The Trending #Amalayer

The short clip that garnered a lot of media and internet attention dubbed the “Amalayer Video” by most netizens, saw a young kolehiyala spew words of fire to a lady guard causing embarrassment and humiliation.

The kolehiyala, now known by the whole world as Paula Jamie Salvosa, has been criticized by many for her loss of temper and utter disrespect for authority. And in the process this has reflected of US spewing words of hate to a person we basically judged because she was angry.

In that light, let’s analyze and not react so quickly. Why was she angry? Did she have the right to be angry? If you were in her position, will you be angry? I understand she went over parading her anger foolishly to the point everyone is looking at her, (thus the video) but the point is the video DOES NOT show the full story. We just see the aftermath of what transpired before it.

Let’s put it this way: If you see a video showing an arrested “holdaper” being given the beating of a lifetime by the notorious “taumbayan” being kicked at, punched at, to the point he almost dies, do you feel pity? Do you feel anger? Or do you feel the same feeling as if Manny Pacquiao just knocked out Ricky Hatton. That is because we universally hate holdapers and seeing one being given “street justice” is enough for us not to depise the wrong act. Now putting the Amalayer video in comparison, we then have judged the person because it is our norm of Filipino culture to respect the elders, more so to women.

This is now where our Filipinoism comes in. We are so obsessed in real life drama, so-in-to a story where we are very comfortable because WE are not the one being talked about.  But everyone has the right to their opinion, but opinions are best formulated and given if you have seen and heard both sides.