I was shocked to see the on line attacks thrown at Miss Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco vis a vis a more positive images on the TV screen where all the ME girls were happy and rush to congratulate Karen for winning Miss Earth 2017 and for a job well done. Juxtaposing both scenarios ... showing venomous verbal attacks on one side versus images of ME girls showing sportsmanship and graciousness in winning or losing ... I was shaken a little bit ... it left me numb and cold. While the ME girls resigned and content with the powerful performance of Karen segment after segment and more on the Q and A portion, the online bashing was unrelentless, callous and vicious.
As I see her onstage standing face to face with Miss Colombia Juliana Franco, (two girls left standing) I saw the feeling of ambivalence written all over her face. One side of her wanted the crown after delivering an impeccable answer to a very tricky question while the other half showed trepidation knowing the psyche of pageant earthlings - how hurtful attacks can be and how it deflates one's ego even though you feel you deserved it.
Miss Earth organization was not spared. Being a host country and having your delegate won they have to wrestle with accusations of hometown decisions, a cooking show and all that stuff especially after winning the title three times in four years. Right now the vultures are feasting on Karen's victory, and they devoured her and the organization with no mercy. They wanted blood and worst was when fellow Filipinos join the crucifixion bandwagon, so unlike the MOA crowd and Miss Earth delegates who seemed pleased and satisfied.
The score sheets however doesn't tell a LIE. Even the guest performer/judge Shontelle can't help but shake her head at Karen's sterling performance. It is not Karen's fault that she won, she was just doing her job. She didn't asked for the crown either, the judges gave it to her.And as the hurtful crucifixion continued Man Central and Pageant Junkie is pleading for restraint and self control.
Karen doesn't deserved your unkind and hurtful words. She's human too and is capable of getting emotionally devastated. She may not be the queen you visualize in Miss Earth pedestal but her voice and intelligence maybe is the one Miss Earth needed to further its advocacy, from ignorance springs enlightenment and awareness and apathy arise interests and more action in all of us
And borrowing Karen's words ... the real problem in the pageant world is not climate change. The real problem is US because of our ignorance and apathy. We can't tolerate somebody else success, and we lost respect on the judges decision. We rant ... we pontificate ... and the result was a free-for-all noise barrage, name calling and verbal mayhem aimed to demean and belittle the winner.
What we have to do is to start changing our ways and start recalibrating our minds and redirecting our steps to be more tolerant and accepting of situations whatever they may be. Whether they are for or against us. And from there "as global community... our micro efforts will have macro-effect to save ourselves from the trap of becoming cyber-criminals whose lines of expertise is internet bullying ... and on-line harassment.
(P.S.Please take time also to read the comments section. They are selected comments from online community in defense of Karen and Miss Earth Organization. Whoever you are ... from Man Central and Pageant junkie ... Thank you very much ...)
Handsama wrote:
ReplyDeleteWhy should she relinquish her crown? To please the haters? Not gonna happen. And I don't want her to because I want her to keep stressing her haters out. That gives me immense satisfaction >:) .
She worked hard for the crown. It paid off in the end. Good for her. Now she's got something to brag to her future kids and grandkids. And regardless of how pageant fans view her, she'll always be Miss Earth 2017. No one can take that distinction away from her.
This is a Missossology comment from Reeves:
ReplyDeleteThis forumer ask stupid questions. Be sensible enough. Am an American that have no single iota of doubt that Miss Philippines winning the crown was unquestionable. Her answers to the Q&A and hashtag was beyond reproach. Only stupid persons would entertain doubts of her victory. People say Karen has inferior beauty to win the crown over some prettier girls. Then look at Miss Universe crowing the likes of Kwegalobe or Miss World with Lisa Hana. C'mon people ... jeez!
This is a Missossolgy comment from Manoy Poe:
ReplyDeleteAND THE NOT SO BEAUTIFUL WYNWYN WHO WAS BASHED IN MISS WORLD PHILIPPINES ALSO WON IN BOLIVIA. IF KAREN WON IN BOLIVIA, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CELEBRATED. :-* :-*
I DONT LIKE HER BEAUTY ESPECIALLY IN PHOTOS BUT IN MOTION, SHE IS 'BEAUTIFUL'. I WILL SEE HOW THIS BROUHAHA WILL WORK, WOULD IT BE IN FAVOR OR AGAINST MISS EARTH IN THE LONG RUN?
DO THE VICTORIES OF THESE TWO NOT SO BEAUTIFUL BUT ELOQUENT FILIPINAS RING A BELL? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? I AM WAITING FOR OUR QUEENS IN MISS INTERNATIONAL AND MISS UNIVERSE AND OKAY IN A LESSER DEGREE MISS WORLD. I AM EXCITED. IT SEEMS TO BE THAT THEIR VICTORY WILL HELP OUR FILPINA QUEENS TO BE NOTICED AND TALKED ABOUT AND ALL OF THEM ARE ELOQUENT. NOT ALL OF THEM ARE BEAUTIES THAT WE UNANIMOUSLY LIKE BUT WE ALL AGREE THAT THEY'RE WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE.
Sybarite in Missossology says:
ReplyDelete"HAHAHAHA Palibhasa nabubuhay at umiinog lang ang mundo ng mga bitter bashers sa pageant forums kaya akala nila the whole world cares about the result. The silent majority, including the bigger ordinary people at home na nkapanood saw how Philippines slayed the competition then balik sa normal na buhay nila and will watch again next year. While Miss Earth will continue to do their job until the next edition at kita kita ulit lahat next year both the majority na walang paki sa forums, the followers and the bashers. Sige mag ingay pa and make this pageant even more popular. See you next year kung present pa kayo at naka survive sa bitterness at stress for one whole year."
Beautywatchnyc says:
ReplyDeleteA dirge: Triumph versus Failure:-
"Batobato sa langit; ang tamaan 'wag magalit:
Haters still have 363 long days to waver in the sidelines. That's quite a long time to manage anger. I trust that by then denial shall have settled down, the badly bruised ego and the scars healed. But the sounds of losing resonates. The haters will have to find space to lick their wounded pride. Nothing else these haters can do but accede to a defeat. Never mind the fury!
Meanwhile. what haters need to do is to find escape. Conveniently, Karen and MEO shall bear the brunt as haters cast blame. But even that will not last longer. In few weeks, their protest barrage will dissipate. The noise shall end.
Resistance and opposition will remain futile because detractor claims were utterly baseless. There is no sight, a zero chance, even in the distant horizon for a reversal of fortune.
Remarkably, the new Ms Earth shall have established her reign on solid grounds and will have conquered greater heights in the interim. Karen is a strong-willed woman. Her practical experience, academic and professional background shall bail her out. It's for certain that Karen knows how to win her own battles. She is a pro. She wallops faster leaving her detractors behind so they can eat dust.
How's That For fun?"
mrgary says:
ReplyDeleteI was very sad that neither my sentimental favourite Colombia nor my expected winner Thailand did not win the Miss Earth crown. Was I disappointed? Of course! I was VERY disappointed about it. Did I find Miss Philippines pretty? Definitely not! Not in my wildest dreams! She looked like Ming, The Merciless --- the villainous character in "Flash Gordon". Did I like the results of the pageant? No. Did I find Miss Philippines's winning the crown fair and square? Yes. Why? It is because she was the only one who persevered the rigours of the competition while others clammed up or choked especially during the interview competition. The nerves got the best of them while The Philippines used the interview segment as a springboard to advance by leaps and bounds in order to compensate her extreme lack of facial beauty. As promised, I am going to honor the decision of the judges even if my favourites didn't win. Life goes on.
honeymae7405 says:
ReplyDelete"I am also not a fan of Karen winning Miss Earth, but this is getting out of control. And haters who do not see anything good in the Philippines will only make things worse.
In the first place, MEO is aware of the possible backlash if they crown another Filipina too soon. They'd be better off if they crown another girl. Yet, they did not try to change the decision because that is what the judges' had decided on. That looks more like integrity to me - instead of trying the please the fans.
Stop the hate. If you are not pleased with the pageant - stop following. This is what many Filipino fans are doing with Miss Word. Burning a picture of a girl or an effigy of a girl who won is over the top, crude, and bespeaks of the level of culture and education you have.
I am all for free speech and expression. But I draw the line if it involves hate (violence) and bigotry. Let's be careful with our words."
Handsama says:
ReplyDelete*Precisely! This is one of the reasons why I remain an avid follower of Miss Earth. Contrary to what others suggest, I don't want the org to dictate the results for us because I want each girl to have an equal chance of winning regardless of where she's from. Even if the Philippines keeps winning year after year (hopefully not :%)) )...I'll still accept the results (hard as they may be) as long as they are the judges' decision. I'd stop following if and when I find out that Carousel manipulated the results."
Sophocles wrote:
ReplyDeleteI have been reading all the rants in this forum about Miss Earth. This thread is now imploring pinoys to stop defending Miss Earth, as tho' all pinoys are supposed to think only one way. What exactly is the problem? If there was cheating, where, and when did it happen and who committed it? Present the facts.
Your objection to Miss Philippines winning Miss Earth cannot be based only on your opinion that she is not the most beautiful, or that she is ugly, or that Miss Philippines is winning too often.
If you watch Miss Universe 1969, you will see that Gloria Diaz was the shortest. She had a funny walk. She was far from the prettiest among the finalists, or even the semi finalists. And she looked like she had an overbite. Her head was always leaning to the right, like she had a crick in her neck. But then, there was the final Q & A, and she gave the most sensible answer. She won. In other words, Karen Ibasco is not the first non-conventional beauty to win a title for the Philippines by virtue of a strong performance in Q & A.
Besides, if this is an isolated event - the Philippines is not winning other titles or placing in other pageants except Miss Earth, you may infer cheating. But the Philippines has been winning and placing in virtually all pageants. So why should Miss Earth be not part of this trend just because the owners are pinoys?
The U.S. has won the American-owned Miss Universe 8 times, an accomplishment that it has not achieved in other pageants that are not owned by Americans. I don't hear loud objections and accusations of cheating.
Hauteegirl wrote:
ReplyDeleteI dont understand the hate. Fine! Karen is not the standard of beauty per your definition but there was no fraud. MEO gave what the fans want. Better stage, better production, better venue. They became more and more transparent with the judging even broadcasting live the no-make up interview. Would you still applaud and accept the winner had she represented a different sash but of the same winnable performance? There are panel of judges and accounting firm. Do they have this in Miss World or MGI? no right? Why not write MEO with your frustrations and may be next year they will change the criteria. Karen did her homework. She knew she's gonna be the least favored in beauty department but she studied where she would excel the most. Was that wrong? Should she be disqualified for being too competitive. Why are people crucifying a legit election of a winner just because she's wearing "Miss Philippines" sash.
Sophocles wrote:
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to defend the Philippines' winning streak in Miss Earth because this is also reflected in all other pageants. Since 2013, the Philippines has won Miss International twice (who knows if we will win it again this year, to tie the record in Miss Earth?), Miss Universe, once ( 2012 was a big question mark, but the U.S. pageant awarded the crown to Miss U.S. A Olivia Culpo. Again, the year is not yet over, and who knows, we might win it again this year!), Miss World, once. Since 2010, the Philippines missed the top 5 in Miss Universe only once, and that year, the Philippines was in the top 10. In other words, the Philippines has been winning everywhere! The Philippines has won 4 major crowns (2 MI, 1 Miss Universe, 1 MW) since 2013, and all these crowns were awarded by foreign judges, in contests held outside the Philippines. These 4 crowns exceed the 3 Miss Earth crowns y'all are whining about.
It's like the Olympics. The competition is always between U.S.A, Russia, and China only. These countries win most of the medals because they have the most prepared athletes. Rightly, no one complains that other small countries need to be given a chance, so they should be allowed to win. That's not how it works."
Iamchelasea said:
ReplyDelete"It's simple. Thailand's Paweensuda failed to relate the hashtag "Millenials" because she didn't know what it means. Netherland's Faith didn't even relate or explain the hashtag "Harrassment" that she got. Venezuela's Ninoska faltered and gave a weak answer.
For short, the top three favorites failed to answer properly and articulately, the way Colombia, Russia, Philippines and Australia did. If those favorites answered well, Karen won't even win at all."