Monday, October 22, 2007

Not Quite Terror

Last Friday, there was an explosion in one of the popular malls. Yes, it was a legitimate cause for concern as people sent text messages and checked that their loved ones weren't in the vicinity. Theories abound as to the actual cause but this is no 9/11 for the Philippines and I say that with both relief and trepidation.

Relief because we're not in a panic, although it is making the news (unfortunately, said incident is receiving more focus compared to the other tragedies happening in rest of the country). Trepidation because in certain ways, we're used to such incidents. It's like our black-outs: we don't want them to happen but when they do, we treat it as if it was the most normal thing in the world and take out our candles and back-up rechargable lights or turn on our generators. Security is being tightened but under no means are we at red-alert or pseudo-martial law (assuming the explosion was indeed caused by a bomb).

The explosion certainly caused an initial scare but right now, the incident is what, an inconvenience? (Of course when I say that, I am speaking for myself.) I do think the biggest enemy we face is apathy and right now, instead of fear or anxiety or even depression, all I'm thinking is that life goes on.

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