The Officer Forgot He Was A Gentleman.

I am a firm believer in the saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”.

Yesterday’s circus at the Philippine Senate was such a disturbing thing to watch. I am kind of glad I did not get to see the whole thing. However, I was greatly appalled with the behavior of former policeman and mayor Abner Afuang. I am referring to the incident in which he poured water over the head of Dr. Hayden Kho. Despite my disdain for the doctors behavior, I feel that what he did crossed the line to ungentleman behavior. I get that he was driven emotionally towards that outburst but that does not excuse his behavior. As a man in his position, even if he no longer holds his post, he should be an example of what is right and just.

For me, his behavior reinforces the wrong notion of hitting someone back if they hit you first, which is something I tell my kids not to do. How can you expect children and adolescents to appreciate the fact that even though one wrongs you, there is a proper way of standing up for yourself without  resorting to violence? Given that pouring water on someone’s head does not constitute the socially-accepted definition of “violence”, it still is a violation on one’s human rights and dignity.

He now refuses to apologize and even proudly proclaims he would do it again. he further threatens to go on a hunger strike if he is not released because this is for the country. Pardon me for asking, what are we teaching our children?  I am not saying we should not take a stand when issues arise. I’m not saying we don’t fight for what is right. However, I want to point out that we don’t need to be vigilantes. We need to fight the fair fight, even through we don’t win it right away because in the long run, this is what really matters. We can’t change things if we remain as brutish homo sapiens who act on impulse alone.

What happened in the senate yesterday did not solve the problem of pornography, voyeurism or abuse of women. What Abner Afuang and all those who supported him showed the world is that our officer forgot he was a gentleman and taught people around him that it is okay to behave like less of a man. Tell me now, how does this solve the problem that was the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex scandal?

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