Two Tragedies Four Days Before Christmas

 

     Two tragedies appeared on my Facebook News Feed this morning, four days before Christmas, and both occurred yesterday, Sunday, 21st of December 2020. The first tragedy happened near Manila City Hall, a 16-year old biker was hit and killed by a speeding jeepney at the corner of Padre Burgos Avenue and Victoria Street. The photos attached to the post would make you weep. One of the photos shows the  biker (his head bleeding profusely) and his mountain bike with its damaged handlebars lying on the road, surrounded by rescuers and onlookers, some of them bikers, too.  Another photo shows his bike again but without him, a puddle of blood underneath the bike and a surgical face mask and a broken helmet near it. The Manila City Hall building, cars traversing the road, and some persons of authorities and other onlookers could be seen in the background.

     A few commenters said that the jeepney hit the victim’s bike, and that he was run over by the jeepney’s front and rear wheels when he fell to the ground.  He was dead on the spot. Padre Burgos Avenue (especially that part near Manila City Hall) has always been known for its huge volume of fast cars, so a bit of carelessness could really have tragic consequences. Some drivers really have this nasty habit of cutting off bikers or passing so close to a biker that the biker could almost hear the driver’s heartbeat. Oh, those little heart attacks a biker feels whenever a giant truck passes so close to them.

     This news made me a little uneasy because I pass that very same spot whenever I bike to Intramuros, or Rizal Park or SM Mall of Asia. Victoria Street serves as one of the entrances to Intramuros (see photo above).

     The second tragedy that I saw rocked and outraged the nation, it happened in Paniqui, Tarlac, and involved a 46-year old off-duty policeman and his young daughter, a 52-year old mother and her 25-year old son.  A video captured the cop arguing with the mother and her son, both were unarmed, and the girl (who looked around 10-12 years old) joined in the heated argument, and suddenly, the cop drew his gun and shot the mother first once, in the head, execution-style, then, he fired at the son twice, both bullets landing at the victim’s head. And as the mother lay on the ground dying, the cop shot her again in the head. Incidentally, curiously, the young daughter didn’t appear shocked at what transpired right in front of her.

     Unbelievable, but there are people, including some cops, are still defending the accused, that the victims were killed because they were annoying, argumentative, and disrespectful towards the cop. 

     When Satan decides to finally crawl up into this country, he wouldn't have a hard time getting some followers.