Why do we adore scoundrels?

Adoration of Villains: Is It Rooted in Mythology?


In my second semester as a freshman in college I enrolled in a world history course taught by the Rev. John Raats, an SVD priest who, he told us, was at one time a member of the Indonesian parliament. He said that when Sukarno took over Raats was kicked out of the country. That’s how he ended up in the Philippines. And in his somewhat impish, wry smile, he seemed to intimate that Indonesia’s loss was our ( the class’s) gain, because, in his words, “…the Dutch are the world’s best historians.” To further buttress this claim, he pointed out that the world’s most complete history library was in Rotterdam.

That one semester under Raats profoundly altered the class’s view of history, including Philippine history. Raats did not go the normal routine of having his students memorize dates, names and places. He added a sociological dimension to history. He brought up habits and cultural traits and explained their sources and origins.

One of the most, for lack of a better word, “shocking” theories he laid on us was that Indonesians, and by extension, Filipinos, venerate evildoers as much as they do benevolent heroes. And his explanation for this? Indonesians, he said, observed a lunar based mythology. The moon has two faces, one dark, the other bright. The bright side is associated with “good” and the dark side with “bad”.

And since they associate or equate their rulers with deity, for as long as that ruler excels, whether in bad or good, he is venerated. This is the reason, he said, that Sukarno lasted as Indonesia’s ruler. He was renowned for his prowess with women and other bacchanalian profligacies, therefore to be admired.

He went on to cite several examples closer to home. One such example was the corrupt government employee who earns a clerk’s salary but has a nice home, a car or two, all of the most modern appliances, has a complete collection of the most expensive foreign liquor in his bar cabinet and sports an expensive watch and other jewelry. And he probably has a mistress or two stashed away somewhere. Why is it, he asks, that such an individual is generally looked up to in the neighborhood? Why is it that this person is not ostracized?

The class contemplated this and after a few minutes of spontaneous discussion a few more examples were cited. And we concluded that, indeed, we tend to elevate a lot of scoundrel type individuals to a position of respect; in many cases their success is envied. One can go down the line: the policeman who collects “tong” from drivers at street intersections; the firemen who do not hose down a store on the path of an oncoming fire until the store owner hands them a hefty “contribution”; the motor vehicles clerks who will take 5 days to handle a license application if same is filed via a “normal” process but can expedite applications in less than an hour if submitted thru a “fixer”. The list of examples grew long.

And the conversations about these scoundrels whether conducted in family gatherings or other social settings and even at the groups gathered in front of the sari-sari stores tends to excuse or exonerate these crooks. “Marunong siyang kumita” (He knows how to earn) is a phrase usually uttered to explain away the misdeeds, and usually expressed with some sense of admiration. And, what makes this phenomenon so sad is that honest government employees who live modestly and well within their means are often mocked and chided for being stupid or inept at making money.

In fact corruption and making money on government projects or transactions is so endemic that if a road is built it is assumed that almost everyone involved in the project “skims” something off as the process goes thru various sticky hands. And, if as a result the final product is so inferior that a road supposedly asphalted washes away come the first rain, people tend to shrug it off as mere confirmation of the graft that people assumed took place.

There have been many figures of shady if not downright notorious reputations who tend to be glamorized and worshipped. I remember back in the 50’s and 60’s there was this guy best known as “Nardong Putik” (Leonardo of the mud). He got this nickname because in his younger days he made a living by combing the muddy shore after the tide had ebbed and scrounged for clams and other shell fish. Emerging from this endeavor and going back to shore, he was covered in mud. He was an enterprising fellow and in those days when the smuggling of foreign made cigarettes was a lucrative business, he used his knowledge of the Cavite coastline to haul in the small boats used to bring in the contraband smokes. In due time he owned many of these boats and became a millionaire in a town populated by poor fishermen and other plain folk. He had become such a well known figure and recognized as a leader of the town that eventually politicians made pilgrimages to his home to get his endorsement. Not only was he admired by his neighbors and townsfolk, he had become a kingmaker of sorts.

We have also seen this phenomenon play at the national level in the person of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. While he has been treated with disgust and contempt for his 25 year binge that amassed for him and his family and cohorts billions of dollars in illegitimate wealth, he is still adored and venerated by many segments of the Philippine population. Was Marcos to the Filipinos what Sukarno was to Indonesians? Did we say then that he was so “magaling” (excellent) in the art of corruption and vote buying ( as in the 1964 Nacionalista convention) that he deserved whatever position he aspired to?

This “adoration” of scoundrels ought to be a significant conversation as the country prepares to elect a new president on May 10th. Will the theory articulated by the Reverend Raats once again be proved correct? Are we going to blindly vote for scoundrels because we are in awe of their astounding success in the black arts of corruption and all kinds of chicanery? Or will we finally take the bold first step in liberating our culture from the pestilence of corruption and vote for candidates of proven honesty? Are we again to be dazzled by the illegitimate wealth generating prowess of some of our candidates? It is not everyday when an electorate in empowered to select a new set of leadership. May we choose wisely and not be slaves to the darker elements of our past and our culture and, in the process, it is hoped, we will lay to rest the myth that the Reverend Raats spoke of.

The author can be reached at ldq44@aol.com or his blog : ldq1944.blogspot.com