September 25, 2009 | In: Politics and Society
Black hole sun
I have no issues about affirmative action but Senator Gordon is dealing with a potentially divisive move in adding a ninth ray to the flag’s sun to represent the Muslim people despite his intentions of unity.
I do think it’s a nice gesture to finally include the Muslim people in our nation’s symbol. However, is the choice a matter of ethinicity or religion? If it’s about religion, then shouldn’t affirmative action also include all the other belief systems? If it’s about ethnicity, then shouldn’t the bill accommodate all the other ethnic groups?
It’s all just a matter of semiotics that flag really. Weren’t the red, white, and blue portions originally paid tribute to the flag of the United States of America? So we changed the signified to be virtues instead. Why not simply do the same with the rays?
It’s a challenge to think of anything with significant historical or cultural value that matches the number 8 though.
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All this call for changes in the flag’s symbolism to create a more uniting symbol is moot really. I think it’s all just an extension of the “Filipino identity” conundrum. As a nation, we’re basically an amalgam coated with the shiny uni-color sheen of hegemony.
Let me play devil’s advocate. Power has always been Tagalog-centric. The seat of power has always been in Manila despite having 7,107 islands. The so-called national language is still based on Tagalog despite having more than one hundred languages in the country. Only eight provinces (seven of which are Tagalog speaking) are credited in the current interpretations of the flag’s symbolism despite historical records indicating that many other provinces rose up against Spain even before 1898.
All this Tagalog-centrism has effectively placed all the other regions. So if there’s one region that should bow out to affirmative action, it should be the Tagalog region.
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