The barbecue danger

They’re getting younger and younger. I’m referring to those who get involved in killings, that have lately included not only students, but even little tots. There was this report late last month about a four-year-old girl who was stabbed by her playmate, a three-year-old boy, with a barbecue stick. The two were supposed to be playing and probably quarreled, so the boy stabbed the girl, hitting her in the chest.

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The other day, a report said that the little girl had died in the hospital where she had been brought. What was puzzling was that the stabbing took place on September 27 yet, and she died ten days after. If the wound had been grievous, she would have succumbed sooner. But why did she last for ten days yet? The report hinted that her death could have been caused by an infection. That makes matter even worse, because it seems to me infections are no longer as impossible to control as it had been decades ago.

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Should the parents of the boy, who may be charged with liability for the little girl’s death, not ask for an investigation of the hospital staff? For the child to have survived that long after the stabbing, it was possible that her life could have been saved yet. Why didn’t the doctors then take all the necessary steps to keep her alive? Was it a question of inability to afford the needed medicines? If so, they could have appealed to some organizations concerned with the little ones for help. What a senseless loss of a very young life!

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This may sound like a non sequitor, but the mention of barbecue sticks reminded me of parents who do not call the attention of their children who point the stick towards their mouths when eating barbecues. That is a very dangerous practice because somebody might bump into them, or they could fall, and stab their own throats. I even saw a TV commercial where the endorser was pointing the stick towards his mouth, and I wished I had a way of calling the attention of the advertiser. That surely sets a bad example.

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People riding on the bandwagon against the Cyber Crime law will probably pounce on me for saying this, but I do agree with the legislators who believe there should be some sanctions against the use of social media. True, those stated in the law as it is, are rather drastic, but a few amendments could set them right. Two elderly and, therefore more seasoned solons, Senators Edgardo Angara and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile are pointing out the need for certain sanctions because they know how destructive unbridled freedom – or license – can be. I remember a very stark example in the recent case of the two ex-sweethearts, a certain “Mo Twister” and his movie actress girlfriend. When they broke up, this Twister fellow – that’s not his real name, of course – kept spreading through this medium slanderous statements about the girl, saying she had aborted their baby, and other worse things. The girl has denied them, but since such revelations are accessible to the whole world, how much of her reputation had she been able to recover?

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An old anecdote told to us by a priest, a former retreat master, comes to mind when I hear about the righteous justifications of some for the so-called freedom to malign anyone at anytime with impunity. This was about a man whose former friend had spread malicious talks about him, causing him shame and ostracism from his other friends and even relatives. Then one day, this former friend realized his error, and went to his victim to apologize, telling him he will retract whatever he had said against him.

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The victim did not say anything, he just went to his bedroom, took out a pillow, and tearing it open, shook out its contents from his window. Immediately, a strong wind blew off all the feathers in it carrying them far away. Then he turned to his former friend and said, “See those feathers? They are like the bad things you said against me. Maybe we can gather some of them back, but others we will never see again or know where they landed”. That is what could also happen to libelous talks or even just jokes that may be released through this new medium, if there were no laws to keep in check what irresponsible ones could say. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has allowed a breathing spell for everyone – its members included – to study the matter thoroughly. Let us wait and see what their august minds will think up.*

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