Of “Jejemons” and the use of “Po”

Our housemate left a more than a month ago so I put up an ad for a room for rent in the apartment. There were a lot of texts and some e-mails but so far, no luck. Most of them asked for what is already in the ad probably because they are too lazy to read something that is not on Facebook. What part of 5,000 per month don’t you understand, Diane? Whoever you are. I’m glad you didn’t reply anymore. I haven’t met any of the potential housemates and yet, I already don’t like them. Every time I would reply, I feel like I’m asking them to make me cringe even more. They put “po” after every sentence and in between words. WTF? Not only it is condescending, it also devalues the true intention of using “po”.  For the sake of those who uses “po” in their regular conversation, in case the correct usage of “po” is already lost in you, the word “po” is directed towards the elderly or your parents to show that you are respectful to them in the old Filipino tradition way. Get it? Go talk to your mother and use “po”. They just might hug you in surprise.

Speaking of irritating text messages…

The people who type like SHIFT key crazy have evolved into something that they are now given a name. Jejemon’s are what they are called. Just go to Jejemon.com (yes, somebody was really that quick to register “jejemon.com”) to get a full grasp of what they are all about. Urban Dictionary explains it too. I just don’t know what to make of of their 3rd entry for the meaning of “Jejemon”:

A pejorative term most middle to high-class Filipino teens use to refer to their poor countrymen who dress up as ‘GaNgZtaHz’ and use txt language. What the upper class fail to see is that these Jejemons do not know any better and that’s caused by their inherent poverty.

The elite and affluent, not to mention spoiled teens find yet another way to degrade their already impoverished brethren. Instead of helping the trampled, the high-class Filipino teens jeer at the destitute who they know can’t afford the luxurious taste they have. Of course, they cover this up by volunteering in charitable works just to show that they are impeccable and far better than the so-called Jejemons.

This just goes to show how divided the Filipino people are. Social classes will never break boundaries because the discriminatory elites will never accept the poor in their society as equals.

I wouldn’t say that “Jejemons” are exclusively made up of the “impoverished brethren”. Check your favorite social networking site. One of your friends has surely abused the exclamation point or used “ha ha ha” way too much. It would be unfair not to count them as a “Jejemon“. If not, then it’s not that far that their kind will be given a name too.

Check out running-for-president Gibo Teodoro’s plan for “Jejemons”:

GIBO vs. Jejemons

I remember him saying before that one of his pet peeves is wrong grammar or wrong spelling. Check it out at 8:50:

Eh well, there goes my dream of working for him but guess who I am voting as President this May 2010.