#gangsters celebrate with a grand tweetup for #rhbill becoming #rhlaw – december 29, 2012

who are the #gangsters? as of now, we do not know yet for sure. we used to be the RH Bill champions on twitter. and since the rh bill  has been signed to the RH Law last december 21, 2012, we are yet to define ourselves in the coming weeks and months.

#gangsters is a nickname we like to call ourselves. we found each other on twitter, on the hash tag #rhbill, we did not know each other personally but read each other’s tweets on the rh bill and found out we were all on the same page on the controversial rh bill. we were not on the exact spot on the rh bill page as we promoted the rh bill and answered the anti rh bill twitter posts in very different ways depending on our individual backgrounds and knowledge. the variety and breath of backgrounds and knowledge were very wide, from  lawyers, media people, from marketing & advertising, doctors, nurses, sales, students, mothers and to many others but we are all tweeting for the same thing – for the rh bill to pass for women, for  pinoy families, for health and for the country. that served the #gangsters well as any tweet from the anti rhbill was adequately answered and rebuffed. aside from the technically superior answers each of us simply used sheer and naked logic and common sense in rebuff to anti rh bill tweets, two ingredients lacking in their tweets.

after hours posting on rh bill, #gangsters would talk about everyday non political things on twitter and that is where the other side of the #gangster personality comes alive. there are no words that are innocent or neutral, only words to be unmasked to its real meaning or turned naked and given new meaning, thus the #gangster alert on tweets was born.

this is a good definition:

in true form, the name #gangsters evolved also on a whim and very random. we thought the group needed a nickname. one that captures what the group does for the rh bill and what the group doers after hours.

we are a gang who reside on the rh bill hash tag and  turns into monsters after hours turning neutral words and ideas into a monsterific evolution, hence #gangsters, the short nickname of  “a gang of monsters”.  besides, the nickname has “angas” and that alone is reason enough why it is an appropriate name.

part of the #gangsters and rh champions who attended the RH Law celebration

from strangers the #gangsters decided to meet to put a face on the username and from the first tweetup the #gangsters on the average have been meeting once a month. nothing scheduled, just on whim, it just happens. the good thing about the tweetups is that as the regulars continued to attend, new people joined the #gangsters tweetups and the group grew in number, a great and welcome evolution.

representative edcel lagman, main sponsor of the RH Law at HOR

with the passage of the rh bill into rh law, it felt natural for the #gangsters to have another tweetup to celebrate. it was the christmas season and getting together was thought of to be impossible and unwise with work related and family get together scheduled. it was floated in twitter and before you knew it, many had confirmed they were available for a tweetup. the #gangsters invited everyone who were pro rhbill and last night around 50 to 60 pax attended. this was the largest the group has had as the group would just be 15 to 20 at a time in previous tweetups.

the #gangsters tweetup last night was not only special because of the number of people who came to celebrate with us, but several RH Champion celebrities came. we were awed that the following RH champions joined us – no less than representative edcel lagman, main proponent of the RH Bill at the HOR (house of representatives), representative and deputy speaker of the house erin tanada,    dr. esperanza cabral former secretary of the DSWD and DOH during the gloria macapagal arroyo administration, miss international beauty queen aurora pijuan and dr. raquel fortun, famed forensic pathologist and UP professor. the guest list was not at all short of being the A-list behind the rh bill passage into law.

rep lagman was THE rockstar of the night. everyone but everyone in the party wanted to have their picture taken with him. and that meant requests for pictures started the minute he sat on his chair at the dining table up to the door outside the restaurant as he left the restaurant. everyone kept saying – last na, last picture. rep lagman was very gracious and agreed with a smile for all the numerous picture requests.

there were so many requests for pictures with the RH rockstars that we had to ask them to transfer to another side of the table where they were seated, to against the wall to allow those with the camera more space to take a proper picture.

representative and deputy speaker of the house erin tanada

deputy speaker erin tanada talked about the difficult task of presiding over the voting on the rh bill. apparently it was a marathon 10 hour session that did not allow for breaks for food, drink or a bathroom break. but he said it was well worth it and he knew it was the right thing to do.

dr. raquel fortun disagreed with the deputy speaker. she said she did not think what was difficult was the no food, no bathroom break, it was the fact that he had to listen to the inane comments, moves and speeches of the anti rh bill during the sessions. and despite all that, the deputy speaker got the job done just the same.

dr. esperanza cabral former secretary of the DSWD and DOH during the gloria macapagal arroyo administration

dr. cabral is most admired by RH champions for her take no prisoner stand on family planning – the DOH distributed free condoms on valentine’s day during the gloira macapagal arroyo administration. arroyo was a staunch anti rh bill president. arroyo was successful in delaying even the discussion of the bill in congress. arroyo in fact stopped the free distribution of modern methods of contraception (condoms and pills) in government hospitals and clinics as early as when dr. dayrit was DOH chief.

for dr. cabral to get the DOH to distribute free condoms during the arroyo administration was unparalleled success and courage. dr. cabral said she was from the very beginning for modern methods of contraception but was never asked about it by anyone in the arroyo admin and media. she said she was in fact surprised when she was asked that question for the first time by media.

we asked her if ex president arroyo ever asked her to stop the free distribution of condoms or her stand on modern methods of contraception, she said arroyo  never did but secretary ermita did.

unlike the #gangsters, dr. cabral said she is not very active on social media but she said she was aware of the tweets as she read them. asked what she has been doing, she said she was at the senate during hearings on the rh bill as resource person and expert on RH.

miss international beauty queen aurora pijuan

aurora pijuan is unmatched beauty inside and out. she has been part of the #gangsters from the very beginning and attends the tweetups on a regular basis. aside from the very imposing beauty and presence that she has, she can by her self bring the house down with her wit, intelligence and humor. she enters the room and the whole room turns to her to admire her, when she opens her mouth to tell a story or make a comment, then the admiration goes up to the roof. with her wit and intelligence, you cannot be slow or dumb in her presence or else you miss half the fun of having her around.

dr. raquel fortun, famed forensic pathologist and UP professor

dr. fortun is the one woman CIS Manila. we have heard her talk about her craft on tv and she makes her job so easy and simple which of course it is not. someone announced her presence at the party by saying dr. fortun is offering a free autopsy for anyone who wants it. dr, fortun confirmed the offer but nobody took her up on it.

dr. fortun’s tweets we think very much reflect her expertise. we think forensic pathology  demands 55% superior logic and thinking     and 45% brilliant science and medicine. her tweets for the rh bill and comments on anti rh bill tweets expose lack of logic and lack of facts in a memorable one liner.

what is #18? well, the good doctor came prepared to the tweetup by making her own homemade number. the number is part of the world famous  “concerned number”  that a certain concerned anti #rhbill poster did on twitter. this concerned anti #rhbill poster based on a “magic document” alleged that the #gangsters and other RH Bill advocates were under the payroll of an unnamed super rich organization to tweet for the rh bill. he made a list, similar to what santa does but this one was just on a “naughty” list for him/her. (gender of this poster is unclear) the list stopped at #75.

the “concerned number” created quite a stir among the #gangsters and the the other RH champions on twitter – they all wanted to be on the list. there were protests posted on twitter asking to be included in the list. one even lobbied for 3 days to get included on the list. he succeeded in getting included in the list. still others complained why they were down the list when they felt they deserved to be on the top 10. other RH champions who were not part of the #gangsters got surprised why they were included in the list. nobody among the #gangsters and RH champions understood the criteria for being included and specially the ranking in the list. actually nobody really cared as what was important was to be included in the list and to have fun with it.

rather than being a list of shame by the anti rhbill, it became a list of honor for the #gangsters and RH champions.

this “concerned number” list was used during the party as a running gag and the thread used to get the #gangsters to introduce themselves to everyone. we will be posting the screen caps of the list on the password protected page. but we will not identify the twitter user name as we do not want the poster to get free publicity in this blog.

side from the celebs who attended the #gangsters tweetup, other celebs sent to the party their messages – jim paredes, carlos celdran and representative kimi conjuangco who is one of the prime movers of the rh bill in congress.

—–

pics of #gangsters december 29 tweetup here : 

• #gangsters tweetup #VI (open to all)

• #gangsters group pics (password protected, for #gangsters & those who attended the party only)

• #gangsters solo pics & the world famous “concerned numbers” (password protected, for #gangsters & those who attended the party only)

Gravity by Sara Bareilles “you hold without touch, you keep me without chains”

 

“Gravity”

Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do I’ll still feel you here ’til the moment I’m gone.

You hold me without touch.
You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain.

[CHORUS:]
Set me free, leave me be. I don’t want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I’m supposed to be.
But you’re on to me and all over me.

You loved me ’cause I’m fragile.
When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

[CHORUS]

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you’re everything I think I need here on the ground.
But you’re neither friend nor foe though I can’t seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you’re keeping me down
You’re on to me, on to me, and all over…
Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.