BRAWL VS. SPORTS

BRAWL VERSUS SPORTS

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

What happens when gangsters meet? Wounds, injuries, deaths could occur. What kinds of members do gangs have? Domineering, macho guys whose idea of manhood rests on being able to defeat others, to be on top of the crowd, to be adored by the lesser vulnerable crowd, whether gangmembers or public.

It is fearsome living in a neighborhood where there are gangs. They are bound to take over the streets and create havoc when they want to. They are not there to protect the weak who could be passing by, nor apt to help the elderly and women. They are just there to be seen, to rule with impunity. Usually, they are “malakas” with the authorities.

They may brandish weapons of all sorts – guns, knives, stones, icepicks, and the like. The point is that they come prepared for any and by anyone's dare to question their domination of the place. They are ready to confront anyone who would challenge their authority.

Amid such a scenario, how could we create gentlemen? Is being a gentleman passe already? Or is there hope at all in creating a humane, benign society where men are ready to bow and greet every woman, “good morning” or “good evening, Ma'am” to assist the elderly cross the street, to help a mother carry her goods home, or to show strangers where the street is they are looking for.

How are gangster-machos bred? At home, their ways are ignored by their parents, as if the problem would be solved by keeping quiet or dismissing their acts as “naturalmente. Ganyan talaga yan.” As if the gangster-machos would/could never change. And so the family becomes the nesting place that would breed the machos.

When these machos confront society, they could find that there are rules to follow, certain ways that are expected of men, such as being gallant, being a gentleman. However, they view those traits as weakness which could not propel them to power in society.

And so they also ignore society's pressure for them to conform to the ideal image of the man. They ride roughshod on anyone who shows up a mirror to them so that they could see their real selves.

But changing a macho is not easy. It cannot be done overnight nor by confronting him. Some machos would nod in agreement now but later on would be hitting back at them when the ripe moment comes that the mirror-holder cannot strike back.

What could curb the injurious behavior of the macho is sports. From early childhood, people should already be encouraged to join sports, where there are rules to follow, where teamwork is a must, where they have to be good members so that the team would win at competitions.

I think that the very poor discipline we have in sports has bred machos and gangsterism. Our sports are highly commerce-oriented. Look at the basketball courts – full of advertising billboards. Read the names of the teams – these are names of products. Look at the uniforms of the players – they sport the names of products. Look at their shoes, their tee-shirts, their shorts, everything makes them a seller of the product, not a player of the game, especially of basketball.

Amid such a dismal picture of sports, we can see now that manhood is not properly built nor shaped by it. Manhood in sports connotes fighting to win, for the company, not for themselves as sports champions or sports players as such; with regard to achieving the integrity of a player steeped in: full knowledge of the sport, full understanding of and obedience to the rules of the game, having that knowledge that a good sports individual acquires a physique, attitude and mental alertness so necessary for getting into the game, for staying in the game, for building a code of honor that a healthy body produces a healthy mind, (Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body".quote by pre-Socratic Thales)

Ang sport sa Pilipinas ay itinuro sa atin ng mga Amerikano. Natatandaan ko pa na noong nasa elementarya pa ako, ang damit naman sa aming Physical Education ay bloomers, na siyang gamit ng mga American students sa Estados Unidos. Ang musikang ginagamit para mag-ehersisyo kami ay kanluranin. Ang pagbibilang ay Ingles. Pati ang mga idolo sa sports ay banyaga. Hindi tayo nakapaghubog ng isang kamalayang maka-Pilipino sa sports.

Yung mga nagwagi nating mga kababayan sa Olympics ay ating hinahangaan dahil sa kanilang kakayahang mapangimbabawan ang mga paghihirap sa pakikipagtunggali sa mga taga ibang bansa. Subali't hanggang sa pagpalakpak, pag – congratulate, pagbibigay ng pabuya o reward na lang ang ginagawa natin. Dapat ay isa-aklat ang kanilang talambuhay para babasahin sa mga kursong Physical Education, at ating maging idolo ang mga kababayan natin. Sa ganyang paraan, ang ating ideya ng isang tao ay may disiplina sa katawan, sa pag-iisip, at lumalaban ng patas, hindi ng patayan, kundi ng pagalingan ng paggamit ng mga katawan, ng mga masel, at matalas ng isipan.

Samakatuwid, kung malakas ang ating sports consciousness, palagay ko walang magiging macho, o macha. Ang lahat ay magkakaroon ng pagtanaw na ang mararahas na labanan, kung saan may mga nasasaktan ay hindi makataong gawain, at hindi dapat tularan. Sports can defeat brawl-minded individuals. Matatalo ng sports ang mga taong mahilig sa pagbababag.

Kung kaya't para makapaghubog tayo ng mga lalaking maginoo, gawin nating requirement na mula pagkabata, sa elementary grades pa lamang, ang kabataan, hindi lamang mga lalaki, ay mahuhubog sa isang makataong lipunang may pagpapahalaga sa buhay ng lahat ng tao, at ang paggamit ng lakas at talas ng isipan ay isang paraan para humaba ang buhay at maharap ito ng buong sigasig katuwang ang lahat ng sangkatauhan.

Siya nawa.