PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 31 July 2008 Issue (page F-3)
Last Friday, I found myself sitting outside the school library with a couple of classmates. The day was ending and I was sharing the story of how I used to take up karate. “Sige nga,” they said, after my story, “show us one of your kicks!”
I chose one of the white pillars near the entrance as my hapless victim. I faced it. I bowed. Put on the standard stance. And without warning, gave it a high kick. WHACK!
“Boss, pumunta nga kayo dito at patingin ng ID.” That was the voice of the security guard who was surreptitiously standing behind me.
That was the story of how I got my first violation of the school-year: vandalism. Why? My shoe stained the pillar. Couldn’t I just clean it myself? No. Okay, then what sanctions do I get? He wouldn’t say.
After the conversation, I didn’t know who I wanted to kick—him, for being so unfriendly, or me, for being so stupid.
On one hand, he did have a point. On the other hand, if I kicked something else (say, a tree) or if I kicked it somewhere else (say, some other university), I probably wouldn’t have been punished. Maybe that’s why it seemed so legalistic.
I understand that laws are meant to establish order in a society. In my case, it was sending the message that if I did that “bad” thing again, I would pay for it. Therefore, other people wouldn’t follow my example. Fair enough. Except that people wouldn’t follow my example to begin with. People don’t ordinarily kick pillars for fun.
It’s not that I blame my school for being too strict, or the security guard for doing his job. People get punished for being ignorant. In any kind of setting, it’s always the person’s duty to know about the rules.
The problem arises when the rules are not clear, and the implementers are given wide latitude of discretion.
Ideally, the way for you to defend yourself when faced in a situation like mine is to explain your side of the rules, being an informed and responsible member of the community. But what if the rules aren’t clear? Worse, what if the person apprehending you is looking to take advantage of you—do you think he’ll listen?
Outside of a school setting, you would probably go to a lawyer. Except if it’s a small infraction, it’s probably not worth the effort. And when it’s a big infraction—well, let’s just hope you’re not against the son of some politician, or the politician himself. Otherwise, it’s better to give it up.
The tragedy of it all is that this takes place in a country where most people are marginalized. Usually, these people have no faith in the system. Faith being non-existent, people could end up resorting to easier, illegitimate means, knowing the risks.
This, in turn, gives birth to a bastardized version of the system, and nourishes it.
For example, I’ve always wondered why certain government branches accept bribes from people in exchange for an easier time. Is it because our governments are inherently oppressive and evil, or because we continue paying the bribes? I don’t know.
But whether or not I do, what scares me is the way wrong implementation has become normal to us. Bribing officers on the road seems to have become acceptable. In higher echelons, some people don’t give a second thought to bribing public officials if they get their way. It feels like with each bribe we pay and each corner we cut, our moral fabric as a society is twisting more and more into a mockery of what it should be. So that it’s the policemen who become the drug dealers, and the drug dealers who become our saviors.
The greater tragedy is that we don’t know who the good guys are anymore.
Honestly, I still don’t know who to kick. One side says I should kick myself, not necessarily for being uninformed, but for having a ‘lapse in judgment’. The other says I should kick the system for punishing me uselessly. Either way, it’s not like I have a choice but to go along with it. But since I wasn’t convinced that I was wrong, I’m not sure the rule lived up to its purpose.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that this early, I am confused as to what is right and what is wrong.
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