Volume 5, Issue No. 26
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
Our latest as of Monday, February 19, 2024
~ Citizen Trump, yes that's the Donald, got his comeuppance in New York on Friday, Feb. 16, following the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron to fine him $453 million for fraud. The judge quoted the three-monkeys proverb to highlight the brazenness of the former US president to disrespect law and authority. He also decided to bar Trump from doing business in New York for three years. His two sons, Don Jr. and Eric, were likewise prohibited from doing the same for two years.
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SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL
Evidence Belies Trump's Three-Monkeys Posture
New York Judge Slaps Him With a $453 Million Fine
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"Evil people rely on the acquiescence of naive good people to allow them to continue with their evil." - Stuart Aken
TORONTO - "Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' posture that the evidence belies".
That's Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron handing out a scathing decision ordering the former US president to pay $453 million in New York civil trial that found him and his eponymous company liable for fraud. Trump is also barred from doing business in New York for three years.
What Engoron called "posture" is actually a reference to the Japanese proverb - exemplified by monkeys Mizaru who covers his eyes, Kikazaru covering his ears, and Iwazaru covering his mouth (see collage).
It's the perfect metaphor to illustrate Trump's abuses and blatant disregard and disrespect for the laws.
The dictionary defines it to mean "to ignore or turn a blind eye to evil without taking against it". Further, "the proverb and the image are often used to refer to a lack of moral responsibility on the part of people to acknowledge impropriety, looking the other way or feigning ignorance."
"Engoron," according to the Associated Press, "frequently peppers his rulings with song lyrics, movie quotes and the occasional New York City history lesson." So, it's not totally surprising that he will turn to the maxim to prove his point.
I marvel at the way he laces his decision with such imagery as the three wise monkeys of lore. I've used the same visual, a photo of a sculpture I bought years ago, in several articles I've written to convey images my words could not capture. (See blog at: Lies, Deceptions by The Philippine Reporter Exposed).
In fact, I made use of it in at least six occasions to highlight indifference and wrongdoings in The Philippine Reporter, its editors, and their enablers in the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (thrice); the Taste of Manila (once) which stole my video footage to promote the festival; and the Filipino Centre Toronto (twice) for its so-called transparency.
Some organizations in the Filipino community are glued to the proverb without knowing it, perhaps. Leaders of dubious standing and background shamelessly relish being able to dodge scrutiny by adopting it too.
In that context, the three-monkeys principle maybe the easiest and readily-understood way of outlining the state of affairs in the community starting from the driver-turned-self-declared-founder of Taste of Manila and his cohorts, to the tabloid that houses fabulists and gossipers who had the gall to stiff two writers.
By now, we should be familiar with the money-rich Filipino Centre Toronto and what seems to be its efforts to tighten control of the flow of information about its wealth and how it is being spent.
And then there's this questionable group promoted by another tabloid supposedly campaigning against scammers. What has happened to it since the launching of its "crusade"?
Taken together, these organizations would come under the umbrella of the three monkeys. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. With these, ours would be the perfect community, beyond reach by evil. Only if it's true! (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).
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