It is hunting season, and there is only one target ? Noynoy Aquino. It is unfortunate for him that he leads the pack, and it is a hungry pack. Combine hunger with money and power and you will be amazed to see how creative even in the dark ways. Thus, Noynoy has to steel his emotions and leave his mind clear. The further down the stretch it gets, the dirtier and sharper the darts will be aimed his way.
But if it is misfortune that makes him the primary and, often, the only target of black propaganda, it is greater misfortune to those who have to use their money and power to target Noynoy. They must be wishing with all their might that they instead be in Noynoy?s place and be the primary target of lies and slander. After all, the only reason why a good person like Noynoy whom nobody tried to hurt in all his years in Congress and the Senate I because he is the number one preference among Filipino voters.
From someone who did not earn any significant criticism, thanks largely to a lifestyle that did not merit criticism, Noynoy is suddenly vilified by known operators for pay in the Internet and less-than-respectable media practitioners. In the world of innuendoes and lies, the players surface during election period and then slink away after. Every so often, to defend the indefensible, like the Ampatuans whom a presidential spokesperson said Gloria would not just turn her back to, these paid hacks resurface to ply their trade.
The fear of players who work in the darkness of AC-DC media, tri-media and the Internet, is to be exposed to the bright light of the sun. For one, their daily lives and the company they keep cannot be the subject of scrutiny. Thus, they become the masters of deflection or distraction, better known as squid tactics. Their mastery is to point attention to their target and definitely not at themselves. If by their negligence they get exposed, you will be amazed at how many people have so many sad or ugly stories to tell about them. And you do not need to go far ? just their neighborhood or their work place.
Leading broadsheets usually do not want to touch these dirty players with a ten-foot pole. I said ?usually? because an exception or two can be accommodated just to add spice to the newspaper. Good news can sell, but dirty news sells even more. Newspapers and tabloids who cannot compete with the established industry leaders who are more particular about maintaining their reputation have their choice of writers who are also guns for hire. Writers may be hired and paid for their intelligence, for their reputation, or for their readership, but many writers are also hired and paid to titillate like bold stars in movies.
How does one titillate in traditional or new media? There are a number of ways, of course, and the Internet has opened even more possibilities. Yet, the objective is the same, and the results they seek to achieve must narrow down to one or two ? vilify a person and turn the reader against that person. Truth is not a weapon here; it is a commodity that is brought to the laboratory to be dissected into parts and never to be re-assembled anymore. Instead, one or two parts may be used, mixed with half-truths or absolute lies, and then peddled as the original truth.
The better players are more subtle and patient in their ways. But most guns for hire do not have the luxury of time or experimentation. The money or favor they accept under the table is very much time-bound. As mentioned in an earlier statement, most of the dirty activity is needed during elections or in emergency situations where damage control, or intentional damage, is required. Therefore, subtlety is the luxury only of the best, and paid for only by those whose interests are more long-term, more greedy and devious.
Most, if not all, of these guns for hire have Noynoy for their primary target. By sheer volume, and occasional skill, some of these poison arrows will get through his defenses and hurt Noynoy. It would be advisable for someone in Noynoy?s position to have a phalanx of defenders with greater intelligence and integrity than his attackers from the dark side. I have seen sporadic attempts to clarify malicious innuendos or outright lies from sympathizers but they are too few and in between to parry the orchestrated attacks focused on him.
More often than not, though, since amateurism and greed dominate in the commission of dirty tricks, the backlash may earn more sympathy and support for Noynoy. Calling Noynoy ?autistic? showed the utter malice of the ones paid to spread it but gained the sympathy of parents, relatives and schools of children with autism. This sympathy will increase if Noynoy has people who know how to play up the evil of those who wish to bring him down.
My sympathy and my preference are for Noynoy, of course. From sometime in August when I first saw what I interpreted to be the signs of a destined fate, I chose to accept it, and Noynoy, as a fresh intervention from the divine. I thought that a caring God would not forsake a people, whatever their weaknesses and fears, but truly suffer and pray for succor. I thought that Cory dying at the precise time she did was God?s way of naturally opening another window for change and transformation. Noynoy is not so much the answer as the trigger for such change and transformation, that it is he and his rapport with enough of Filipinos which will make possible a powerful movement for change.
But I carry a pity for those who cannot anymore find ways to defeat Noynoy in battle the honorable way. It is them I feel more sympathy and sorrow for. To sell one?s soul to the devil of victory, position and power is a great price to pay and will stain not only their souls but also the legacy they will leave their children and grandchildren. And I feel the same for the toads they hire to do their bidding.
