Who is Mr. Anonymous?

Dear Filipino,

Who is Mr. Anonymous? Why is there a proliferation of Mr. Anonymous in this archipelago, the Philippines?

Upset and scared,

Mir.I.Am of The Black-Eyed Ps (Pinoys)


Dear Mir.I.Am,

Mr. Anonymous is my/your friend, my/your enemy, my/your relative, my/your neighbor. Known to be a blogger himself blogging on all kinds of imaginable topics, he manages to find time as a regular commenter on my blog (both good and bad) and countless other blogs.  He is sometimes a she – even an “it”, believe it or not.

Mr. Anonymous is a composer, a lyricist, an artist, a prolific author.  He’s been around for ages – ever since the first man and woman learned how to scribble on cave walls.  He has authored ancient Mesopotamian works (e.g., the Sumerian city laments), ancient Egyptian works (e.g., Book of the Netherworld), early classics (e.g., Beowulf), pamphlets (e.g., Common Sense) and poems (the ones we learned in kindergarten).  Even the Federalist Papers -- those essays which promoted the ratification of the US Constitution -- were attributed to him at the time of publication (even though the authors used the pseudonym “Publius” who we now know is in fact Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay).

Indeed, Mr. Anonymous is mysterious, mystical, enigmatic, furtive -- and loathsome. I hate him sometimes, especially when he’s trolling on my blog and other blogs, writing despicable drivel. Sometimes, he has no morals and zero skills in spelling and grammar.  He's even found to write in jejemon.

But one thing I really like about him is he is fearless.  He’s not afraid to go against the rich and the powerful.  He doesn’t care about decorum or legal technicalities.  He doesn’t care who gets upset or apoplectic.  In fact, I think he even enjoys getting under the skin of the arrogant, the hypocrite and the bombastic.

And when he’s in his principled zone, he’s quite something: a true force to reckon with.  He’s capable of exposing the corrupt, the wicked, the unjust.  He makes even the most powerful quake in their boots.  Naturally, those people would love to muzzle him and get the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police after him.  They would do everything to shut him up.

But it's not gonna happen.

You know why he “proliferates” in the Philippine archipelago?  Because Mr. Anonymous thrives in societies that are unequal: where being honest gets you killed; where being principled means you and yours go hungry; where you can get cited with contempt by contemptible courts and land in jail; and where the biggest thieves may even be wearing robes.

There is nothing to be scared and upset about Mr. Anonymous, Mir.I.Am.  Unless you’re hiding something. ;-)

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