark of hope in those eyes dimmed by pain and sorrow. As I walked towards her, I thrust my hand into my bag. Finally, I stood before the soiled angel. She looked up at me. The beginning of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. I pulled out the bag of chips from my bag and gave it to her smiling.
She threw the chips back at me. The little cunt asked for money. I caught myself before I could sink the heel of my Caterpillar boots into her face.
Don’t get me wrong. The street kids are still in my heart. At least they were there when I last checked the dusty jar of formaldehyde under my bed.
I love Metro Manila.
Squid Villanueva
Snark Humor
Submitted by squid villanueva on May 28, 2006 - 11:18pm.
Let me tell you another story.
Back when there was an awesome boom in the genre now popularly called chick lit, publishers were tripping all over themselves trying to find its male equivalent. They were expecting books and articles by men who opened their hearts and showed everybody that men are vulnerable too. To their horror, what they found were internet retards like Maddox and Tucker Max who were BEYOND offensive. This kind of-- er-- humor is becoming so popular the NY Times have coined a word for it. Fratire. That is, fraternity satire. Other people have dubbed it as retarded humor and snark humor, among others. There are those who call it testosterone poison.
So thank you for taking a retarded internet article seriously. Score one more for internet trollism.
Trollism
Submitted by Pusangitim on June 5, 2006 - 7:35pm.
Well, my intent is to inform the public, using any and every venue.
So, on the off chance other people read this thread, I believe posting something useful (for once) to them would be a good way to spend my time and yours.
I also enjoy a little good-natured sparring now and then, so thanks for letting me use you too. Have a nice day! :-)
Gotcha!
streetkids
Submitted by angelicara on June 6, 2006 - 5:45am.
there are streetkids and there are streetkids. they aren't all bad. they had a bad deal in life. i used to teach five streetkids who were in an orphanage for well....streetkids. they really wanted to be loved and adopted. their life stories were pretty sad and they were the bravest people i'd ever known.
the ones who stay on the streets, some can really bother you but it helps to look them straight in the eye and just say "no" if you don't wanna give them anything. at least you acknowledged their personhood. my friend does that and says, "no, anak" figuring their children no matter what.
Right
Submitted by squid villanueva on June 6, 2006 - 6:21am.
@ Pusangitim:
Right. Hey, if you think you're saving face from my awesome snarkinator by pulling out the "I'm-just-screwing-with-you" spiel, then knock yourself out.
Try again please.
Formaldehyde
You could try something stronger than formaldehyde and wearing your cynicism on your sleeve like a defense mechanism to take the edge off the pity you feel for urchins. They're good at it. It's what they do for a living - a profession, if you will.
If you really want to help out, there are several halfway homes for street kids in Quezon City and Manila that need donations of volunteered time, money and goods for these children. You may also go to any DSWD office and offer your services as a volunteer for a possible tax rebate.
Pity is not constructive and it often makes you do things like give urchins junk food only to have the chips thrown back at you.
If you feel so strongly about urchins, do something constructive to help them. Don't rest on the laurels of your pity. Ikaw lang ang hirap pag ganoon.