Willie Revillame and his alleged "sins"

Okey. Let's sit down and discuss this.


A crying six year old boy was seen dancing before thousands of yelling people inside the television studio. That scene, which shows the boy dancing like a macho dancer, could have been dismissed as some jolly prank where it not for one thing---the boy was crying while doing the act. 


Many people who saw the scene over at YouTube, suddenly screamed "child abuse!" Someone posted it on Facebook and thousands more cried "foul!" and "Child exploitation!"


The people concluded that Willie Revillame coerced the boy to do that despicable scene. People accused the host of coercing the boy, humiliated him in public and was, himself, enjoying the entire scene. Many others cried "child molester!"


Okey. Let's sit down and talk about this.


What prompted people to rise up this time and concluded that what Willie did, was, in truth and in fact, a crime?


One wrote that is a violation of Republic Act 7610 which prohibits the showing of children doing immoral things either due to financial considerations or otherwise.


I've been watching Willie's shows since the start, and frankly, even those initial episodes of his shows over at ABS-CBN channel 2, were, to my mind, already exploitative of the condition of the poor. Willie tosses money like Mickey mouse money, and gives them all to a hungry throng willing to do his every bidding just to get a thousand or ten thousand.


The boy, named Jan-Jan, just did that. He was not there to showcase any talent of his--he was there because he was asked to by his parents, who wanted nothing more than get some money out of the humiliation of their kid.


But, this is going beyond what happened.


The truth is, Willie has been doing this, showing children and kids of poor folks, dancing like adults, since he started hosting Wowowee. No one cried foul when Willie showed kids wearing lewd clothes or dancing like bar dancers, when these things are already violative of RA 7610--even before.


People took note because, this time, the boy was crying. It was this, that turned off many viewers. I am sure that before this scene turned controversial, no one reprimanded Willie of his penchant for asking kids to dance like adults.


Fact is, no one really cared if Willie was destroying the values of the Pinoy before this. 


RA 7610 was not specifically going after those who exploit crying kids--the law was meant to punish those who exploit kids--crying or not. 


Willie and the show's producers already violated the law and they should be punished criminally by the State by filing cases against them. No one really thought of that except this one when everybody saw the boy crying. 


Really, it is hypocritical, to say the least, for people to demand an apology or demand for the head of Revillame for this singular thing. 


Since the show began and even when Willie started hosting, people have been exploited there, not just kids, because of their weaknesses. 


We are hypocritical this time, because we saw the child crying. We then assumed that the boy was really being exploited because that very scene where the boy was dancing and crying at the same time. Those cries meant for us, that the boy was just being made to do what he hated. 


What Willie just proved to one and all, that we only react when it was so obvious already that a crime or right was violated. We just took notice when we saw the child crying his heart out. We never really asked ourselves what kids of Jan-Jan's age felt when they were asked by Revillame to dance lewd before a crowd.


Had the child danced ala-macho dancer--and we just saw the kid all smiling throughout the ordeal made us rise from our chairs and protest. 


Thi is explotation.