What a feeling

By Alex P. Vidal

“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.” — H. L. Mencken

WE have mentioned this more than a dozen times in the past: no candidate or Filipino politician for that matter will admit he lost after the election.

The moment he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC), a Filipino politician thinks he has already won and ”there’s no way I will lose.”

October 1 was the start of the official filing of COC until October 8 for the May 9, 2022 election in time of pandemic.

Surrounded by excited and emotional followers and beaming with overconfidence, politicians march to Comelec-designated areas amid cheers, flying kisses, and taps on the shoulders.

They wave back to the well-wishers and acknowledge the adulation.

Oh man, what a feeling.

It’s an ego-boosting event and they feel like they’re the knights in the shining armor and, thus, naturally, they’re “on top of the world.”

Once they have been eaten up by the “with-this- kind-of-reaction-from-the-crowd-there’s-no-way-I-will-lose” bug, their thinking will never change during the campaign and after the last ballot has been counted during the official canvassing.

It’s the naked emperor story being told and retold once again.

 

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The danger looms immediately after it has been established they’re not going to win based on the outcome of a fair and honest election.

They will now start to bellyache and denounce the “sham” election and cry “we wuz robbed.”

A bedlam will follow suit and they’ll be back in the limelight as the media carry their antics and melodrama, this time as sore losers trying to convince their followers they’re victims of a highway robbery that never happened.

The truth is they lost plain and simple.

They just can’t accept defeat, they can’t accept reality because from the very beginning, they have allowed their bloated egos to get the better of them.

They approached the election with a one-track behavior and insanity: “I will win at all cost because I am popular; I am the best alternative; I am the people’s choice and God has chosen me to lead.”

They have been blinded by a false sense of pride and megalomania, and  unalloyed fanaticism from their fans has only worsened their predicament.

The slogan of the season should be, “filing of COCs today, filing of election protest tomorrow.”

 

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I recently received this email from the NYC Health+Hospitals: “COVID-19 Pfizer Booster Shots Available to Eligible New Yorkers Who Received Two Pfizer Vaccine Doses.”

It says, “NYC Health + Hospitals is now offering booster shots of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine to the following eligible people who previously received the second Pfizer vaccine dose at least six months ago:

-People 65 or older

-People 18 to 64 who have either an underlying medical condition or a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure due to their job (for example, health care workers) or where they live or frequently visit (for example, a homeless shelter)

-People living in a nursing home or other long-term care facility

Booster shots are available at all 11 public hospitals, by appointment or walk-in.

You will only be able to get a Pfizer booster shot if you received a second Pfizer dose at least six months ago.

Booster doses are currently not available for people who received the Moderna or J&J vaccine.”

As soon as I realize that I am eligible, I will not think twice to get a booster shot.

But I need to wait until November, or at least six months after I had my second dose of Pfizer anti-COVID-19 vaccine.

Thank you vaccine. Thank you medical science. I’m proud to belong in this generation where medical scientific breakthroughs have taught humanity to accept reality and live in moderation.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)