Finally, the Philippines concluded its presidential elections. However, the toxicity it brought to social media is far from over. While one party celebrates, the other party is saddened by the loss of their presidential bet. This is the beauty of democracy. We let the people decide. And now, we wait. Also, the world watches. 

Lately, what I am concerned about is the rampant gloating around social media. Gloating is finding satisfaction in the suffering of others. When bad things happen to people, or they do bad things and suffer the consequences, people who gloat celebrate. It may be in public or in private. 

The Bible specifically warns: "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice" (Proverbs 24:17)

Creatures of Emotion

We are created as emotional beings. So we process things not just rationally but sometimes emotionally. And it irks me when some people disregard how fragile emotions can be. There is a time for people to separate emotions from decision-making. But there is also a time for people to listen to their emotions and let their feelings flow. 

I feel for everyone who felt disappointed or frustrated with how the elections turned out. Life's like that - either we win or we lose. I know a lot of people who cried because their candidate lost. To be honest, it is painful to see. I have seen how invested they were in their advocacies so I can imagine how devastated they must have felt. 

And this is the perfect time for us to practice empathy and compassion. Instead of mocking people and celebrating their misery, let them grieve. It's no longer about candidates. The campaign period is over. It's already about being human. 

People are still processing their emotions. Let them cry. Let them be sad. Let them grieve. 

Stop Being Condescending

I believe this reaction is just retaliation to the condescending comments they received from another party. 

Since the start of the election campaign, people were hurling insults and defamatory words at each other just to prove a point. Condescending comments that seek to destroy one another flooded social media - and it even transcended real life. 

If this is the case, then there will be no end to this fiasco. 

I do not condone ad hominems. I hate it because it doesn't add substance to conversations. Moreso, it ruins friendships and relationships. Ad hominems attack the person not the subject at hand. If we want to grow up in our argumentations, we should never resort to mudslinging and character assassination when we run out of rebuttals.

Dichotomy

I have said elsewhere that our country is polarized by political colors. Since Martial Law days, we have been categorizing everyone into red and yellow, and we never grew from that. Even if we are graced with several candidates from the several elections that we had, we still see our political scene as dichotomous - always between these two. 

I long for the time when we will bury the idea of color-coding [lol] in our politics. We are gifted with capable leaders but we always stick to the red vs yellow narrative. As we grow old, let's also grow up. 

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I still have much to say but I can't organize my thoughts well. Haha! Sorry, readcash for bearing with me and my rants. It is a joy to be pouring my heart out without being condemned to the core. Mainstream social media can be really toxic for opinionated introverts like me. But heya, if you're reading this and you don't agree, just let me be. Haha! 

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I'm glad to participate in an active democracy. It's a privilege and a blessing. Some people don't have the luxury of choosing their leaders. The election is now over. Let's get ready for a brand new start. Let the healing begin.

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Also, let me grieve lol.