Bus Hostage Crisis: When Camwhoring Becomes Shameful

Posted on August 25th, 2010. Written by Rico.

Filipinos love cameras. We are eager to smile for snapshots, and wave for videos. But at least two groups of Filipinos need to practice a little delicadeza.

First, you’ve got a group of (nursing?) students posing in front of the bus right after the crisis ended:

Yes, pretty shameless. It’s as if the girls had no idea that people actually died in the bus behind them: they were more interested in capturing their poses for posterity.

But the actions of a group of students are understandable, on some level. Maybe their youthful exuberance suppressed any sense of propriety. The same can’t be said however for the Philippine police:

So your compatriots took around an hour to “storm” a bus, earning the ire of the international community. Did you really have to pose in front of your “conquest”? It’s as if Noynoy Aquino was assassinated and the Presidential Security Group were posing in front of his body! Worse, according to GMA News, the bus continues to be a tourist destination.

More shamelessness:

Some Updates

Carlos Celdran tweeted:

stop spreading the fucking picture of kids taking photo in front of bus. I WAS THERE THIS AFTERNOON. Those kids were part of the ceremony paying respects for the dead. They were just taking a memento as they know best. PLEASE do not spread without the context. They were there to pay respects along with the rest of us!

My very late reply:

“Context” or not, those pics look like celebratory snapshots. How do you explain the police posing too?

A guy from Hong Kong reacts to the lack of propriety:

Check out the rage on this Chinese forum. (Thanks Bim, Dementia, and Ade)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under Editorial, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Rico

Rico Mossesgeld is the founding editor of Technograph. Learn more about him at rico.mossesgeld.com/about.

Anthony LLALA

mga bobo mga bata bata din ako katulad nila pero sila walang rispito
someguy

this just show how little does the people feel about the hostage crisis. hindi sila maggaganyan hanggat hindi nila nararanasan ang paghihirap sa loob ng isang hostage crisis nakakainis na ginaganyan lang nila
MikeA

Reality: Scene of the crime. Where people died horribly.

Situation: People take pictures like they’re on a theme park momento.

Question: If these guys paid respect to the dead, are they saying they’re refunding what they paid for? Aren’t these pictures displays disrespect? Do you see their sympathy in these photos?

Opinion: I think its ok to take pictures of the scene… but taking pictures with you, posing, smiling and doing hand signs, does not look good those people who had lost their loved ones.

Conclusion: Educate these people. A thousand years of guilt.
peoplego

I think this people who pose for the pictures will realize what they are doing is wrong if their love-one died in front of them and a Jolibee mascot would post a picture at the scene