Elitists in the midst of the Campaign

Drawn by John Aaron Visican

Reyes, Lexter

As of April 9, marks a month until the Presidential election. With that, supporters are now busy campaigning for their Presidential bets on their own.

However, apolitical people were staying neutral. Them being neutral is them being privileged elitist in the sense that they are discrediting the voice of the people who are practicing their freedom of speech.

Different posts from social media are now spreading. "Tamad ka kasi kaya ka mahirap" (You're poor because you are lazy), "Kahit sino man ang manalo riyan, ikaw pa rin ang tutulong sa sarili mo" (It doesn't matter who will win on the upcoming election, it's still you who will help yourself), and "Wala akong pake riyan, basta ako kumikita ng pera" (I don't care about that, as long as I am earning money) are one of the examples of privilege elitists remarks that had been on the internet these past few months of the campaign.

I have seen all those privileged elitist remarks, and that makes me think that there are still social class gaps and discrimination in this generation. People who showed their support on their presidential bet were tagged as “bayaran”(paid), “communist”, and such.

We should stop making people bad because of what their choices are. We should stop being arrogant in the sense that we condemn them in their choices.

We should be a safe place wherein they can express their thoughts, feelings, and choices. Remember that we are fighting for everyone and for the country not for those candidates.

Del Rosario, Yanah

There has been a big rise in youth taking part in the upcoming election, which shows how really important it is for them to have a greater voice in this political matter.

Although youth are sometimes perceived as kids who have no grasp of politics and are too inexperienced to participate in this kind of engagement, they are the ones who are most susceptible to hearing such negative remarks or judgments from others, particularly the elderly.

According to Delali Bruce, “Many people may choose to be apolitical because of a negative experience they had in the past when engaging in political discourse.” This, I, believe is one of the reasons why somebody becomes nonpartisan, aside from possessing all or most of the world's privileges.

Being apolitical doesn't seem like a good way to make a statement.

These are the individuals who oppose politics, or who just dislike expressing their opinions on this matter, and who most probably believe that the world does not deserve a decent change.

Unfortunately, not all Filipinos possess the same privileges as these apolitical individuals, which gives them the drive to stand for what is right and just. The choice of overlooking political matters is not a choice available to everyone considering we live in a democratic nation, which implies that our rights and our future are dependent upon elected government representatives.

I think it is time to become wiser this time and learn to utilize our voices for the betterment of the world, as we, as citizens, will benefit from it.

Also for the sake of those who are incapable of standing up for their rights, particularly the less privileged. If the world seems to provide you the life you desire, we must remember that this is not the case for everybody.

We must try to place ourselves in their position and understand that they must fight for what is just because every individual deserves it.

Roxas, Rafael

An apolitical person is the one who does not involve himself in politics and is unbiased regarding this matter. Just like how politically-involved people take advantage of their preferred side, apolitical people also have privileges that others who are not don't have.

They might be analyzing the running candidates, observing their manners, or criticizing the way they handle the situations and with such people, they are bound to find facts and not purely believe canards from people whose intentions are only to confuse voters and reveal the truth to the masses to give an equal opportunity for them.

But with apolitical people come those who make elitist remarks wherein they might look like apolitical people but if asked whose side they are on, they will freely answer the candidate's name that can assist their firm or organization.

They might seem unconcerned with the way they show their stance but they will only follow the ones whose purpose is to solely uplift the socially elite class of people and leave behind those who are below them.