On the Democracy of the Pinoy Blogosphere a.k.a Malu Fernandez, Take Your Cue

The Malu Fernandez brouhaha raging in the Pinoy blogosphere has been clearly infuriating to many of us. Typically Pinoy, some of the insanely humorous comments, expressing truly acerbic wit in so many blog posts have been good in diffusing the outrage. She has been hurled insults that have unfairly maligned animals of the porcine kind.

You will agree with me that this social space we are creating is predominantly middle class, reflecting our middle class values and our middle class sensibilities. Ms. Fernandez should take the cue that the society in which she lives is now ruled by a free market economy. We no longer live in society where privilege is taken for granted by the privileged because wealth creation is more transparent in the exchange of money. In plain words, being rich doesn't automatically make you our betters, so you need to tone down your disgust for the masses, at least in public. While admittedly there are vestiges of the old system, don't we want wealth as something acquired through hard work and merit? Not by socioeconomic rank and god forbid, birth? Don't you call yourself a working girl as well Ms. Fernandez? In any democracy, these values make you the same as me.

From Ms. Fernandez' column I take it she works in the fashion business, focusing on RTW. In her own words, her customers are not exactly haute ton (high society). Ms. Fernandez, while you may count yourself as part of the "jet-setting" crowd, your business clearly depends on the patronage of those with purchasing power. Who has purchasing power in the Philippines today? Obviously, the people who have written these posts - the Middle Class. And those of us with relatives working abroad who continue to infuse capital in this country. These are the very same people you have insulted in your ignorance. Of the billions of dollars they have sent home, $14 billion last year alone, I'm sure some of that has made its way to your purse Ms. Fernandez. And some have been used to buy the magazine and newspaper you write for. So yeah, enjoy your spritz of Jo Malone while you can. These days, being matapobre*, can be very bad for business.

*In Spanish, means kill the poor.


Edited to add:

Just to drive home the point, here are the latest hilarious/outraged posts via technorati.

From spanx:

PUNYETA pala itong MALU FERNANDEZ na ito eh, ang daming sinasabi, wala naman iniisip, t*ng 'na, lahat ng mga kapwa nating Pinoy na nagsusumikap sa Dubai, na-insulto mo.

Nagawa mo pa asarin lahat ng mas mahirap sa iyo. Eh kung i-forward itong mga pa-kyut mo sa http://www.alexboncayaobrigade.com/, matuwa ka pa kaya?...And do shut your trap before I go all Sun-Tzu on your fat ass.

From stevie:

As a backgrounder, Ms Fernandez has struggled with a weight problem since birth. She has tried everything. Obviously unsuccessful, Malu, single fortysomething, has just resorted to being a bitch to get noticed. Let's not spam her then.

From Manila Boy:

Even if the acerbic Ms. Fernandez tries to ignore all the hate mails and vehement blogs virtually chopping her up into liempo, all these intensely negative vibes will surely give her a very bad long weekend indeed.

From aika:

Truth, you say? Here’s a little glimpse of reality. The last time I checked, Philippines is a third world country and people struggle to at least eat three times a day. And some families do this by sending a family member abroad, doing whatever they can - including being miles away from their loved ones - just so their families here in the Philippines could live a freaking decent life. Here’s your reality: there’s nothing f*cking funny about that.

From Pedestrian Observer:

While Donya Buding is a class act and really a classy woman Malu Fernandez has no class, nada, zip, zilch so excuse me, comparing her to Donya Buding is the biggest insult ever. Fer cryin out loud she is not even in the calibre of a cartoon character like Miss Piggy what more with Donya Buding.

From shane:

At bakit hindi sya magrereklamo na masikip ang upuan, ang taba taba kaya nya. Kung ako sa kanya, magpapa-LIPO ako kay Vicky Belo or kay Pai Calayan!

From valkyrieangie:

puh-leeze. some people with lower socioeconomic background are better bred than you are. even if all they get to eat are noodles and rice to get by and you get to stuff yourselves with escargot and champignon (which is just the sosyal way of saying suso at kabute, noh). we may not be your target audience, we middle class people, but we can read and we know when we are being put down.

From azrael:

I am an OFW myself, and it hurts me big-time when a fellow pinoy looks down on me and judge me by mere affinity. It’s just not right. Besides, what’s wrong with selling celphones and perfumes at duty free shops? What’s wrong with using cheap ass perfumes like Axe and Charlie? What’s wrong with being loud and friendly with your fellow pinoys on a plane?? DAMMIT.. WHAT????

From jovi:

Miss… er… Blimp, I’ll have you know that I’ve read the unabridged versions of books like “Brothers Karamazov”, “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Les Miserables”, among others, and I think those can be considered thicker than a magazine but I still cannot, for the life of me, appreciate your so - called acerbic wit, but hey, maybe it’s just me.

From Filipinowriter:

Just because she feels that she can’t make a difference, doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause. The fact that people are actually trying is much more noble, than playing aristocrat and hinting that The Philippines is a lost cause.