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Blogismo
Social critic Teo Marasigan is opposed to progressives promoting the use of blogging among the youth. Here are some of his insights:
“Oo, larangan ng tunggalian ang Internet – pero dehado ang mga progresibo rito. Oo, mahalaga ang mga petiburgis sa pulitika ng pagbabago dahil madali nilang magagap at maibahagi ang progresibong mga ideya. Oo, nag-iisip na seksiyon nito ang nasa blogosphere. Pero papaling-paling ang mga petiburgis, at dominante sa Internet ang mga puwersang hahatak sa kanila palayo sa pagbabago.”
“Masagwa sa mga progresibo ang tumalima rito – sa blog, Friendster, Multiply, Twitter at iba pa – o banidosong ilahad ang mga detalye at larawan ng buhay-petibugoy na dapat ay hindi makasarili at walang mukha para sa Estado. Mapanganib din. Pinapadali nito ang paniniktik ng militar sa mga aktibista at kanilang personal na network. Sa mata ng militar, online na ang dossier mo.”
“May progresibong gamit ang Internet; pero nangingibabaw ang konserbatibo, reaksiyunaryo, o tahasang dekadenteng gamit nito. Hindi ako sang-ayon na palaganapin ng mga progresibo ang pagba-blog. Maglako tayo ng progresibong mensahe, hindi ng midyum lamang na bagamat tila walang pulitika ay dominado sa aktuwal ng mga kalaban ng pulitika ng pagbabago.”
Teo will agree with me that this government is repressive. Censorship is enforced through sophisticated means. But relative to other media, blogs remain partly hidden to the radars of censors. I wonder if Teo would have the same views on blogging if internet censorship in the Philippines is as oppressive in China or Malaysia. Would he still not promote blogging if the Philippine government suddenly decides to clamp down on big media?
As an activist, I have been promoting the use of blogs among my friends (including Teo) because I saw the potential of blogging to be an effective medium to broadcast our advocacies. The revolution will take place outside the internet cafe shops but there is a revolutionary task to perform in the cyberspace.
Blogging is a political statement. It affirms that everyone has the right to publish his/her opinion in the internet. It empowers ordinary citizens to articulate what they feel is relevant to their lives. A person can start to blog about his cat or crush but sooner or later he/she will have to write some political if not subversive commentaries. Why was my article deleted? Why is there a slow internet connection? What is the government doing about these pesky telecommunication services?
Teo recognizes the huge presence of the youth in the internet but he immediately dismisses the prospect of recruiting these literate individuals to the proletarian cause because of their nature as a vaccilating class and the dominant influence of reactionary partisans in the internet.
Ito ay palasukong aktitud. We do not abandon the pettybourgeoisie to the venomous claws of the powerful imperialists. We always persevere. We always struggle.
In schools, factories, offices, even in our homes, reactionary influence is strong. But we recognize the importance of advancing the welfare of the people at all times.
The logic of Capital has pervaded almost all facets of human activity, not just in the internet. Why would we encourage the youth not to blog just because capitalists invented the need for it? We did not discourage the workers from setting up their own newspapers, radio shows and plays even if capitalists have perverted these things into money-making enterprises.
Indeed, there is too much crap in the internet. Same with TV, radio, books and newspapers. We did not ask: Why are you writing a book? Didn’t you know that capitalists will profit from your activity? Didn’t you know that there are too many self-help, tagalog romance and other garbage books in the publishing industry? Didn’t you know that capitalism is suffering from overaccumulation that it needs to create a market for its excess goods?
Corporate interests are dominant in the media industry but activists persevere in establishing alternative and independent media groups. Blogging is an extension of this campaign. Activists have already proven that there are easy battles to win in the cyberspace despite the domination of imperialism. Blogs, unlike mainstream newspapers and TV, could be appropriated by activists to serve various causes.
I blame friendster on why Teo looks down so much on social networking sites. But Teo should appreciate that web 2.0 is more than just friendster or multiply. He belittles Twitter but we activists have learned to integrate chikka text in our daily activities. Twitter is more effective than chikka and yes, activists in other shores use this application to check on the security of their comrades.
Blogs allow individuals to upload their favorite pictures, stories, songs, maps, books and videos in the internet. This was not possible a few years ago. The internet is evolving fast. Imagine the possibilities of what we can do with the internet in the future. Imagine what it can contribute to the revolution.
Teo is worried that Big Brother is compiling our online dossier. But this presupposes that by not using blogs, or by staying away from the internet, we are already safe from Big Brother. Almost all human activities are subject to the surveillance of the State.
There is little we can do to prevent Big Brother from spying our online activities. Even anonymous accounts are not safe anymore.
The least we can do is beef up our security by affirming our ties with fellow citizens and netizens. We form online and offline solidarities with individuals, groups and institutions. Through our public profiles, we are in a way dousing threats since we have some semblance of protection that we belong in a community.
The State will emerge as the victor if the threat of military surveillance succeeds in convincing the public not to use the internet or blog. It denies the public the chance to utilize the emancipatory potential of the cyberspace.
We continue to use texting and mobile phones despite threats of wiretapping. We do this because it is essential for communication and information. The same holds true with the use of internet.
The main task of progressives is not to scare the masa that they are signing their death warrants by owning a blog but to expose and defeat the spying activities of State agents.
Reading Teo’s article reminds me of the debate whether bloggers should be recognized as journalists. For a long time, journalists have looked down on blogging as pseudo-journalism and a threat to their profession. After some time, many journalists have begun to appreciate the various uses of blogging.
I wonder if academics, not journalists, feel the most threatened by blogging. Like journalists before, academics are proud and protective of their monopoly of information about our world. When ordinary citizens attempted to decode the meaning of the universe and life in general through blogs, journalists, and I think academics too, began to dismiss these activities as worthless and trivial. They began to describe blogging as proof of vanity among the youth. They feel insulted that high school students will dare say or write something about what it took them many years to decipher and master.
Teo is right to highlight the motive of capitalism behind the sudden rise of blogging in the world for the past several years. I emphatically agree with his appeal not to overestimate the power of blogging since reactionary interests are more powerful. Activist bloggers are aware of this and they are not leading the naive youth to blog just for the sake of blogging. Teo has been unfair to his activist friends with his righteous remark that progressives have not been critical in the use and promotion of blogging.
Every now and then I always encounter a reactionary writer who looks down on blogging as a waste of time. These rightist writers are protesting why “digital maoists” are given power to say anything they like about our puritan society. Last weekend, a highly respected intellectual of the left used his blog to disparage the initiative of progressives to promote responsible blogging in the country. It’s a funny world.
Related entries:
Blogging the news
Blog works
Cybercampaign
Txtpower
posted by: mongpalatino at October 22, 2007 19:50 |
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