My travels to places where there are no paths to follow.
In the face of growing indications of martial law looming in the horizon, a Facebook friend posted the following question: “If things reach a point where [dissenters] will have need for an alias, what will be your alias and why?” Continue reading “De guerres, de plumes and other pseudonyms”
When Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, I was a student in UP Diliman taking up B.S. Chemical Engineering. When UP classes reopened around October or November (after a few weeks’ suspension due to the initial uncertainties of martial law), I decided to also go back to my studies while at the same time doing clandestine work with other comrades inside the university as underground ND activists. All my subjects as a freshman were still limited to the general arts and sciences at the Palma Hall (the famous “AS”). And that’s where this story about my short dalliance with frats is supposed to begin. Continue reading “How I transcended my frat leanings”
People power or people’s power?
I’ve never really accepted the notion of “people power” (without the apostrophe-s).
This catchword is often used like it was a form of physical energy with supernatural overtones, something that can be conjured only by a superhero, a wizard, or a cardinal. To me, people power suspiciously sounds like “labor power”, which an employer pays with daily wages. Or “horsepower”, in which 1 hp = 745 watts. Continue reading “People power vs people’s power”