Hey hey hey, good-bye (Nicole)
The confounding saga of the “Nicole” rape case has finally come to an end. Daniel Smith has been acquitted and flown back to his homeland, while Suzette Sombilon Nicolas, a.k.a. “Nicole,” reaps the benefits of her magical US visa and a colossal P100,000 bribe — er, shopping money. The justice system can now get back to continuing its blindingly splendid job of upholding truth in the country, while our esteemed administrators can sleep easier, knowing that they’ve appeased Uncle Sam’s appetite for peace, understanding and love.
Ahem.
Nicole’s rape case has elicited such a mix of reactions and opinions that my discussing it with friends/family usually ends with someone banging his head on a wall. I remember one friend’s hilariously adamant defense of Smith, her clincher being that Smith was “hot” (insert cringe face here) — and that that justified his impartiality in raping a Filipina “unworthy” of his looks. While I respect her view (when I’m not making fun of it), as far as I’m concerned, rapists don’t discriminate. If you aren’t missing the necessary body parts, be you a veritable beauty or an ugly stepsister, what’s to deter a potential rapist from “doing the deed”? Meanwhile, there are those who have dismissed the significance of the Nicole rape case; for instance, Ramon Tulfo, who’s tagged the triviality of Nicole as causing us to miss the bigger picture of US financial aid with regard to Mindanao. With all due respect — who’s missing the bigger picture here? In this globalized world, nothing comes for free. This is US imperialism at its finest.
One of my most ardent wishes for our country’s leaders is that they grow a backbone. Remember Michael P. Fay? When, back in 1994, the then 18-year-old American was sentenced to caning in Singapore for theft and vandalism? Former US President o “Bill Clinton” Bill Clinton, along with two dozen US senators, appealed to the Singaporean government to grant Fay clemency from caning. The then o “United States Trade Representative” United States Trade Representative even went so far as to say he would try to prevent the o “World Trade Organization” World Trade Organization’s first ministerial meeting from taking place in Singapore. If this happened in the Philippines, we would have relented. Oh, for a number of reasons — political, religious, and cultural ones. Which is why we would never have been able to do what Singapore has done in those moments. And I quote (from Wikipedia): “The Singaporean government was unintimidated by American pressure, pointing out that Singaporeans who break the law faced the same punishments as Fay, and suggesting that the United States should pay more attention to its domestic problems, such as American law and order, rather than telling other countries what to do.”
Frankly, I can’t imagine any of our country’s leaders spewing these sacrilegious (but oh-so-awesome) words from their lips. Nope, not us.
Well, life goes on. The Nicole rape case has become another chapter in Philippine history — wanting, sketchy; of the kind that recalls bitter and unsettled feelings in the pit of one’s stomach — not unlike the sensations revived by incidents such as the murder of Ninoy Aquino. And while I don’t think we’ll ever really know what took place inside that van, I, for one, believe that Nicole was raped. Call her cheap, a coward, a loose woman just asking for it, a disgrace to the Filipino woman… to some extent these desicriptions may well be true. But we aren’t the victims here. And while I am in no way commending this woman, I don’t see any reason to condemn her either. Quite simply, she’s a human being — susceptible to pressure, shame and weariness just like everyone else. More importantly, she’s a fellow Filipino. Just like you and me.
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(The title was taken from the song Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam.)
