POSTSCRIPT

Jose Ma. Sison is now allowed to have warm clothing, newspapers and books. I just hope the latter aren’t in Flemish. His doctor has also been allowed to interface with the prison doctor with regards to his medicine. Public pressure, I presume, made this possible. Before Tuesday, the 10th, the ruling as to whether he will be held for three more months will be made by a panel of three judges. After that – who knows? This Dutch process is kind of strange. It "bends" the fundamental human right to a speedy trial and to bail pending trial.

Some comments on “The Old Man & The Dutch” remind me of how readily some blamed Nicole for a rape committed by a US marine. Some Filipinos are so un-self aware they don’t even notice the eagerness with which they justify ill things done by non-Filipinos to Filipinos, no matter the facts of the case. It seems easy for us to buy into the divide-and-conquer strategy of colonialists.

Reminds me of how more than a decade ago, a Polish writer characterized his immigrant community to me as “crabs in a bucket” – which I transformed into the phrase “crab mentality” in an interview written by Cielo Buenaventura, which appeared in The Philippine News. Neither of us was prepared for the phrase's instant popularity; it seems it was a reflection of a truth about the culture of Pinoys, whether born/raised here or over there.