Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jul 2016
Source: Manila Times (Philippines)
Column: Radikal Chick
Copyright: 2016, The Manila Times
Contact:  http://www.manilatimes.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/921
Author: Katrina Stuart Santiago

PERSPECTIVE

EVER since the President won on a platform of ridding this country of 
drugs and crime, we have heard it said: this is not a war on drugs; 
it is a war on the poor. This is a violation of human rights, a 
violation of the rights of the poor to due process, their right to 
life, their right to live.

Human rights are the soul of the country, said the Vice President. 
This President has no sense of what human rights are about, say 
critics. Media spins these deaths: they are all poor! The chairmen of 
Barangays Bel-Air, Dasmarinas, Forbes Park, San Lorenzo, and Urdaneta 
sign are no drug users and pushers in posh villages.

We read the spin and are angered: of the new Pieta. We post photos of 
the dead. We declare: this is not a war on drugs; this is a war on the poor.

Earn from the dead

I refrain from posting the photos of the dead, bloodied bodies 
sprawled on the streets, of the women clutching their dead and 
weeping. I keep from posting these images because they objectify the 
poor. They are dead, and mainstream media earns from every click, 
every share and every repost about their deaths.

We insist that it is an injustice that they have died at all in this 
war against drugs. Yet we allow them to further be victimized by 
media, which has become so comfortable with these deaths that they do 
not bother anymore with backstories and contexts, no statements from 
the community about what these stories. So few ask questions.

We demand so little of media when they serve our purpose.

And what is our we share images of the poor killed gather support 
around this cause, yes. To fuel public outrage, sure. And steer would 
be in the direction of Batasang

Pambansa on SONA day, in the form of a rally, no matter how small, 
against these killings and this drug war.

But nothing. Instead, we continue with the sharing, we weep at the 
body count, we wax romantic about life. We take what we believe of 
the basic human right to life, and put it on a pedestal. We still 
only see the dead as numbers. An unverified, unquestioned, 
decontextualized body count. We click and share. Mainstream media 
laughs all the way to the bank. It's no better than poverty porn.

War on the poor

Many post images of the dead and bewail what have we become And what 
have we become, really, when it took this war on drugs for us to 
start caring about the poor Because the war against the poor has been 
happening since time immemorial. It's a war that is not about 
something as urgent as the drug crisis. Instead, it is a war 
happening in the name of the few who impoverishment of a majority in 
this country. It's a war that is waged by the powerful and wealthy to 
ensure the status quo is maintained, their position in society 
cemented for generations. It's a war that has as its prize the 
nation's wealth-natural resources, basic services, cultural 
products-under the control and in the hands of the rich who get 
richer on the backs of the poor who become poorer.

This is a war waged by oligarchs and capitalists who refuse to give 
workers just wages, regularization, and health - tizes public 
services, never mind that it will mean the poor will lose access to 
these. This is the same war that believes in the idea of dole-outs as 
poverty alleviation program-the better to keep the poor indebted and 
grateful. This is the same war waged by business interests and 
hacenderos-that justi Lumad and farmers.

Blind side

Make no mistake: this war against the poor-the one waged by oligarchs 
and business interests alongside governments run by the elite and 
wealthy-this war kills the poor.

The poor die from hunger and food poisoning, they die in the hands of 
the State police as they rally for rice to tide them over dur the 
paramilitary who protects business interests instead of the Lumad. 
They die because there is no money for medical bills, they die 
because they get involved in crime. They are dead because there is 
impoverishment that renders people as good as dead.

This state of the nation, this one that is about keeping the 
capitalists happy, and keeping the poor in their proper place of 
subservience and enslavement, this state of the nation has killed the 
poor all these years. And solely in the name of ensuring that the 
wealth remains with the few-never mind where that brings the poor.

This state of nation has lived off the violation of the rights of the 
poor: their right to basic services, their right to food, shelter, 
clothing, health care; their children's rights to education and play, 
their parents' rights to safe employment and just wages. Make no 
mistake, we have watched it happen all these years: the death of the 
poor in the hands of the State.

But there is no media mileage for this, no body count, no public rage.

What have we become as a nation? we ask.

But have we not been this nation all these years?
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom