Everyday Bigotry

The recent events have finally jarred many LGBTs out of their complacency. COMELEC comes out with a truly homophobic decision that didnt just disqualify Ang Ladlad from being a partylist, but also judged all Filipino LGBTs as "immoral" and "a threat to the youth". Misquoting Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code, it equated being a homosexual to an obscene publication or an indecent show or exhibition; in short, "immoral" on the basis of "being contrary to good customs and morality." The essence of criminal law is that there must be an act or omission in the first place which is deemed illegal or is categorically defined as an offense. Following COMELEC's reasoning, LGBTs, by simply being themselves, and without necessarily doing anything, may now be considered unlawful. Tsk, tsk, tsk...and COMELEC is a government institution at that. Then comes, that reality TV show, Pinoy Big Brother which I never really liked. Besides being completely voyeuristic, it shows human beings at their worse. So those bigotted comments against a decent person like Rica, the resident transgender woman, are the lowest of the low. Sure, it probably raised ratings, increased viewership even and celfon networks made a bundle out of it again. But media, as a vital social agent, should consider what it reinforces in terms of prejudice. Will this TV show be allowed to perpetuate discrimination as if it's the acceptable behavior now? Is this really what we want to teach out Filipino youth - bigotry, homophobia, discrimination against others? Our youth has already responded to COMELEC's decision vs AngLadlad as shown by a survey made by the Phil Daily Inquirer. The feature was one for the books, with our young Filipinos giving COMELEC commissioners a piece of their mind. The same was true for our general public who wasted valuable celfone loads to vote off the rest of Rica's housemates. Philippine society seems to be making a point to homophobes everywhere - bigots have no place in this world....unlike sexual minorities.