A speechwriter’s gaffe

I always thought Facebook, Twitter and other social network communities are sort of “democracy walls” where you can write whatever you want and shout out loud what you keep deeply within. Then, I was proven wrong.

Like all other forms of communication, the net is not an absolute avenue to air grievances or even simple and oftentimes worthless thoughts or ideas, for the heck of it. Somehow, there seem to be unwritten rules. Regulations that border between the official and the personal, both of which are distinctively indistinct in cyber space.

The other day, I visited the hate page for Presidential speechwriter, Carmen “Mai” Mislang and found several snide comments that were actually worse than her infamous Twitter lines such as “the wine sucks” and “there are no good looking men in Vietnam.”

Indeed, Mislang “sucked” at it and is now bearing the brunt from the barrage of flak she has been receiving since she posted- and eventually deleted- her “anti-Viet” comments. Had she been drinking? Well, she wouldn’t know what sucked or not if she hadn’t.

Of course, leftist ideologues and remnants of the pre-Martial Law communist movement, were the first to set the issue on fire that grew wildly out of proportions. For her “arrogance,” many wanted Mislang fired. Who wouldn’t? She became an instant celebrity. Congratulations!

But who’s talking? I sneered at some people’s personal comments about how “ugly” Mislang looked like and how “mayabang” the writer was. To me, those comments “SUCKED” and they’re actually worse than the worst wine in the world. I told my FB friends how badly I felt about how many self-righteous people, including some in the media, ganged up on Mislang for her follies. Feeling nila kasi sila lang ang magaling. Crabby. Ito namang isa, nagpakita ng butas.

I came to realize that, probably, there is a Mai Mislang hiding in each one of us. Tactless, careless and snooty at times. Judging from how violently- and rudely-people reacted to her tweets, I am inclined to believe that Mislang was just being Filipino when she posted those unwelcome remarks. But wait! I don’t intend to create the impression that I condone such rude remarks on a foreign land. Hell no!

Her audacity was misplaced. She picked the wrong words AND the wrong time.

But why would Mai Mislang, who is at the prime of her career and who works in the highest office in the land, behave in such a way? The answer is simple. It could be that the wine really “sucked” and that at the time of their visit “there were no handsome men” around and, maybe, her observation about how dangerous the streets of Vietnam are could be true.

So what’s the big deal?

None. It’s just that ang mayabang ay galit sa kapuwa mayabang.

I scoffed when some media personalities would ride on the issue, pretend they’re better people than the speechwriter, and attack the entire government for the gaffe.

One thing I’m very glad about is that I wrongly assumed that Mislang was actually preparing the arrival speech of President Aquino and had accidentally posted them on Twitter. That would have been the real disaster.

As far as I’m concerned, the lady has already apologized and is now suffering the dire consequences of her irresponsibility. Let’s leave it at that and move on. I dare not cast the first stone.

Would you?