Ultra Stampede: Deadly Blend of Greed and Sloth

The widespread news of the stampede was evident that even one of my classes had devoted around 15 minutes of the period to discuss about the tragedy. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion about it. The teacher definitely has his stand on this, but it was remarkably different from everybody else's sympathetic viewpoint.

As the news expressed remorse about the tragedy, our teacher laughed and thought, buti nga sa inyo [good for you]! That was unexpected of someone who teaches Religious Studies. But ironic as it is, he's got a good reason for feeling this way.

Our RS teacher believes that no one should be accountable for the stampede but those very people, driven by greed and idleness, who struggled to get into Ultra. They could've been spared the tragedy if they were not lazy enough to seek instant wealth. Instant - that was the root of it all, according to him. The 21st century is an era of technology that provides immediate results. The modern person just cannot wait for almost anything to finish. That's why there are instant noodles, instant pancit, etc.

The teacher explained that this orientation of having instant results was also carried into how people earn money. The contestants-to-be hope to acquire money or business showcases instantly by just making a fool of themsleves in the show. When the stampede broke out, they didn't care what or who they step on as long as they can get the chance to win. Sir (I'd better use this instead of "our teacher" coz it's so long...) expressed his disapproval to this kind of attitude and declared that these people deserved their pain or, unfortunately for the 71 (according updated news) others, their death.

The only sure-fire way to a stable income is a decent job. And that requires hardwork, Sir said.

His sermon has actually influenced my viewpoint on this issue. However, I somehow disagree that the dead of the stampede deserved their fate. Not all of them may have been just plain lazy to hope for instant wins. Note that most of the dead are elderly lady. Perhaps they thought they are too old for work. And even if they did look for jobs, they might most likely be refused of employment because they are... old and weak. This may have also led to their death. The elderly are more vulnerable to panic-induced situations involving crowds, like stampedes.

Plus, I am sure that while these people were on the ground, being stepped on during that stampede, they were thinking about their lives and families and not anymore about that instant "slice of meat."