Women, please.

We’ve been through this discussion several times before. You want equality and fairness, right? So why do you still expect men to give you special treatment just because you have two X chromosomes?

Seriously, women have been working to achieve equality with men for years. That’s exactly the reason why I can’t understand how women can ask for equality and still bitch when men forget to open doors for them. No, dear, you can’t ask for equal status then turn around and demand to be treated like a queen. If we say we can do anything men can do, I suppose you don’t need a man to walk on the “dangerous” side of the road for you.

If you can’t even handle crossing the street, then I suggest you stay away from any issues demanding social equality.

Just tonight I realized how society can be quite unfair … to men. I know, I know. It’s always the girls who get the raw end of the deal, and I do agree that a lot of misogynists still exist in this world. Still, I don’t think people realize how women can be catty, illogical and manipulative bitches.

Yes, bitches.

How do I know? I finished high school.

Anyway, back to my story. Yes. Tonight while waiting in line at the MRT station, a bunch of 50-ish women tried to bully their way in. We’ve been standing in line for more than thirty minutes and the gate was finally visible. Now these women have the gall to step in and just act like divas?

Oh hell no.

One guy, though, had the courage to do something most men would rather not do in public: quarrel with a woman. Especially a fifty-ish woman.

But of course he had the right to do so. The woman was in the wrong, obviously, and yet she acted like it was her divine right and people should simply give way. A shouting match ensued, with the woman throwing such memorable lines as:

“hindi ka na nahiya, kalalake mong tao”

“parang nanay mo na ako ah”

“matuto kang rumespeto sa nakakatanda”

I suppose I do not have to tell you that none of these arguments will fly in a court of law, much less a battle of logic. Non-sequitur, all of them. The guy stood his ground and refused to let the women jump queue. Now here’s the thing that really got me: other people did.

I actually took off my earphones to hear everything clearer. People were actually accosting the guy, questioning his sexual preferences just because he had the gall to enter into a shouting match with a woman.

Gender is so not the issue here, kids. It’s about whose right and whose wrong. Unfortunately, people kept harping on the fact that men should never take on women in a quarrel, and only gay dudes would do so. Now I don’t know what gay dudes have to do with this, but if a woman is wrong, by all means, whoop her ass (in the same way that errant men get to have their asses kicked).

Here’s the logic of things for all you ladies out there. When you say men should not quarrel with you because you’re female, you’re acknowledging that women are weak and will not be able to hold their own in a standoff. As such, you’re actually weakening the argument that men and women are equal.

Equality means you don’t get to have guys give up their seats for you anymore.  It means you can’t expect them to carry your heavy luggage.  If they want to, sure, thank them.  It’s kindness on their part, as equality doesn’t really require them to treat women like precious china anymore.

There’s love and respect for all human beings, but don’t think you can get away with things just because you’re a woman.  That’s equality.

Capische?

Poor guy. He did get a few shots in, though. When the woman screamed that he had no respect for her (given her age and gender), he shot back angrily, “oo, ang tanda-tanda mo na nga eh,ganyan ka pa. Matuto ka munang rumespeto”.

Nice.

It’s no secret that I’m still waiting for John Lennon’s reincarnation to show up and carry me off into the sunset.

Of course, being one-fourth of the Beatles and one-half of the mega-duo that was Lennon/McCartney could have given him a free pass to nirvana, so he might not be coming back as flesh. Ever.

Which leaves me with no choice but to seek out other British hotties to marry.

American actors have never quite attracted me. Except Johnny Depp, of course, only I’m not sure he’s actually human so I don’t think he counts.  The only reason I like James Marsters (erstwhile Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) is because of his fake British accent. There’s just something about these British guys that, well, ensnares me.

I realize, certainly, that not all British men are sweet and oddly endearing like Hugh Grant. Most of them turn out to be horse enthusiasts like Prince Charles. [Apologies. That was a low blow, even by my (non-existent) standards.]

And still I continue to fantasize about their charming ways and offbeat humor, rendering me completely immobile when faced with the celluloid presence of actors such as Simon Pegg, Jim Sturgess and Daniel Radcliffe. Yes, Daniel Radcliffe. No, I’m not a closet pedophile.

Simon Pegg, in particular, is my British amour du jour. A few weeks back, I finally watched “Run Fat Boy Run”, which, in essence, really is about a running fat boy. Anyway, Pegg stars as the eponymous Fat Boy, and I must say it’s a far cry from his Hot Fuzz portrayal. This time he’s a lovable loser, not unlike the usual Hugh Grant character, except that he’s a lot more prone to dirty and disgusting physical jokes. Must I remind you that the film was directed by Ross of Friends? Didn’t think so.

Anyway, yes, Pegg and all the other British guys never fail to make me drool buckets. I don’t think I have to over-emphasize why British guys rule:

- The Beatles are British

- The Rolling Stones are British

- Hugh Laurie is British

- Hugh Grant is British

- Simon Pegg is British

- Jim Sturgess is British

- The Arctic Monkeys are British

- Mr. Bean is British

- Jason Bateman is sort-of genetically British

- Keira Knightly (my girl crush, along with Jessica Alba) is British

- Alan Fricking Rickman is British

- Almost everyone in Harry Potter is British

On the down side, yes, I realize that the following is also true:

- Prince Charles is British

- Camilla is British

- Jude Law is British

- The Douchebag Gallaghers are British

- Balfour (of the Balfour Declaration) is British

- Jack the Ripper is British

-Heather Mills is British

- Almost everyone in Harry Potter is British

Just to rub it in, I have to say Sean Connery is Scottish, which makes him sort of British (yeah, I’m toying with centuries of political strife, sue me), so that just renders the question, “should I be in love with British guys” moot. Suck it, Pierce Brosnan; Sean Connery is THE man.

Now if only I had enough money to fly to the UK and realize my own version of “Love, Actually”. It might contain a bit more gore than the usual British film, but yeah, it’ll have a happy, sort-of twisted ending.

MLQ3 reads this blog. Wow.

I can’t — and won’t — go into details here, but suffice it to say that my days as a beer lover are over.

A Higher Being, in the form of the ulcers lining my stomach wall, has decreed that I am now completely incapable of guzzling beer, no matter how little.

I’ve resorted to lessening my daily caffeine intake, eating on time and snacking on crackers, but to no avail.

It’s over.

Which leads me to this thought: I need a new vice.

Weed, perhaps.

I’m thinking I won’t be writing about anything political in a long time.

I rarely write about this [insert profanity of choice here] government anyway, unless it’s tax season.  It’s just that when I wrote something a bit controversial this week, I got a few very serious answers that I wasn’t really ready for.  I know blogging opens you up to serious discussion, but back up a bit kids.

Why so serious?

Well I did get good and friendly answers that made me think.  The only problem is that I’m not in a very good mood for thinking.  My brain has been mush these past few days.

I’m not blaming the commenters, okay.  Just making that clear.

It’s just that I’m not really in the mood for seriousness, and lest I be mistaken for a serious blogger, I aim to blog mostly about worthwhile issues such as Wu Chun’s gayness from now on.

Or not.

I like gay people as much as the next person (which is a lot, just so we’re clear), so this isn’t a homophobic post.

My sister has been watching the new Wu Chun starrer “Hot Shots” and it’s been pretty entertaining so far, if only because Wu Chun has appeared a grand total of two times in the past two episodes.

I have nothing against Wu Chun, except that he’s a lot prettier than me. My sister likes him, by the way, which makes him my imaginary brother-in-law of sorts.

Anyway, in one of the Wu Chun scenes, Jerry Yan (of F4, yes) gives Wu Chun and Other Guy the evil eye for some reason. You feel the tension as the guys appear to be preparing for a serious face-off. Wu Chun and Other Guy then move menacingly towards Jerry Yan. Both put on their motorcycle helmets and scowl for good measure.

They then ride the same motorcycle, with Wu Chun riding shotgun, his arms wrapped tightly around Other Guy’s waist.

Oooooh. How menacing.

And gay.

***PS: I’m gonna get a serious beating from my sister for this. It will be worth it.

It’s about damn time.

My thesis back in college — not entirely of my own volition — was on the on-going conflict in Mindanao.  I was never exactly interested in the topic; we were forced to pick it out of a box.  Anyway, the thesis ended up making me a staunch supporter of the separatist movement Moro Islamic Liberation Front, if only because I understood where they were coming from.

Historically speaking, the Bangsamoro nation has never been actually part of the Philippines.  They didn’t want to be with us at all.  More importantly, most Filipinos didn’t like Muslims either.  The government exploited Mindanao’s resources without giving them any financial or developmental support in return.

What right do we have to keep stringing them along?

It’s not that I advocate the violent tactics of the MILF (the Abu Sayyaf is an entirely different story, by the way).  My point is that we might as well let them go.  We’ve tormented them for years, what with the discrimination and lack of government funding.  They’ve been mired in poverty for years while Metro Manila boomed.

If we can’t give them anything decent, we might as well just give them a shot at freedom.

Besides, if that’s the best way to end decades of conflict then so be it.

So now the Inquirer reported that the peace process has finally taken a productive turn.  The formation of a Bangsamoro state will be signed (hopefully) by August 5.  It’s not clear if they’ll be a completely separate country like East Timor, but they’ll be having their own set of government, armed forces, banking system etc etc.  I’m thinking of it as more of a China-Hong Kong format, but I’m not sure.

At the very least, they now have the right to govern themselves and engage in trade with other nations, as long as they don’t act aggressively towards the Philippines.  That sounds pretty much like independence to me.

Now then, if they screw up this state and drive people into a scenario worse than the status quo then, well, suck it up kids.  They won’t have the Philippines to blame anymore.  It’s the only thing they’ve been waiting for for years.  Now that their wish is finally almost true, it’s up to them to make it work.

If it sucks, well, sorry.

But all the best, dear ex-brothers.  Hope this finally becomes a dream come true.