The beginning of a spike?

 Sigh... I knew it was too good to last..

Thanks to the blatant irresponsibility of people over the holidays, and most recently during a popular religious event, I feel we might be staring at another uptick in the number of cases.. 

 

Yeah, seems about right..  😓

I don't even know what to say anymore.. All there is to do is brace for the inevitable I guess.. I do have one thing to say though.. For all those selfish people who flouted the rules, or wouldn't even put on their face masks and shields properly, SHAME ON YOU This is all on you!! You better hope we don't see you or your loved ones on the business end of an endotracheal tube.

Gaddamit people! :(

Hay, naku, eto na naman tayo.. 😡

Just when I thought we were starting to get the handle on things, people really just have to mess things up by blindly doing something that kinda defies all logic..

Above picture lifted from the Inquirer Website

Here in the Philippines, there is this popular devotion to the image of the Black Nazarene, which is famously housed in Quiapo Church. Every year, during precovid times, there would be this procession called the "Translacion" which basically finds the image taking a trip from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church. This is to commemorate the transfer of the original (?) image from Intramuros to Quiapo.

 

It starts out benign enough. There is a mass at Quirino Grandstand where the image is surrounded by cops, then is loaded on to a truck for the journey to Quiapo.. . (Image credit: Rappler)

To say that it a very popular devotion is an understatement, as it attracts hordes of people ("devotees") who want to see and touch the image as it makes its' way to the aforementioned church. According to the Wiki article that I just linked to above, the crowd swells to roughly 220 thousand on a good day. What could go possibly wrong.. 😒

A LOT, that's what. 😒 (Image credit: Phil Info Agency)

Devotees fanatics would then converge on swarm the carriage, and the most intrepid would attempt to climb to the image to touch it or wipe a towel on it.

I have never really approved of this tradition. Apart from the fact that I personally dislike massive crowds, this is just too much..

No, REALLY (Image credit: Phil News Agency)

Although there are some people who may really be in it for religious reasons, there are a lot of those who just "go for the experience", or those youths who see the act of fighting through the crowds as an act of bravado that should be applauded. 😒 Some thrill seekers who justify their bumping bodies in the crowds as a way to atone for their sins, but go back to being crappy people afterwards anyway. It seems like such a charade if you ask me, and I'm pretty sure that it is very hypocritical for most of the people there. Trying to put up a show of "piety" for a few hours before going back like nothing has changed.

In my opinion, popular devotions are just that, popular. People do it because other people do it. Oftentimes the main value or spirit of the practice is lost because these people are in it for all the wrong reasons, without properly understanding why these things are done in the first place. If you think I'm just spewing a lot of hot air, how would you account for the countless injuries and occasional mortalities that have happened along the way as the cart makes its sloooooooooow transit from one point to the next? A horde of people shoving each other without regard for the safety of the people around them, whipped up into a frenzy at the prospect of touching an image? I'm sorry, but this is one aspect of my faith that I willfully ignore due to its barbarism and backwardness.. 😓

Devotions without proper discernment, or even just a basic understanding of the faith and practice, is utterly useless, and is just another totally human spectacle that is not worth anybody's time.

I'm not done though.. 😑 Take all of that frenzy, and put it right smack in the middle of a pandemic, and you then have 400,000 frickin' possible CoVID suspects attending what could most likely be one of the worst superspreader events in the world. And here I thought Filipinos were now much better than the Americans at being compliant with the rules.. Even though they thankfully did away with the actual transfer of the religious image, the fact that it was still celebrated and drew an alarmingly large crowd makes my head hurt.. Now we have to brace ourselves for a deluge of patients that would soon come by the droves at the hospitals.. And the bad thing is that these patients would not necessarily be the attendees from the religious event, but may merely be innocent relatives who are quietly sheltering at home, unaware that their devotee relative would be the death of them, literally.

Kung mamatay ang kamag-anak niyo, kayo ang may kasalanan nito. Don't blame us if we would be unable to save them, because they should not have gotten sick in the first place if it was not for you. Hindi namin kasalanan kung di mo kaya pigilan sarili mo na hindi sumunod sa mga payo ng marurunong. Hindi namin kasalanan na naging makasarili ka at 'di inisip ang kapakanan ng iba.

We will still do what we can, but it may no longer be enough. Regrets will always come later, after the irreversible has happened.. 

Sh*thole

 When I opened my computer to read through the day's news, I was greeted by this image:

Pic is from CNN

That is an image of the US Capitol, overrun by those batshit-crazy Trump supporters after they were incited by their cult leader to storm the Capitol on his behalf in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings that would certify Joe Biden as the new legitimate US president. Now this wasn't just a massing of protesters outside the building doing a peaceful demonstration. Being the true anarchists that they are, they actually stormed the capitol building, looting and vandalizing every step of the way. This is actually taking place in America, mind you. Once heralded as a shining beacon of democracy, it has now devolved into, to use their current president's term, a "shithole" of a country where blatant disregard for the laws of the land seem to be becoming the norm.

Wow, just wow...

I know it's not any of my business since I don't live there, nor do I have any intention of doing so anyway.  I guess I just feel a sense of.. pity? But then again, I remember how arrogant Americans are, so the best I can do is give a simple "Meh". Oh, and I also perhaps feel a sense of relief, because even though I live in a poor country with a crappy government, at least the people here are not like the people there. I'll just be here sitting with the popcorn.

Kaya kayo di nauubusan ng COVID eh.

Wag kayong pupunta dito sa amin para manggulo ha? I think we are better off without you. 😑