Just read from Marc Macuha’s blog that columnist Malu Fernandez of Manila Standard Today and People Asia has resigned and apologized for what she wrote on some of her recent articles.
This would have been a huge triumph for the blogosphere that have been very vocal against her — but death threats?
Demanding a public apology and outright dismissal from the said publication is a valid argument. Name calling and cursing is treading on thin line but is always expected in times of outpouring emotions. Making death threats is totally crossing the line.
GMANewsTV reports, quoting her:
Fernandez claimed that because of the article she became a subject of hate blogs, a target of death threats and personal insults.
“Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions.” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said she now truly understands the “insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice disguised as humor.”
Yes, she might deserve the ridicule thrown at her but subjecting her to death threats is a huge cause for concern (isn’t that a criminal offense under Philippine Law?). Death threats are no joke. The internet (and blogging) is a great tool for freedom of expression. That liberty, coupled with the inherent benefit of anonymity online, shouldn’t be used to cause anyone bodily harm.
Bloggers should also be vigilant to prevent this. I know it’s an impossible task but measures should be made to minimize it. Moderating comments deemed to be libelous and threatening should be exercised especially in situations like these. The same is true with anonymous blogs that calls out for someone to be physically harmed — do no link to them or allow them to post links on your blog.
This reminds me of Tim O’Reilly’s call for a Bloggers Code of Conduct after fellow blogger and friend Kathy Sierra was subjected to hate comments and death threats.
This is standard in terms of search engine optimization. Nothing looks to annoy towards it than this!This is just what was talked about ten years prior at the last big blackhat con about google some number of years ago in 1994.
Mass Effect and a simple game like pong or snake, but they are all games. ,
Malu Fernandez should be killed. Otherwise, she should stop being Filipino.
haha did anyone of you actually read her apology? You wouldn’t feel sorry for her and may probably join the people who are sending her death threats!!! hahaha
it’s a a sad reality, i have encountered a lot of malu fernandez in my life. i am now in the u.s. also have been an ofw for over ten years. when you look at people like malu fernandez, you can immediately discern ang pinanggalingan niya or at least ang background at mentality niya at ang kinalakihan niya. nakakaawa ang ganitong mentality actually, you can imagine how the real genuine rich people listed in forbes list feel about her. or also, how the god-fearing, genuinely humane people must think about such a heartless creature ano? mababaw ang isip at kaligayahan. hindi sanay. walang diyos kung hindi karangyaan.
and to actually consider her physical appearance and the way she poses in the pictures, parang isang deprived na creature na ngayon lang nakatamasa ng sarap. come on guys, tayong mga educated and coming from buena familia, we pity this kind and instead pray for them. people like malu fernandez need our prayers, pasalamat tayo hindi natin sila kautak and let’s pray na sana maayos ang pagiisip nila.
other people do not laugh or make fun of ofw’s for wearing axe or cheap colognes, who sacrifice to earn a living, they make fun of creatures like malu fernandez who are nothing but skin deep,socially starved and desperately physically lacking, nothing else. malu fernandez personifies the typical mentality, attitude and grasp of thinking, that made the philippines and filipinos poor, poorer and poorest. not to mention tasteless. look at the face…. it says it all.
Malu Fernandez is Back.. nagpalamig lang ata..
check this out
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife2_oct8_2007
I just read a couple of entries and of cours her article of flying back and forth to Greece and Boracay, etc., etc., bla bla bla. – Jet Set Life-
Well, as a pinoy living in Germany I truly have to admit that this article is a piece of crap. Malu Fernandez should be thankful for living a “good life” in comparison to millions of other pinoys.
It was a pity reading that poor Malu seems to think she is something better than the average pinoy just because she is wearing Louis Vuitton, Prada and having a make up case stuffed with different sorts of colors and hair accessories. You know what, Malu? I can easily fly back and forth on my own, with my stylish and rich friends. I can visit every single european country in just a click. I can join the best parties with all of the german/ european stars since I’m working in the media branche where these parties are planned nearly daily. So what? Do all these things make me a better person? As an educated journalist it is a shame that even the thought of writing articles like that came into your mind. What were you thinking? You have to built up your ego anew, my dear. Such a tremendous philippino disgracefulness.
No wonder that you receive death threats, Miss Malu. But I guess these won’t be that bad for you since you have the ability to fly to Greece or somewhere else were you can escape them. Go home!
I’m not defending her. I am not also condoning violence. I did not assume she got death threats. I was quoting from the news (GMA News, Inquirer, etc.).
So sad to hear you are defending her. Do you really think the OFWs will bother to kill her as you presumptously stated in your blog? I will not even dare sit beside her, much more let her skin brush against mine. There is no excuse for what she did, and you siding with her is totally ridiculous. I hope one day we won’t be coming across each other, because I know I could never tolerate your attitude.
I hope we can learn to forgive Malu Fernandez. I wrote an entry about her article and I hope you can find time to read it. It’s entitled “One Voice (An OFW’s reaction to Malu Fernandez’s “From Greece to Boracayâ€)” and I posted it here: http://lestercavestany.com/?p=10
i cant say im having doubts about what to say regarding this OFW article from Malu Feranandez, see guys, i know that part of what she’s saying is the reality but the fact that she does NOT need to make a big impression about that, coz its a natural response from us PEOPLE that in any case we’ve heard of such – we do normally react in a way to defend our side and to those who were given sh*t on their shoulders.She have made an exaggerated article about her possessions in life, her work, the so called luxuries that she gets but how rude it was for her to degrade our OFWs – has she or have we already forgotten the stories of OFWs who have suffered alot from their foreign employers? Does she even know how hard it is to earn money? maybe not coz she belong to a rich family.. (rich from the luxuries but lacks manners!)
I have seen alot of our kababayans who are domestic helpers, you can even feel their fears, their lonliness, their sufferings of being away from their own family, chosing somebody else’s children to take care of rather than their own… She or not even one of us can judge the OFW just bcoz they exhibit thru their accessories, at least they dont do it like what Malu Fernandez have done! i guess i can only say that they are just proud to see that hard work really pays off!#
so leave the OFWs alone ms. Porky!
To my Fellow OFW – we salute you for your bravery, for working hard for your family as well as for your country!
to Malu Fernandez – hope you have learned your lesson, that money is NOT about Everything, its better to be wealthy in manners than the things that fade, never under estimate someone who have gone thru a lot, you may think this people are small but to tell you the truth they are bigtime
It’s about time na Dapat we should buy less imported signature and expensive brands na, like Joe Mallone, Giorgio Armani, Tods, etc.? Bawat bili mo niyan, eh di you’re giving more wealth to the wealthy na! Kawawa naman ang Pamilya mo, yung pambili mo ng ulam napunta na sa mahal na pabango o damit. Tapos baka credit card lagi and gamit mo pambayad.
Lagot ka yung accumulated interests na charge ng Card mo nag quadruple na! Paano na lang tayo makakaahon kung panay pambayad na lang ang suweldo na kita natin, sa mga giant global banks – Citibank, HSBC, Standard.
Kaya ayun panay utang na lang ang bawat Pinoy, panay bili kasi ng mga imported signature brands.
Buti pa Pinoy goods na lang bilhn niyo. Para sumikat sa abroad! Lalo na kayong mga OFWs ipagmalaki niyo ang Pinoy perfumes and clothes.
To Angel: Hindi lahat ng mayaman ay matapobre. Ang pagiging matapobre ay nasa ginagawa ng tao so pwedeng matapobre ang middle class person sa kapwa nila middle class din. Middle class na rin siguro ako ngayon pero nakapag-aral ako dahil sa scholarship lang. Then I started meeting all sorts of rich people (and other people) and I have not met a rich person who is matapobre (at least not in front of me). I actually experienced being discriminated by those who were not really rich but so happen to be well off than others who they though that were lower than them because of the way the person looks. Kasi, I like to feel confortable in the way I dress so I don’t care much about designer clothes. But of course hindi nila isinulat ito for everyone to read and they learn their mistake once they learn more about the person who do not care much about what they wear.
well, malu will be/is back (already in the MT), which will probably make the malu lovers rejoice and the OFWs sick.
seems that the ‘death threats’ did not stop her comeback. so to those people who believed the ‘death threats’ angle, I PITY you, SUCKERS.
in the US, when a comedian makes a racial slur, the person is castigated and punished. here, she is ‘kawawa naman’, etc. and defended by her ‘class mates’.
mind you, I was an OFW once and I understand the feelings of someone going home after 2 years away from your family. the last thing these people need is for someone to insult them. heck 9/11 will NEVER happen on a Saudia flight to the Philippines, the hijackers will be thrown out the plane. don’t cross these people – they are united, they have purchasing power and very sensitive
She is still writing and i hope sensibly now:
http://www.inquirer.net/verbatim/retained.JPG
There are lessons to be learned from every mistake we do. As a consequence, we grow from the experience.
It’s also wise to dwell and live with what the soul longs and not just what our body dictates. Sometimes we’re too indulge with earthly pleasures -its Scent, sensation, and lure that we forget that we’re not just a material body…headed to become as ash soon. It truly is Wasteful if we pamper our body more than our soul.
It’s a lot wiser to spend your money in helping your family or friends than junking it in expensive perfumes or clothes. Liberate yourself from the commercialism of this world.
well to make it more “Hilarious” why not make a CANON story for her. Since sikat si MARIMAR gawan natin siya ng “MALU-MBA” tapos yung alaga niya imbis na Aso (Fulgoso) isang biik si PIGOSO hahaha =) ayuz ba
dapat na itapon itapon iyang baboy na iyan.ang sama ng ugali,ang sama ng mukha,ang sama ng katawan.itapon na iyan sa kanal.kung di ninyo itatapon iyang si malu baboy fernandez.di namin susuportahan iyang newspaper ninyo.
She’s like Willie R. now, making all of the paawa stuffs and the like. She should have just put her feet on the shoes of the OFWs first before she indulged herself into writing such horrid things. Maybe she had a terrible experience with an OFW or “worse” (for her) she was a former OFW like working in the Middle East, and if she wasn’t that “CHEAP” how da hell did she knew that the perfume of the OFWs was AXE and I don’t believe that wearing AXE as a perfume makes some one cheap noh haller?? Yes we can and we should forgive her she’s just a victim of a circumstance in which she had no chance of escaping just imagine she never grew up with all those BLESSINGS and after all if not for her we would not REALIZE the “Hardships” of our comrades working abroad, with all of these comments I must say, damn… You really love this country =)
a b1tch deserves to be treated as a b1tch…. walang ibang masisisi sa nangyari sa kanya kundi sarili nya…
sabi nga tambay sa amin…. “wag masyadong mataas ang ihi at baka maihian mo ang sarili mo…”
correction on my previous post.. it was dona victorina de espedana.
she reminds me of a character in Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo.. Dona Victoria.
if a country is attacked, its people must defend, to the death if needed. our ofws were attacked. thus, we must defend.
what she did is serious. its no joke. apology is not enough. her resignation is an escape rather than punishment. punishment must be real. we must put her in jail or create a jail for her through our mails.
please don’t make excuses for her. let her answer for her actions. let her learn to be as brave as our ofws.
yeah.. but that doesnt stop her from being the b*tch that she is. d*amn, shes not even pretty and skinny! yet she has the nerve to say all those awful things. i hope she never finds another writer job, or else she might get another chance to spread her disgusting views about people who works harder than her.
Peace with you all!
“Let the one among you who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone at her.”
(And “Let anyone who is without sin, throw another evil word at her.â€)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.â€
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.â€
You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, “You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment……..
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.â€
“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. “
“And I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.â€
“Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him; the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father…..â€
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.â€
“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.â€
AMEN.
death threats? i think she deserves it! don’t let her breed more racist, arrogant diva bitches!
calling all hackers out there!!! making her life a living hell! be creative! hehehe >:)
I don’t think it’s beyond her to claim getting “death threats” because that’s a sure way to generate sympathy from the public — especially from those who fancy themselves as being “not of the mob.”
Cold, yes. But True.
I know it is wrong for some people to have gone on with the whole “hate mail” and mob-attacks-thing but it is wrong to criticize them for reacting the way that they were brought up in this society.
One can not expect all your people to be sophisticated in the way they express their anger in an unequal society with unequal education. This is something that all those who have grown up in de buena familia knows, and being part of the privileged class it is your responsibility to understand those who have less than you, simply because you are more blessed.
do not pity her, nor defend her, she should have known better,…
I think the death threats part of the issue is overblown.
Yes, Malu did something to insult the OFWs and Lynch mob was brought in. What’s wrong with the issue is that too many people jumped in without taking the issue aside from it’s face value, hence the hate mail/posts etc.
Malu has already resigned and I doubt we’ll be seeing her in any other publication, unless she decides to use a pen-name and hide behind it and the issue should be over but the Lynch mob is still seeking her out.
To those thinking what has happened to Malu was so appalling that she deserves pity, pleas analyze the situation first. She tried to defend her article by acting so-high and mighty branding her work as ‘Satire.’ Satire is a well-thought of form of criticism and her article definitely fails to conform to that.
On the lighter side of things I’ve made an interesting post about people included in the issue. 6 ways to become famous online
Ill be appearing on ANC’s Media In Focus this week. I think the angle of bloggers being honorary journalists may be explored. This issue has proven the viability of the blog community as a strong force and having mainstream media pick it up is very affirming as far as our influence is concerned.
unfortunately, only about 10-20% of the people took this issue with tact and a sensible approach. A good 20% also took the issue lightly, with varying levels of humor.
The rest went on an all out war.
everyone is so much overwhelmed with exaggerations, and exaggerated words.
i hope this case will now be closed.
oh please. death threats force her to resign? hardly. she was forced to resign because of the morally justified outrage of many people who believed her insults (disguised as humor) had no place in a decent society.
death threats are too much?????
where are the death threats? show me the death threats! she was the one who claimed there were any in the first place. kinda hard to believe, but that’s just me.
Well now that she has resigned and apologized, perhaps its time to aid her. Death threats are just too much.
and stew she shall.
Well I see allot of reactions for a bunch of pansies here saying ohh… “kawanaman siya. What she did was wrong but she doesn’t deserve this” Ofcourse she deserves this! Market forces and Revolutions are driven by the combined actions of many. And thus the masses have spoken!
You people are weak sheep! When your enemy insults you you must stamp them out and grind their faces into the dirt. If you really love some one then love with all your heart. If you hate someone then hate them with your soul. Somewhat hating is the same as halfway loving. Spineless!
So i say let her stew!
First of all, I would like to thank MALU FERNANDEZ for her article, lahat naman ng sinabi nya ay KATOTOHANAN. The TRUTH HURTS diba? At ano ang TOTOO? The TRUTH is ang KABULUKAN sa MUNDO. The struggle between “the HAVE†and “HAVE NOTSâ€, the poor “OFW’s†and the rich “SOB’sâ€, the “COMMON PEOPLE†and the “ELITISTASâ€. The truth is most (not all) rich people are really insensitive and insulting to the poor or the middle class, believe me I know. I came from a middle class family, nag-aral ako sa isang maliit na school noong elementary and after graduating I transferred to an exclusive school sa makati, dito ko na naranasan ang DISCRIMINATION and INSULTS from this so-called ELITISTAS. I felt kung hindi mo sila kasing YAMAN, you don’t have the right to be there. Some of the RICH really seems to have NO HEARTS, walang awa talaga kung magbitiw ng salita. Parang they can get away with anything dahil MAYAMAN sila. Still I have no bitterness nor hatred, I just felt sorry that rich people are mostly like that, GOOD on the OUTSIDE and real BAD on the INSIDE. I just want to say that I know it is not easy to FORGET, but definitely we have to FORGIVE. Let’s pray that all change for the better and follow GOD’s commandments, not just a few, but ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS. Its time to let GO and let GOD decide…. Truly the LORD said “Blessed are they who are POOR for they shall inherit the land.†And “It is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a RICH man to enter the KINGDOM of HEAVEN. AMEN
As I read most of your comments and the other blogs, it seems there are two sides, the ones who sides with malu and the other who hates malu. The ones who are trying to find her views “funny” and the other “sic”. I feel this is a battle between the “haves” and “have nots”, the poor “OFW’s” and the rich “SOB’s”. I think at the end of our days, GOD will have his final say, “Blessed are the poor and It is easier for camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” AMEN
MISS MALU WANG NI HAW MA? cOME RIDE MY PLANE EH? I NEED TO BALANCE ECONOMY CLASS BECAUSE ONLY FIRST CLASS TICKETS BUY SO NOBODY IN THE BACK DOON KA HA? HEHE. MASYALO KA ATA TEK SLEEPING PILLS NO? TAMA TAMA TULOK KA LANG FLIGHT HE PARA HINDI MO AMOY SARILI MO BAHO. HEHE
I thought her “bigoted” article was actually funny – out of the expense of OFWs of course (of which my boyfriend is one of them) – that I thought she
also was intentionally making fun of herself. If her “bigoted” reactions were unintentionall, she is still making fun of herself, which is more funny.
Making her resign is too much. We need more funny writers.
death threats? and you actually fell for that? With her newfound infamy, it is downright obvious that she wants people’s sympathy. ^I agree with Victor, maybe she mistook people’s “lilitsunin” comments (or “acerbic wit”) as “death threats”.
Her letter of apology/resignation does not seem contrite nor sincere.
Death Threats? – I haven’t read any in all the blogs and comments that I’ve come across. I do remember some comments like ‘lilitsunin’ or something to that effect. Maybe that’s the DEATH THREAT.
as an afterthought, i guess the author just realized what an a$$ she’d become. when a realization such as that dawns on you, it’s better to retreat in silence. frankly, her articles reek of pride and arrogance and contempt for the masses which cannot be justified by implied humour.
or maybe she just exaggerated some hate mails,..
with all the things being written about her in the net, she might have gotten paranoid…
sus! kumukuha lang yan ng simpatiya para sya ang magmukang biktima..
good point. how do we know if there really were death threats? i’m playing devil’s advocate here but isn’t it possible that she’s just playing us in an attempt to gain our sympathy? i for one would like to see those death threats otherwise i find it preposterous that anyone would stoop so low as to threaten her and actually mean it. each act has a corresponding consequence, she should have known that. what if the persons who uttered those “death threats” really just meant them as jokes? that would be similar to what she did in the past when she would belittle the less fortunate in a vain attempt to be above the masses. bottom line is, do we know for sure that there were death threats?
big question is,.. is their proof that there were death threats.. I’ve read a lot of insidious and highly insulting comments,… but really now.
the only person who said that there were.. was Malu Fernandez, and that’s not really a reliable source.
What’s particularly disturbing, is if the so-called “death threats” were made as a direct result of reading one or more people’s blogs as opposed to just reading her article.
Question is, if the lady was killed, will the people who wrote about her and her article feel sorry that they ever wrote about it ? Just a thought :-)
I am not an OFW and as such I don’t feel the pain of the insult but I thought the reactions were out of proportion. It was like an angry mob ready to lynch Malu Fernandez. No doubt she was very insensitive in what she said but we shouldn’t react the Taliban way.
Calling her a pig, etc. wasn’t exactly elevating the debate. All those people calling her names were lowering themselves at the same level of Malu Fernandez. They are hardly better than her.
There are better ways to show your disdain for someone.
Is it a victory for the blogging world? Is it a victory for democracy? I don’t think so.
It just shows how quickly people are manipulated and it shows that OFW are a very powerful group.
there’s a difference between threatening to kill someone and wishing them dead. those who have the capacity to carry out that threat wouldn’t be the vocal bloggers, anyway; it’d be someone who knows her and where she lives. that report smells of yellow journalism.
@Dave: That’s very true. I do believe in freedom of speech but I also believe in being responsible for your actions. That’s the problem with some commenters. They act as if they’re beyond scrutiny. I mean, I don’t like what Malu Fernandez said. But sadly, many of those who reacted have gone way below her level of thinking. Aside from the Bloggers Code of Conduct, we need a Commenters Code of Conduct!
The OFWs may really be very angry at Malu, but I don’t think these so-called threats are serious. Must be just spontaneous emotional outbursts triggered by her article.
If these death threats were serious then she should have reported them to the police to investigate. We cannot control what people do, if they cross the line, that is beyond anyone’s control.
The problem is: are Philippine authorities capable of tracking down these individuals who threatened her? What is the nature of these death threats? Via e-mail, phone, etc.? If she got the threat, there is a paper trail.
I am not too convinced that the threats were anything serious — because if your life is threatened you don’t quit your job, you report it to the police.
Is there a particular blog that posted a death threat?
I’m really not that attuned to the philippine blogging community as I only learned about all this brouhaha on the news last night.
She may have been trying to be satirical and ended up sounding malicious and petty. Granted her article may have been more at home in a spoiled teenager’s blog instead of a widely circulated publication, but death threats just show how close minded and violence oriented some people are. These are the kind of people that tend to shoot you for scratching their car accidentally.
Couldn’t these email threats be traced?
Good that you commented on this, Abe … not becuase of any of the pros and cons of Malu’s columns. It’s surprising how many bloggers seem to feel that”freedom of speech” or “freedom of expression” somehow translates into being above the law. We, as citizens of whatever country, do_not_ have total freedom of speech … nor should we. The famous example of noit being free to cry “Fire” in a crowded theater being a n illustration still very appropriate.
Death threats _are_ illegal, so far as I know, in the Philippines and they most certainly are in the US … in fact they are rourinely investigated by police and criminal punishment has been meted out. regardless of the law, it is just not right. Even though a person may toss out such a threat without actively meaning them seriously, the world is filled with unstable, unbalanced folks who might pick up on such a post and actual carry it out … history is full of murders traced to insane folk believing they were killing in response to an instruction from someone they believe to be their leader.
It’s really sad to see how lightly this incident is being taken by bloggers … many just seem to say, “Oh well, it wasn’t on my blog, so what do I care”? You care because this is the type of attitude that leads to rules being imposed by “outsiders” and we all know how inappropriate that is!
It must be noted that Kathy Sierra has had infinitely more contributions to humanity than Fernandez. ^_~
But I sure hope she’s learned her lesson, and her “last” words weren’t just for show. In the same vein, I hope the death threats weren’t just exaggerations of the hate-filled entries that filled the blogosphere.
I was totally disgusted with her article. I admit to have taken a couple of jabs at her, but I wasn’t one of those clamoring for her resignation. A public apology would’ve been okay. Also, death threats? Damn, that was too much.
I received a few blog comments with Malu’s personal information like her home address, phone numbers and such — it’s a good thing I moderate the comments on my blog and I don’t pubish anyone’s personal information. I had to write a disclaimer here and there because some of the comments were downright disturbing. In the end, I actually feel sorry about Malu and what she’s going through.
I understand the outrage and all but clearly a few individuals have crossed the line. It’s unfotunately that there’s not much one can do about it. It really shows how mean people can be.
I did not support the call for her resignation or boycott of her articles or the newspaper she worked for.
But i desired for her to change her heart, and I commend her for accepting the fault.