Monthly Archives: September 2019

Food, LGBT

McDonald’s Philippines Launches New Ricky Reyes Hamburger

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – McDonald’s may have finally found its best answer to Jollibee’s chicken joy: a new hamburger menu item it is calling “Ricky Reyes Hamburger.”

The American fast-food chain came up with the new concept after a video surfaced on social media where the renowned, openly-gay hairstylist, philanthropist and businessman chastised fellow gay Filipino men .

Asked about the bill seeking to protect LGBT people from discrimination which is now pending in Congress, Reyes said, “Kung ikaw ay may nota, sa lalaki ka. ‘Pag may kipay ka, sa babae ka. Nirerespeto kita bilang tao, nirerespeto kita bilang bading, pero lumugar tayo sa tamang lugar.” (If you have a penis, you are a man. If you have a vagina, you are a woman. I respect you as a person, I respect you as a gay man, but let’s stay in our place.)

“Kung nagpa-opera ka, ang bakla, miski may kipay na, may boobs na, bakla pa rin ang utak niyan,” he said. “Gilingin mo man ‘yan, ang labas niyan baklang hamburger.” (Even if you’ve undergone surgery, a gay man, even if he has a vagina, or boobs, he still thinks like a gay man … Even if you grind them, they will come out as gay hamburgers.)

The new hamburgers will cost just P69.

 

LGBT, Social Media

Facebook Suspends Adobo Chronicles’ Account Over Mock Film (No Longer Satire)

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Apparently, it is not only Maria Ressa and Rappler who don’t get satire.  Neither does Facebook, and by extension, Mark Zuckerberg.

Yesterday, Facebook suspended the account of The Adobo Chronicles because of a FB post of a mock new film featuring ‘feuding’ major bloggers, Mocha Uson and Sass Rogando Sasot. The two have been exchanging barbs on their social media accounts over the SOGIE bill (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression.)

In its FB post, The Adobo  Chronicles satirized the feud by announcing a “new film” titled “The Sexy Dancer and the Tranny”  featuring Uson and  Sasot. It wasn’t  clear whether it was the “sexy dancer” or “tranny” that it considered hate speech. (Uson had been described as a “sexy dancer” by mainstream media and some social media bloggers while Sasot is a self-identified transgender woman.)

“Tranny”  may or may not be considered derogatory by the trans community, as evidenced by THIS.  Our sources also confirmed that many transgender women refer to themselves as “trannies” especially when talking amongst themselves. It is almost a “term of endearment” just like many gay men call each other “homos.”

RELATED: “Suspended but not Silenced.”

 

 

 

 

 

Social Media

Facebook: Suspended But Not Silenced

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(NOT SATIRE: statement from our publisher)

 

All my Facebook accounts have been suspended. I can see other people’s posts, but I can’t post and I can’t comment. I can’t even “like” a post by others. My ability to privately send messages to individuals or Messenger groups I belong to has also been cut off.

And all because the Internet police at Facebook tell me I violated their community standards.

At first, my suspension was to be in effect for three days, but when I requested a review of my suspension, not only did they confirm my suspension, they increased it to 7 days!

(Moral of the story: don’t request Facebook for a review of your account suspension; they’ll only increase the period of that suspension.)

Facebook’s “community standards” are in themselves, a fallacy.  They list general guidelines on what would constitute a violation of those standards, but they don’t tell you exactly how your post fits into one or more of those listed in their guidelines.

Sure, they give you the option to challenge your suspension by simply checking a box that says you’re requesting for a review without any space or mechanism for you to explain why you think your suspension was not warranted.

I run a news satire page, The Adobo Chronicles. If the intelligent people at Facebook did their research, they will realize that satire is meant to ‘offend’ and to ridicule, oftentimes by way of exaggeration, humor or sarcasm. That’s very different from hate speech.

Even in my main Facebook page, I describe myself as a ‘satirist’ so even many of my personal posts border on sarcasm.  At times, I use offensive words or phrases precisely to ridicule other people who use those exact words and phrases for their personal or political agenda.   I simply provide those people with a mirror so they could look at themselves.

I have no choice but to accept Facebook’s decision to suspend my account. It will cut me off from the wonderful people I interact with through my various FB pages.  But one thing is for sure: Facebook can’t silence me.  Like water flowing down a river, I will find my way — pebbles, rocks and other obstructions notwithstanding — until I find a level where I could sit and be calm, knowing I have made a difference.

(And if you think any what I said makes sense — and your Facebook account is not in suspension — please feel free to share this. On Facebook.)