Livelihood, seminars highlight of Women's Month celebration

HeadlineGitnang LuzonMARCH 5, 20135“The most potent weaponof the oppressor is the mind ofthe oppressed.”--Steven BikoTo wage in any war does not alwaystranslate into usingbrute force or violence.Nowadays, themost applied weaponryin any battlefield ispsychological warfare(psywar). The art andscience of stratagem,clever public manipulation,propaganda,hidden or underhandedagenda, covert orunderlying operationsare some of the componentsof this effectivesystem. To putthis into perspective, itis no wonder why propagandistsemploy thepower of psywar in thepolitical arena.Now WeKnow!ELLEZ J. DAVIO“I do notneed theirconcurrencejust to alterwhat I wantin life.”OutsideLooking InMark Lendle L. Toloza“Some candidatesuse gimmicksand playthe victim, theyare not onlyfeigning innocence,but posingas victimsas well.”Secret weaponHistory speaksfor itself: Hitler’s Nazipropaganda and his ideologyof ethnic cleansing;Mussolini’s Fascistmovement; the “stateless,classless utopianism”of the great KarlMarx that they keptablaze through the use of psychologicalwarfare. Successful or not,they kindle an impact by the powerof psywar, bar none.Deception is the benchmark ofall warfare as, Sun Tzu stated. Andin our modern times, propagandaas an ingredient of psywar, is themost dangerous weapon in politics.Name-calling like “lasenggo, sinungaling,walang hiya, bastos, walangpinag-aralan, babaero” is a tactic todeviate the issue without looking atthe evidence and discourse.See, those tags were borderingin Ad Hominem, or attacking theperson instead of the argument.This is also to demoralize the targetby shaming; make him look inferior,frail and substandard.Intimidation in politics. Givingdeath threats is a scare tactic to disarmthe resistance of an enemy tocontinue fighting. As from the immortalwords of Sun Tzu: “to fightand conquer in all your battles isnot supreme excellence; supremeexcellence consists inbreaking the enemy’sresistance without fighting.”By bruising the psycheand emotion of yourenemy, putting him ina mental state whereinanxiety, fear, paranoiawere unsettling becauseof the proposed imminentdanger he’s dealingwith, he becomes aloser halfway through it.Again, this is demoralization.Losing a candidate becauseof a political battle isalso a death in democracy,remember that. But as always,there is a flip side tothe coin. Some candidatesuse gimmicks and play thevictim, they are not onlyfeigning innocence, butposing as victims as well.You get sympathy, you getthe votes. Plus, you’ll getthat upperhand by constructingthat devilishintent of the enemy (me doing thefacepalm).Have you ever seen this kindof scenario in your life? Take as anexample activists holding up picketsigns and boards in rally, shoutingin rage, swarming in front of anyinstitution, university, or company.I was never involved in activism,by any sort. But as a former sciencescholar student in Pampanga HighSchool, we were trained to be highly-opinionated,and outspoken. Ifanyone thinks that I am blatantabout my ideas, they should meetmy former classmates and realizehow timid I am compared to them.Back to my point, I had observedthat kind of scenario; every minutedetails in it. Most of the time, authoritiesin duty tried to pre-emptor forestall the activists by hubrisIf you could turn back the time, whatare the the things or events in your life youwish you could change? Some would probablysay that they want to go back in timeto rekindle their old flames, or to spendmore quality time with their departedloved ones. For others, I presume, eventsthat had something to do with money mattersand the opportunities they failed tonotice that could probably change theirlives for the better.Try to imagine your life if you did whatyou have supposedly done before. Doesit make a big difference? We would neverknow, would we? We are all prisoners offate and destiny. All we have to do is towait slowly for our time and let the courseof life take us along the way. As for me,I really do not know if I need to change athing in my past. My life is so full of challengesand significant events that I couldnot really enumerate all the agonies andthe enrapture junctures that made me whoI am right now. I have regrets in life. Whodoes not? I made decisions that were outof bounds and felt miserable for a briefmoment yet, with failures I gained wisdomand I have learned to stand on mytwo feet. Uncalled for decisions marked aturning point in my life, however, I choseto accept them wholeheartedly. I have tomove forward for my own sake and benefits.Accepting the reality makes me saneand complete.I am who I amand power of authority. The activiststhen squeal in pain and tears,showing brutality dealt on them.But, a well-versed tactician will justorder his security guards to takepictures of the activists. Why? InPsychology, this is what you call“sensitization.” This will effectivelymake the target feel that he is onthe look, like cameras in a grocerystore. Not only that it has psychologicalimpact on the activists, it isalso coupled by the intent to “identifythe enemy.” Very shrewd.But in a political activity, somepropagandists facilitate what theycall in their books as “street theater”as a form of baiting. They willuse people to shout and rally in ragein streets of a town or a city; ventingscandalous remarks to the opposingcandidate. This is a dualityof attack and a set-up. Of course,this is unconstitutional. But if thetarget candidate reacted and counter-attackedthese political pawnsby force, he just made a flaw in hiscampaign. This scenario will bemagnified so he will be perceivedas a politician with impulsive character,hasty decision-making, andhungry for power that resonatespast dictators. Truth is, this is nothow we could test the character of apolitician, not with a single mistakeor action. Yet, this is propaganda atwork.To pin down an enemy, oneshould also break down his supportsystem. That is why the G2 or intelligenceof propaganda operationsseek to know the circle of friends,co-workers and family of the target.Propagandists could use “rewardand punishment” to make the supportsystem of the target their veryown accomplice and pawns. Thereis no greater reward than moneyand a promise of a better future,as the earmark of the adage: “whenmoney talks, everybody listens.”That is why, in politics, “gapang”was coined. That is why in politics,propaganda plus money could turnpeople into automaton.After my first marriage, I had aOUTSIDE LOOKING IN Page 7The fact is, I am who I am. Nothing morenothing less. I love being me. I tend to beirrational sometimes, yet I always find themost logical explanation of my so-calledoutspoken attitude. I am open to criticism,either positive or negative, as longas it would help me enhance my identity.I feel awkward and indifferent when afriend reveals the dark side of my personality.I get offended, honestly.But I have to welcome his/her observationfor me to step up to the level of conformityamong my peers. I need to recognizetheir noble deeds in order to sustaina lasting relationship. It is paramount forme to earn their trust and confidence. Mypeers appreciate the deepest context of mysoul. And in return, I give them the respectthey deserve.It is not my intention to please everybody.And I know I can’t. The funny thingis, I do not mind what other people wouldthink of me. I do not need their concurrencejust to alter what I want in life. I havewhat I need. My life circles in my own creation.If people cannot accept my imperfectionsthat’s their problem, anyway.If given the privilege to go back in time,I would take my life as it is. No regrets. Iwould not trade what I have right now foranything fancy and superfluous that thematerial world could offer. Life is all aboutrisks. All we have to do is jump on everygiven chance and live with it. •Sitsit at kulayit“This aspiration to fight for what isrightfully ours, legally and historically,is a unilateral act of the Sultanate ofSulu. This I pledge in the name of the AlmightyAllah…”- Sultan Jamalul KiramIIIIng Sabah metung ya karing masasabing 13a estadu ning bangsang Malaysia. Iti apin ingpakalugal keng panguluning pulu ning Borneo– ing awsan da namangNorth Borneo. Iti ing laltokadwang pekamaragula estadu ning Malaysiakatuki ning Sarawak. Itipakatagkil ya naman kngbakud sasakupan ninglalawigang East Kalimantanning Indonesia. IngKota Kinabalu ing magsilbingpekakabisera ningmesabing estadu – ingdating mayayaus a Jesselton.Bista man at maskilala ya ing Sabah bilangmetung karing estadu ningMalaysia, ing Pinas atinyang susulung a kaangkinankaniti lalu na kng dakeaslagan ning mesabing estadu.Mupin, ing Malaysiana ing sasabi na metungyang “non-issue” ing bage aiti. Bakit mo kaya?Agpang keng amlat atkasalesayan ning milabas,ing lugal a iti ing awsan dakanitang “Land Below TheWind,” metung a panyalitangibat karing mamalakayakanitang minunangMagbalaweAleesus Manarang“iti awsan dekanung Sabapauli dngpisang saba,metung a urining saging,mayayakit atutubu karingbebe ning mesabinglabwad”panaun pauli ning ing labwad a iti palalugal yakng dane mawli ning labwad maralas dalanandng bagyu.Ing ibatan ning lagyung Sabah malabug yapa mangga na ngeni, pero metung karing teoryaketi ing sasabi na ketang panaun ning SultanatungBruneian, iti awsan de kanung Saba paulidng pisang saba, metung a uri ning saging,mayayakit a tutubu karing bebe ning mesabinglabwad. At dala ning ing lugal makapisan ya kngBrunei, sasabyan da ring magaral keng kasalesayanna niti na ing kataya o salitang iti metungyang Bruneian Malay na buri nang sabyan“pangulu” o upstream o ing kangatba keng baboning kailugan. Agpang naman keng metungpang teorya, iti menibat ya kanu kng salitangMalay a sabak na buri nang sabyan “lugal nungnu makakabyo ing mala-atbung tanaman.” IngSabah metung ya namang amanung Arabic namangabaldugang “sibutan ning aldo” o sunrise.Ing dekalan da ring teoryang iti ing magpasakitkeng pamagaral keng nung ingsanu pin tutunang ibatan ning mesabing lagyung Sabah.Ing Sabah dati ya namang meyaus Seludangkng metung a 1365 textung Javanese na awsandang Nagarakretagama na sinulat nang MpuPrapanca.Nung talukyan ya ing mesabing amlat, itiatin yang kuneksyun keng Pinas lalu na kengKapampangan. Alimbawa, ing Sabah bilangpisang saba iti atin yang lalto pamiugne: mumuna,ing katayang saba metung ya namanguri ning saging keti, at ing pesa naman metungyang kalutung Kapampangan nung nuing asan a itu bubulugan deng saging a saba.Kabang ing amanung sabak naman metungyang sapwa anti ning keng pun saging, na awsanda keti bilang sapwang sagin na gagawandang kurus a pupusanan deng magdarame keti.Keng matwang Kapampangan, ing amanungsabac mangabaldugan yang malanging sapwaning luyus, o sapin-sapin a sapwa ning saging.At nung ing pamanang kakabyonaman, metungyang kelat a belw an ning milabas keti.Katunayan, ing Kapampangan kambe ning Negrosmu deng adwang pekatanyag a lalawigangkakabyong atbu. Anya makanyan la naman mipalagyudeng aliwang lugal keti keng kabyasnana iti. Alimbawa: Cabiao (balen kng Nueva Ecija),Quebiauan (baryu kng Lungsud San Fernando),Mesalipit (baryu kng Baculud) at Atlubola (baryukng Lungsud Mabalacat).•