having a people consistently scarred by foreign oppression, the philippines has a history rich with periods when filipinos were condemned and labeled criminals for upholding their nationality. tongues were cut off for simply speaking the native language and men were either pulled apart by horses from the limbs or put in front of an eager firing squad to be shot publicly for refusing to acknowledge foreign sovereignty. rizal, del pilar, sakay, just to name a few. we elected them heroes, these who stood for the flag, the country, the people, and fought any form of unwanted extrinsic rule.

i just came from my 730 am class when the national anthem began to march through the school's speakers. and like any filipino should, i stopped, so did all the other students around me in that busy corridor, all except one. she just walked past everyone and had a look that seemed to scream "i’m walking here, so? what are you gonna do about it? can’t touch me." to anyone who gave her a questioning stare, much like i did.

many filipinos, known and otherwise, fought and died not only for the country, but ultimately to gain for its children the proud opportunity to raise teodora agoncillo's flag every morning without any inhibition.

methinks standing still for a minute or so during mundane rush hours exceedingly pales in comparison to what these people have done.

the girl obviously wasn't familiar with philippine history. our history. that, or she deemed herself to be unfamiliar with it.

i tried to understand her. okay, maybe she's an exchange student, i thought. her eyes do look foreign enough, much like those of the majority of northern asia. but she would’ve been smart and polite enough to at least pause when the national anthem of the country she's staying in is played, for her to be part of that exchange program, right? that it is, unless her school back in her part of asia, or of the world for that matter, teaches otherwise. maybe she's deaf? then why the hell is she in the ateneo campus, with an ateneo id, which swung as she walked, visibly pinned to her short skirt? so she’s filipina and an atenean. well, i couldn’t recall, in all my sixteen years in this fine educational institution, any lesson that taught students irreverence to the flag ceremony. in fact, it was the complete opposite – students started the day with it. a-ha! maybe her brother, for some sick reason used to stalk her around their family's backyard with lupang hinirang as his chase music, traumatizing her to a state that compels her to run whenever she hears the anthem! could be. or, perhaps she’s just waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cool to stop, with "i’m waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cool for this shit -- fuck mediocrity" on repeat inside her waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cool head.

then again, she could just be plain, fucking stupid. an historical ignoramus, who believes that school was built to be her own special place to shine and flaunt her hip clothes and hip hair. to her, it was a fashion convention, and she just needed to stand out. if not, she would die, for her world revolved around being noticed by everyone, every time.

when i first posted this entry, somebody commented that maybe she did it to get noticed, and it worked, obviously. hell, i even had to write about the sorry incident. if that is the case, crap, i feel duped.

kudos to you, girl with the red top and striped mini and had dyed brown hair that flowed like a flag, who, courageously marched past in all cock-a-hoop form while everybody stood still during the nation's daily commemoration of freedom. it appears you’ve achieved more than our national heroes ever did.