pechay vs vagina - why cheap talk is so much fun.

Yes, there is indeed an ongoing rift between vegetables and genitalia however, as interesting as that sounds I have a more relevant issue to discuss in today's entry. I am sorry dear reader for disappointing you. Hehehe... :)

I recently watched a film by Joel Lamangan entitled Fuchsia. It's a beautiful film about social stigmas very common in Philippine society and how Mameng (played by Gloria Romero) sashayed her way around it. I absolutely love the film and everyone should watch it. (look for a copy after reading my blog)

Anyway, pechay was used as a euphemism for vagina. A friend told Mameng and I quote: "Wag na wag kalimutang diligin ang pechay!" which translates into: Never ever forget to water your pechay!

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong in saying vagina instead of pechay but hell the vegetable is funnier than the genitalia which made me realize that cheap talk is way more fun than snotty intellectual exchanges. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean people who use such language are cheap and I do not have any intention on degrading such style but cheap talk seems to be the perfect title for it.

Let me give you an example; conyos will use fabulous while jejemons will use uber. It's okay but in cheap talk, it can transform into - bonggang bonggang bunggabilya! See, ten times better. It doesn't matter if it lacks the superficial facade of class. It's still great and I know you like it too.

Other examples include social networking sites and blogs. Anyone who has a facebook account would agree that today, everyone seems to be getting smarter. Their statuses say it all. Suddenly all your dumb friends back in high school are quoting philosophers about stuff you don't have the slightest idea about. Whoah! When did they get so bloody smart? Did I miss something? Suddenly everyone is an English teacher, correcting everything from grammar to spelling to punctuations. I'm so insecure that sometimes I have to copy-paste my status in word and run a grammar/spelling check just to make sure. [sigh]

Eventually, I got fed up. I started posting statuses in Hiligaynon. It's much more fun and less pretentious. Cheap talk is my ultimate weapon, I use it as much as I can and what to do you know. Bit by bit, my friends started using them too. [ha!]

Pretending to be smart seems to be the trend these days. People are afraid to ask questions, fearing that if they do, they might appear dumb. People talk about politics and economics while quoting phrases from their textbooks. People react violently when questioned - they usually recite an hour long monologue to defend his/her side. Intellectual arrogance is everywhere and I'm getting sick of it.

I miss the good old days when a bottle of coke costs Php5, when people say what's on their mind without fear, when people accept criticisms with an open mind. The time when being smart doesn't mean being deep or weird, when wit comes spontaneously and not researched days before from a hard-bound book, I miss the time when people don't fake intelligence.

Now, I don't know about you but in these dark times, I'm sticking to pechay. :D