Saturday, October 11, 2014

Hithit Pa

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.



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