Two lady examinees lose their legs, another is seriously injured, dozens hurt by what is now known to be an old, World War II fragmentation grenade, lobbed by a still unknown culprit, possibly a member of a fraternity. Authorities are currently working on the rival fraternity angle, wherein a grenade was thrown to hit a rival fraternity group at the end of the 2010 Bar exams.
I've always known most fraternity members to be criminals and cowards, but I never thought them to be terrorists. They have outdone themselves. A grenade lobbed during the Bar Ops has with it the intent of doing extreme damage and inflicting the most casualties. Never mind the hundreds of innocent students and their supporters, including family and friends.
I have never subscribed to the whole fraternity thing, wherein to be a "brother" you first have to be seriously hurt. In fact, hurt bad enough where you could die. And if you die, you fail. Sounds hilarious, but it is true!
Recently, a body was thrown into a ravine because he failed the hazing part of becoming a "brod". Obviously the spirit of brotherhood does not come in until you survive extreme hazing procedures of this Makati based fraternity!
And what exactly does a fraternity do? Oh I know, they just look and feel tough, especially when they're together, and they just find opportunities to get into trouble with other fraternities. Indeed, how relevant are fraternities today?
The Supreme Court should also look into the logic behind putting all Bar examinees into one school. That's a powder keg, if you ask me. There are schools with bitter rivals, whether in the basketball court or in courts themselves. The Bar Ops have always been a festive event, bordering on the boisterous and rowdy. I can understand the intention of those involved, which is to give a celebratory atmosphere to their respective students after four hellish weekends of Bar exams. But the celebrations can easily turn from harmless ribbing into outright jeering. And then there are the stupid fraternities.
It is uber ironic that the very people striving to be practitioners of law are the ones who have ultimately broken them, in violent fashion.
I'm sure the usual condemnations will abound. But talk gets cheap very fast. Where is the real public outrage? What effect do all these condemnations, no matter who issues them, have on the perpetrators who obviously have no remorse on what they have done?
It is time for extreme action against these gangs disguised as brotherhoods. Just as the Greek gods have faded into insignificance, these Greek-lettered gangs must also become irrelevant. Should they persist, then let them have a taste of Hades.