STRIKING WHILE THE IRONY IS HOT...
Usually I leave the blackandwhite movement and their supporters alone. Not only because they are sincerely passionate - a trait I always respect - but also because I have a few friends and family members who are part of it. But ever since I found this post on their "sister" site, blackfridayprotest, I just had to fall off my chair, point a finger, and laugh until I choked. Ladies and Gentlemen:THE BLACK FRIDAY MOVEMENT
Bulletin # 1 - Details of Flash Protest for March 3
Designated time and place of flash protest for March 3:
Any Starbucks Cafe, 6 to 7 PM
Plan of action:
1) Wear black.
2) You and your friends proceed to any Starbucks Cafe near you anytime between 6 to 7 pm
3) Buy a drink. Each person should queue up at the counter, instead of just one ordering for the group.
4) After getting your drink, take a seat or just stand up outside the cafe and hang out for about 30 mins.
5) When your group decides it's time to leave, someone should give the cue and everybody should do the "thumbs down" sign
6) Disperse as peacefully as you came in
Suggested preparations:
1) Invite as many friends, or officemates, as you can
2) If you're an employer or a manager, invite all your subordinates to join you. Offer to "treat" them, if you can afford it.
3) Agree to meet in a place (not Starbucks), or if you're from the same office, arrange for carpooling
4) From the meeting place, proceed to Starbucks as a group. This will have more impact than just agreeing to meet at Starbucks individually
5) If you're staying in a city where there is no Starbucks, any other "cafe" or restaurant will do.
Invite as many friends and colleagues.
Let's paint Starbucks BLACK on Friday.
God bless,
Enteng
Omigod. It's so ridiculous I don't know where to start. It's so gloriously stupid it mocks itself. It's already a parody.
And there are soooo many layers to mock as well. The (unintentional?) faux intellectualism of dressing in black and sitting in a café as protest. And then the double-faux of that café being a Starbucks. The mind boggles. Or maybe its performance art: a parody of protest, an ironic, nonsensical commentary on deconstruction-as-rebellion! Let's call it "Derridadaisme". (Jaques Derrida. Dada.)
It's simultaneously lazy: "Since we hang out already in Starbucks na, why not make it a protest also nalang!" - and ambitious - "Tell your friends, Tara! Let's make it a movement!" Shet, pare. It's so blatantly elitist and unintentionally moronic, that it really makes the mind spin. It at once shows disrespect to local political authority: "Down with GMA!" - and yet is oh-so-respectful to a multinational corporate authority (or locally, the Tantocos): "Buy a drink so the Starbucks people will let you hang around!" In the words of the Aiza Seguerra circa 1990: "Ngek!"
It's so committed to an abstract idea: "Dictatorship! Naku! What about our people's welfare!" - while at the same time so very disconnected to reality. You're spending HOW MUCH for a stupid drink in order to show your "concern" for people's welfare? And I thought it was all just to ironic to be true until I learned that people actually went! Not just a few people, but around "80 to 100 people...enough to cover the outside seats". Wow. So if Manila has 10 million people at the least, they mobilized .001(?) of the population. Someone help me with the math here.
And I still would have left this all alone had they had not ERASED MY COMMENT ASKING IF THIS WAS A JOKE from their blog. And they have the audacity to bitch about 1017 censoring free speech: "Let's fight for free speech - Just as long as you don't make fun of us." Hypocrites. Jessica Zafra was right, we are an irony-free country and a gift to ironists everywhere.
Idiots all. Look up the word "Irony" if you got the time, guys.And to all the people who say that we who are not on their side "don't get the point": I say, it's you - the protesters who don't get the point. You obviously don't have enough numbers to get the anti GMA ball rolling. So please try to find another more constructive way to prove your love for country instead of through pseudo-anarchy. Not everybody wants to join your little noisy party OK? So please...Please.
I put this post here lest they erase it from their blog once again. They so totally missed their window to kick Ate Glue out. Poor things are desperate and it's showing.
posted by carlosceldran @ 10:34 AM
65 Comments:
You mean it's not a joke? It's so stupid one doesn't even know where to start ... What the heck kind of "flash protest" is hanging out in Starbucks and doing a thumbs down sign for half a second?
The sad thing is:
If there was irony, it would have been cool.
But no. They had to be so serioso. So we laugh at them instead of with them.
Oh. My. Don't the Starbucks employees wear black also?
just read it. wow, idiots truly..
BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHHAHAHAHHAHA!
You know, that practice has a more respectable pedigree than you would think. It's called "flashmobs" and it started in the US and Europe about 3 years ago. Text messages or email would circulate, informing participants where the next site would be and what they should do. I have no idea what the point of those exercises were: I think something to do with expressing anomie or protesting against commercialization, blah, blah.
Thank God I'm not the only one who found this pretentiously funny! If there's anything that shows how disconnected from reality the anti-Gloria fantasists are, this is it.
For some reason, this line strikes me as an accidentally deep thought:
"Each person should queue up at the counter, instead of just one ordering for the group."
Wow. Individual responsibility. Plus discipline and consideration! Why do you only do this in a STARBUCKS???
Akala nila ata Les Miserables ito.
The shirts say
Patalsikin na. NOW na.
DI KO KAYA.
OMG. Patalsikin na. NOW NA T-shirt. Priceless. I want one!
wearing black, sitting in a cafe, sipping lattes, and talking about foucault... not!
and starbucks is just the worst cafe there is! starbucks pa! people who go to tarbucks have no idea who foucault is, much less derrida.
i know what they would say: "hey, pare, wala namang like than-an."
mwahahahahahaaaah!
anon: so you mean, feeling nila flashmob with a purpose yon? sa starbucks?
sus!
i agree with you. the so-called "flashmob" was stupid. i can't believe people really took it seriously. ur right in saying they should have done something more constructive than this ....
I don't like GMA, but fer cryin' out loud...
"Patalsikin na! NOW na!" Good grief. They should've made tusok-tusok some fishballs while they were at it.
Oh, I forgot, no fishballs at Starbucks. Siguro they made sawsaw the biscotti in their latté instead.
Oh my gosh...I thought that was a fake protest until I saw your picture! Holy crap, that's just stupid!
Larae
Houston, TX
I think the line goes like this: 'Malayo sa katotohanan'.
Out of touch is another way to describe it.
I don't know whether to be angry or roll on the floor
laughing. ok here goes... ROTFL!
what an utter waste of time
why not donate the money spent to the underpriveleged?
that's like, wooow, their protest is sooo kulang, gosh. they should have invited tim yap and celine lopez to prove their point! mwahahahaha!
There are no words... No words...
Im bowled over by the genius of whoever thought of this.
hey carlos,
this has got to be one of the most stupid things i have heard of in a long time!!!!! so what was the point of that whole exercise, and the conekt between throwing out GMA and sipping a mocca frap sa Starbucks is tenuous, at best. duh.
i have heard nga that "flashmobs" are done in the US, but generally they tend to be noisier (attract more attention to confound the passersby).
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
3) Buy a drink. Each person should queue up at the counter, instead of just one ordering for the group.
haha! looks like rustans coffee had a condition for allowing this b.s. to go through, even if b&w said they did not inform management of this (and yet they informed the public in general!)
my fear of a government led and participated in by these people have suddenly raised 10 notches.
itigil na! NOW NA! Ewwww!!!
yung guy don sa right side, diba politician yun?
Gilbert Remulla.
carlos, i have a funny story for you because you're the only guy on the other side of the fence civilized enough to get it.
i once wrote a column making fun of the "manila's top 600 civil society" blah blahs praising the president, complete with que asco naman the opposition, etc.
a proud assumptionista comes up to me at a party and breathlessly compliments me -"you know, my gad! you got our point of view perfectly! thank you for that!" I was stunned, staring at her, wondering if she was pulling my leg. She wasn't. Ohmygollygod! Irony is laid on thick for all!
Manolo, if there's been a lack of decency in the dialogue between those who want to oust Gloria and those who support her, I hope you're man enough to admit that the anti-administration side is just as guilty of lowering the civility of the discussion.
Hi manolo. Hwawawashhawa. Ya. I know. Irony challenged talaga we are, no?
Now now, micketymoc, let's not force manolo to say things. But now that discussions seem quieter on the front. Let's move on to more civilized matters.
:o)
Politics does not have to be sabunutan.
How totally pathetic. They're better off going back to their desk jobs and be productive.
Actually, micketymoc, by "civilized," I think Manolo is using a private code known only to a native tribe found in certain gated communities in Makati. But although I am not a member of this tribe, I have learned to recognize and speak this code too!
A translation:
"Carlos, since you were raised in Dasma and went to San Agustin (say hi to your dad for me), you'd appreciate this joke I'm about to tell you..."
Read between the lines, friend. ;)
Bingo. A purrrfect translation.
o, di naman daw nila dinelete yung entry mo eh, carlos. here's what they replied on my inquiry regarding your deleted reply to their blogspot:
Helga said...
Hi acidboy. We've never erased anyone's comment, either here or on our Black & White Movement Blog. If you check the comment page, you'll notice that the disclaimer says "comment removed by author".
We defend everyone's right to free speech, whether we are dissed or praised here or anywhere else. In fact, we defend all our inalienable rights. Apart from that, it's just good manners to listen.
Monday, March 06, 2006 5:03:23 PM
wow, you're from csa pala, carlos. in my days also known as where both gretchen b and kris a studies. :)
like it's so saya grabeh. they are like the true representatives of the masa.
i guess in the eyes of the black and white people, the upper middle to middle class are just a bunch of latte-sipping, coffee shop loitering bunch of retards that would on a drop of a hat would agree to do something as inane as this.
wow, in touch talaga kayo sa pulso ng tao. galing niyo.
She said that? Even when I already told her that one wasn't the comment removed (didn't she get that comment too?). The one that says: "Removed by author" I took out myself because of bad grammar. There was one I entered the day before that went missing. It said "that's hilarious. You are trying to be hilarious aren't you?" or something to that effect. No big deal. It could have been a computer glitch or something. Good to see they are taking the high road on this too by not getting pikon.
carlos
it is quite appaling that mlq3 thinks he has a monopoly on civility. please tell that brokeback boy he needs lessons in humility. hubris hubris hubris. not to worry, people like him are not what comprises gma's support base.
archie from dasma
Who is Helga? She describes herself on her Blogger profile as a "crazed woman" who broke out of a gated community and never looked back.
This Starbucks protest shows that you can take the girl out of the gated community but you cannot take the gated community out of the girl.
Never met Helga. Brokeback Boy? Shet. No way am I going to reply to that.
In fairness to MLQ, he is a very smart chap who is passionate about politics (literally in his blood). He just can't stomach the disappointment of GMA. Remember, he used to work in the palace. I only visited every now and then to tour Kalayaan Hall.
I kept my distance from the midget, which I guess lent me enchantment. I always admired the fact that she woke up reaaally early in the morning. The dwarf worked hard, that's all I remembered about her.
mickey, sure, because i get angry, too, and there are times, more often nowadays than not, when i think things have gone past the point of civility. but that's with regards to the administration. as for those on either side who want to pause and think things through, that's fine, discussion's always good. but as i clearly stated, i think it's reached the point of bastusan na.
anoymous, alas, i didn't go to san agustin, but yes, i was referring to a community carlos and i are quite familiar with -and often poke fun at, whichever side carlos and i happen to be on. and you know, if what you have against me is being a brokeback boy, well, you know -q.e.d.
i believe mlq3 deserves an apology from that anonymous - and remained anonymous, i guess- poster that used the term "brokeback boy"- how very original! wooo! please, this political squabble shows only the worst in the filipino. how can one achieve anything if we resort to calling each other names- and that also goes to the so-called academes and whatnots in b&w who relish calling the president names and insults. does that make your arguments sound better? i guess in terms of negotiations, etc the filipino is truly immature in the field.
now excuse me while i step down from my high horse, i might fall on my heterosexual ass.
my apologies to mlq3. name calling is not my strong suit. infact, it demeans any argument.
its just that i get worked up against useless kibitzing by people like him who do nothing for our country in these trying times. im no gma fan but the threat from the right and left were very real and it saddens me that instead of trying to unite against these perpetrators, people choose to criticize the forces trying to keep the middle in place.
please give the anti-gma bashing a rest. its too tiring.
apologies again
archie
from the blog: "...And there was a group of students in black at Starbucks LaSalle..."
i don't know whether i'm dying of laughter or shame. for shame!
M, What does q.e.d. mean?
Tama na, everyone, by the way ha. It's all fun till someone gets hurt. As I said earlier, let's move on.
Look! I put another entry. Whee. Look at that instead. Let this one rest.
no need to apologize, archie. we're all getting cranky, for different reasons. unfortunately, my job is to kibitz -and kibitz i did, even when i was still for gma. she's just made it impossible to keep doing so. i'm all for the middle, i'm all against the left and right, but we differ on what serves the middle best, i guess. anyway, i do appreciate the gesture very much.
Translation:
"Friends na. NOW na." ;)
mwahahahahahhaa
I replied to acidboy's post on their blog, saying, "It IS a big deal, because if they deleted it, it means they can't take what they dish out." They didn't approve the comment. (So far.) So I guess I'm right?
Carlos: QED - Latin for "Which was demonstrated" - meaning the "brokeback boy" comment demonstrated how mean-spirited "our" side has become.
Manolo: the point I was trying to make (which I'm not sure you got; please correct me if I'm wrong) was that the opposition is equally guilty (if not more so) of being civility-challenged. You might say that it's only "with regard to the administration", and I agree, there's a lot the administration has to answer for. HOWEVER, the ranks of the opposition are filled with past masters of name-calling and slander. You may innocent, but given the vitriol you'll find in any anti-Gloria comments board (makes the comments here look positively amateurish), somebody got to "the point of bastusan" first, and it sure ain't us.
mickey, it may not have been you, it might have been others, you think it was the other side first, i would agree that's most probably true, largely because of the class-conflict involved -and inevitable because of what the President's perceived to be doing (by those, natch. not thrilled with what she's up to). it all depends in the end if you believe this is a situation still adequately handled by keeping the gloves on.
Carlos,
Have you checked the latest post in the blog. There is another scheduled this Friday. Venue: MRT. Might be good for your tours to see Flash Protest in action.
i thought this was a joke. until i saw the pictures.
and my venti iced mocha shot out of my nose.
Yeah. While trying to do it ONCE again on the baywalk, they arrested Dinky Soliman for attempting to rally or disturbing the peace or something. Good. She has been really bugging me anyway. Hate her hair.
You know what took care of any respect I ever had for these guys? Their denial that "Patalsikin Na! Now Na!" was referring to Gloria - "We did not mention any names. We're referring to corrupt officials of the government," mewled Dinky.
But Dinky - your good friend Enteng Romano calls on everyone who "share[s] our convictions that GMA must go [to] join us now and be counted."
Dinky must think we're so stupid. Either that, or the much-vaunted Black Friday Protest movement suffered a failure of nerve.
this is just too surreal. oh the inanity of it all!
I think Helga is my wife's cousin... I think it's Leah Navarro. But I'm not sure. Sounds like her though...
Ohmigod yes it very much could be her! Something about the way she talks.
I think I had lunch with Leah Navarro once when I was younger. Oh no, it was Celeste Legaspi. I always mix the two of them up.
Was just talking to some folks over at Manila City Hall last night who witnessed the arrest of Dinky. Apparently, when they arrested her and broke up the BFProtest, the surrounding people applauded loudly. Sigh. I really wish they could find something better to do for now.
I wonder why they didn't report that in the news? That should have been newsworthy... that is, if the reporters/newspapers weren't biased... ;-)
Isang mundo, isang awit, isang sigaw...
NOW NA!
too bad politics (whatever side) tends to turn me off with regards to women. i had the hots for leah navarro back in the day, when she was still wearing those headbands. ngayon wala na.
oh well, at least jean saburit is still around. wonder what happened to chat silayan, though. :)
My guess is she married some European and is somewhere living the expat wife life.
That is just a guess.
She could also be overweight in Daly City selling real estate.
Take a look at all the lambasting the BnW pictures are getting on This Link
OMG i went to their site...totoo pala yun di pala biro haaaahahahahahahaha. ROFL!!!!!!!!!
I mean, yes, I go to Starbucks, drink coffee with my "sister", hang out for a while (sarap aircon), make fun of the bearista bears (cute but too expensive for a very small ref magnet)... but to protest with Starbucks drink in hand? ....er...
Honestly, Madaming pwedeng gawing sa 140 PhP. I'm guilty of spending too much money for coffee (once in a while).......But if I had to prove a point sa protest, why Starbucks? Why "NOW NA?" Why not 3-in-1 and fishball??? WHHHHYYYYYYYYYY????? hahahahaha it's really funny!!!!
why do these people see things in black and white? don't they know there's always a GREY area??
"3) Buy a drink. Each person should queue up at the counter, instead of just one ordering for the group."
Is this a protest movement or a marketing ploy dreamed up by Starbucks honchos to increase sales?
hmm i guess the person who thought of this was a guy name Enting. Hmmm i would not expect a guy who's name is "Enting" to come up with a ingenious idea. Hmm i guess he thought too much... and came up with this conclusion. "yah this would show them!"
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