DESPITE the a(h1n1) scare in Makati, friends and I went to the Ayala rally yesterday to rally our contempt against ConAss, the rallying point of the corrupt specter and power-hungry fiends housed in the Congress, which rallies, in stealth, around the change of constitution but not the constitution of people in Malacañang, all tactfully hidden in ambiguities.
Rallies scare me. Military personnel and policemen seem to eye rallies as exercise grounds for target gun shooting and arm combat–but perhaps media reportage is just hyped up. Rallies don’t appeal to me because the link between the parliament of the streets and “real action” or “authentic change” is quite tangled. Oftentimes, unhinged. Rallies sadden me especially when leaders of union or political/activist groups are gunned down after those events.
But sometimes there are scarier events, appealing issues, and saddening decisions in the country that move you like a compelling documentary film.
This is my first time to rally.
ral?ly
[from one of the most reliable sites in ze inernet: dictionary.com]
–verb (used with object)
1.
to bring into order again; gather and organize or inspire anew: The general rallied his scattered army.
2.
to draw or call (persons) together for a common action or effort: He rallied his friends to help him.
3.
to concentrate or revive, as one’s strength, spirits, etc.: They rallied their energies for the counterattack.
–verb (used without object)
4.
to come together for common action or effort: The disunited party rallied in time for the election campaign.
5.
to come together or into order again: The captain ordered his small force to rally at the next stream.
6.
to come to the assistance of a person, party, or cause (often fol. by to or around): to rally around a political candidate.
7.
to recover partially from illness: He spent a bad night but began to rally by morning.
8.
to find renewed strength or vigor: The runner seemed to be rallying for a final sprint.
9.
Finance
–noun
13.
a recovery from dispersion or disorder, as of troops.
14.
a renewal or recovery of strength, activity, etc.
15.
a partial recovery of strength during illness.
16.
a drawing or coming together of persons, as for common action, as in a mass meeting: A political rally that brought together hundreds of the faithful.
17.
a get-together of hobbyists or other like-minded enthusiasts, primarily to meet and socialize.
