Let me use a line from the eminent blogger Manolo Quezon, as the title of this post. Manolo had an epiphany regarding the overhyped kick off rally of forces opposed to the convening of Congress as a Constituent Assembly:
Manolo was correct when he implied that the rally was not just a kick off for something big, but more of a show of strength for the anti-Con-Ass/anti-Gloria crowd. Considering the hype that the antis gave to the event, there was no mistaking that they were expecting a show of force against the Con-Ass. Heck, I bet they were even pining for the critical mass that would lead to another EDSA. Moreover, even if they claim that the event was just a kick off, the rally was still a flop, for it is always expected that kick offs should be as big as it should be, essentially. Therefore, either way, a kick off or a shoe of strength, the Makati rally yesterday was a flop.
Although Manolo Quezon’s epiphany that “the era of the preprogrammed Big Rally is over” came as a mild surprise, it was essentially long overdue. The fact that manufactured or pre-engineered people power is no longer in style was already proven more than a year ago, when the same old cast of anti-Glorias failed to gather the promised critical mass that could have removed Arroyo from power. In that February 2008 oust Gloria rally, the same old organizers guaranteed to assemble a crowd of a hundred thousand, but could only muster about fifteen thousand. That rally, more than a year ago, effectively told us “the era of the preprogrammed Big Rally is over”.
We knew it was over when the organizers did not have any other place to hold it but the Ayala Ave. – Paseo de Roxas junction. Holding a highly partisan political rally at the very heart of the country’s financial district was not only strange, but also idiotic. It alienated the business sector and the working class as manifested by their complaints and objections whenever rallies were held in their turf. Moreover, it lacked the civic ambiance or a visible rallying point that places like the Quirino Grandstand, Plaza Miranda or Mendiola could have provided. The Chinese students did not go to The Bund for their pro-democracy rallies. They went to Tiananmen Square. The African-Americans did not go to Wall Street for their civil rights march. They went to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
“The era of the preprogrammed Big Rally is over; that much was proven yesterday, I think.On June 2, the House of Representatives approved House Resolution No. 1109, calling upon the members of Congress to convene into a Constituent Assembly or Con-Ass, for the purpose of considering proposals to amend or revise the Constitution. This promptly led to condemnations from various forces opposed not only to Con-Ass, but also to any form of change – and which in turn led to the rally in Makati yesterday.
As far as it goes, if what people had in mind yesterday, was to participate in the kick-off for a campaign culminating in a national noise barrage on the eve of the SONA, then it was a moderate success.
But that was not how many interpreted yesterday; it may be more accurate to think that pros, antis, and neutral parties all looked at it as a show of strength; if viewed in that manner, then it was a complete flop.
I do think there’s broad opposition to a Constituent Assembly; but there was equally broad indifference to proving the point by means of a Big Rally.
This indifference does not mean that a time when a spontaneous outpouring of the public into the streets will never happen again; it can, and probably will; but I do think the political effectivity of orchestrated, massive demonstrations in one place must be seen as highly questionable.”
Manolo was correct when he implied that the rally was not just a kick off for something big, but more of a show of strength for the anti-Con-Ass/anti-Gloria crowd. Considering the hype that the antis gave to the event, there was no mistaking that they were expecting a show of force against the Con-Ass. Heck, I bet they were even pining for the critical mass that would lead to another EDSA. Moreover, even if they claim that the event was just a kick off, the rally was still a flop, for it is always expected that kick offs should be as big as it should be, essentially. Therefore, either way, a kick off or a shoe of strength, the Makati rally yesterday was a flop.
Although Manolo Quezon’s epiphany that “the era of the preprogrammed Big Rally is over” came as a mild surprise, it was essentially long overdue. The fact that manufactured or pre-engineered people power is no longer in style was already proven more than a year ago, when the same old cast of anti-Glorias failed to gather the promised critical mass that could have removed Arroyo from power. In that February 2008 oust Gloria rally, the same old organizers guaranteed to assemble a crowd of a hundred thousand, but could only muster about fifteen thousand. That rally, more than a year ago, effectively told us “the era of the preprogrammed Big Rally is over”.
We knew it was over when the organizers did not have any other place to hold it but the Ayala Ave. – Paseo de Roxas junction. Holding a highly partisan political rally at the very heart of the country’s financial district was not only strange, but also idiotic. It alienated the business sector and the working class as manifested by their complaints and objections whenever rallies were held in their turf. Moreover, it lacked the civic ambiance or a visible rallying point that places like the Quirino Grandstand, Plaza Miranda or Mendiola could have provided. The Chinese students did not go to The Bund for their pro-democracy rallies. They went to Tiananmen Square. The African-Americans did not go to Wall Street for their civil rights march. They went to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
We knew it was over when we saw that the organizers had a million different agenda, even if they had the same object of hate. We knew it was over when politicians shamelessly used it for media mileage to further their own selfish interests. We knew that the era of the “preprogrammed Big Rally” was over when 90% of the crowd did not even know why they were there, or what they were rallying for.
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