Statement of Atty. Bruce V. Rivera on the Manny Pacquiao debacle.
A lot has been said about the Manny Pacquiao statements that caused him endorsements and bashings from the LGBT community. However, a lot of pro-Manny came out as well defending him to the point of putting it in our faces that we are bashers, we do not forgive, we should have seen the entire interview and we should respect anti-gay marriage comments.
See, here is where the problem begins.
People should understand that the comment was not just about same-sex marriage. It was about the humanity or non-humanity of being gay. You see, I am with many people in totally not supporting same-sex marriage because that is just my belief. It does not mean I do not want my LGBT family to be happy, it is just that I want something that will give rights to gay couples without destroying the Catholic Church concept of matrimony. And it can be done. I am sensitive to non-gay Catholic believers at the same time I am pushing for gay rights as human beings.
I was bashed last year because I openly did not support the Valkyrie uproar because I thought the response of the community on the denial of entry to a bar was over-acting and petty. Many called me an “self-hating internalized homophobe”.
But the remark of Pacquiao hurt me because it was not about gay marriages but it was about the HUMANITY OF BEING GAY. Non-support for gay marriage will not dehumanize me because I do not support it as well. But calling the gays “masahol pa sa hayop” because we cannot distinguish heterosexual acts from homosexual acts dehumanizes me as a person. I watched the whole interview and it does not change how I felt.
And it hurts me more that some people are coming out telling us to chill because we are too thin faced about the situation and that Manny and his mother has been called names in the past and they did not get angry.
First of all, that is the price of fame. If I get billions and people tell me I look like a monkey, laugh at my English and make me the butt of jokes… I will take it. It does not dehumanize because a man looking like a monkey is still a man. But he just managed to call me more repulsive than an animal. Get that?
People who defend Manny uses the argument of his freedom to express an opinion about gay marriage. That I have become too sensitive to the point that most of them subconsciously are telling me that I should at least be thankful the Filipinos tolerate me so I should not push my luck and ask for gay marriage.
And that really pisses me off. I AM NOT ASKING FOR GAY MARRIAGE. I do not even want it because there is no divorce in the Philippines and I do not want to be miserable like too many people trapped in loveless and abusive marriages.
I just want to live a life without fear of being dehumanized by people who can use their power and influence to make others believe I am not a human being. I do not expect equality because there is really no real equality in life. I just want to be treated like a human being. Not to be judged because of what they presume I do in the privacy of my room.
I respect Manny for his achievements and what it did for our country. I treat him as a human being not because he is a champion boxer but because despite his ape-like lineage, he is a human being. I do not care if he respects me for my achievements but I should be treated as a human being even if he thinks I am doing something less-human inside the privacy of my home.
BECAUSE HONESTLY, HITLER USED THE SAME ANALOGY ABOUT BEING LESS THAN HUMAN ABOUT JEWS.
