McVie Replies

From the episode “Then There’s Another Angle”, here’s a comment I received from someone called “biktima ng sariling mga kafatid”:

what is more important?

the victim admitting what really happened pre-op to quench the curiosity of some people OR the victim actually focusing on the legal steps he should do to punish those who did him wrong?

aside from "feeding our curiosity" what's the reason why we want to know how that canister ended up somewhere inside him? WILL THAT BE RELEVANT TO THE CASE?

di ba natin naisip na pag ang mga umanoy "tutoong" NANGYARING iyan ay lumabas sa media para masatisfy curiosity natin eh magsisilbi lang itong weapon ng mga holier than thou para muli at paulit ulit na sabihing makasalanan tayo?

imbes na makatulong tayo, malamang ma-muddle lang ang isyu at mawala ang focus sa mga nilabag na karapatan.

pag minsan tanungin naman natin ang sarili natin kung akma ba ang mga katanungan natin bago tayo magsulat, dahil baka hindi na nga tayo nakakatulong, nakakapag ambag pa tayo sa patuloy na pagdurusa ng ating minority sector dahil sa di pa nawawalang kakitiran ng pag isip ng mas nakararami.

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Let me reply to the points.

[1] “what is more important? the victim admitting what really happened pre-op to quench the curiosity of some people OR the victim actually focusing on the legal steps he should do to punish those who did him wrong?”

I think the more important thing is for the victim to actually focus on the legal steps he should do to punish those who did him wrong, including the person who, according to him, raped him.

[2] “aside from ‘feeding our curiosity’ what's the reason why we want to know how that canister ended up somewhere inside him?”

Because I want to know if the victim was indeed raped or not. I want to know if his accusation is true.

[3] “WILL THAT BE RELEVANT TO THE CASE?”

To the case against the hospital doctors and nurses, NO. To the rape accusation, YES.

[4] “di ba natin naisip na pag ang mga umanoy ‘tutoong’ NANGYARING iyan ay lumabas sa media para masatisfy curiosity natin eh magsisilbi lang itong weapon ng mga holier than thou para muli at paulit ulit na sabihing makasalanan tayo?”

If the victim was really raped, then he has all the right to slap his attacker with a sexual assault case. That’s why there is a need to know the truth.

If the victim was really raped, what was done to him was not a homosexual act, but an act of violence. It is sexual orientation-neutral.

What are we really afraid of here? The truth? Or what the holier-than-thous will say? Should we be forever afraid of what these holier-than-thous will always say? Should we always cower whenever these bishops and priests say that who we are and what we do are against God’s will?

[5] “imbes na makatulong tayo, malamang ma-muddle lang ang isyu at mawala ang focus sa mga nilabag na karapatan.”

There are several issues involved: [a] the cause of the ass-jamming; [b] the malpractices in the hospital; [c] what Msgr. Achilles Dakay said. There are possible “nilabag na karapatan” in [a] and “mga nilabag na karapatan” in [b], and we should focus on both of them, not just one. Both are important and should not be ignored.

Will the outcome of [a] affect the outcome of [b]? They are separate issues; if the victim’s lawyers are good, then one shouldn’t affect the other.

[6] “pag minsan tanungin naman natin ang sarili natin kung akma ba ang mga katanungan natin bago tayo magsulat, dahil baka hindi na nga tayo nakakatulong, nakakapag ambag pa tayo sa patuloy na pagdurusa ng ating minority sector dahil sa di pa nawawalang kakitiran ng pag isip ng mas nakararami.”

Tinanong ko ang sarili ko bago ako nagsulat. At sinulat ko pa rin, dahil paniniwala ko ay tama lang na dapat tayong magtanong.

Naniniwala ko na mas “nakakapag ambag pa tayo sa patuloy na pagdurusa ng ating minority sector” if we are always afraid of what holier-than-thous will say. Why should we keep silent about what we homosexuals do? Are we ashamed of what we do? Are our acts shameful in our eyes?

The victim shouldn’t be ashamed that he wanted to have sex with another man. “Oh, but the rest of the population wouldn’t think that way! They’ll just turn things around and say we homosexuals are sluts and we should remain victims and minorities of society!” Eh kailan pa tayo lalaban? Kailan pa tayo magsasalita?

Also, the victim shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that he hired a prostitute—heck, a lot of heterosexual men aren’t ashamed to admit that, so shouldn’t we homosexuals not be ashamed too?

Or are we just being prudent and we don’t want to “shock” or heterosexual brothers and sisters of what we do? But keeping our hetero folks ignorant will not help them understand us even more. When do we educate them? When do we wait for a chance to educate them? Do we wait for a “proper” chance to educate them? Is there such a thing as a “proper” chance? Or do we just take all chances, proper or not, to educate them?