Opinion is there to criticize and prompt an action aiming for change. Yet, it seems like people do forget that opinion is not merely voicing one’s thoughts, but grounding oneself to facts and making it relevant to one’s area of responsibility.
Because just imagine how a filmmaker, Jason Paul Laxamana, asserted in his Facebook post that news of typhoons entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) shouldn’t be broadcasted as it breeds “panic and confusion” and it should be for meteorologists only. Following his “hot take,” he actively engaged in an online argument while standing firm to his vexing statement.
Making his statement even worse than it is, he added that it must be the pursuit of online engagement that news outlets still air this “fear-mongering” information in spite of the common people not understanding the technical terms and jargon they use. Ridiculously, Laxamana even said that the only relevant weather news for the people is typhoon strength, landfalls, rain, and floods.
It is to no surprise that people would oppose the said “hot take”, especially when it is truly and severely ill-informed. That horrendously flawed viewpoint undermines the real objective it has—laying the groundwork for people to be prepared in any case of a typhoon-related survival crisis. That viewpoint is the exact information that we call fear-mongering and confusing for people, even coming from an unreliable source.
Incredulity could never even surmise how much of this is beyond itself. Imagine implicating that typhoons in the boundaries of PAR are irrelevant, overlooking the fact that this news is not just for the “common people” but also fishermen and seafarers who are subjected to grave danger of the tumultuous seas – that it ultimately assists them in trudging the treacherous seas that become all the more cruel during a typhoon. Imagine not acknowledging the fact that it also aids disaster management for affected areas, making aid smoother when it is underway. Imagine being that improvident.
And just think how humiliating it is to downplay weather forecasts as mere superficial online engagements, definitely not seeing how meteorologists and reporters not only discuss “confusing” jargons and technicalities, but also conveying such information in layman's terms and create meaning on how it affects us, making it easier for the people to absorb.
Help me comprehend how one can not see how such news provides assistance to people in typhoon disasters. Because that is utterly condescending, not just towards the truth-bearers, but also to the people relying on them.
In an age where knowledge is power, news is a reliable pillar that outlines people’s plans and hopes in times of disasters. Being prepared is grounded in information, so pray tell me why are we now advocating for the abolishment of news that we have the right to know for our safety?
Truly, instead of voicing out ill-informed opinions, one should advocate for educating oneself on things that are relevant. After all, isn’t it common sense for Filipinos that we are a magnet of typhoons? Being educated in such matters is also our responsibility when it is for our safety. And wouldn’t it be the best for both worlds if we are to move and speak accordingly in our area of responsibility? That would be a lovely prospect.
To make an endnote, one should always remember that an opinion can be taken without qualms when it is well-informed and grounded by facts, and not merely by short-sighted “consideration” with a thinly-veiled scorn for regular people’s comprehension – that it also matters when the person speaking is relevant in the topic that is being spoken.
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