i’m not being biased against the media. i do appreciate a good story whenever i happened to view or read one but not with this particular incident, just like the rest of the public who happened to follow the stories behind the siege, i am equally disappointed.

carl wrote it quite well in another thread here:

Wow, for the first time, Inquirer and major broadcast media stopped pandering to public opinion. Media threw support squarely behind their journalists (ever read a dissenting editiorial on the supposed supression of press freedom by the police?) — despite public opinion telling them otherwise.

The more I get to read the posts here, the more I realize media has become so biased in this issue — so biased that they swing between being defensive and being hysterical. And they are alienating readers already. Now if i want smarter and balanced opinion from both sides, I hit the blogs… carl

I agree with your comment. What I was actually pointing out really with respect to compromise is not in the sense of getting into a middle ground to agree to but rather being less extremist. Yun para bang it’s all or nothing stance that will just drive the opposing force to not even come to the table to talk as there is no point anyway.

Not engaging the boss lady and her minions, antagonizing them to no end means there’s less of a chance to somehow fix the issues hounding government.

What I said was it would have been more justified if the police authorities have used less force not like what they’ve done. I also would have agreed filing cases against those journalists who stayed and defied the order of police authorities and the proper court will decide if they really have violated a certain law or not. But what strikes me is that the police authorities still have to use excessive force, not taking into consideration there are civilians and some journalists left inside (even if they chose to stay). I can’t see how can they say that they made it difficult or obstructing their line of work if they will still use excessive force that way anyway.

i think commenter ace in the other thread dissected things quite well:

http://www.quezon.ph/?p=1608#comment-658254

note that i never opposed “processing,” just the manner, i thought it was excessive and was for other purposes than clearing the scene properly.

The way I see it, Ramos was the one who most clearly spelled out the ultimate reality: It’s the Philippines vs the other countries in the region and the world.

This country doesn’t need compromises; it needs effective solutions. Now.

No more us vs us; lots more us vs them. How can we do that?

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The problem really boils down to the people who actually view things in Black and White (no pun intended on the B&W group). Compromise is not an option. The “pataasan ng ihi” then becomes the norm rather than the exception. Or I guess it’s a game of who blinks first.

If we don’t work together, who else is gonna fix this country?

All media and all police are not bad. Many — if not most — want things to get better. Energies can be spent growling at each other, or constructive dialogue can be pursued. Which one makes more sense?