I beg to disagree, and pagbutang ni Rizal sa pedistal as National hero is the main reason nganong ang Pilipinas gipangulunan ug mga elitista. Remember, si Rizal usa sad ka elitista.
On topic, ang ka hambugero sa Pinoy nga kamao siya modala sa atong nasud maoy hinungdan sa pagkaut-ot sa Pilipinas.
I beg to disagree, Rizal was not a member of the elite nor was he member of the landed aristocracy of the day, his father was a Chinese merchant, and his mother was a Filipina; Rizal, himself, belonged to the growing intelligentsia movement, however he recognized his own Indio roots, as he says so in his writings, most notably in "El Filibusterismo", and in his many essays in La Solidaridad as well as in his own personal letters. Rizal was actually target of racial slander in his studies in medicine in Manila, of which, was the sole reason for him to transfer and study abroad in Madrid, Spain; at the protest of his parents.
Additionally, Rizal's Family was subject to Peninsulare pretensions when his own mother was subject to trial for false accusations of trying to poison a sister in law, when in reality, the woman charged her was the one that ran away from husband, eloping with a Spanish Civil Guard. Rizal's mother underwent torment from her accusors for almost 2.5 years before she was finally acquitted by the Supreme Court (composed of elitist peninsulares and Spaniards). The effects of this trial affected Rizal thoroughly and personally was an injustice he felt was done to his mother, being looked down upon by elitist members on basis of her skin and upbringing.
Rizal, throughout his life and his works, if you read his letters and journals, detested 2 pillars in society:
1. The landed friars --namely those who were openly abusing their powers
2. Aristocratic landed elites
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It is important that we separate Rizal and men in the same league with him from the landed elites. Rizal, for example, came from a working class merchant Chinese-Filipino family; and at that time, being Chinese or having any semblance of Chinese blood was considered filthy by the Spanish social order where we have the following (Spaniard > Spanish Mestizo > Indo > Chinese-Filipino > Chinese > Negro >Dog). Rizal, contrary to popular opinion, did not use his family's wealth to augment his studies in Spain after his graduation from Universidad Central de Madrid , rather after his graduation, worked as a physician an used his own income to fund his specialization in opthalmology in Heidelburg, Germany and later specialization in surgery in Paris, France.
It was Rizal's witt, his literary style and his social skill that allowed him to meet so many people in different social circles in Europe, where the level of racism was not as pragmatic and hostile as seen in the Philippines, which, in his writings was "Feudal and Barbaric". In Europe, Rizal found it more liberating, where the concepts of Egalitarianism, Confraternity and Liberty was accepted and generally observed; especially during the late 19th century where the absolutist monarchies were just recently replaced for more humanitarian-universalist republican forms of government (post-Basque Spain), (Post-Napoleonic France) etc.
Rizal's writings represented change because he talked about personal awakenings, power of the masses, universal and unalienable human rights. All of this threatened the power control of the landed aristocracy, and its long-time ally, the landed Friars who presumed not only the religious but social order of the entire Archipelago.
Rizal was not anti-religion, not anti-catholic faith, but rather, he was against the corruption of many of its members that were clearly abusing their role and power; against the subserviance of the Filipino people, namely the masses, to the elite. He was against it since he clearly mentions how backwards Filipinas was as compared to Spain; how the umbilical bond between Spain and the Philippines was tangled, how the colony was runned and how policies that Spain implemented was not being followed nor upheld, which would later be enforced in the late 19th century, but too late since pro-revolutionary thought was already planted.
I find it hypocritical how the same Peninsulare Landed Elite that condemned Rizal , watched as he was sentenced to death in Dapitan, would call him a national hero only after he was dead. It was only after Bonifacio , who was a Spanish Mestizo (but of middle class decent) who commanded the KKK called him as a national hero and used him as a rallying force for his fellow KKK members. When Bonifacio was sentenced to death by Aguinaldo and members of Malolos Republic (who were Landed Elites) , they effectively seized power from Bonifacio and kept the rallying symbol of the people: Jose Rizal. They know that Rizal's death touched the sympathetic hearts of the masses, so,..them being wise utilized tactical strategem: ---Seize the source of Power.
In this case, it was Rizal. The thought of Rizal.
This is an example of usery. To benefit an end, when in reality, in the beginning, the landed elite that now supported and embelished Rizal's name and memory, were the ones responsible for his death. In my opinion, the landed elites are whores who do not have the right to glorify Rizal's name and blood. It was they who were directly responsible for his death; and it was they...who retain the status quo. Over a century after the martyr Rizal was killed; when those Spanish bullets penetrated his precious body and blood...
Thanks.,
Lorenzo
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