In Defense of the Middle Class

I know the topic has died down somewhat, mainly because the people responsible for all the noise have temporarily run out of breath and are preparing their next wave of cacophony, but I'd like to say a few things on the accusations of apathy that have been flung the way of the middle class by everyone from those whiny opposition Congressmen to those even more whiny journalists that the reason GMA is in power is simply that we don't care about the truth.

Some would say that our defenses have been articulated often enough, but I'd like to give my own take on what's going on, if only to see if I can lay out more clearly what we in the middle class feel.

First of all, our inaction does not stem from apathy. It stems from the fact that we are not stupid.

The image of Escudero, et al. in the streets, rubbing elbows with Imee Marcos and other remnants of the fallen dictatorship was, from DAY ONE, enough to tip us off as to the intentions of the so-called "United Opposition," as was their declaration that Noli de Castro step down along with GMA. Given that they bannered their cause with the slogan that theirs was a "quest for truth," something was immediately amiss. Noli's voice wasn't anywhere on the "Hello, Garci" CD, so on what grounds were they calling for his resignation?

It was quite simple, really. FPJ (God rest his soul) may have been (at least from all outward indications), a moron, but at least he was THEIR moron. He was, as far as they knew, firmly in their pockets. Noli (at least from all outward indications), is a moron who owes the opposition absolutely nothing. That , and that alone, was the reason they demanded, like petulant schoolchildren, his resignation.

Second of all, we are not blind.

The minute the words "transitional government" left the mouths of the opposition, we knew we'd be taken for a ride, and so we gave them the cold shoulder. Their belated attempts to assert "no, wait, we'll go with Noli" are patently insincere (and frankly not very appealing), especially when political flyspecks like Joel Villanueva (who, incidentally, is completely devoid of any right to talk like an elected official given that HE was not duly elected by the people but his PARTY LIST was) make arrogant assertions that "if he doesn't perform, he might as well resign." Perform according to whose expectations? What he really means to say is that "if he doesn't do what WE want, we don't want him in power."

Thirdly, the issue is not that we're pro-GMA, but that, as little as we like her, we like these would-be kings even less. I think this one is self-explanatory.

I can't stand how self-righteous jackasses like de Quiros and those dipshits from the opposition see fit to take cheap shots at us because things aren't going their way. Hey, guys, if you want our support, you'd probably do well to stop insulting us. In particular, Messrs. Escudero, Cayetano, Villanueva, et al., stop insulting our intelligence.

Yes, it's quite likely that anomalies have been committed. No, GMA is not by any stretch of the imagination innocent. Yes, someday she will be held accountable for her sins. But most important, I feel, is this: NO, WE AREN'T INTERESTED IN THE ALTERNATIVE "VISION" OF GOVERNANCE THAT YOU PEOPLE ARE PUSHING.

We aren't apathetic. We just don't like you.