To steal or to love should not be a question

Last May 24, two comediennes exchanged raucous remarks during the live telecast of Showtime, a daily variety show.

It started with Tado’s comment on the show’s contestants. “Pang-gay ang performance niyo,” he said. “Ano namang masama sa pang-gay? May problema ka ba sa mga bakla, Tado?” Vice Ganda asked. “Hindi naman. Just read my shirt,” Tado replied.

Printed in the shirt are these words: Hindi bale nang magnakaw kesa mamakla.

This annoyed Vice Ganda even more. “Ang hindi marunong na tanggapin ang katotohanan ng buhay ay ang totoong bakla. Tandaan mo 'yan,” he said.

"Ang mga gipit, sa bading kumakapit," Tado added, seemingly unaware that he already had infuriated Vice Ganda.

To this, Vice Ganda answered, "Pero ang gipit kung ganyan ang hitsura, walang baklang magpapakapit!"

It was only then Tado tempered down. But the damage has been done. The glass has been broken. The issue has begun to spread like wildfire in social networking sites.

Vice’s side

"Pasensiya na kayo ha, naging masyado talaga akong emosyunal sa pagkakataong ito. Naapektuhan talaga ako sa sinabi ni Tado. Gusto ko lang maging totoo. At gusto ko lang itaas hindi lang ang sarili ko kundi lahat ng baklang nabubuhay sa mundo... At pati na rin lahat ng mga magulang na may anak na bakla. Gusto ko lang sabihin sa kanila na walang nakakahiya sa pagiging bakla."

Loosely translated, he disagrees with Tado. He is a gay, and he is proud to be one. He is just standing up for himself and for the rest of the gay community who are often ridiculed for their sexual preference.

Tado’s side

Even though he immediately tried to appease Vice Ganda, Tado (I believe!) still meant what he said. He is furious with gays, and wouldn’t ever accept them.

Tado, or Arvin Jimenez, is a TV and radio personality in the Philippines. He is hosting Strangebrew, a reality comedy show in UNTV, and BrewRats! a three-hour anything-goes radio show, which stands for Brew(R)amon(A)ngel(T)ado(S)how. As a freelance actor and filmmaker, he had appeared in some independent short films, applying what he had learned at the Mowelfund Institute. He is actually a frequent character in the music videos of Parokya ni Edgar. He had worked as a staff in a mental hospital, a waiter, a scriptwriter for television and a photojournalist.

He put up a clothing store, LimiTado, which he runs with his wife, Lei. The store basically alters what people buy in ukay-ukay to make it more usable and brand-new. The tees are also printed with limited designs, hence the name. LimiTado is also a ‘home to a lot of other quirky finds’ including bags, accessories and Volkswagen toy collectibles.

There’s more than meets the eye with Tado (Mallari, PG. Tado Jimenez seriously. The Manila Times. 07 Sept 2008). He co-founded Dakila, an artists group aiming to instill modern-day heroism in everyday people, and volunteers for RockEd, a group that intends to educate the youth through rock culture. “As a Filipino you should be serviceable. You don’t have to be shot in Luneta to become a hero,” Tado was reported saying.

Hindi baleng magnakaw, huwag lang mamakla

Better to steal than to appeal [with gays].

It really sounded offensive. It’s like the speaker or, in this case, the wearer, is advocating theft than to have a relationship with members of the third sex. Vice Ganda was just right for speaking up against what Tado has done.

There’s just another way to interpret it. It could mean that ‘It is better to steal than to play with a gay’s feelings [to have money]’. Knowing who Tado is from the features written about him in dailies and in the web, I think that this is what he really intends to convey. No one has the right to toy with somebody else’s emotions, gay or not. If he would be pushed to do so, he would rather dirty his hands and commit a crime.

Hopefully, that was his reason. Hopefully, that was what he believes in. Hopefully, nobody would discriminate against his or her fellow, especially against Filipinos.

References