PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Commentary
Volume 4, Issue No. 39
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Friday, November 12, 2010
~ A hand of friendship. That's what journalist Jesse Jose of Seattle, Washington offered Thursday to end the acrimonious exchanges with another journalist, Don Azarias, of Chicago, Illinois. The two journalists par excellence had been sparring a great deal a few days before boxing champion Manny Pacquiao could begin his own bout in Arlington, Texas on Saturday. The betting for or against Pacquiao started it all. And though Pacquiao could knock out his opponent with his powerful fists, Azarias and Jose were trying to outshout each other with the vilest invective available in the dictionary, thus providing cyberspace with a good curtain raiser for the Pacquiao bout. Azarias has not responded to Jose's overtures as of this writing. Here's my personal commentary.
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A CURTAIN RAISER FOR THE PACQUIAO BOUT
Waging Acrimonious Fight Across Cyberspace
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association
TORONTO - The heated exchanges between journalists Don Azarias and Jesse Jose had caught me in a bind. The fire has somewhat eased but the flares continue to cast an uncomfortable light.
Neither deserved to be bad-mouthed by the other, yet there they were jousting with the best acidic tongues and the worst offending words.
These gentlemen are two of the best friends I've never met in person.
I got to know them, first in Bart and Yoly Tubalinal's weekly MegaScene newspaper, and later, in cyberspace - Pareng Don in Chicago, Illinois and Pareng Jesse in Seattle, Washington. For a time we three shared the same newspaper page as we dished out our weekly columns.
Then there's Bobby Reyes' MabuhayNewsRadio.com website where no-holds-barred is the rule and satire is celebrated as much as investigative pieces, as if they are a way of life for true journalists who pound the streets and corridors of power in pursuit of good stories.
How we manage to end up calling each other "pare" is a story in itself.
"Pare" means sharing many private, and sometimes personal, things like the almost clock-work email blast of Pareng Don involving erotica and triple x pictures. How's that for caring and sharing?
"Pare" also means trusting the other person in a way that a spouse would not . . . with amorous secrets and escapades narrated in colorful language re-live in English and Tagalog expletives.
"Pare" signifies a friendship like no other. Peer to peer. Colleague to colleague.
True gentlemen, true "cowboys" in Pilipino slang, Pareng Don and Pareng Jesse command my respect with the way they write and the manner with which they convey their messages to the world.
My friendship with them is something to uphold and fight for, for they mince no words in telling when a wrong is committed and when an apology is the only decent and honorable thing to do.
As the Greek philosopher Plutarch said: "I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better". Pareng Don and Pareng Jesse are definitely not shadows.
Pareng Don is more reflective, a true economist no less. Pareng Jesse is the humor-laden type whose journalist persona is best exemplified by mock ridicule.
Reading Pareng Don would give one insight, and sometimes the creeps for the seriousness of a given situation. Reading Pareng Jesse would give one stomach ache for the tons of air that needed out from unstoppable laughter.
In a way, one delivers the stress of living; the other, relief from that stress. One exudes the confidence of an expert economist; the other expertly mocks that confidence, all in the spirit of free-wheeling fun.
Despite accusations by one against the other of plagiarism, none holds water, for the body of work they write and publish and have accumulated speaks of them as being journalists of the highest caliber. Both had the education, the training, the skill, the experience and the by-products of those years of writing.
One gauge to prove this contention is originality of ideas. The thought process involve in the writing is reflected in the written article. And that can be gleaned from the sometimes-very long essays of Pareng Don and in the stinging, irreverent parody of Pareng Jesse.
Where Pareng Don tends to structure his articles in a scholarly manner, Pareng Jesse would just defy form for his less-pompous content. Either way, both conveys their messages just as effectively.
Judging from where they came from originally in the Philippines, I have no doubt that their firepower comes not only from being adept at guns but also by the high intensity of their curses. Suddenly, Mr. Webster is at a loss as to how to demonstrate the viciousness of an f-word or an s-word.
Pareng Don would let loose a barrage of unprintables and Pareng Jesse would just as quickly repel them. That's a draw in word count. In impact, however, neither wins.
But what it tells me is that these two friends of mine are at their core true friends. That is, if I would allow Ralph Waldo Emerson to have the last word on this, thus: "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them".
And if that's not enough of a reminder, let Oscar Wilde tell us: "True friends stab you in the front".
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 39, November 12, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).
For other stories, please visit:
1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/
2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/
3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/
4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/
5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .
For newsvideos, please click the link:
1. Milestone in Leadership, Friendship and Service of Alpha Phi Omega in San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lmYnkU_3s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. A 20-million peso Bounty for Gawad Kalinga from TELUS, a Top Canadian Firm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6w59zu-os8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
3. Ako ay Pilipino - The Song Heard 'Round Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlIfQWASv4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
4. Bayan Ko by PAMANA Vocal Ensemble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeLLJA094A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
5. Candid Talk with Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4mkd_gX6RE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
6. The Life of a Filipino Caregiver in Song and Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARiBxo1ilNM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
7. Filipino Caregivers Honor Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y5HfltfkC4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
8. Trees of Gold, Red and Orange - My First Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOmsAZ8xW4&playnext=1&videos=Z4sl5t7IhZk&feature=mfu_in_order
9. The Blooming Wildflowers of Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Oj2n_L1is&playnext=1&videos=PixfkFrNkd0&feature=mfu_in_order
10. Cucina Manila - A Taste of Filipino Food in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLbDA6rkpQw&playnext=1&videos=56RoSgO_O4Q&feature=mfu_in_order
11. A Visit to Ottawa, Canada's Capital, and Notre-Dame Cathedral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKOrpSBeAmw&playnext=1&videos=smiQ71GXQ1c&feature=mfu_in_order
12. Top Toronto Cop Assures Filipinos on Arrest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJd0tyW16rM&playnext=1&videos=GruA8S99fRM&feature=mfu_in_order
13. Mass Celebrating the Feast Day of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nVg6yaC2dw&playnext=1&videos=RikOTyyMUeA&feature=mfu_in_order
14. Manila's Rizal Monument in Toronto's 'Quilt of Tiles': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bADykG7Ijc&feature=channel
15. Images of the Philippines on Apparels and Accessories in Toronto at: http://vimeo.com/15160450
16. Bicolanos in Toronto Celebrate Feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia with Mass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fBa88FUXfk&feature=channel
17. Filipino Protesters Hold Rally in Toronto Against Martial Law in RP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc6QOXR4oqk&feature=channel
18. Quiapo! Quiapo! - The Famous Filipino Restaurant in Toronto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y1PnpjCyNk&feature=channel
19. Restless in New York -- A Writer's Journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37TAHkSgSE&feature=channel
20. Share Your Blessings, Filipino Organization Urges Toronto Community: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by0eGuHLimU&feature=channe
Emailed to PhilVoiceNews@aol.com:
ReplyDeletePareng Romy,
Maraming salamat. I was kilig to death. On the things you said about me, that is. I was touched, pare. I read your story over and over and again and again. Pare, you're really a fine writer. Your sentences were so simple, yet so elegantly written. No doubt, written by a pro and a true journalist. Reading your "news" is like reading poetry. And I sh-t you not.
You also have depth. Because you were able to fathom two personalities, especially my personality and made comparisons to the other personality ... and you hit right the nail right on the head, ika nga.
For sure, what you write and HOW you write is what you are as a person.
Too bad and too sad, but up to now, "Pareng Don" had not responded to my overtures of friendship. My extended hand had remained extended and "un-grasped." Perhaps his wounds and hurts are so deep that it's difficult for him to heal and come around from his stupor. My hand, my empty hand, will remain extended until then.
Once again, Pareng Romy, salamat.
Jesse Jose
Seattle, WA
Emailed to PhilVoiceNews@aol.com:
ReplyDeleteDear Pareng Romy,
Tears welled from my eyes as I read your letter. I've always known that you are a great person----someone so intense and fearless in his quest for truth and justice.
Jesse Jose had done that to me a couple of times before and then he would apologize, then do it again. For me, his offer of an apology is meaningless and rings hollow at this point. I would not have reacted in anger had he not use the word moron in referring to me. That was uncalled for. Calling me a plagiarist and a sex offender, as far as I'm concerned, is unforgivable. I'm familiar with the type of articles I've been writing for my column because I used to do that when I worked for a major bank. And I'm not a sex offender.
Pareng Romy, the chasms created between us is too deep and too wide to be bridged. I might ask my lawyer not to proceed with the lawsuit that I intend to file against him if that's something I can do as a sign of my respect for you as a friend but I have no intentions of ever forgiving him. Never!
Don Azarias
Chicago, Illinois
Emailed to PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com:
ReplyDeletePareng Romy,
I took the liberty of copying some of my friends with your article. It's just sad that it deals with your personal commentary about the cyberspace battle I had with Jesse Jose recently. But my main purpose of copying them is to introduce them to a man whose style of writings personifies a journalist in its truest sense. Although some of them may have read this already, I'm sure they won't mind reading it again.
Guys, please read Mr. Romy Marquez's writing and see for yourself how a seasoned journalist writes. His style and command of the King's language is something to behold. Most of us knew Nick Joaquin, Abelardo Subido, Ted Locsin and a lot more. But I think Mr. Marquez is in the same league as them.
Gentlemen, let me present to you, Mr. Romy Marquez......
Don Azarias
Chicago, Illinois