Strip Tease Gone Wrong

When I received a copy of the comic strip, I thought I had missed a frame. I was waiting for the punch line, unfortunately it never came.

The issue on sexual preference and the Catholic Church’s stand is relevant, but Mr. Medina’s take on it was distasteful. I don’t understand why he needed to sully the reputation of St. Scholastica’s College and the Sisters. Calling them (a derogatory term for) lesbians was not only uncalled for, it was a slap in the face of all religious vocations.

St. Scholastica’s College is an enlightened institution that advances socially relevant issues. For the past 100+ years it has borne strong women – leaders, politicians, business women, artists, wives, and mothers, each treating the other with affection. We are, after all, sisters.

I earned my College degree from St. Scholastica’s College. I love this school because it taught me to see things not in black, white, or gray, but in a full spectrum of color. At St. Scholastica’s College, we learned that everyone had rights, that each right had consequences, and that we should all be held accountable for them. SSC taught us tolerance - and beyond tolerance St. Scholastica’s College taught us love. Love of justice, truth, humanity; love of stewardship and of service; love of Mother Nature; love of good old fashioned hard work; love of excellence, brilliance, and of quality; love for the sciences and the arts; loving our Faith; loving ourselves. At St. Scholastica’s College, discipline and respect is essential, and we carried all of these values and virtues with us even as we traded our whites and blues for other colors, uniforms, and caps.

So yes, I am offended by the comic strip. For those who don’t understand, allow me to point out why:

• The generalization that all Christians are hypocrites;
• That girls from exclusive Catholic schools are lesbians;
• Implying that the Benedictine sisters are lesbians; and
• The fact that Mr. Medina singled out St. Scholastica’s College.

I don’t see the point of the strip. Was it to advance the cause of the LGBT Community? (I think it did the opposite, actually). Was it to pick on SSC? Did it want SSC to discriminate, box, and label its students according to creed, color, sexual preference, height, and weight? Or was it a careless stab at the Catholic Church? Either way, it was a sloppy, poorly executed joke.

It bothers me that even with the flak Mr. Medina has received over that strip, there is no apology, no sign of remorse. Instead, he declares that he is a victim of a conspiracy.

Another thing that bothers me is that the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s only action on the matter was to pull out Mr. Medina’s comic strip (pending further investigation). An apology came, but arrived too late and was too weak to be noticed. Really, if they were all for accuracy, fairness and good taste, would it have been released in the first place? It was a re-published strip – doesn't the Editorial Board have any control over the contents of their publication? I don’t want heads to roll and I don’t want it to be a witch hunt; I just want fairness to prevail.

It upsets me that a lot of people don’t see the reason for the uproar. I am disheartened but not angry. These people are entitled to their own opinion, but my Alma Mater and our Scholastican community taught me better than that.