The silencing of Willie Revillame

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No tears here for Cory Aquino
You have nothing to apologize for, Willie Revillame

(Updated 11:45 p.m.)

What more proof does any rational person need? Democracy is all about subjecting the individual to tyranny. Now, it happens to involve a tyranny of the majority (or a voting plurality), but tyranny is tyranny nonetheless, whether the rule is by one, a thousand, or a billion people. That Willie Revillame has been silenced is only the latest example. It's downright tragic how it came at the "outrage" from the majority of Filipinos, whipped into a frenzy by their masters (especially the powerful Cojuangcos and Aquinos).

What I heard tonight on TV Patrol World (a decent news roundup on the Philippines' ABS-CBN channel, but I see it half a day after the original airing) was that Willie was taking a "voluntary" "leave" -- but the fact is that it's as "voluntary" as handing a wallet to a mugger so that you aren't shot. This, though, reports it as a "suspension," which implies it wasn't Willie's decision. I wonder if that person actually watched either the Wowowee episode or the news broadcast, because he calls Willie's statement an "outburst."

It was hardly an outburst. Here's a transcript of what he said, which shows Willie's excellent point: how is he supposed to host a game show, implicitly about happy and fun times, when they're showing footage of Aquino's funeral in the corner?

But what Willie said is a red herring. Even if he did have an "outburst," the government has no right to silence him. Willie has the right to express himself -- God-given rights don't appear and disappear just because you cross or are within certain borders -- and if his employers (the station managers and owners) don't like it, then they can fire him. If everyone else doesn't like it, they can change the channel, they can insult him, but they have no right to force him to be silent. Unfortunately that isn't what happens in the Philippines. As I pointed out in the previous entry on Willie, the Philippine national government's Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has the power to shut down, fine, and even imprison a person for what they deem "objectionable." And that's what's happened to Willie (again).

There's no simple irony here, but outright hypocrisy that Cory Aquino's supporters want to use this law. They are without shame, every last one of them. Ferdinand Marcos made the law in 1985 by presidential decree, as I pointed out. Aquino, that alleged champion of Philippine democracy for overthrowing the Marcos regime, made no effort to repeal the law, and now her supporters have no problem using it themselves. Hypocrites!

Kris Aquino, a good friend of Willie's, accepted his early apology but refused to comment further. That's a lot of class on her part, and her family would do well to follow her lead. Also featured on TV Patrol World was this bastard, "Senator" Noynoy Aquino, claiming he doesn't want the issue to continue. What a miserable son of a bitch, smiling smugly. Good lord, most Filipinos have no clue how easily they're being manipulated.

"Arrogance can help you end your career." This is true, but what MissAiE doesn't appear to understand is that people should be free to hang themselves. If you don't like it, change the channel and/or complain to the station. Don't be so eager to trample on other's rights, don't be such a mini-tyrant, that you want to use the force of government to silence someone with whom you disagree.

And again, it's not just irony, but outright hypocrisy being displayed by Aquino supporters. Look at the fools here, calling for a boycott of Wowowee not in support of Willie, but to oust him:

I'm with you Even Demata in your advocacy to punish the man who killed democracy in television as the late President Corzon Aquino initiated to us a couple of years ago. Let us join hands to boycot this show not only tomorrow but remove it in our watching habit. According to willie, this is only a simple matter, but for us filipinos who also fought for democracy with the late president, this is unfair and truly a disrespect to the mother of democracy.

How did Willie "kill democracy in television"? How does he force anyone to watch him? And there we go again, that "democracy" word. They know enough Filipinos don't care enough to affect the show: they'd value Willie's suspension about as much as a carabao dung heap. That's why they have to claim "disrespect" and have government do their dirty work.

I scoff at these people who claim things like they "fought with" Cory Aquino. There's a version of an old joke in the Philippines. "How much is a billion?" "The number of Filipinos who claim to have been in the Bataan Death March."

Aquino supporters have been flooding websites like this with their anti-Willie diatribes, which is their right. At the same time, though, they don't believe others have the right to disagree. At first they'll use mob tactics to try to intimidate opponents (remember what they did here on the Eidelblog, hypocritically denouncing my freedom of speech when I allow them to mostly exercise theirs on my turf?), and if that doesn't work, they'll use government.

Yeah. If any of them make it to the United States, they'd make perfect Democrats.