defy gravity!

Yesterday, someone sent a text message to the newspaper’s opinion forum. Paraphrased, the essence of it goes: "Where is Jude Bacalso’s social etiquette?"…telling me off, in a minimum of words; calling me uneducated among other things.

Here’s what happened: my officemates at the paper and I had lunch at Jollibee across the office. Because I am most relaxed with these people, my laughter was unbridled. Suddenly, someone (we couldn’t tell who as this was during peak hours) let out a sssshhhhhhhhhhhtttt!!! to shush us. We looked around, sheepishly at first…and tried to oblige. But humor got the better of us and soon we were cracking up in raucous laughter. The crude ssssshhhhhhttttt! came again and I shot off, to no one in particular: "Kung ganahan mog hilom, adto mos simbahan o cementeryo paniudto oi!"

The way I figured it, laughing at a public place is no breach of etiquette. As the texter said in her message, she found our laughter "annoying". I don’t think I should apologize to someone who finds laughter offensive, I find it rather disturbing that someone should think an expression of joy ill and unfit for public display.

As for social etiquette, dear texter, here’s a lesson in it. Should you find yourself again vexed by other peoples’ laughter, the proper thing to do is to go up to them and politely request them to tone it down. The shhhhhhhtttttt!!! deserved my remark, as far as I am concerned. Shit for shat.

I am not perfect. Although I acknowledge the influence I have on other people by virtue of my presence in print and television, I will not be a slave to public opinion. I am more careful now of what I say in both print and on camera, but I’ll be damned if I have to apologize for my laughter. For all you know, it was directed solely on myself.

You could use a dose of humor yourself.