Christopher Lao, a reportedly Summa cum Laude from the University of the Philippines, bashed the MMDA and random bystanders Wednesday as he charged his vehicle head-on with rising flood waters.
He was interviewed by GMA's Jun Veneracion. Watch the interview below:
Notice his arrogance, aura of self-entitlement, lack of guilt, immaturity, and audacity to blame other people for his mistake on the said video. Now, as I previously mentioned, this would've been a routine filler interview for the evening news. But instead of admitting his mistake, he decides to play pointy-fingers and blame the MMDA and the bystanders meters away from him.
Now, let's talk on the blamees first. The MMDA could be partly at fault for this mishap because they have not placed markers that would indicate to drivers that the road is unpassable. The local government could be partly at fault for Lao's misfortune because they have overlooked the upgrading of the drainage system around that area. But it's never the fault of the people if they fail to inform him that the flood is tire-deep. It's a moral obligation, not a legal obligation. He should know this of all people. To think that he's studying law.
Now, onto the the blamer. Arrogance naturally comes to would-be lawyers, trust me. I have met only quite a few who are timid and humble, but most Philippine lawyers are arrogant and dirty. Needless to say, arrogance is required in their profession: A practicing lawyer needs to be arrogant and loud in order to rattle his fellow lawyer in the court room. It's an art that takes a couple of years to master. If a lawyer is timid and passive in a court room, his and his client's defeat would be swift.
Anyway, it's my understanding that Christopher Lao is not yet a lawyer and is not inside a court room. No one but himself is to be blamed. His common sense should've kicked in and said something like "don't tread the water, it's too deep." He should not fault innocent bystanders who were at my estimate 100-feet away from him. The mere fact that no vehicle or person is treading the flooded area is enough warning for one not to challenge fate and cross the road.
His confusion and anger could be related to the the Kübler-Ross grief cycle. The Kübler-Ross grief cycle is a methodology developed by a Swedish doctor named Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. She made a study on the emotional states experienced by people when someone of importance to them dies. In this regard, we can compare Christopher Lao and his car to someone who have lost a friend:
•Shock stage: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news.
Christopher Lao is shocked to learn that the water is tire-deep and he never even realized it.
•Denial stage: Trying to avoid the inevitable.
He was confronted up front by a curious reporter inquiring about his mistake.
•Anger stage: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.
He was angry that the reporter was pointing out the obvious events that transpired.
•Bargaining stage: Seeking in vain for a way out.
He was looking in other directions while laughing sarcastically, attempting an easy exit.
•Depression stage: Final realization of the inevitable.
After the interview, he realized that it was his sheer lack of common sense that brought him to this situation.
•Testing stage: Seeking realistic solutions.
He possibly would apologize to all the people he offended in an attempt to heal the wounds of the past, to stop the people bashing him on Facebook at Twitter.
•Acceptance stage: Finally finding the way forward.
Everybody forgets what he has done (very typical of Filipinos) and moves forward with his life happily.
He should consider himself lucky that the only damage he suffered was a drenched car. A lawyer acquaintance of mine told me a story about a would-be lawyer that got shot dead in a traffic incident due to the former's arrogance. It goes like this:
A law student took the bar exams, passed with flying colors. A day before he takes his oath as a licensed lawyer, he gets involved in a traffic altercation. He exhibits full arrogance and says profainities to the other party involved in the altercation, also saying he was a lawyer and that the latter was going to rot in jail for clipping his car. The other party gets a gun, shoots the bar passer dead on the spot. Suspect was never caught.
The family of the deceased is requesting the Supreme Court a posthumous law license to their son, saying that their son passed the bar exam so he should be considered a lawyer. Supreme Court says no, citing that while he passed the bar exam, he did not take his oath, hence he is not a lawyer.
May this story serve as a grim reminder to all would-be lawyers that they should not display arrogance outside the court room even in the most critical of times. You never know who has a gun.
Christopher Lao should be not acting all high and mighty in the first place. Who does he think he is, the King of the World? He shall not be treated differently. And besides, the LAW OF PHYSICS states that something denser than water would sink, unless it's designed to stay afloat. Heck, even a ship sinks in the ocean every now and then. What makes him think his car could take tire-deep flood like that?
That's the problem with Filipinos: We love to play the blame game, even if it's us to be blamed no matter how obvious it is.
'Till my next installment.
[Video by Technogra.ph]
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