The irony of Christmas

It’s a music video like no other. An exercise in irony, it juxtaposes the melody of the Jose Mari Chan contemporary Yuletide classic “Christmas in our Hearts” with the most disturbing images of ordinary people holding out messages scrawled on cardboard placards.

No, these were not displayed on corpses of drug suspects, victims of “cardboard justice,” condemning them to execution in the street because they were alleged addicts, pushers or simply petty criminals. Instead the messages are held up by ordinary folk, with pleas to the authorities to stop the extrajudicial killings, meant to be sung along with the lilting melody.

It is the creation of Project Resbak, for “Respond and Break the Silence against the Killings,” a collective of creative people, with the caveat that “the collaborators who worked on the video … in no way intend to demean or disparage the song but hope to connect it to the spirit of the birth of Christ which is to bring hope to the suffering Filipino masses.”

Indeed, it is the contrast, the sharp irony between the bright, optimistic lyrics of the original and the silent messages of the cardboard signs, held by folks clearly from the poorest neighborhoods who are the most likely to fall victim to the EJKs, that lends the video its power to pinch at our hearts and awaken our consciences. Yes, even at this time of the year when our thoughts turn to making merry and bingeing on food, drinks, and all things material.

A friend, posting on Facebook, shares this reflection: “Tears and rage this Christmas…/Amidst the pain, renewed commitment…/Fresh determination and fervent hope…/Let’s light our candles now…and march out tomorrow.”

It’s a call to action, a prayer for more thoughtful responses, for the renewal of our commitment to values we once treasured as a people, prided ourselves in, promoted to the rest of the world.

If Christmas is indeed in our hearts, is there still room in it for a few seconds of sympathy for the thousands who have died ever since the “war on drugs” was launched?

While the approval scores for President Duterte have dipped, they are still high enough to merit an “excellent” rating. But more telling is the growing percentage—8 out of 10—who say they worry that they or someone they know might become an EJK victim.

Authorities would also do well to heed the public’s sentiment about the conduct of the police actions against drug suspects. Ninety-four percent said it was “important that suspects arrested in police operations were kept alive.” This is perhaps in reaction to news that many of those rounded up by police in community raids, or who had turned themselves in, ended up dead either at the hands of alleged “vigilantes” or of police who claimed the suspects resisted arrest.

When asked if those suspected drug dealers and users were indeed fighting back as the police claim, the 1,500 adult respondents responded with “indecision,” or chose “don’t know.”

Still, despite the fear and trepidation they expressed, the respondents said they stood “staunchly behind the President’s war on drugs.” The campaign received what SWS deemed an “excellent” score of 77 net satisfaction.

I wish pollsters, or analysts who examine these public opinion polls with a fine-toothed comb, would take a closer look at the “indecision” behind the finding on the police claim that the killed suspects had fought back, “nanlaban” in street slang. The reluctance to share their honest opinion is, I think, a reflection of the very real fear that people harbor about being identified or singled out for a negative or disapproving opinion they tell the pollsters.

I suspect the overwhelming approval ratings for Mr. Duterte are a reflection of the atmosphere of nervousness and insecurity enveloping the country, but especially the poor and powerless. After all, it is difficult to tell if strangers knocking on our doors and asking for our opinion on volatile issues of the day are indeed who they say they are, and not covert agents seeking out those who might hold contrary views. In these days of cardboard justice, even on Christmas Day, not all will have Christmas in their hearts.