Comeuppance

I thought it was over. THE blog of the moment (scroll down a few entries below to Crap du Jour) did say adieu last night, albeit prematurely. It's still up and running, although less venomous. Practically everyone in Manila who has an internet connection was riveted to the PC monitor. It was like watching a bomb explode in suspended animation, or better yet, in slow motion. The comments section, now disabled (as I write this), took a life of its own when anonymous readers pitched in on what they know of Manila's wretched and depraved socialites. I think earlier in the week, Kitty Go did join in, considering that her best-selling books focused precisely on the issues (and featured some of the same people) touched upon by Brian in his blog.

The blog spread like wildfire because pent-up rage against the snooty alta sociedad welled-up from people who can't stand such displays of ostentatious behavior-- especially in a third world country where there's so much poverty-- at the expense of one gullible Aussie whose main fault was that he loved too much and was terribly taken advantage of, like the tragediennes of opera and drama.

What goes around, comes around. Yup, this horrid bunch brought it upon themselves. Hey, that's karma. Do something good, and you will be rewarded. When you start to screw people, someday you will have to pay for it in some other way.

Media has been slow in picking up the story, but with the attention that it is getting, (averaging 50,000 hits a day!), this will likely blow up soon. Hello, that's way, way more than these newspapers' daily circulation numbers combined. You can bet your bottom peso the Lifestyle section of the Philippine Star won't pick this story up. :)

Schadenfreude is a German word we normally encounter only in Psychology or Philosophy which means one is feeling happy at the misery of others, or more precisely, the misery of the high and mighty as well as the annoyingly popular. That is my extended definition, of course.

This word simply explains why people keep on returning to that blog, because it confirms the FACT that even if most of us will never become as rich as these horrible people, or that hell will have to freeze over before the jologs and the masa can ever set foot inside Embassy or dine in Aria, we're so much better than them in many ways: Our lives are well-spent because our humanity remains intact. We don't steal and we don't do drugs. We watch Oprah. (I mean, you pala). SCHADENFREUDE, Yah?