The age of rage and anger is upon us

of those who felt that they were being ignored. And then came Fernando Poe Jr., who like Erap, was a representation of the

FPJ’s defeat, popularly imaged as an outcome of “Hello Garci” electoral machinations, added acid to the festering wound of discontent.

But these were not enough to negate the elitists’ plan to retain control. As recent revelations in relation to the alleged electoral fraud that attended the conduct of automated elections, it is now a possible scenario that Noynoy Aquino’s victory in 2010 was a product of another electoral manipulation that many believe to have robbed Erap of the presidency.

It is here that we can see the 2016 election victory of Rodrigo Duterte as one that was propelled by the anger of an electorate that has been robbed several times of the president they wanted. Duterte embodied that rage, as one who defied convention, who cursed the establishment, and every time he did so he became a voice of the pent-up anger of the people.

The large section of the population who voted for former senator Bongbong Marcos are likewise voices

resurgent remnant of the followers of the Marcos brand which Aquino and post-Edsa elites have demonized, only to be later mimicked, and even exceeded with their own brand of corruption and ineptitude.

These historical conjunctures have painted the post- Noynoy Aquino political landscape as one of rebellion, of trashing icons and constructs, of revising narratives. And these found a natural and enabling home in social media, where cursing, trolling, and character assassi-

The anonymity of pseudonyms and cloned accounts, the comfort of not being immediately exposed to physical reprisal, and the speed by which a post can become viral, have enabled a

and angry voices which became the elite’s worst nightmare.

However, this enabling environment for hate politics has also seriously wounded our habitus and worldviews whose sense of shared self, or “was what

- ened by an iconoclastic President

taboos, including even cursing America and God, many ordinary people have become even more defiant and have turned social interactions, both virtual and real, into a landscape now disrupted by open altercations and the readiness to insult and demean. Taking a leaf from a de-

used to being silenced found new power in the anonymity or distance of social media to launch their vitriol towards all persons they consider as enemies.

Unfortunately, many people have gone beyond the elites, whom they derisively call “in launching their vengeance. They consider anyone who is critical of the President, or even of social media personalities and enablers like Mocha Uson, even if they are well-grounded and well-intentioned, as an enemy, and hence deserving of the same vitriol. Even the President’s own people who express views that appear lukewarm to or critical of these social media icons, such as PCOO’s Secretary Martin Andanar, Usec Lorraine Badoy and PIA director Harold Clavite are targeted for demolition.

Strangely, they now see in a better light those political personalities that they used to hate for having a part in elite politics but are now allies of the President. Gloria Macapacal- Arroyo was condemned by the masses for allegedly cheating FPJ. Now, and at least in social media, she is a beloved ally of the President in the eyes of his followers. On the other hand, FPJ’s daughter Grace Poe is now seen, again at least in social media, as an enemy for being critical of the President and of Uson.

This politics of hatred is, however, seriously undermining our sense of community. It is threatening to tear asunder the fabric that binds us as a people. The hate and anger are spilling over to how we react to failures even of ordinary people, including those who transgress laws but who our system has always presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. The viral video of the couple who had an altercation with the MMDA traffic enforcers has generated so much hatred, with social media exploding into a frenzy of name-calling, and prejudice. On this, and on many other occasions, we have turned shaming in all its manifestations into an art, and have exploited the convenience of social media to celebrate a viral kind of lynching.

President Duterte’s legacy is supposed to be one of change. We should really work harder to ensure that that legacy will not be one that changed our communities into warring islands of anger and hatred from where we will