#AMALAYER

There's nothing special about what I'll be writing about today. I just want to share my views regarding a very "trending" topic-- the "Amalayer" incident.

The woman in the video apparently humiliated a Lady Guard at an LRT Station, which was caught on cam by a bystander. The incident purportedly happened last Tuesday and the video has gone viral since Wednesday morning. I wasn't able to watch the news nor visit the net this past few days so I never had the chance to be "updated" about it. While I was too busy minding my own business, the video already hit worldwide popularity and has been getting tons of reviews since.

I was able to watch the video only this morning and my initial reaction was that of shock. Nothing prepared me for that. It was like a scene straight out of a badly made Teleserye. It bothered me so much that somebody could have the guts to humiliate somebody else in public and not even feel any shame at all-- in real life. What happened to the morals and ethics painstakingly instilled in us by our guardians? But then again, who was I to judge? I was not there.

News about the "Amalayer" incident has been spreading really quickly, thanks to the media and the cyber world. The Amalayer Video which had been taken and uploaded by a commuter named GPL, circulated the net through likes and shares. Innumerable Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts dedicated to PJS were created over the past two days. Parody videos of the Amalayer incident also flooded Youtube, each of them earning as many as a hundred views by the minute. Even celebrities and people from other countries tweeted about the incident, saying that PJS had been very disrepectful and showed no breeding although she purposely mentioned that she is an educated person.


 


Here's what PJS said, as heard on the video clip:

"Noooo...
So now you're making me look like a liar? So I'm a liar?
So you're telling me I'm a liar? I'm a liar? I'm a liar? Answer me! I'm a liar?
Sorry po, sorry. That's how you say sorry? If I say to you, sorry ate, sorry. Tanggap mo 'yon?
You really shouted , ate. Ate! May pinag-aralan akong tao. Ginanon mo ako. I'm just returning the favor!
No, no, no... Alam mo kung paano mo ako tinanong? Pano mo ko tinanong?
Sabi mo, 'Ate, anong problema mo?' Ay, Oh my God, Kuya, she's a liar. Oh my God, you're a frigging liar, miss!
Anong sabi mo, "Anong problema mo?..."

The phrase "I'm a liar" sounded like "Amalayer". Thus the term stuck and catapulted PJS and her video to stardom-- but not in a good sense. Yes, I have been hearing this word all day and it wasn't because of her good manners. A morning at the office introduced me to the Amalayer video. I went to eat at a fastfood, I heard people talking about it. I went to buy something at CD-R King, the salesladies were gossiping about the "ugaling-eskwater" lady. I entered the Ladies' Room, the girls were all laughing at the "girl without breeding" while powdering their noses. On my way home, the driver of the FX and some of the passengers were chatting about the "disgraceful" video.

Oh my-- please stop.

So what was she screaming about? According to several news reports about the incident, investigation showed that PJS failed to follow security procedures. The LRTA-OIC mentioned that PJS did not put her bag on the conveyor of the X-ray machine for security check, thus causing a breach. It was said that the Lady Guard reprimanded JPS, and did so because she was only fulfilling her duty. Other people, however, tweeted that the guard could have done something that offended the passenger.

PJS said, in an interview after the incident, that "the matter should have been resolved privately" and that "because of what happened, her aunt has been rushed to the hospital and her parents have also become worried." PJS now cries foul, saying that she's become a victim of cyber-bullying. While it was true that the Lady Guard SMC already offered her apologies on the same time PJS was lashing out at her, PJS did not feel that the Lady Guard was sincere. The Lady Guard, SMC, said sorry again a day after the incident took place.

I don't support PJS for what she did, because I felt that she was really very disrespectful and insensitive to what the Lady Guard was feeling. I also felt that she was also showing her superiority, thus speaking in a loud voice and using the English Language at times, when she knew that the Lady Guard would not be able to reciprocate. I think it wasn't really proper for an educated person to do just what she did. I feel for the Lady Guard and commend her for the calm and composure she exhibited even when she was publicly humiliated by PJS.

PJS's mistake, in my opinion, was that she was too consumed by pride during the reproach. She felt humiliated that the Lady Guard admonished her about not having her bag scanned, she felt wronged and thus, resulted in her being angry. I cannot explain the reason why she had to do that, but at the same time, I recognize the fact that many factors could be contributing to her outburst.

BUT I WASN'T THERE AND I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HER-- MORE THAN MY OPINION OF WHAT I SAW HER DO IN THE VIDEO.

Having said that, I also recognize the fact that she must have been taking too many heavy blows by now. People have been relentlessly criticizing her, mocking her and making her the epitome of stupidity and rudeness. Do we think about how much pain and stress this must have been causing her and her family? The incident has already happened, perhaps, it would be better to leave it at that and just let the concerned parties settle what they would need to settle.

We are appalled by how PJS acted toward the Lady Guard, but do we not see that how we react to her now is also appalling? Come on. We all disapprove of what she did, but let us be bigger persons by not judging her more than we already did. It would be better if we would lay off from the name-calling and the cursing. That girl is suffering enough.

Let's admit it-- don't we all have these bad sides of us? Don't we all have the tendency to not listen to what is right and to choose to act with selfish intentions? We all have that "bitch" days, right? The times when we just hate the world just because. The times when we snarl at every person who accidentally bumps into us. The times when we feel the urge to bite somebody's head off. These times prove how imperfect we are-- to judge others for something that we also do. Yep, we also do bad things-- we are just lucky that we haven't been caught on camera.

In this digital age, nobody can "safely" do anything wrong, anymore. One wrong move and you can have your very life scrutinized and criticized by people who don't even know you. You can get popular, sure.. but the question is, is it gonna be worth it?

Moral of the story? Be on your feet even when you think that you are right. Just remember: if you really are a good person, you will do good not only when someone is looking, but even when nobody is around to see it.

Spread love, People. Hate is a bad thing.