Postcolony, anyone? for Le Roi Jones

Let us put aside for the moment the messy problems of tuition increase, the "no id, no entry" policy and those who say that it's fine flaunting their IDs since they are proud of being a UP student (wear it in the mall or in church to match your Sunday dress, stupid). Or those who suggest that a socialized tuition scheme, where rich students are supposed to subsidize the poorer ones, is a way of redistributing wealth in this country. That is a cheap interpretation of economic redistribution. I hope those who are mouthing this line of thought are not merely social climbers who think that "charitable" ideas make them sound and look rich (It's the pores of one's skin, are they open or closed? If closed then rich. Otherwise, poor.hehe, kidding).

I have a more agitating encounter to write and bitch about. A forum on the state of children in the context of political killings was held yesterday in one of PCED’s function rooms. My partner was tasked to share some of his insights on a research he undertook on child soldiers. In an effort to show my moral support, I dutifully went to the forum with our good friend Pog.



In his discussion, Jigs Clamor presented significant facts and trends about the political killings, paying close attention to child victims. While the facts are disturbing, Mr. Clamor ended his presentation like any incurable opitimist would: “Makibaka Huwag Matakot.” After this, Mario (not his real name) gave a testimony of his family’s sufferings in the hands of the military. His eyes were glassy the whole time. But he must have felt compelled to finish his story for everone to know how the State appropriates the lives of people by ending them in the most barbaric manner possible. The discussions of the subsequent speakers focused on the tasks of NGOs like CRC in helping children caught in the middle of the current spate of political killings. One of the officers of the Amnesty International talked about how the government is not only engaged in extra-judicial killings but also in the abuse of the legal/parliamentary system by curtailing the rights of progressive governement officials like Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Rafael Mariano, Teddy Casino, and Crispin Beltran. Atty. Milabel significantly adds that the case being charged against Ocampo et.al., implicating them in the Leyte mass graves is one with a ridiculously weak evidence. But the point is to demoralize them and derail their day-to-day functions as representatives who are supposed to serve their constitutents 24/7.



To cap the discussions, a short documentary on the children of CRC was shown. It makes use of a very touching soundtrack- “Bless the trees and the children.” So as one hears this music, the camera pans to a child’s sketch of an unforgettable experience. The drawing contains a helicopter which drops bombs, sketches of the sun, clouds, trees, houses, guns and stick people. The documentary also contains testimonials of children whose parents were killed in the war. Their experience is appalling but their will to survive and to grasp the logic of their experiences are humbling.



Then it was time for the open forum. A foreigner who did not identify himself properly (“Oh I’m Harry but for now I’m Manny” Or something like that, he was eating his words) sounded irritated by all that he witnessed. He went like “Well, we all know that the Philippine State is killing its people, all those figures mentioned, we all know that. But what about the victims of the CPP-NPA? You see the CPP-NPA has lost ground not during the RJ-RA debate but after the rectification. What about Romulo Kintanar and Popoy Lagman who were unarmed when they were liquidated by the CPP-NPA? They have children too. So I think we should also take that into consideration because it is as significant as those figures. We have to think of ways of how to campaign not only against the violence of the military but also against the violence of the Left. We should think in terms of how to put an end to violence..."Yadada yadada. Hmmm, I think I must have made that word-eater sound better in this slightly paraphrased transcription.



Since nobody responded to his advise, the MC reminded everyone that the figures presented pertains to unarmed civilians and not to members of the New People’s Army. And then I felt compelled to say something and so I did. My intervention was limited to pointing out the importance of looking into the “practical logic” (Bourdieu) of the people who engage in the people’s war, meaning what are the stakes involved? What are their capitals? Because I think it doesn’t serve anyone well to assume that the State and the CPP-NPA wield tha same amount of power and are on equal footing in this war. And while to say that we must put an end to violence is a noble call, I cannot resist saying that it’s a very convenient position (there’s a lot funding for that you know. I’d rather rob a bank).



So before we even say that we must put an end to war or violence, Because to me that smacks of theoreticism, I mean, as social scientists, have we fully exhausted and understood what war and violence mean for the people who participate in it, whether from the left or from the right? I mean, come on, I haven’t held a gun in my life and as an outsider in this raging war, I would like to understand before I even invoke the ideas that I need to believe in. Sure, like Manny/Harry, I need to beleive that peace should reign in the land because I don’t think I have the capacity for real life “Hinter Wars.” But that’s just what I need to believe in. What about other people whose capitals, habitus and stakes differ from mine? But gradually and precisely because of people like Manny, I am realizing I don’t need to believe in some Miss Universe or hippie versions of peace to all mankind. Trite and doxic.



I think, and as Pog pointed out, Manny/Harry had a crude understanding of the concept of “pratical logic” because he could only respond to me by saying that one “should never rationalize war.” There goes Manny/Harry the philistine.



If I were given the chance to prepare ahead of time for Manny’s CIAish tirades, I would have said:



It’s unfortunate that the title of talk is Children and Political Killings and so the organizers did not find it compelling to invite someone from the CPP-NPA to address your anti-communist sloganeering. I do not find anything useful in that statment except that it implicitly aims to discredit the claims of some organizations whom you probably deem as connected with the CPP, otherwise why would you even raise the point? For christ sakes half of the audience consisted of children, ¼ teen agers, ¼ adults from communities and the academe. Does anybody here looks like Joma Sison or Roger Rosal to you? And you think your statement is a product of your own analysis? I’ve heard that before, and not from you but from other anti-communists ideologues. And most of all, as a woman of color in a neocolony, you must know that I am tired of being told by foreigners like you of how to think, how to analyze things and how to problematize and assess the revolution that my people are waging on account of the material coditions of their existence and their desire for another form of democracy. And you should never bump into me outside of this hall, because against your colonial notions of native discipline and filipina hospitality, you will hear these words from me : “Up against the wall, motherfucker! This is a stick up!”

Addenda:

1. The CPP-NPA claimed responsibility for the murder of Romulo Kintanar. He was not, as the CPP-NPA claims a civilian but a combatant. Meanwhile, the CPP-NPA denied responsibility for the assasination of Popoy Lagman.

2.The discourse of "ending the violence whether from the left or the right" is a concrete example of the post-poltical discourse or what is also called the discourse of endism. Briefly, this discourse denies that society is constituted by antagonism, instead, it erroneously posits that contemporary society is only facing various forms of risks that can be managed by reflexive citizens. And who are these risk managers? Paid NGO workers and academic racketeers not affiliated with the national democrats? None of them, nor their writings and academic forays have impressed me so far. They are rather empiricist and so full of stupid suggestions and recommendations. So far from being punk. But I know they eat well. I doo too. And without having to parrot or affirm the discourse of the State (Yes, I'm "crass when people deserve it"*).An extended engagement with the discourse of post-politics, partiuclarly, the versions of Beck and Giddens may be found in an essay I wrote for the anthology KONTRA-GAHUM: Academics Against Political Killings. Good day to all.

*borrowed from Pog