Philippines’ descent into barbarism echoes ancient Rome, Nazi Germany
Despite claims to the contrary, the mass killings of our “drug war” do not have the support of the majority of Filipinos.
While a public survey in October showed 84 per cent were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the war on drugs itself, 71 per cent did not approve of the extrajudicial killings. The logic is clear: People are against drugs and the associated criminal behaviour, but this doesn’t mean the majority of Filipinos condone the killings.
The war’s death toll, now almost 6,000, highlights the barbarism into which our country has now descended. It is not only the state-sponsored killings that are alarming, but the cheering of those who support the policy.
The Romans fed the Christians to the lions as the crowd roared in excitement. The Nazis launched the Holocaust against the Jews to cheers of approval from supporters. During colonial times in the Philippines, there were pogroms against Chinese settlers.
The ruling class abetted all these atrocities, since the brutal acts appeased the masses who were baying for the blood of those they held responsible for their strife.
Today, civilisation is retrogressing. And to reverse the Philippines’ decline into barbarism will take not just a change of government but also of a longstanding system and culture of entrenched poverty, misery and abuse.
Sonny Melencio
(Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN)
