Replies about the Tracy ish..

Good day readers! here are some of the comments from various bloggers about the Tracy ish (issue). Just to let everyone know, I have asked for their permission to re post the said remarks & comments. Some maybe negative and some are positive..

my reply to kantob0y's comment (comments posted originally from http://smoketalk.wordpress.com/the-gospel-according-to-tracy/):

kantob0y, on December 10th, 2008 at 1:58 pm Said:

To Reezen TOT:

– quote – “dark quirky humor of mine” – end quote – sounds either she’s making an excuse or… how would you say it… “nagpapakitang tao?”

Moreover, – quote – “a post meant to be comical (exaggerated rudeness and ditzy-ness, although still not with some truth to it of course)” – end quote –

would you really joke about something that is not really funny to you in the first place?

think about it…

Reezen TOT, on December 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am Said:

thanks for the point out kantob0y that’s what she has replied to me..

any how, for her friends, that blog might be dark and quirky and comical to them (I dont know them so you might want to ask her yourself regarding this.. ).. I really find the blog offensive as well.. Such bile remarks had already came from me regarding the said blog. And I don’t want to add more insults to her because enough has already been said..

I am not a close friend of hers. The reason I made my retraction was that it seems that I am becoming the type of person that I hate most, being biased and prejudice at some point. As of right now, I do believe she has learned her lesson regarding the blogs she will post and the people she needs to trust. Everyone has witty, dark, etc humors that they do blog on their sites. It’s either they become infamous or be a saint about it.. I am not saying that we should pity her for this..

Just a reminder though, we do have our own mishaps as well.. We might joke somethings that might come off offensive to others without knowing it..

I’ll let you be the judge on this issue.. I have already made my judgment as well.. I respect your opinion and I do hope you respect mine as well..

Fr: Serpentskirt, on December 8th, 2008 at 7:39 pm Said (comment originally posted from http://smoketalk.wordpress.com):

I was about to leave a rather scathing post on your transcription of her entry, but then I’m glad I read this first, and I want to say thank you for not just launching into a long tirade about what a horrible, insensitive bitch Tracy Borres is. I haven’t been seeing that a lot on the Internet.

Most of what I find is just people making mean, underhanded comments about her and judging her entire person based on that one blog entry that they were never even meant to read, and it disappointed me.

Tracy is a friend of mine, and she’s been a good friend for a long time. The contents of that blog entry are not the summary of her person. I’m not making any excuses for the things she said, and I’m not condoning her actions either, because her comments were really offensive, even to some of her friends who already KNOW what she and her humor are like, but I think she deserves to be treated better than she is being treated now, because right now, people seem to think she’s hardly human and are not regarding her as such.


What frustrates me about this hoopla is that people keep going on and on in their blog entries about how “they’re spreading the posts so that more people know about this heinous bitch,” and when I ask what for, some actually tell me that they’re doing it so that “Tracy Isabel Borres learns something.” What’s she going to learn? That people on the Internet are self-righteous cunts? Some of these people have tried to get her in trouble with the school, but the school already knows about this, and right now, all they’re really concerned about is that this nuttery isn’t affecting Tracy negatively, academically or emotionally.


If the school can take it with a grain of salt, and understand that not everybody has a beautiful, mindblowingly enlightening immersion experience, why can’t everyone else? I understand where their anger is coming from, but I think that instead of further spreading the hate all over the Internet, where Tracy is obviously not looking because she knows what’s out there, these “concerned, upstanding, moral, socially-aware citizens” could be doing something more constructive.


Doesn’t everyone know her Facebook name by now? Doesn’t everyone know what her photo looks like? Why don’t they just take their grievances straight to her and message her on Facebook? Or can they only bravely express how horrified they are and how awful they think she is on their own inviolable turf, where she’s not looking and where nobody’s standing up for her? Anyway, thank you for your time, and thank you for your kindness. It is very much appreciated.

Fr: The Cat on Wed, 10th Dec 2008 2:24 pm

i read Reezen blog where she published the “retraction”. it is more of denial but i agree with her, she is not a racist or discriminatory to the indigeneous people. She eats their food.


Ang discriminatory yong hindi kakain ng pagkain, di ba? She also accepted the fruits given to her by the poor Tatay . In short she is just guilty of being a BIGOT. She is inflicted with the common disease BSA syndrome. BITCH-SI-AKO syndrome.



from marocharim


"Before you read whatever irrelevant rant I’m going to post here, I suggest you read Smoke’s transcript of the Tracy Borres post, Smoke’s reply, and her take on Tracy’s reply. More required reading comes from ReynaElena. Which means you don’t have to read this. Also, read Reezen TOT’s side of the story. - Marocharim" * * *

Before we “lynch” Tracy Borres, let’s take a step back and see what her entry is about. I read it to be a personal opinion of a personal experience. Ethnocentric? Yes. Offensive? Definitely. Should she have blogged about it? Absolutely not. I’m not the most merciful guy on the face of the earth, but Tracy has already been critiqued on the basis of her unpopular opinion. If you asked me, big deal: we all hold unpopular opinions. When you’re reading this blog, you’re reading many unpopular opinions from an anarchist who believes euthanasia and abortion should be legalized. The only difference is that I’m not telling you to pull the plug on a sick relative, and I’m not talking to you about the uses of certain herbs and coat hangers, so to speak. The problem here is how Tracy Borres wrote about something she knew was offensive, wrote it in a way she knew was tactless, and expected too little of a consequence for it. And the least she could manage was… “Sigh sigh.”

The question this time is whether or not Tracy deserves the flak coming to her. Well no, and it’s not because I have a soft spot for colegiala types with ditzy humor who have some measure of “hitsura…” well, yeah, I do. Anyway… In blogging spheres, there’s such a thing as “the unbloggable.” There are things you simply can’t blog about. For example, I can’t blog about sensitive concerns and information about my job. I can’t blog about issues that take place within my family. Granted that I’ll offend people from time to time, but responsible blogging - heck, responsible writing, at that - is based on the precept that you’re not going to intentionally offend, harm, or malign anybody just because you’re making a personal opinion public.

I hate repeating myself, but again: Honeste vivere, alterum no laedare, suum cique triburere (Live honestly, do no harm, give one’s due).

You can write about all the offensive things you like, but you think twice, thrice, four times, and even a full day before you give yourself the license to write about it. While you’re “more free” with blogging than by writing on some locked journal, what you write on the Internet can - and will - be used against you, whether it’s a real court, or the court of public opinion.


People’s lives and reputations get built - and yes, ruined - by the Internet. The moment you commit something to the relative permanence of a blog, you’re pretty much accountable for it. For me, it’s not about the ka-artehan or ka-conyohan of Tracy Borres, but the kakapalan ng mukha niya to post her offensive, objectionable views without a semblance of a rational, humane, passabe defense of her argument.


Somewhere in her objectionable opinion, there were many, many good defenses made in her behalf. Yet had Tracy kept her opinions to herself, had Tracy’s friends had the prudence to not circulate the e-mail or Facebook message or what, then we wouldn’t have these inane, asinine, feces-on-the-hair-of-a-stray-cat “blog controversies” that don’t do anything to uplift the credibility of blogging. Furthermore, it’s not just about Tracy Borres, but every single blogger out there who thinks that he or she can get away with a review that looks down upon the generosity of a host, or maligns the good name and reputation of another person. We all feel that our blogs are our own personal places, when in fact a lot about a blog is public.


Rather than exercise prudence and respect, many of us overstep the bounds of what is honorable, what is respectable, and what is just. The continued neglect for these important issues - these simple precepts - is what makes irrelevant blog controversies that run down the credibility of blogging.


Nobody, not the least of which a guy who believes that chocolate cake is an abomination that should be flushed down the toilet, is begrudging anyone to express something objectionable. Yet even the most objectionable opinions like Nazism, the Holocaust, and Maafa last because they were well-thought-out, before being released into the realm of public discourse. In blogs, it’s simply not the case; we wait for things to “boil over,” and wait until all of this is forgotten.


Sigh sigh.
XOXO.


Fr: Wendy said... (original comment posted from http://chichitsthefan.blogspot.com/2008/12/shaken-rattled-and-roared-bad-idea.html)

Hi Kitty,


I'm really a big fan of yours but... Let's face it, experiences like immersions aren't for everyone. I graduated from Ateneo myself so I know. I think had she known what she was getting into she would not have gone at all. She's just being herself.


I don't know her, I bet most of the people who've been lambasting her and judging her don't know her as well. How can we judge her solely from her reaction to an experience which she deemed bad? She posted her account on Facebook, probably to share with her friends and peers, and now it is being feasted on, ridiculed, and criticized for all the world to see.


Nobody's perfect. I feel sorry for her, because she is being turned into a sideshow so people will have something to talk about. :(

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 12:49:00 PM HKT

Fr: The Adventures of MDJ Superstar The Life & Times of A Superstar Beyond Belief MDJ Superstar Reacts to the Notorious TIB (Tracy Isabel Borres (original comment posted on http://mousehole.wordpress.com/) My my my.


Tracy Isabel Borres.

This is one of the more mildly controversial topics I’ve seen floating around the blogosphere. (link to her blog entry here, although I am thinking this is creating a buzz only because Gorrell is currently on hibernation) I don’t begrudge her for not being able to vent anything deeper than ohmygollyhowkadirinamanthesepeoplearein her blog.


Not all life lessons come immediately, and even when they do, not all of us articulate enough to compose them into a straightforward essay we can share with our friends. I will give her the benefit of the doubt, and simply ask - how will she live her life from here on in? We don’t expect all people who join an immersion to suddenly become saints and social activists. but if she learns to be more appreciative of her material comforts, and grateful to those who are kind and who provide for her, that becomes a plus in my book.


Consuelo de bobo nalang, i guess. She’s a ditz, i will say that, but as someone who does not truly know the person. She doesn’t strike me as being very nice. Again, that is not a fully-informed judgement. I certainly wish she could have been more reflective on her experience. But still. Feelings are feelings, and I will respect her right to vent her very visceral reaction to that one weekend. How she will live the rest of her life - it’s sad that none of us will ever find out.


We will only know her as a name on this particular blog post that she never meant for anyone outside her close circle of friends to read. How would any of us have reacted in her place? Tell me.

fr: dan

I had gone through the same thing and I stayed in the community for one month. I guess it’s different for me because it was my cause… I personally wanted to know how they run their lives, I wanted to understand them so I could develop technologies/practices that could benefit them.


WE have to understand that she comes from a different perspective. I think, its important that the people who are going to these immersions should be oriented rightfully. Plus, there should be post processing or whatever you should call it. I’m from UP, so I don’t know how it works in Ateneo.


I have the greatest respect for Ateneans esp. those I’ve met because of their thrusts and principles. It’s just plain sad especially when I think about her surrogate Aeta family. They may have been offended or hurt by her actions…

fr: a batchmate of TIB

I’m her batchmate and also coursemate, IV AB Psych. If there is one thing I may ask is that please don’t generalize us (not that I am saying you are. you just might).

We share the same comment, it saddens me she is studying Psychology. A course where we are taught about cultural differences, it saddens me that (most likely) she will be graduating with this degree. If only this incident can show our professors that she is not ready to graduate, however BLOGGING is not included in our grade basis.


As her coursemate and batchmate, I’m disgusted by what she did but trying not to be disgusted by her. Because like I said, we are taught to understand OTHER CULTURES.



My hope for her as she graduates (because I am not that close to her and I don’t think I will be able to talk to her) is that this whole experience of immersion and her post-blog repercussions will somehow, even just A LITTLE, ground her “heaven-high” self-image and bring out humility, something we all need.

fr:Mike Abundo (CHECK MIKE'S BLOG, DON'T KNOW HOW TO HYPERLINK AND SUCH.. LOL http://mikeabundo.com/2008/12/10/tracy-isabel-borres-facebook/) (in regards to Tracy's statement)

Filipina college student Tracy Isabel Borres recently interacted with the indigenous Filipino Aeta tribe on an Ateneo de Manila University field trip. She posted nasty things about the tribe on her Facebook page, for only her friends to see.


She thought the posts were funny. One of Tracy’s Facebook friends did not find the posts funny. She found them so unfunny that she took screenshots and circulated them via email. The screenshots are now making the rounds on Filipino mailing lists. I find Tracy’s posts horribly racist. In fact, I find them so offensive that I will not republish them here.


Maybe they were meant to amuse her friends, but they certainly did not amuse me. Nevertheless, I do not condone her friend’s treachery. I decided to hear Tracy’s side of the story. Here’s her statement.

"Yes I am fully aware of the gravity and extent of what is happening right now, but thank you still. =) Someone stole it from my CONTACTS only account. Sigh sigh. Thing is i know how rude and offensive it sounded but that was because I was expecting it to be read by my friends only who understood a kind of dark quirky humor of mine that really would make other people mad. It was a post meant to be comical for my friends to laugh at… (exaggerated rudeness and ditzy-ness, although still not with some truth to it of course, i am not excusing my insensitive usage of words but hey! its funny WITH/FOR my friends!) then of course it leaked. Sigh sigh. I am just waiting for this to blow over (as typical ‘internet sensations’ usually do), because seriously. People, focus on real issues not on some spoiled sheltered girl. Haha. if anything, i would rather you forward my reply to the email. =) i mean really. there are so many ppl out there who are just so ready and willing to jump at every and any opportunity to add insult to injury bec it will be inconsequential to them anyway without knowing the premises or without any sense of discernment whatsoever. i mean betrayal for leaking my entry by someone i knew was bad enough right? so now its like i cracked a yo momma joke and everyone thinks i want to kill their momma! hahaha oh sigh sigh. again, thank you for your concern. =)"

If I were Tracy, I’d either watch what I say or scrub my friends list. People whine all the time about privacy on the Internet — but no privacy protocol can survive a breach of trust.

fr:nicmespiritu says: nicmespiritu (originally posted on http://mikeabundo.com/2008/12/10/tracy-isabel-borres-facebook/)
December 10th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

why was i expecting a more reasonable apology than “it was only meant for my friends?” i guess wisdom comes with age. bata pa siya and being the optimist that i am, i just hope she attains a certain level of maturity after all this. personally,i don’t agree with her order to focus on real issues. apparently, she has no idea what real issues are. her words ARE real issues because they are offensive to real people. plus there should be no expectation of privacy in the internet. there’s a lesson for each of us in this instance… bahala na tayo anong lesson ang makukuha natin, whether it be to watch out for friends who leak your blogs, privacy over the internet, the line between humor and offensiveness or a little tact perhaps. i hope you don’t mind if i also post this on my blog, giving credit to you, of course.

Here are some of the remarks, comments and reactions that I was able to pull up.. As you can see, there are different types of view regarding the said blog. If you were able to read Tracy's side, I was happy to get a statement from her personally (No editing of course).

Doesn't it feel like we're all back in high school, ganging up on some one who is vulnerable to such critics that that person would wish to hibernate until the year is over? I am not writing up for her defense but what I am trying to do is to show her side.

Do you think that too much hate will get things resolved? Why even here in the US some Filipinos are very derogatory towards other Filipinos. I know that most of us bloggers hate racism and discrimination. We can't just push someone to write things that everyone would enjoy. We all get ostracized by actions that seem demeaning to others..


It's not that bad to have an open mind. Having an open mind is more reasonable.

xoxo