There’s been a lot of chatter surrounding “thought leader” Richard Heydarian’s plagiarisation of the eminent Yellowtard writer Conrado de Quiros’s groundbreaking blank Inquirer article written way back in 2004.
Thing is 2004, counting in digital years, practically sits on a different geological timeframe as 2019. Back then, before social media became a whole generation’s opiate, long-form writing (and long-form commenting) was the only way the “activists” of the time consumed content and engaged its authors. So, at the time, having a blank column going to print was pretty radical. Unfortunately for Heydarian, doing the same in an age of memes and highly-visual virtue signalling only makes him come across as, to use the immortal words of Lavinia Arguelles (played by Cherie Gil in the 2006 TV series Bituing Walang Ningning), “nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat”.
To be fair to Conrado de Quiros, he wrote EXCELLENT Yellowtard stuff — as in stuff that, at least, made one think before arriving at the inevitable conclusion that it really is all plain bullshit. Just the same, his stuff is so unlike today’s Yellowtard material. The Yellowtard drivel of today are products of an A.D.D. “Millennial” Generation that can’t sit still long enough to produce a coherent three-sentence paragraph.
|
In short, Old School Yellowtards like De Quiros made even his critics think, even for a minute. In contrast, the output of today’s Yellowtard “thought leaders” are an insult even to Yellowtards. Heydarian, as one of the few remaining long-form writers of his generation, did his craft a disservice by regressing from writing with substance to writing with stunts. Perhaps he is trying too hard to please the Yellowtards by writing at their level.
Webmaster of Get Real Philippines