It Can Happen Here

On Wednesday morning, January 6, I texted my daughter in the East Coast to watch the counting of the electoral college votes in Congress. We may never be able to watch this again, I said, because in normal times the process is procedural, quick and uneventful, not worthy of TV coverage. But these are not normal times so my husband and I settled in (which is a redundant phrase while in a California covid lockdown) and watched.

Little did we know that in a matter of minutes, the assault on the Capitol building would begin. We watched appalled, shocked and deeply saddened as the mob of Trump supporters vandalized, defiled and temporarily took over the seat of American democracy, presenting a clear and present danger to the lives of legislators and legislative police in the process.

This was one of those historical moments that will be indelibly imprinted in our memory, the kind that will trigger  recollections of what-I-was-doing-when-it happened details. Having lived a long life, mine is already a list:

• the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963

• the declaration of martial law in the Philippines in September 1972

• the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in August 1983

• the EDSA People Power revolt in February 1986

• the election victory of Barack Obama in November 2008

What are yours? Share your list with me at PFeditor@yahoo.com.

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In The Know

Editorial: Catholics need to confess their complicity in the failed coup
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/editorial-catholics-need-confess-their-complicity-failed-coup

Why Filipino voters turn their lonely eyes to strongman leaders
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Why-Filipino-voters-turn-their-lonely-eyes-to-strongman-leaders?fbclid=IwAR2L9JjqEgaawD76fS83q4WywKWv9FrxYKW-A3dQ-FKU0XY-RG9_8IPL4QQ

How a team led by a journalist is fighting coronavirus misinformation in the Filipino community
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/how-a-team-led-by-a-journalist-is-fighting-coronavirus-misinformation-in-the-filipino-community/

Anna Maria: The Spaniard who survived 16 bayonet wounds during the Battle of Manila
https://english.elpais.com/arts/2020-08-28/anna-maria-the-spaniard-who-survived-16-bayonet-wounds-during-the-battle-of-manila.html?fbclid=IwAR003Rsx92LTzEuGC7hhj874F7IuWaLIAH6WBooz6tOgSJiy97TquCzn48k

The lonely legacy of Spam
https://theweek.com/articles/956644/lonely-legacy-spam?fbclid=IwAR07-jIIPmU-_4dpGbBKwVv7aE1x3Ux_PhgCmryam98aZ6yK17aymylRS48

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