Survival fashion

While media is gnashing and groaning about the latest President-elect's pronouncements, I was wondering what the other sectors were doing in anticipation of his reign.

We know the religious sector is still hyperventilating about being slammed repeatedly, the latest salvo being the President-elect's threat to expose abusive priests.  (Flashback: Remember how he revealed that a priest had abused him when he was young?) The church elders must now be vigorously spring-cleaning, looking at all the dim corners where they've parked their brethren quietly and repotting them in some other, less vulnerable spot.  Have they already jettisoned the molesters abroad, perhaps?

Probably the same tactic for the drug manufacturers and pushers. Cebu media has reported that the price of shabu has plummeted, as dealers frantically dispose of their remaining stock.  When the President-elect steps into his new office, the druggies will have a problem, as all their usual sources will have run dry, having run off to more hospitable climes.

The vigilantes must be pumped and primed, ready to do their "duty" for their country.  Now that has me worried, especially in the light of the pronouncements of various incoming officials that they are cracking down hard on crime.  Rewards are being offered for the heads of criminals, dead or alive.  Which is extremely scary.  What if a trigger-happy law enforcement "agent" thinks he is witnessing a crime, and then takes action to address it?

Something like the "shoot now, explain later" policy that manifested its ugly head a dozen years ago. Remember the Plantation Bay-NBI shooting?  That horrifying incident where some employees of Plantation Bay resort being ferried home by Sports and Spa manager Mike Monsod in his vehicle were mistaken by NBI agents to be drug agents?

Since it was 2:00 early morning, and the resort staff saw in front of them some goon-like characters on the street trying to flag them down, the resort staff felt they had no other choice but to ignore the men, and they sped off.  Alas, those characters were actually NBI agents and their confidential assets outfitted, not in their uniforms but with big guns, and a car chase ensued. Despite no shots being fired by the resort van, these enforcement men trained their big guns on the van and opened fire.

The van ended up sporting at least 73 bullets.  Buildings along Banilad road carried bullet holes two or three stories up. More importantly, six passengers themselves became bullet repositories, including my friend Mike, whose van was forced to stop because all the tires had been blown into pieces.  And still, the NBI kept firing on the defenseless van.  All because these men of law had suspected they were drug pushers or whatever.

I guess it is time to air the warning, be afraid. Be very,very.  Try not to look like a priest. Or a drug dealer.  Or a corrupt government official.

The first is easy, just lose the frock.  The second is dicier.  To prepare ourselves, we should probably always look NOT the part of a drug dealer.  Be fashionably dressed, maybe some jewelry.  No tattered tee-shirts or baggy shorts.  Always wear a designer belt.  Leather shoes (not battered, no holes, shiny but not too).Ironed clothes.

Which goes against my natural grain of dressing down for weekends. Maybe the threat of attracting random robbers with telltale signs of wealth is now going to be outweighed by the threat of being mistaken for a common criminal.  Oh, what is a law-abiding fashion-conscious risk-averse citizen to do!

It's no longer a "dress to impress" rule of thumb we have to follow.  It's now "dress to deflect the wrong attention," or survival fashion.

Maybe I should have a calling card printed saying: Anti-Clergy, -Drug, -Corrupt Volunteer. AC-DC practitioner for short.Might come in handy when being flagged down by law enforcers.