A CERTAIN Teo Marasigan in a blog entry titled Kapirasong Kritika, has sparked a discussion on why Filipino activists should not blog. Pointing out that activists have failed to use the Internet to expose and denounce the dominant “reactionary” ideas in the Internet, Marasigan has suggested that activists-bloggers should stop blogging.

His post eventually elicited reactions from some progressive blogs, including Mongster’s Nest by Mong Palatino and Reds Care.

Writing in Filipino, Marasigan argued that the Filipino Internet activists have somehow failed to also state the reactionary character of the Internet.

“Kailangang mulat tayong tayo ang gumagamit sa Internet, o sa teknolohiya sa pangkalahatan. Dahil kung hindi, tayo ang magagamit nito. May progresibong gamit ang Internet; pero nangingibabaw ang konserbatibo, reaksiyunaryo, o tahasang dekadenteng gamit nito. Hindi ako sang-ayon na palaganapin ng mga progresibo ang pagba-blog. Maglako tayo ng progresibong mensahe, hindi ng midyum lamang na bagamat tila walang pulitika ay dominado sa aktuwal ng mga kalaban ng pulitika ng pagbabago,” Marasigan wrote.

Postcard Headlines provides this rough translation: “The Internet is useful for progressives; but this usefulness is significantly outstripped by its conservative, reactionary, and decadent quality… Let us encourage a progressive message, not a medium that may look apolitical in the surface but is in reality dominated by the enemies of the politics of change. Or so, it says.”

Marasigan argued further that it was not a common practice among progressives to expose the dominant characteristics of the Internet.

He said the Internet is rotten and is overflowing with reactionary, conservative, and decadent ideas, desires, and pleasures.

Marasigan observed that its widespread use of the Internet in the Philippines today is mainly for Internet gaming, pornography, and online dating networks. These activities divert the attention, time, strength, and intelligence of many away from the real situation and struggles of the people, he added.

He also believes that the Internet is a realm of struggle but progressives are disadvantaged in it.

“Yes, members of the petty bourgeoisie class are important to the politics of change because they easily grasp and employ progressive ideas. Yes, the thinking section of this class is in the blogosphere. But they are vacillating and the forces that lead them away from revolution are dominant in the Internet,” Postcard Headlines translates and quotes Marasigan’s entry.

Palatino disagreed.

“As an activist, I have been promoting the use of blogs among my friends (including Teo) because I saw the potential of blogging to be an effective medium to broadcast our advocacies. The revolution will take place outside the internet cafe shops but there is a revolutionary task to perform in the cyberspace,” Palatino wrote.

Palatino also stressed that blogging is a form of a political statement.

“It affirms that everyone has the right to publish his/her opinion in the internet. It empowers ordinary citizens to articulate what they feel is relevant to their lives. A person can start to blog about his cat or crush but sooner or later he/she will have to write some political if not subversive commentaries,” he added.

Palatino also stressed that the young progressive bloggers have not abandoned the “petty bourgeoisie to the venomous claws of the powerful imperialists.”

“We always persevere. We always struggle,” he said.

Reds Care, meanwhile, debunked Marasigan’s idea, suggesting that the Internet and technology in general has allowed even leftist groups to send messages out to a wider audience.

“Isang malaking pagkakamali kung gayon na manawagan kung gayon na bitiwan ng mga rebolusyonaryo at progresibo ang internet. (It is a mistake to ask the revolutionaries and activists to ignore the Internet),” Reds Care said.

Palatino added, “Reading Teo’s article reminds me of the debate whether bloggers should be recognized as journalists. For a long time, journalists have looked down on blogging as pseudo-journalism and a threat to their profession. After some time, many journalists have begun to appreciate the various uses of blogging.”