Pre-election Rant (2022)

The thing is, I was young once, too. I was hopeful and idealistic and progressive and I was surrounded on all sides by like-minded people. These college and university exit poll results that have been coming out the past few weeks, they reflected what the results had been when we ourselves were still students.

But guess what? The TraPos won then. And they've all been winning before and since. No doubt, they'll win again now. Because there is a system here. It is deeply entrenched and it is suffocating.

"Aanhin mo ang Fine Arts? Walang pera dyan. Mag-Architecture ka na lang." That's part of the system.

"Kailangan kong makatapos para maiahon sa kahirapan ang pamilya ko." That's part of the system.

"Bakit bubuo pa ng unyon? Ang daling lumapit sa DOLE." That's part of the system.

"Maingat ka ngang magmaneho, di naman nag-iingat ang mga kasabay mo, di wala rin." That's part of the system.

"Sinong may kakilala sa DFA/NSO/NBI, etc.? Magpapatulong lang." That's part of the system.

"Mabibili mo yan. I-card mo o kaya mag-loan ka." That's part of the system.

"Wag na tayong magreklamo, baka lalong magalit si boss." That's part of the system.

We are all slaving under a system designed to breed more slaves. A system designed to make us think and talk like slaves. The distractions are great, of course, because they have to be. The illusion must be maintained. But make no mistake: we are all slaves in a system created decades before to put us in perpetual slavery. The only thing that's changed, that changes, is who owns the machine.