To cry or not to cry

In last Monday's session at the Senate, Senator Jamby Madrigal broke down in tears and walked out of the session hall, still profusely crying even upon being interviewed by media, over what she called "uncalled for remarks" of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile on Senator Madrigal's parents partying with the Marcoses during Martial Law. Senator Jamby explained on TV that she cried because her father is sick, and that her father has never gotten a single centavo from the Marcoses.

I could not quite decide or determine what my reaction was to this scene on TV. On the one hand, I agree that Sen. Enrile would bamboozle others in the way that he interpelates or comments about them, as he has done with other persons being investigated by the Senate. Sen. Enrile was a former Defense Minister and a former trial lawyer, and I guess, he comes on too strong to others, Sen. Jamby included.

On the other hand, I am not sure if, faced with this provocation, the better reaction was to cry, much like a baby, especially with the one who caused the provocation and the entire nation watching. It seems that the reaction I preferred was the one displayed by Cory Aquino against Louie Beltran in that famous libel case (remember that the great late Louie said that President Cory hid under the bed during the coup against her?), or Cory's reaction to Raul Gonzales when the latter snidely remarked that the former President better attend to her daughter, for which later on the grumpy Justice Secretary apologized.

Or the way that Golda Meir comported herself in the parliament during Israel's infancy, prompting then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to say that Madame Meir was the best man in his Cabinet. In fact, later on, Golda Meir became the first woman Prime Minister of Israel, leading her country through perilous times, without tears.

I guess I hope or expect women not to cry in the face of perceived cantankerous behavior of men, especially when the whole confrontation was started by the woman, as in the case of Sen. Jamby, who moved that Enrile's criticism of her privilege last week on Martial Law be stricken off the record. A privilege speech is, of course, an invitation to a counter speech and if one cannot stand the exchange, better not start one, or at the very least, do not cry when the enemy starts shooting back. Or better still, do a Miriam: After saying that she should have flunked Rep. Rolex Suplico of Iloilo, who was her former student in the U.P. College of Law, and after Rep. Suplico replied that his grade was higher than hers in the Bar, the feisty Senator just laughed. As it is said, all is fair in love and war.

***

Speaking of crying, actor Rustom Padilla, who is one of Pinoy Big Brother's housemates in the still on-going reality TV show, stole the attention of the nation a week ago when he, too, cried on national TV over his struggle and realization that he was gay.

Not a few cried with him, in fact, a torrent of public sympathy and praise came his way, so much so that, when ex-housemate and Bacolodnon Christian Vasquez did a girlie portrayal, Rustom's toughie brother, in the person of Robin "macho man" and "kamao" Padilla, had to make an unannounced angry visit to the house of Big Brother, to comfort and affirm his love and praise for his brother Rustom.

Well, well, well.

I, too, am not to sure how to react to this. On the one hand, courage to admit a fact is always a thing of virtue. On the other hand, I do not accept Rustom's statement that his true person ("tunay na pagkataao") was that he was gay because the truth of the matter is no person is born or made gay. In the beginning, as it is said in Scriptures, God made them male and female and male was male and female was female. Our true person is either we are male or female and not a combination or confusion of both.

Still, we pity Rustom and all others like him, whose early childhood or other life experiences became the cause of this confusion, and eventually rejection, of their true nature or person.

But further still, while the sight of Robin the Toughie Padilla coming to the rescue of his brother Rustom might have been a touching sight, I do not know if it would have been much better if, whether male or female, whether confirmed or confused, no crying-crying or rescue-rescue was made at all.

This is not to say that in this world there is no place for tears. In fact, Jesus wept. But tears are kind of precious. And I am not sure if a repartee in the Senate is the place to shed them, or in a TV reality show where a toughie brother comes to the rescue of his sibling, who, for all practical intents and purposes, is a brother, and not a sister.

Well, whatever it is that happens in the halls of the Senate or in the house of Pinoy Big Brother, I have absolutely no doubt that Bacolod City owns the port here at the reclamation area!!!*