More on Palm Sunday and Jumping On The Bandwagon

Today is Palm Sunday. Even in the Bible, the idea of jumping on the bandwagon is detailed. On a Sunday you are hailed and on a Friday the same people are calling to nail you . Maybe the moral of the story  is if Christ who was already very consistent was very vulnerable to the fickleness of the public's whim , what more us? Just stay the course and do not try to please the public. More thoughts here. 

My Reflection on the Easter Season and Bandwagon Jumping

I hope you all reflected with the time you have been given this Easter season. One of the topics I consistently explore in my blog is how internal values affect external actions. The lack of internal values leads to mob mentality. As Kenobi puts it " The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded. "





A manifestation of mob mentality is bandwagon jumping. making choices more to fit in with people around you than to align your actions with your personal beliefs. Of course if your beliefs are not really convictions then you will easily be swayed into mob mentality. Anthony Robbins said that you make every decision to get closer to pleasure to avoid pain. If you voluntarily experience pain it's with the belief that you are avoiding a greater pain.


When your values do not have roots, then you allow yourself to morally drift with the crowd. Hence the mob mentality. Hence the bandwagon jumping. Sometimes not wishing to conform to those who easily conform is seen as being stubborn.

 

Ever since I was a young lad and I started paying attention to the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ it always struck me the contrast between the people's behavior hailing Jesus on Palm Sunday and then come Good Friday they were calling for his head. The video I have provided below.  Please note in the third scene where Pilate gives the people a chance to vote who among Barabas or Jesus will be set free, the intimidation tactics used to manipulate the outcome of a vote does not seemed to have changed in two thousand  years. Once again proving the relevance of the Bible today.  And on a slightly less humble note, I saw the actor that plays Pilate on the plane, twenty years after this movie was made. 



In previous blogs I have quoted Tom Cochrane and Red Rider to explain mob mentality: ”People do some strange things
When they're all together
They wouldn't even dream of
By themselves” .

Just  like there is strength in numbers. Mob mentality also proves there is weakness in numbers.



I have no problem admitting you that I am a very flawed human being. One thing about watching and reading the story of Christ this Lenten season once again reinforced to me that the Church as we know it was built on flawed human beings. I told you last month that last year I was introduced to the School of the Word. Where we study scripture and apply it to our thinking, experience and our lives. One thing I will not forget Fr.Gerson say was that the Bible is not naive.

The Bible accounts for human flaws. Otherwise it would be impossible to have redemption stories. It's all there. Whether it's Moses or David or others. Trials and difficulties abound in the Bible. And wouldn't you know it , we all go through trials and difficulties.
 

 
Peter was all vim and vigor about Jesus when times were good. He denied Christ when the going got tough even when he was warned that he would . Peter himself jumped on the bandwagon when it was convenient. But Peter ultimately rebounded for his moment of weakness to be the Rock he was predicted to be. The Apostles scattered like roaches when you turn on the light at the time of Jesus' arrest. But they overcame that weakness and sustained the courage to build the Church. People of weak or no faith will be quick to point out the current weaknesses of humans in the Church and ignore any good they have done. If you will dwell on the bad, try to see the good.

 
All through out the story of Jesus. There are elements that want to subvert what Jesus stood for and his message and his following for their own purpose. What hit me while watching Jesus of Nazareth is that the story happens with the backdrop of the land being occupied by the Roman Empire. As in any occupation that requires military means to perpetuate it, there are always dynamics in play in everyday life. This affects the Gospel. If Jesus did not stick to his guns, the fundamentals of his teachings then they would have been subverted. For the record his teachings were love, faith, obedience , humility, caring for one another. It's all there in the book. Remember that when people of today speak in his name or claim to be his followers and want to subvert you . What values do you see in their actions? 


Warning the following are examples that hit me as mob mentality. Sorry if you disagree but read my explanations before you violently react to me. It would not be mob mentality if only  very few bought into it. I had to pick examples that were conspicuous. If the example bothers you I will listen to a well said rebuttal. My previous observations of people jumping on bandwagons:

Noynoy Aquino. His meteoric rise to the highest elected office in the land is proof of bandwagon jumping and mob mentality. He has no internal values that lead to concrete deeds. Like I said a while back pre election, he is wallpaper. He is just there.

You could not convince me in a million years that the people who jumped on the Noynoy bandwagon valued integrity, leadership and action. Noynoy was not any of those things yet he won the election. They valued ephemeral family ties and counterfeit patriotism. People jumping on the Noynoy bandwagon for me was the ultimate mob mentality. Supporters glossed over leadership and tangible evidence of crisis management. Look at Noynoy's campaign. All he did was anchor himself to the past. His parents' past. Not even his own. The color yellow, the 'L" sign, his dead mother's picture over his shoulder. Things he had nothing to do with.  And our nation rewarded him for that. Electing as your ultimate leader one who does not fit the traditional framework of  a leader is not exactly the Filipino's shining hour .

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1114/You_Mean_We_Have_To_Elect_A_Leader_


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1118/Noynoy_By_The_Book_Again

Efren Penaflorida - pinoys jump on his bandwagon not because they value what he does but they value the attention he gets. So they pretend they value his mission of education.

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1017/Hypocrisy_of_the_Recognition_and_Admiration_of_Efren_Penaflorida

Azkals   - nation pins their hopes on people who are not even from this nation to represent this nation. http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1263/ESPNs_Scott_Van_Pelt_Describes_Azkals_Bandwagon_Kind_Of

Pinoy Drug Mules- yeah, true leadership is jumping on the bandwagon of countrymen who go to other countries and break their rules. Instead of using it as a teachable moment for being accountable.

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1231/PNoy_Proposed_Prayer_Vigil_Preposterous_Presumes_Privilege_is_Pseudo_Patriotic_and_Prostitutes_Piety_

Using Death as an excuse to jump on the bandwagon

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/913/Riding_the_Momentum_of_Death

Crab Mentality- question bandwagon jumping and you get accused of being a crab

http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/2011/07/injecting-dose-of-reality-is-not-crab.html

This Easter Sunday I hope you took the time over the break to reinforce your values through thinking and prayer so that you are not easily shoved into a convenient bandwagon. The deeper your values are the less room there will be for you in the bandwagon.

Ed

ESPN's Scott Van Pelt Describes Azkals Bandwagon Kind Of

"Well, that's me. I'm Superman.And France was like Krypton. You know, on Krypton everybody was Superman. You make a nice sauce, everybody makes a nice sauce. You say hello to a woman with your French accent, everybody say hello! But here, here on Earth, this is the place where I knew I had special powers. I tell the bankers about my little village in France, and they all say, how brave and amazing you are, Anton. I could read the phone book to a woman and they become hypnotized, wet as morning daisies. " from the movie Addicted to Love (1997)

Listen to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt talk about all the fans on the soccer bandwagon. You can listen to it here. He may as well have been talking about the Azkals fans. Having fervor is one thing if it's consistent but it's not. This Azkal mania is a fad because 95% of their fans did not watch soccer even two years ago. If you are in the 5% I have no quarrel with you. Van Pelt also talked about American fans and their sense of entitlement. Like they were supposed to beat Mexico. Soccer means more to Mexicans than it does to Americans and Filipinos combined. The two countries that are the most apathetic to soccer are America and the Philippines. I talked about last year here.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ab089l79xzz5x45

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1143/They_Forgot_the_Philippines

Van Pelt in his five-minute opinion piece might as well have been talking about Filipinos instead of the Americans. The similarities are all there. The Americans went nuts about the women's World Cup team. The Filipinos went nuts about the Azkals. The Americans do not care one lick about the women soccer teams that play every year. The Filipinos also do not care about any kind of soccer played within their shores not involving the Azkals. When it comes to soccer both the Americans and the Filipinos are not exactly known for their devotion. Which makes the hysteria of the Azkals even more mystifying to me.

In the words of Van Pelt "Irrationally Exuberant. "There is one difference though between the Americans and the Filipinos. The Americans won the women’s World Cup in 1999 and were in the finals in 2011. The Filipinos beat a team whose only mention in Google was that they lost to the Azkals. I should know. I tried.

Van Pelt puts it very simply. Soccer is #1 in Mexico and no one cares in the US. Why does the US feel let down by losing to Mexico? Just like all the Pinoys who know nothing about soccer because they never did care yet expect heap unprecedented celebrity on the Azkals. One big difference with the US though. Van Pelt mentions seven different sports leagues that easily get more attention than soccer. Filipinos only love and only know basketball in terms of team sport. That is their universe and sole sport. Nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is the sense of entitlement to a different sport that knew nothing about even two years ago. Listen to the 4-minute mark of the clip I provide of Van Pelt. The key phrase he uses to describe the American fans 150% applies to Filipino fans " You are new to pretending you care". That describes Filipinos. Pretending to be something they are not.

First of all let me ask how can you be crazy over something you had no interest in two years ago? The promoters and the sponsors salute you for your fickleness. Like I said the Azkals are perceived to be Filipino and perceived to be good. That is why you watch. The problem is they are neither. Nationality and sports are a bad mix anyway. US and Philippines deserve International Soccer success the least.

I remember being in a baseball diamond in North Vancouver. This was a Sunday afternoon and outdoors. Suddenly there was this spontaneous motorcade. Iranian flag flying. Iranians so proud they beat the US in some World Cup match. Americans to my knowledge were not reciprocating in terms of grief.

Americans are peculiar that way. They don’t care about your sports leagues. They know you will still watch what is theirs way more than they will watch what is yours. The World Series, The Super Bowl and the NBA Finals are broadcast everywhere.

This is really about love. No other way to put it. Everybody else is passionate about soccer. 7 days a week 365 days a year. Sorry to break it you pinoys but that passion produces world-class players.

If there was a gradual ramp up of fanaticism and expectations for the Azkals then that would be ok. The bandwagon just went from to empty to full in such a short a time. Like I said many times before it's because of KSP (Lack of attention in English) . And KSP is the root of all-evil as far as I am concerned.

The “Basta Pinoy Da Best” mentality excludes work and determination. It only takes ethnicity into consideration. Am I saying that mentality is both self entitled and racist? You are smart enough to answer that question. Does that mentality lead to world-class results? I believe no. That's just me.

To every action is a reaction. This editorial is my reaction to the Azkals fans sense of entitlement. The world loves soccer, the Philippines does not . They love the Azkals not soccer. There is a difference. They love the Azkals but even then not for very long. There was no boyhood inspiration to inspire our youth for generations to excel in soccer. As a result there was no effort to be any kind of soccer power even in South East Asia. We expect to be significant globally?

Pinoy fanboyism is a topic I explore in this blog time and time again. Like most other places in life. Fanaticism and rationality are rarely companions. The guy beside me loves to looks at some local discussion forum. One active participant used as his signature “ the Azkals will rule the football world.” well if being clobbered by a team that is not a World Cup staple is his idea of ruling the football world then he is 100% correct. Go Azkals. You rule.

Proof that our soccer love is so superficial is that even to get on the field with other countries we have to resort to coaches and players born and trained elsewhere. Not here. National team indeed. We are cheering the symbol of the flag on the jersey and not the substance behind the jersey. A substance devoid of anything organic to the Philippines. Yet we cheer. People who were not trained here. People who don't converse like we do. People who don't learn from the schools we learn from. People who can't sing the national anthem. Yet we all identify with them . Does not make sense to me.

All of us at one point has either represented their high school or cheered for an entity from their high school. That sense of belonging comes from some common experience. You had the same history teacher, ate at the same cafeteria and went to the same social functions. That team that kicks around the soccer ball that you cheer for are strangers in a strange land. Your land. They cant relate to you, yet you so willingly lend your enthusiasm unconditionally. There is a difference from true spirit and mercenaries. A lover and a whore. However you justified this gulf of disconnect in your mind all for the sake of the illusion of world attention. The country is so fixated they ignore the gulf of disconnect.

The criteria for country eligibility in the World Cup. Designed more for commercial interests and more diversity but not indicative of representing a nation as you can see by the makeup of the Azkals squad. FIFA fabricated nationality for you. And you bit.

Look at the Azkals roster. Lots of Fil- Danish, Fil -Ams, Fil- Spaniards, Fil - Germans. There is a reason why there is no significant player who is Fil-Fil. Because we suck. Like anything else in life you will suck if you don't care. We don't care so much that we have to resort to hyphen Filipinos. Guys who I guarantee you did not take the jeepney going to school growing up. Yet the Pinoy identifies with them. How many pinoys do you know with a surname of SHROCK? You guys would cheer Donkey if you thought he got you guys attention.

Allow me to question national identity since that to me is the fuel that runs this bandwagon of the Azkals. It sure as heck is not an intrinsic interest in soccer/ football since it is none existent here.

You want me to answer the question what would happen if we fielded a team of homegrown talent in International competition? Among countries that eat, sleep and breathe the sport? In the vernacular “palpak”. Based on our culture we prioritize basketball and we can't even excel there when faced with international competition. And these are all countries that prioritize soccer over basketball.

It's obvious FIFA has very liberal rules who can represent a country. That's why our “national “ team is not really representative of this country. Not one of them went to a local public school at any level. Soccer is the world's most popular sport except for here. The World Cup is a huge money making event. Not just on the year of the actual tournament but also the qualifying tournaments as well. The league will make more money the more countries vie to get into the actual tournament. The big boys like Italy, Germany and Brazil will be fine. It's the little guy whose money FIFA could use and does use but without liberal roster rules many of the little guys will not be part of the process. This country has not been able to field of homegrown players that could hold their own in true world completion. But FIFA has given this country hope by compromising national identity. This perceived patriotism is merely an illusion. You all want to cheer for the Pinoy. This Azkal experience should at least make you question what really is a Pinoy? What qualifies one to bear the Philippines name in international competition? Shouldn't there be some cultural correlation to the inhabitants of the Philippines? Or are you just cheering for the name on the uniform regardless what is inside that uniform?

FIFA's definition of what is a Filipino I suspect has more to do with commercial considerations than cultural ones. Yet you all fall for it. You rather have minimal success even if the team has very little to do with the country they are representing. Are the Azkals made of patriots or opportunists? You be the judge. This team has little in common with you yet they represent you. Is your national identity for sale? I am weird, I am different. I rather fail with whats truly mine than to succeed with something that is barely mine.

FIFA stands to gain more (make more money) the more hope the little guy has. Without hope there will be no Azkals mania. Without hope there will be very little chance of filling up the Rizal Coliseum for a sport pinoys care little about. The hope generated by the hyphened pinoys runs the bandwagon. And FIFA could not be happier. It is in their best financial interest that the stadiums here are full. You can claim to be patriotic but the true test of that is will you stand for your country if it's a true representation on the field and they are getting slaughtered. Its the pinoy proclivity for short cuts that allows them to bask in what little glory there is in beating Sri Lanka even though the country has not locally and remotely paid the price it takes to be great. Its the pinoy proclivity for short cuts that prevents them for seeing the situation for what it is. Us taking what little glory there is to be had be beating Sri Lanka using ringers. What are ringers?

The dictionary defines a “ringer” as a contestant entered in a competition under false pretenses. It takes three things to be really good in anything. Discipline, Attitude and Consistency. You can not convince me a guy who is so used to following sports for over 30 years that the Philippines has applied that to soccer.

Are you too wrapped up in the pinoy label to see that the team representing you is not representative of you? It is a fabrication more on marketing lines than national lines. The Dragonboat team is a totally different story. They not only represent you but they SERVE you. The team is composed of people trained from our own military. Too bad none of you cared about Dragonboat racing two weeks ago.

Twenty years ago George Will wrote a book called Men at Work. The subtitle was The Craft of Baseball. What he meant by that was the attention to detail the best put in what they do in order to be the best. How Tony Gwynn approached hitting. How Cal Ripken Jr. approached fielding. The minutia is fascinating. Pinoys don't care about soccer. That's why they suck as a soccer nation. That's why they have to drag in all the Fil Hyphens internationally to give the illusion that 1) we care 2) we are good.

Big fish in a small pond. That's what the Fil Hyphens are. Not significant as soccer players in their real country of origin but come over here and they are dating Angel Locsin. They could not in a million years crack their real national teams because they take the best of the best. They come here where soccer is not taken seriously and they are celebs. There is a vast difference between passion and a fad. Soccer here is a fad. The country as a whole did not care about the World Cup in 2010. Yet the nation feels entitled to quality. Read that quote again from the top about Superman and Krypton. It is not actual "fact" since Superman gains his powers from a yellow sun. That’s what you get reading the blog of a nerd. Attention to detail. Details like the Azkals are not pinoy. Details that the Azkals are not good.

Ed

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1143/They_Forgot_the_Philippines

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1142/Pinoys_Only_Dig_The_BBall_

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/294/Who_Thinks_Basketball_Rules_The_U.S.

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/267/Reality_of_why_the_Philippines_is_nowhere_near_a_medal_as_of_now

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1262/Injecting_A_Dose_Of_Reality_Is_Not_Crab_Mentality

http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/2011/03/noynoy-bites-hand-that-fed-him.html

http://www.amazon.com/Men-at-Work-Craft-Baseball/dp/0060973722

http://www.mediafire.com/?ab089l79xzz5x45

http://firequinito.com/archives/508-Busting-myths-in-the-Azkals-bandwagon.html

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100623-277239/Why-were-not-into-soccer

http://worldofalbert.blogspot.com/2011/07/there-is-nothing-more-annoying_02.html

PNoy Proposed Prayer Vigil Preposterous Presumes Privilege is Pseudo Patriotic and Prostitutes Piety

Let me get this straight. Our country does not put away people for crimes like drug smuggling and murder. China does. Their system seems to work and we are supposed to pray that it doesn't just because pinoys are involved. It's not an issue of of guilt or justice anymore it's racism. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110218-320968/DZIQ-Aquino-calls-for-national-prayer-vigil Feb 21, '11 6:52 AM


Why doesn't Noynoy ask for a national prayer vigil so the Lord can give him some brains. Maybe even Noynoy knows there are somethings beyond the control of the Lord.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110218-320968/DZIQ-Aquino-calls-for-national-prayer-vigil Feb 19, '11 11:21 AM



Here is a radical idea. Instead of praying for the lives of drug smugglers to be spared. Why not pray for wisdom that people do not smuggle, sell or use illegal drugs? http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110218-320968/DZIQ-Aquino-calls-for-national-prayer-vigil Feb 18, '11 7:05 PM


Laws are laws and rules are rules and drugs are drugs and guilty is guilty . Who cares if a Filipino gets caught in a foreign country breaking their rules??? Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. No excuses. No pampering under the guise of nationality.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110218-320962/Even-VP-Binays-trip-cant-stop-executionsChinese-embassy
Feb 18, '11 6:53 PM

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/notes

http://twitter.com/edrlopez


If you have seen the above quotes before it's because they were previously published in my Twitter, FB, Multiply Notes etc. What Noynoy is saying by this is because you are Pinoy , accident of birth then you deserve not to be dealt with by the laws of the foreign lands that you go to. Just because you are Filipino you don't have to be accountable for your actions. The laws do not apply to you. Or at least not to their fullest extent.





Whenever you encounter a head scratcher in life always consider the source. Here is guy who did nothing to earn his position. His position happens to be the highest elected office in the land. I have summed up his uselessness in one sentence: take away his last name and what do you got? All this guy is off spring of people that represents romantic history to much of the voting public and not much else. Whatever there was of it back then I doubt he is creating now or will ever create. All the guy does is wear yellow, make the "L" sign with his hand and talk about his parents. He does not have the credentials to manage a Burger King. Nobody not even his fans ever cite anything he has done in Congress or the Senate except ask for money. Face it, that's what your twelve year old does.








Prayer means many things to many different people. I might as well talk about what it means to me. If you think God is important and supreme and I do then what you pray for should be important. Four days ago I was told something I found very profound by somebody who is 89 years old. She really makes it a point to kneel even a little bit in front of her statue of the Lord when she prays. She is right. Something about that external acknowledgment that adds some power to it. If you agree with my point that God should be respected and the way to show that respect is to avoid frivolous things when to pray, I will define for me what is frivolous:

• praying for preferential treatment in terms of a single race and not action.
• praying for victory in any sort of artificial contest that is merely meant to entertain.
• praying for victory in any sort of artificial contest that is merely meant to entertain in terms of a single race.
• praying for personal gain in an effort to compensate for lack of effort.

For my other thoughts on prayer you may look here.



Yes there is a separation of Church and State. There also should be a separation between prayer and indulgence. I love certain spectator sports but never once have I prayed for outcomes of sporting events. I have seen starving children living in squalor and they deserved prayer more than the Washington Redskins.






As much as I mock Noynoy's Prayer Vigil , it is still very indicative of the culture I live in. Can be summed up in four words: "Basta Pinoy Da Best" . It explains the hysteria in this country for anything Manny, Charice, Arnel, Azkals etc. It does not matter if you don't appreciate a particular field of endeavor but if a Pinoy is involved then suddenly you should be an expert at it. I know many relatives who even in their 20s and 30s play or coach organized soccer. Those people represent the .0002 % of pinoys who recently cheered on the Azkals that watched more than 10 minutes of soccer back in 2009. They do not appreciate soccer but the nationality of the people playing soccer. If you are one of those people, do yourself a favor and look up the definition of the word "intrinsic". So in this case pinoys or pinays go into China attempting to smuggle drugs and are caught. The laws should apply to people based on action or non-action. Not based on race. To hope for an outcome on those grounds is racism. Noynoy is in effect praying for racism. If he told you to pray for an unjust law that would be one thing. But he is telling you to pray that the law of another country not be applied to violators who happen to be Pinoy. If you love your country then you want your country men to behave as well as possible. Not to avoid punishment when they do not.


Samuel Johnson said Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel . Based on the article below how can this NOT apply to Noynoy. This Prayer Vigil encourages entitlement. It does not encourage accountability or even contemplation. Which pretty much sums up Noynoy.


Ed




http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110218-320968/DZIQ-Aquino-calls-for-national-prayer-vigil



DZIQ: Aquino calls for national prayer vigil


INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:15:00 02/18/2011

Filed Under: Religions, Benigno Aquino III

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Friday called for a national prayer vigil for the three Filipinos facing execution in China on charges of drug smuggling.

Radyo Inquirer reported that Aquino was hoping for a miracle to save the three sentenced Filipinos from death.

Of the three convicted drug smugglers, two are scheduled to be put to death on Monday in Xiamen while the other one is due to be executed on Tuesday in Shenzhen.

Tags: prayer vigil, nationalism, noynoy aquino, prayer, accountability, laws, dumb, bandwagon