If you are not updated over the internet, well let me be the one to update you. Actually this scandal hit the peak of the Philippine Blogosphere just this week and I have decided to blog this only now, not only because I am coinciding the controversy with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today, but also because I want to blog about this issue as objective as possible. The Gist is this: A College student from Ateneo named Tracy Isabel Torres had posted a private note on her facebook account which she “according to my understanding” demeaned and maligned the dignity of the Aetas. If you are not familiar with facebook, well its like another Friendster account but with a very specific security feature for every post that you will make or will publish. Unfortunately someone in her friends’ list screen capped the private post and published it all over the internet. If you goggle her name now it will be impossible to read everything that has been written about her, apparently, many of them are quite antagonistic about her post. So before I give my “personal” analysis on this matter, I will let you read first the famous screen capped entry which I highlighted some of the statements that I think made her post very very as in very controversial

By the way, Immaculate Conception is a dogma and an article of Faith in the Catholic Church which we faithful believe that Mary, the mother of God is conceived without original sin and has maintained this purity of soul up to her dormition and assumption in heaven. This was first explained by the Dominican Thomas Aquinas but has been perfected by a Franciscan theologian named Blessed John Duns Scotus.

I have covered the face of the author because like Reynz’ entry, I think it is not proper to plaster her real appearance over the internet for others to ridicule. The Focus of my entry is not about her ‘being” but what she had said. It’s important to differentiate those two just for information’s sake.

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Privacy Issues

Tracy claimed in other blogs that it was a Joke and was meant for private eyes. It was sent to her friends in facebook for them to read but one of her friends screen capped her entry and spread it all over the internet which I think has lost its privacy value at the moment. But are we really assured that the privacy of such accounts can be trusted? As I have previously stated so many times in this blog before, when a person attempts to post something over the Internet it is therefore deemed as a public domain. Anything and everything you upload, write and commented on are all deemed public property no matter how private you want it to be. There are many ways to hack a private account. and sometimes it doesn’t take a genius to do that. Even if you google a certain topic you can still view the contents via cached items. Tracy has trustworthily posted her entry in the privacy of Facebook but little does she know that not all of your friends over the internet value privacy. People will do everything just to get hands on your its bitsy dirty little secrets just to get a piece of you. Isn’t this the reason why online stalking has been rampant? because whether we admit it or not, this is the cyberspace baby. The only antidote for invasion of privacy is to “not” post any confidential matters on any account. It would be nice to have someone read or view it among your friends but i think its not worth it to even upload it in exchange of your privacy. So the question is: Is it immoral to screen cap a private post like this? YES and NO

YES because thats why it has a PRIVATE word written all over it. You don’t go to someone else’s bathroom and watch someone take a bath.

And NO because the mere fact you posted it for others or even for a good number of friends to read them, you are actually giving them the liberty to do whatever they wish to do with it– comment on it, ignore it and lately, screen cap it. You don’t have control over your friends action especially on a very controversial and delicate post even if you tell them not to tattle, there will always be someone who is ready to breach your trust.

The bottomline is, the defense that the post is private lies and depends on the nature of the argument itself. What i do know is that those kind of conversation, especially something that is offending to others should not have been written in the first place in a public domain, regardless whether it is private or not.

“For there is nothing hid, which shall not be made manifest: neither was it made secret, but that it may come abroad”. – Mark 4:22

Betrayal

Some of Tracy’s friends has been all over the blogosphere defending her in various blogs and telling people that she was betrayed. I agree. It’s because no one has the right to betray anyone especially when you are trusted with a very confidential “secret” that only you and the rest of the group has the privilege to read. But this is the catch: when you entrust a secret you should also be discreet. You should know the right people to trust to because not all people are trustworthy and the fact that people can agree with you right in front of your face but deep inside they wanted to throw their arm at you in disagreement. People are not robots wherein they just agree in everything that you said. They were given proper intellect to know what’s wrong and what’s right. So the Question is, was Tracy really betrayed? YES and NO

YES because again she trusted that her friends would not divulge to others her private post. Kaya nga private its because she wanted only her friends to know what’s really brewing inside her or at least made known to others what kind of virus which made her scrub her body and curse the aetas so blatantly.

And NO because (1) that friend of hers may have no clue that the post was private because if you are in Facebook and you set it into private, your friends has no way in recognizing it as private or public except of course if you logged out or use another account to view the post. Unlike plurk that it has a lock icon which everyone on your friend’s list can identify as private. (2) like I said, not everyone agrees with our opinions. Maybe the friend was so disgusted with the entry that he or she thought of sharing it to her friends or maybe she wante dto give tracy her own medicine. Who knows.

The Bottomline is, we do not know what’s in the person’s mind or what is she or he thinking why he spread the screen cap. The argument that tracy was betrayed lies on the argument of the betrayer’s motives and intention. Unless we identify the culprit, no one would know the real intention behind.

“If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” – Matthew 18:15-17

The Lynch Mob

By now, Tracy Borres has already been lined to the likes of Malou Fernandez in and out of the blogosphere. Her statements are far from encouraging regardless of its privacy. But is it really a Lynch Mob? I think the Friends of Tracy has the right to get angry when their dear friend is attacked throughout the pinoy Blogosphere. I would do the same if a friend of mine has been subjected to such criticism and harsh judgment. But is it unfair to give a judgment on Tracy Borres’ statements? Yes and NO

YES it is unfair because we do not really know her exactly. She is just a private citizen who chose to blog her feelings for her friends to read. She has just been honest with her feelings and like many of us, she has the right to state her opinion.

And NO because she chose to write her opinion for others to see without thinking the damage and consequences it may led her identity to circumstances which she has no control of. Like Tracy, bloggers also has the right to say their piece on issue such as this. This may seem petty to her friends, but the seriousness and gravity of her statements does not only lie on the level of her friends but also on the name of the University in which she belonged to, which was also the same institution that created such Immersion Experience for them to cherish and behold. The worse, it is not a statement that can easily be dissed as a conversations of the dumb, but an alarming twisted mentality thas is being accepted as a form of a joke and a cool form of entertainment at the expense of others, the worst, at the expense of the less fortunate aetas.

Bottomline is, the argument that it is “unfair for tracy” lies on the nature and premise of the argument itself. For the reason that “she should not be judged by other because they don’t know her” is undeniably overshadowed by a greater premise that “she should not have judged the Aetas in the first place”. She judged the Aetas, therefore she is now being judged according to her own measure. Ironic but true.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. – Matthew 7:1-2

Catholic Education

One of the sub issues that is surfacing among the readers and commenters in various blogs is the question of the effectivity of Catholic Education in the country. We all know that Ateneo is one of the world’s foremost Catholic University in the country and its efficacious effort to instill values and virtues among its students and alumni is very commendable. I too have friends who graduated from Ateneo and who lives moral and descent lives. But not all who came from the prestigious University has imbibed the Ignatian spirituality. One such example is Joseph Estrada and the first Gentleman himself. But it doesn’t mean that the Education given by the Jesuits are useless to others. Now the question is: Is the Jesuit Fathers and Brothers are the ones to be blamed for the act of a single woman? Yes and No

YES in some instance, because this is an undeniable truth that each and every students that goes in and out of the corridors of that university has a duty in upholding the name of the University and apply what they learned from theology in their very lives. Such obligation must be greatly stressed to students and alumni alike.

And NO because the Jesuits doesnt have any control on circumtsnaces and opinions that are already outside their jurisdictions. We are given the free will and once we use it we are alone in facing the consequence of our actions. Much in the same way as with all of us, regardless of affinity to the Jesuits or to other Catholic institution. It is already the responsibility of the individual to live the values he or she learned from the institution. A value and virtue, no matter how noble and beneficial it may be, is not forced on anyone. It is the realization of the individual that makes it possible for him to apply it in her daily journey in life. Thus the sweeping Generalization of the Jesuits fault is not true. That the sweeping generalization that all Ateneans are like Tracy are also not true and that the Sweeping Generalization that Catholic education is not effective is definitely false and untrue. Because man, by nature, has his own free will. And as obvious as the F word and the blasphemy of God’s name in Tarcy’s post are also true, so is the theory that one’s alma mater is not a guarantee of decency and morality of a person.

Bottomline is, the Jesuits should at least evaluate the education they are giving, at least for the sake of the other Ateneans being dragged and generalized as having the same behavior and mentality as Tracy. For I believed in the efficacy of the Jesuit Fathers, but it is when that values and virtues of the Ignatian spirituality begins to trickle down to their educators and students that spells the problem.

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” – Matthew 18:18

The Moral and Social Implications

What others believe that this is a petty issue is absolutely untrue. Some petty issues remains insignificant because no greater realizations are made out of them. But in this case, The case of Tracy is applicable to all of us because whether we admit it or not, most of us also has the same mentality as Tracy. This case is actually a moral case for all of us to reflect and contemplate with. And yet, as preachy as I may sound, let me explain to you briefly the implication of Tracy’s case:

The social implication of sin is always discussed in theology. Though we are not in a theology class but let me just transcribed the technical concept of it into terms that would be comprehensible to common people like us.

Sin is like a ripple on a big wide lake. When an itsy bitsy tiny drop of water is dropped in the center of a calm and motionless lake, it will create a ripple that will surely reach all corners of the shore of a lake. That is what sin like

Regardless of Tracy’s post set into private, the moral damage that Tracy cost the aetas also has implication with others. Its not of her own alone. No matter how people insists that its for her friends, the fact still remains that she dissed the aetas in a very distasteful way. The worse, not even one of her friends corrected her or admonished her in her weakness but gave sisterly correction. Until one defiant friend had the courage to spread the screen cap and then everyone made their opinion about the post.

Ganito yun. If you murdereed someone and no one was looking, does that mean it is an excuse of privacy, that no one supposed to know the crime? Remember Cain and Abel? No one saw it except God and from that day until now, the sin of abel still trckles down and ripples on our generation because of the reality of the social implication of sin.

Whether the post is secret or not, the fact still remains that Tracy made a mistake. Its just so happens that Karma was on the side of the aetas and a friend of hers was the instrument of the discovery of this post, But the culpability and gravity ofd the mistake remains true and binding to tracy unless of course she makes reparation. sincere and not shallow reparations.

Others are insisting that people have no right to invade her privacy, that is so true. But it is also true when the Gospel tells us that

“None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s”. – Romans 14:8-9

Such Irony that Fr. E. Hontiveros S.J., a Jesuit composer had written a song similar to the above passage called “Pananagutan“.

Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang
Walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang
Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa’t-isa
Tayong lahat ay tinipon ng Diyos na kapiling N’ya

Forgiveness

Many have judged Tracy beyond the post she made. I just hope that others would at least give credence to her “being” because she is also a person. But then again, who would blame the people if what she wrote is totally unacceptable even on social standards. I am not saying that the people criticizing has has the right to call her stupid or dumb rich girl, but who can blame them? Its a matter of emotion and opinion just like what Tracy’s post is all about.

But does Tracy have the right to be forgiven? Yes and BUT

YES of course. As if Tracy murdered someone. Well technically no, but doctrinally, yes. Because in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Scandals such as these are categorically included in the fifth commandment of “Thou Shall not Kill”. If you are in doubt, please refer to the CCC. Yes, like many of us who is imperfect she too has the right to be forgiven. For anyone who never sinned should cast the first stone at her.

BUT, forgiveness is not only limited to executing the penance that the Priests gives her in the confession. It is not enough. She should do acts of love in reparation of her sins. An act directed towards the subject of her sins, which are the aetas. For even if she writes a whole blog page of letter of apology, its still useless because the damage has been done and the only thing that can repair the injustice to the dignity of the aetas is through active and concrete manifestation of contrition. Her sins is forgiven when it is done with love and not just saying Ten Hail Marys and Five Glory be’s.

What she is experiencing now is not a God Given trial– a common notion to her friends. What she is experiencing now is purgation and a consequence of her irresponsible action and opinion that took the blogosphere by storm through her own fault.

To defend Tracy all over the blogosphere is a noble act and a show of loyalty and sympathy, but to correct her and encourage her to repent and mend her ways is I think the greatest act of friendship that anyone can give.

The Dogma of Tracy

Reading Tracy’s post, I can’t seem to help but compare her to the Immaculate Conception of our lady in some way. Gathering from her post, Tracy seems to be declaring a dogma that she was born pure, undefiled, flawless, errorless, faultless, impeccable, irreproachable, spotless, stainless, unsullied and the whole enchilada of adjectives and synonyms from the thesaurus. And sadly, some of her friends even agreed to this declaration, private or public, it doesn’t matter.

Just like the thought of the Plausibility of the Immaculate Conception of Tracy Borres is deemed not only as a travesty but also as a heresy and blasphemy in the light of faith, so as the belief that when one is privileged and pampered at home and is studying in a world renowned Catholic University, good education, ethics, values, virtues and morals follows, is as ridiculous as the proclamation of a heretic dogma itself.

As Tracy Borres is now talked about all over the blogosphere as someone who mimics the Virgin Mary’s purity in a very defiled way, her friends and bloggers who defended her is however seen as the serpent crushed beneath her feet.

The imagery and striking parallelism of this alleged “patty case” with Theology and Mariology are so profound that you begin to wonder if this is an issue of morality, privacy, parental upbringing, peer pressure or an issue on the state of the Catholic Education in our country.

No one knows the answer except Tracy herself. For unlike the rest of us, Tracy was born into privilege and that privilege comes with a specific obligation — to the aetas which she unwittingly defiled.

Related Entries by Bloggers:

• Bidets in the Aeta Community
• The Tracy Borres in Us
• Cultural Immerssion and how a non-conyo survived and enjoyed a community service