Nathaniel
Benedicto, John Gatchalian,
October 10, 2014
Cez Lagbas,
Raj Sangalang, Cara Tirona
Emily Roque
SA 21 - A
Deviance Day Report
1. Who is the
identity you want to imitate? Why did you choose this identity?
We want to
imitate the famous rugby boys who occupy the streets of the Philippines. We
chose this identity because we thought that nobody really gave attention to
them before and actually rugby boys are a huge part of our society. In fact,
the rugby boys can be found all around the country. The Philippine society
would not be complete without them, so experiencing their lifestyle even for
just an hour would be quite eye-opening. Although there is an existing Republic
Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which rescues rugby
boys by placing them under the DSWD custody where they will undergo a series of
counseling, it is not enough. Since these rugby boys, after being released by
the DSWD, will still go back to the streets and go back to their old habits. As
a result, we chose to act like them, so that by acting like them, we may be
able to understand them better.
2. What is
your identity’s main function in the society?
Rugby boys
are “tambays” on the street. Considered by one of the many menace in society,
they are given the stereotypes of good for nothing individuals lurking in the
streets, willing to do anything to earn a peso or two. They lack guidance in
different aspects because of their harsh experiences as they were growing up.
They are part what some people call the misguided youth. Most of them live in
the streets, runaways, abandoned, asked to leave their homes, there was no one
to guide them in life. Growing up in the streets, moving from one place to
another and sleeping anywhere the night brings them, these individuals that
range from young kids, boys and girls, to adolescents are deeply affected by
the problem of poverty. Sometimes, they are the ones blamed for the crimes on
the streets, like theft since they are high from the rugby and they are
sometimes not aware of what they are doing, or this may be the only way they
can buy this solvent. Rugby has been their substitute for food, as they have no
money to be able to buy their own food. Uneducated, it’s hard for these kids to
get decent jobs and they tend to go for easier but illegal ways of getting cash
quick. They sniff rugby to give them that high feeling to replace that painful
feeling of their grumbling stomachs. Problematic as well from all the things
they encounter like abuse from their families, fights with friends, life being
too harsh to them, they use rugby to get that high feeling to escape reality.
3. How does
he/she look like? (clothes, gears like cellphone if any?, skin, hairstyle,
nails, physical appearance—observe everything!)
Most rugby
boys we see in streets are homeless, living in places they would want to stay
in without being asked to leave by people with authority. They usually wear the
same clothes everyday, or only have a few shirts with them. Their shirts are
usually dirty and may look overused as it is worn every day. They wear shorts
or pants or whatever they have with them. Sometimes, these clothes are so
overused, they are already ripped. You would see some, mostly guys wearing more
accessories to make them look more intimidating in the streets which some claim
to be theirs. They would wear bandanas on different parts like their heads, or
would wrap their fists with it. Some get to wear slippers while you would see
others walking barefoot. You would also notice that they haven’t taken frequent
baths as some have no homes and would have dirt all over their bodies. They’re
hair would be messed up as well. They would usually carry around plastic
bottles or just plastic that would contain the rugby solvent they would be
sniffing from. Their hairs would be messy and dirty from all of the pollution
around them. All in all, they do not give importance to their hygiene for as
long as they have their rugbys. Additionally, rugby boys are usually really
thin. This is because they substitute food with rugby, so their bodies do not
have the nutrients that one gets from real food.
4. How does
he/she speak and behave? How do they talk to people? How do they laugh? Any
jokes that they know?
Some
would sound rude when talking to random people they see in the streets. They
would be asking for spare change, and can even get annoying at times. In the
streets of Katipunan, a lot would be stereotyped as rugby boys, because of
their attitudes, attire and manner of behavior. They would seem high or
“sabog”, and annoying to some people who pass by. Some people who would be
holding on to bottles or be drinking from cans or juice boxes would be familiar
with one antic of some rugby boys. If they see you holding on to it, like maybe
a plastic cup from Jollibee or Mcdo filled with some drink, they would approach
you hold on to it as well. They would keep asking you if they could have it and
wouldn't let go until you would get annoyed and hand it out to them. Some would
be waiting beside stores, and when they know you get coins for your change
would approach you after and follow you until you give them some coins. Along
the streets of EDSA, somewhere near SM North, at around 6 in the evening you
would see groups of kids already piled up along the sidewalk. Some of them
fighting over petty things and you would hear exchange of curses being thrown
easily like it was just a ball. Others would be playing around, not minding the
people passing by, acting like the street’s a playground and they own it. Some
would be compiled in one side, sniffing from bottles or plastic, having their
dose of rugby. Same scene can be see in the middle island of EDSA and you would
see these kids illegally crossing back and forth from the sidewalk to the
island as they were playing patintero with the buses and other vehicles.
In
the documentary filmed in Davao, the rugby boys shown there were similar to the
ones we see here in Manila. They are children ranging from ages 9-16 who just
sit around in streets playing their own games and asking money from people who
pass by. The interviewed people who talked as if they had a lot of interaction
with the rugby boys talked about how, even if they did rugby and were feeling
high, they could still talk to people normally. They are very open about using
rugby and they’re not afraid to use it in front of other people. One thing that
was seen in the documentary is how the children were always laughing. Laughing would
usually be attributed to someone being happy however, in the case of the rugby
boys, it is hard to see any reason for them to be happy. The laughter that
comes from them is just a side effect from the high that they get from sniffing
rugby all day. And at the end of the day, they would wake up and still be faced
with the same problems they tried to get away from before.
5. What are
their beliefs in life? What are their values?
They
believe that rugby is better than food since they can not afford to buy food.
Rugby is cheaper and can ease their hungry stomachs more than food. It can also
make them feel high, so they feel that they do not have problems to face
whenever they inhale rugby. It was somewhat like their escape from all of the
hardships and problems that they were experiencing. And because of their
habitual usage of rugby it has become somewhat a necessity for them (they
actively look for it like cigarettes). From other people’s points of view, what
they are doing is something bad and something thats self destructive. However,
for them it is already a part of their lives, a routine they follow everyday
and if anyone was put in that situation wherein they are starving and homeless
living on the streets, they would likely do the same.
6. How does
his or her day look like?
A rugby
boy’s day would usually consist of them just sniffing rugby in the streets and
getting high on it because they couldn’t afford to buy food and the rugby is
supposed to relieve their hunger. Due to poverty, that is all that they could
afford. Also, due to their lack of guidance from their families, there isn’t
anyone there to guide them to stop inhaling this unhealthy solvent. Their days
would usually comprise of waking up, and asking for spare change from the
people that pass by them. Some people ignore them and do not give them money
for the fear that they are encouraging this nasty addiction. However, there are
some people that still give money out of pity. If their money is enough to buy
rugby already, then they would go to the nearest hardware and buy it. Then they
would inhale rugby until they do not feel hungry anymore. Once they feel full
already, they usually look for a place to sleep and the process repeats itself.
7. Any
sociological+personal reflections ? How did it feel being another person for a
day?
Gatch: For
someone who likes to have a bit too much fun, I actually liked the experiment
of imitating rugby boys around campus. From the planned matching dirty attires
to the our funny antics, we ll had our laughs. The reactions of people differ
from each one, though they were all priceless.
Some were weirded out and avoided
us, while some were game to play along with us. Some kept laughing while others
gave reactions of disgust and disapproval. Sniffing our plastics bags we walked
and roamed through sec walk giving an all out performance. We tried to be what
we know rugby boys are, we tried to be annoying, act high and make people
around us feel uncomfortable or weirded out. It felt like it was all fun, but
thinking of stepping into their shoes, we were far from what they were actually
experiencing. Sniffing solvent to relieve hunger, it must be really tough
living out their lives everyday. They sniff to live, to escape reality, to
escape the hell some of them could be living in already. It suddenly feels a
bit guilty on my part that they are actually doing everything for fun, to annoy
other people. This is actually the after effect of what they choose to help
them relieve their suffering. Getting high to survive, it feels lucky to be
living in my life. Being able to experience some things most of the unfortunate
boys experience, it makes me reflect on how I,ve been living my life with all
the opportunities I’ve been given. Suddenly all that fun seemed to be nothing
compared to their sufferings, and I guess Im lucky to be me.
Bene: I
honestly felt weird stepping into their shoes because we really had to take on
their role and do what rugby boys do. We asked for change from random people,
played different games in the middle of the paths and went up to different
people acting high on rugby. We did all this while constantly sniffing plastics
that were supposedly filled with “rugby.” I noticed how when we acted as rugby
boys I didn’t really care what other people thought because I was too caught up
with our impersonation of them.
Raj:
Impersonating a rugby boy was not in my comfort zone. I did not know what to do
even if I’ve seen them around the city and they even approached me to ask for
some change. So during the deviance parade, all I did was “hit” from my plastic
bag, walk real slow, and laugh a lot. My friends even saw me and took selfies
with me while I was in character. But what could I do? I just asked for some
change from them. Good thing they played along and gave me some money. I was
able to raise Php20!!! (But I had to give it back after).
Cez: For me,
it was slightly uncomfortable. Their life is totally different from my own
life. Everyday, I worry about school, about how to get to school, about how to
do my tasks on time and such. These kids, they worry about what to eat,
something that I can even take for granted as I go through the day. It made me feel shallow. It was already
difficult to imitate them because they really don’t have any choice on what to
do for the day. They can just go and do about anything that they can afford to
do! So, when we were already in acting as rugby boys, we did the same thing. We
“sniffed and inhaled” our fake rugby, we went around SEC Walk and asked for
money from different people and just played around in the area. Additionally,
whenever a guard is in sight we would hide from the guard or just avoid them.
These children don’t get a lot of attention in the streets even though they
really ask for it. Just like our experiment, most of the people there didn’t
really cared about what we were doing (except for the people who knew us
personally). At the same time, it felt nice to be able to imitate another
person or kind of person since it can change your perspective in life, kind of
like an escape from your own life. At that time, I didn’t care about what the
people would think of me, I just did what I wanted to do.
Cara: Trying to
be someone I am not is something that is very hard and tricky to do. You always
have to be conscious of everything that you do to be able to match the person
you are trying to impersonate. But, impersonating someone that is a deviant is
harder, especially that when one see these rugby boys on the street, they tend
to avoid and judge them. Personally, it made me feel what it was like to be in
the shoes of these people. Everyday, we live our own personal lives, sometimes
being ignorant of the people around us. So, this activity made me realize the
reality of the people around us. While I have money to buy a full meal everyday,
these rugby boys only have a handful to buy rugby, which would somewhat satisfy
their hunger. They must suffer from the judgement from the people around them,
and still continue sniffing rugby to not feel hungry anymore. Acting like them
made me feel grateful for what I have and it also made me mindful of what my
fellow citizens are going through.
Sources:
De La Torre, Aj. "FEATURE: A Day
in the Life of a Rugby Boy." Philstar.com.
N.p., 6 Dec.
2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. .
"Real Lives: A Day in the Life,
Crisanto's Story." UNICEF
Philippines. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Oct. 2014.
.
"Rugby Boys: Jr. and Jako." Street Kids Philippine Missions. N.p.,
13 Sept. 2009. Web. 11
Oct. 2014.
.
De Loza-Cudla, Juliet. "Rugby at
Solvent Boys." Abante News Online.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Oct. 2014. .
"Health Talk: Effects of Rugby
Addiction." Health Effects of Rugby
Addiction. N.p., 14 May
2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
.
"Rugby Boys - a
Documentary." YouTube. YouTube,
10 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
"Ang Mundo Ng Pagkalulong
(Solvent Boys Documentary)." YouTube.
YouTube, 24 May
2012. Web. 11 Oct.
2014. .
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