I
love wrestling. In WWE, the term “heel” and “face” are prominently used. A heel
is someone whose image ranges from negative to very negative. The audience
dislikes him. He appears to return the favor, even hurling invectives at them
sometimes. On the other hand, a “face” is someone who is literally one of the
faces of the company. Normally, except in the case of Roman Reigns (I’m
referencing recent history here), a face gets applauded by the crowd. The crowd
loves him. The WWE fans hold placards showing their support for him.
Duterte’s
political campaign, like the WWE, will remind one of a soap opera. Everyone’s
tuned in to his story, whether they like him or not. From his supporting
prodding him to run despite his hesitation, up until the current chain of
events involving an alleged rape joke. I say alleged because in fact, the
campaign video showed him narrating what he said out of anger in the late
eighties, which I have to admit, is an inappropriate utterance, if we are
talking in the context of social norms and the advancement of women’s rights.
Chris
Jericho has alternated between being a heel and a face. Prior to the Y2AJ
storyline involving a talented newcomer named AJ Styles who’s wrestled around
the world, Y2J was a face. He has wrestled for 17 years and even though he is
in his forties, he is still very active. Y2AJ’s match against the The New Day,
the current WWE Tag Team Champions, paved the way for Y2J’s heel turn. The
moment couldn’t have been more perfect. After the aforementioned match in which
Y2AJ lost, Jericho performed a Codebreaker on AJ Styles, which left me shocked
and excited at the same time since I felt that was a major plot twist. Jericho
then proceeded to berate the audience and say how ungrateful they were for
liking a newcomer, since he has entertained them for so many years. The rest is
history. After that, audience members were divided in their interaction towards
him. Some boo, some cheer, but in forums, the more sensible “haters”, who have
been privy to his achievements and his talent as a wrestler, say that they boo
because of the storyline but still acknowledge his contributions to WWE.
Duterte,
if we're gonna apply wrestling analytics, is a heel definitely. Sure, rumors
abound that his womanizing and even his admittance to the involvement in the
Davao Death Squad are just for packaging. We do not know the whole truth behind
that as of now but one of the many things that is certain about him is his foul
mouth. The language of thugs, they call it. Another thing is Davao’s peace and
order, thanks to the netizens from Davao who each gave their individual
testimonials. Each situation is specific and personal.
But, why do people,
even those not from Davao love him? It’s simple. Because, this is real life and
not a soap opera. Sure, there are people who have the fan mentality and see the
Davao mayor as an action star incarnate, a superhero of the masses. But, this
time, thanks to social media, people are more informed. They don’t see Duterte
as a rockstar and a good role model. Rather, they see him as a man of action
and not of words. He is a face to them, a face of change. The anti-Dutertes
hate him with much intensity as the people who celebrate him. Love and hate are
two sides of the same coin. People who love him are there to stay. People who
hate him are out to mar his name, even going as far as twisting his words to
show the world that he did not apologize. He did, though. In the 26-minute
video, he is a heel who’s uncouth and runs his mouth, but he’s also a face who,
behind his machismo, is ready to apologize casually, not with tears or with
flowery words but just a quick sorry, because that’s just the way he is.
Image, breeding, and refined words are not the key ingredients of a good president, results and accountability are. I am confident that change is coming. I am positive that Duterte is going to do to the Philippines what Shane McMahon did to WWE Raw.
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