Scandal be damned, Jim Paredes can still call out this administration

Privacy—now that’s a real problem these days. I’m not even sure the word means the same thing as it did before. With social media and the pitfalls of the Internet, the concept has become close to obsolete. Your personal history, intimate memories, a message you sent your ex five years ago—someone has access to it all. But while you may have no problem with people finding about your crazy family, or the corny memes you send, certainly there are limitations to what you can and cannot share. An explicit video—that’s definitely one. Can you imagine if one of your “naughty” messages came out for all the world to see? Cringe.

But you know what’s a real shame? In a span of 10 days, I have written about two celebrity video scandals. One involves a young woman, and the other, I wrote just yesterday. Two scandals in 10 days. Let that sink in. It’s a conversation we clearly need to be having. Let’s start by talking about the more recent one.  

“This is very difficult for me to write,” OPM icon and activist Jim Paredes wrote as he confessed that a circulating video which supposedly shows him pleasuring himself is indeed real. “When I saw it on social media, I was in a quandary how to respond. But after mulling and praying over it, I decided to come clean.” He added, “I know many of you have judged me and condemned me, and those who held me in high esteem are disappointed in me, to put it mildly.”

Let’s unpack these statements first. The way he said it, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was admitting to a crime. “I am a flawed person, a human being, much like everyone else,” he said. “I have never tried to project myself as perfect. Of all the sins in this world, I believe sex is the most human of all.”

That he feels embarrassed is understandable. But condemning himself for a completely natural behavior is another thing. Unless it’s nonconsensual, engaging to sexual acts shouldn’t be considered a flaw, let alone a “sin.” But I’m sure that the idea of sex as a dirty act is something you’ve heard before. This is something spiteful people capitalize on to bring down other people. I mean, what really is the goal of releasing a sex video? You don’t do that just for the “kicks” (If so, that is another level of sick).  Ultimately, I think it is a deliberate attack on a particular person—especially if we’re talking about a public figure.

On his blog, Jim cleared that the video was “not meant for public consumption” and he had no idea how it got out, but could only suppose that it was politically-motivated. Which, honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Releasing that kind of scandal seems a calculated move. Knowing that our country remains largely conservative; one which still views sex as an offensive act—Jim is thus lowered to the level of criminals because of that video, when he never really did anything wrong. It’s easy to assume that the scandal’s goal is to erase his integrity as an activist, when the only character it should reflect upon is the person who leaked it. So the next time he voices out his opinion against the current administration, don’t throw this scandal at his face please. It’s not even close to a valid, logical argument.

Also: Jim pleasuring himself is a far cry from Pres. Duterte talking about assaulting his maid—regardless if that “joke” was fake or not. Just sayin’.

 

Art by Marian Hukom