Charice VS. The Cyber Community

WIKIPEDIA:

Cyberbullying is defined in legal glossaries as

• actions that use information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm another or others.
• use of communication technologies for the intention of harming another person
• use of internet service and mobile technologies such as web pages and discussion groups as well as instant messaging or SMS text messaging with the intention of harming another person.

Throughout this week, my Facebook feeds were flooded by pictures castigating Charice after sporting "horrendous" hairstyles during the 2nd Performance and Results Night of X Factor Philippines; one photo compared her to the bride of Chuckie; another to the boy in the label of Alaska; another to a plate of pancit canton.

I opt not to post these pictures here anymore because I was not happy at all. This is cyberbullying and from the term itself, it is BULLYING. I am not a fan of bullying because I experienced it firsthand. I know how it feels to be bullied. I feel for Charice.

Honestly, I used to be a die-hard fan of Charice. Who would not be? She represented the Filipino talents to a higher level by being the first Asian solo act to enter the US Billboards. She graced Glee Season 2 for 3 episodes. She surely made noise in the international scene and had many international achievements that would make every Filipino proud.

However, after her drastic transformation, my love for her started to fade. Did I like it? No. I still prefer her sweet image of a lady with long wavy hair who can belt out notes that are out of this world. However, I commend her brave efforts in showing who she really is.

Despite the fact that I do not like her new look, I still respect her. And that is the bottomline of this issue. We should learn how to respect a person. If we do not like ones' hairstyle or image, we can express our own opinion but we should NEVER bully a person. As per Bekimon, "Iba ang nagbibigay ng opinyon sa nanlalait" Anyone, especially a girl who had brought honor to this country, does not deserve this kind of treatment.

If you can't stand to see her, then do not watch the show. If you do not like her at all, then do not buy her albums. But please, do NOT bully her.

As for me, I will still watch X Factor because I am a big fan of singing contests. Let Charice's hair be that way. It is not her solo show anyway. Also, the essence of X Factor is to showcase talents and find those that can be considered world-class, not Charice's hair. Furthermore, I will still buy Charice's albums because I still love her voice eventhough she had changed her looks. Her vocal chops are still magnificent and undeniably, world-class.

 

P.S.
Just so you know, sooner or later, cyberbullying will be considered as a crime. Some lawmakers are pushing a bill to penalize it. If this will be enacted as a law, "posting online or sending digitally altered photos of the victim to others whether the images were taken with or without consent intended to humiliate and embarass the victim" is considered as cyberbullying. Penalty would be Php50,000-100,000 and imprisonment would be 6 months to 6 years. You may read the full text of this House Bill here: HB 6116

So for the cyberbullies out there, your days are numbered.