I am always amazed by the Filipino's ability to laugh in the face of extreme hardship or to make fun of the most serious of developments, including the possibility of a pandemic.
This picture of a 'dead' Kermit the Frog recently made the round of inboxes at the office. Most of us who grew up with Sesame St. and The Muppet Show immediately got the joke - he obviously got the swine flu from Miss Piggy.
But there were those who didn't (or pretended not to) get it. And there were some who thought that it was inappropriate, considering the gravity of swine flu.
To date, the Philippines is still swine-flu free. It also boasts of still being Bird Flu-free despite the fact that the country lies in the middle of a migratory path. "Hindi nabubuhay ang germs dito kasi ang dumi-dumi ng Pilipinas!" one officemate offered.
This kind of humor is fodder for social psychologists who see it as a form of escapism from the realities of a developing third world country that is plagued by poverty, crime, corruption, etc. and etc.
But us Pinoys do not need to dissect it. We'd rather dissect Kermit the Frog. "Bakit, wala na bang gusto kay Kermit the Frog?" asked one who surmised it was a picture of an abandoned stuffed toy. "I've always liked his better half," responded another. "You mean BIGGER half," said one.
It went on until I, who form part of a team that disseminates a daily email bulletin to inform employees about swine flu, joked that we include it there.
"OMG," came this email from my boss, who I had inadvertently included. The end.
This is really funny. Would you mind if I posted a link?
ReplyDelete