Inelegant critics

Posted on May 13, 2006 - Filed Under , |

THE critic of my critic is my friend.

On this belief, some people have jumped onto the Mayor Benjie S. Lim-Ermin F. Garcia controversy born of the recent Bangus Festival, to give bad reviews on Ermin and earn points from City Hall for the job. And it's sickening. It just smacks of buttering up, bootlicking and ingratiating. 

To think that in the case of anti-Ermin or anti-Sunday Punch attacks, media guys are pillorying one of their own (and are even quick to  chastise EFG, a true-blue mediaman, like not so many of them, who has earned his own niche in the national media while holding firm to his roots in Dagupan City). Always, it is the height of ethical misconduct to launch personal attacks on anyone, least of all, one's fellow journalist. 

Some of Ermin's critics, obviously to earn points from the mayor (although we do not believe BSL has asked these guys to do his fighting for him, pretty much capable as he is to do battle with anyone on his own) are going overboard. One from the print sector has even raised Ermin's having lost (kulelat was the local word he used, meaning tailender) in the last local elections which BSL won, as though a poll loser is incapable of, or even barred from, expressing his opinion. What myopia!

People who can't muster enough intelligent argument on an issue should be barred from polluting the printed spaces and airlanes, that's my take on this. A true journalist who can't avoid hitting on a colleague should first ask himself if he has enough words of elegance in his arsenal to do it. If all he can muster is street slang or gutter language, he'd be better off  standing at the people's park and blowing steam while parkgoers pass by and confer him the honor of a stranger's  condescending nod followed by a bemused smileand punctuated with a chuckle.     

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