Hey zoomer, are you discouraged from registering as a voter in #Halalan2022 because it’s “hopeless” anyway? Do you think that your vote won’t end up making a difference in the big picture?

Honestly, I’ve been there. Back in 2016, I remember just having turned 18 years old but choosing not to register as a voter. I told myself: “what’s my one vote going to do?”

But after educating myself and hacking my brain a bit, I knew that it was imperative for me to vote in the upcoming elections. Here are some ways I convinced myself to register for the next presidential election which I hope can help you or your friends think differently too.

#Halalan2022 is our Hail Mary.

I’m writing this as I grieve over the death of the ABS-CBN franchise which has robbed over 11,000 people of their jobs in the middle of a pandemic. More than that, this move has shown that press freedom in the Philippines is merely an illusion.

And an attack to press freedom is an attack to our personal freedom.

Unfortunately, this has only been one of many questionable decisions that has greatly affected us personally, mentally, and emotionally. The past four years have been exhausting to say the least.

But more than being tired, we are furious.

Now is always the best time to express frustration and take action. But if all our efforts still fall on deaf ears, we have a Hail Mary waiting in our back pocket: #Halalan2022.

You don’t want to be lazy, do you?

If registering as a voter was as easy as entering a 6-digit PIN code, then would you have done it already even if you knew there was no hope of a good candidate winning?

Let’s say you love pineapples on your pizza. Nay, you are passionate about them. Then you see a Twitter poll asking you which one is the superior option: pizza with pineapples or pizza without pineapples.

Before you even look at the results, you already know pizza without pineapples is gonna win in a landslide. But you’re still gonna vote for the option with pineapples anyway, right?

Why did you vote in that poll even if you knew the option you were going to choose would lose? Because all you literally had to do was tap your screen.

Now let’s go back to the elections: why can’t you register to vote even if you knew that a trapo was gonna win anyway?

If you answered that you were going to vote in the hypothetical Twitter poll above, but still don’t want to vote in the presidential election because it’s hopeless, then that’s just you being lazy.

Hopelessness is just laziness at work. Don’t hide behind the “it’s hopeless” excuse because voting is the hope that we need to change things around here.

It’s better than doing nothing.

Voting in #Halalan2022 is honestly the bare minimum that you can do to make an actual difference in how the country is run. While tweeting hashtags is okay, it’s not going to do much in the bigger picture.

This is a once every six years opportunity that we can’t pass up. Registering to vote literally took me just an hour, and voting will take you less than a day to complete.

Imagine taking less than 24 hours off to do something meaningful that will affect you.

A presidential term in the Philippines is six years, which is equivalent to 52,560 hours. When we do the math, the whole voting process is just 0.0005% of that. Your self-care day can wait.

Register so you have the right to complain.

Protect yourself from hearing “don’t complain, you didn’t even vote” the next years. As someone who didn’t vote in the 2016 presidential election, I got this from my family a lot every time I complained about the government.

And honestly, they do have a point. I mean I hated hearing it, but it was true to an extent. Look, every Filipino citizen has a right to complain but you can’t fault people for getting mad over your complaining when you didn’t even do the bare minimum!

Do you know what stopped them from saying this to me? When I registered for #Halalan2022.

This is a card that boomers like to pull out when young people complain, so please, even if it’s just out of spite and pride, register to vote!

You’ll get a lot of hate if you don’t vote.

This is such a bad reason to register but I think it needs to be said as a warning. Unfortunately, cancel culture is not going to end soon. You will get a lot of judgmental shade thrown against you if you don’t vote.

Then there’s also the self-hate, too.

I’ve experienced being called out by my friends firsthand about it. The disappointment in their faces when I reveal this fact is something that I just can’t turn a blind eye to. The guilt also eats me up knowing that I could’ve done something to help make the country a better place for other people.

Foolish 18-year old me not giving a damn about the world.

If you’re still indifferent about what’s going on in the country, do yourself a favor and still register to vote. Because one day, you are going to care about politics and you’ll end up writing an article telling people how much you regret not voting before.

You aren’t alone. We’re with you.

Just look at Facebook and Twitter. Not a day passes by where your timeline isn’t filled with political posts and opinions from your friends. Hell, even Instagram isn’t safe anymore.

And that’s a good thing.

Even the most indifferent people in your circle are being so vocal about national issues while encouraging people to vote in #Halalan2022. If this tells you anything, it’s that you are not alone. If your friends are finally speaking out, then they’re most likely taking their anger to the voting booths too.

Don’t get left behind.

But even if they’re not registered as a voter, then it would be extremely easy to convince them to. The anger is there; they just need a push that you yourself can give them.

Aren’t you just a little bit inspired by a politics-filled timeline? I know I am.

Seeing so many young zoomers speak out may just give you that dose of hope to convince yourself that your vote isn’t useless. Because we are voting with you.

Zoomers, this is your reminder to register as a voter for #Halalan2022. They have suspended registration until August 31 because of coronavirus, but we’ll make sure to remind you when the time to register is near.

In the meantime, open your eyes and ears. This is how you convince yourself to register.

Then when you’re ready, use your voice to convince your friends and everyone you know. We have a country to save; its future is quite literally in our hands.

Also, registering is half the battle. Show up on voting day.

Even if we fail or something fishy affects results, at least you can tell yourself that you did something to try and change the system. And that thought is going to help you through the dark days.

Want a quick recap of the things the Philippines prioritized over the coronavirus pandemic? Click here. We also have more advice for zoomers like you! Don’t forget to follow us @ZoomersCornerPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The post #Halalan2022: Gen Z’ers of Age, You Have No Excuse Not to Vote appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

We compiled easy-to-understand online resources about LGBTQ+ people that you can use to educate yourselves. This isn’t just for queer folks; it can help you and your friends learn how to be a good ally as well. As the title of the article suggests, this is just an introduction to LGBTQ+ terminologies, identities, issues, history, and media. It’s always best to go out and learn more about the world of the rainbow warriors!

Pride Month may have ended in June, but if you think about it, the fight for equal rights is far from over. School’s out anyway, so do you really have anything better to do?

Difference Between Sex, Gender & Everything Else (SOGIESC)

The words sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression may be confusing for some. In most cases, we tend to actually interchange them. Hell, I still get confused sometimes too! Here is a quick video that shows you what they all mean in a nutshell:

Takeaway: While gender is a term that refers to how society expects us to behave and act, sex is mainly biological.

The Different Sexualities and Labels

Have you ever come across someone identifying themselves as demisexual, but never knew what they meant? It’s a small victory that most people already know what the letters in LGBT stand for, but there’s a reason the community uses a rainbow flag as its symbol. Sexuality is a spectrum, and in it, you’ll find lots of colorful terms that members of the community use to empower themselves!

Unite UK’s A-Z List of Sexualities covers most common terms people use to describe their sexuality. Healthline’s 46 Terms That Describe Attraction, Behavior and Orientation is a great dictionary to learn more about terminologies used within the community. But don’t feel pressured to fit into the labels in those websites. You do you, boo!

Takeaway: “Queer” is an umbrella term for people who aren’t homosexual. It used to have a negative connotation, but the community is reclaiming it.

Pride Month Origin and History

Now let’s delve deeper into how Pride Month started, because it’s a good reminder to us all that gender is intersectional. This means that we can’t tackle it without considering other factors like race and class. Why do I mention that? Because two black trans women, Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy were at the forefront of the gay rights movement. However, it is an unfortunate fact that BIPOC transwomen nowadays are more susceptible to discrimination and hate crimes. Some white gay men even shun them out of the community!

Bobby Berk’s short write-up tells us a little bit more about Johnson and Griffin-Gracy, the Stonewall Riots, and the origin of Pride Month. Refinery29’s From Stonewall to Pride 50 succinctly tells us about what happens after!

Takeaway: Our trans brothers and sisters are just as important as everyone else in our community. Period.

Straight Privilege

In the same way that white privilege exists, straight people don’t realize the luxuries that they are afforded just for being born straight. It’s Pronounced Metrosexual lists over forty examples of heterosexual or straight privilege in action. If you are reading this article as an ally, it’s a great way to realize how your queer friends’ lives are harder just for being themselves. This article on Bustle is a great addition to the topic, going into more detail.

Takeaway: If you’re straight and can’t wrap your head around why Straight Pride is wrong, then recognize that you already enjoy so many privileges. Straight Pride is unnecessary AF.

LGBTQ+ Issues and Hate Crimes

Unfortunately, we can’t talk about LGBTQ+ community without acknowledging the issues that we face on a micro- and macro-level. For every topic in the list, I linked a short article. Just a note that there are endless articles for these issues because they are more complex and needs more reading to fully understand. This whole list is just a starting point to learn more about them. Safe to say that these should not be read if you do not feel comfortable.

• LGBTQ Youth and Suicide
• LGBTQ Youth, Family Conflict & Homelessness
• LGBTQ Killings & Murders
• LGBTQ Hate Crimes
• LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination
• LGBTQ Healthcare Discrimination
• LGBTQ Discrimination in Media
• Same-Sex Marriage Issues in the World
• Trans Bathroom Access
• Gay Conversion Therapy

Takeaway: With the amount of shit that the LGBTQ+ community faces every day, we are some of the bravest people to walk this earth.

LGBTQ+ Film Recommendations

There are plenty of LGBTQ movies to watch, including documentaries. The content is endless! I mean, just look at Rotten Tomatoes‘ list of the 200 best LGBT movies of all-time. Or if you feel like you’ve watched all the popular ones already, you could always check out The Guardian‘s list of best queer films you haven’t seen. If you’re bummed out that the Pride March was cancelled due to coronavirus (she’s homophobic), you can always make it feel like Pride at home! Just stream your movie of choice and let the laughter and tears roll.

I hope that these resources gave you a deeper insight into yourself, the people around you, and the larger LGBTQ+ community. Remember, all of our experiences are different, but in the end, we are all just human. No matter what your sexuality is and what you identify as, it’s everybody’s responsibility to take care of each other as decent human beings. And educating yourself on the issues is what will give you the empathy that you need to do just that.

Featured Image: Gotta Be Worth It on Pexels

The post The Beginner’s Guide to the LGBTQ+ Community appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

Okay, Boomers and Baby Boomers: we’re turning the tables on you — you’re the reason why we’re living in a hellhole right now. If it weren’t for your dated values and submissiveness, then we’d probably be living in a better world.

If you think the world sucks, take a look at the people running the world.

Well first off, how about we start with the fact that most of the leaders in the world are either from the Boomer Generation or from Gen X, the sneaky little generation who precedes millennials but are also to blame? Some of the powerful men ruling right now include United States’ Donald Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and of course, the Philippines’ He-Who-Must-Be-Named (literally, because of the Anti-Terror Bill). What do they all have in common besides the fact that they’re men? They are all part of your generation.

If you live in one of those countries I mentioned and you do support your leader, then you really have no right to think lowly of the other ones. One is not better than the other, and trying to play that game is like deciding between eating cat piss or horse manure for lunch.

They shove their old-fashioned values down our throats where it’s actually become questionable if their decisions were actually made using a brain. And unfortunately, this has led to more chaos than anything. The only response they know are ad-hominem attacks, underhanded diversion tactics, and violence. All this while suppressing the voices of the minorities, critics, and dissenters.

You settle for scraps. We don’t.

There was this really heartbreaking Twitter video that I couldn’t finish because it hit too close to home. It shows a girl named Marissa, who couldn’t hold back her crying because her mother kept on telling her that it was hopeless to protest, and that she couldn’t change the world. Do you really think we’d want to spend our time fighting for basic human rights, when they should have been given to everyone in the first place? This is just one of many instances that shows how people from your generation are hammering us with the idea that we should just sit down and eat our food. Our idealism is being scoffed at for being unrealistic when history has shown that what we’re asking for is within reach.

As a Filipino, I actually don’t know where you get the audacity to tell me that collective action is useless when the most important we literally overthrew a dictator as a nation. Look, I get that for most of y’all, it’s your maternal instinct kicking in. You tell us these things because you’re looking out for us. But why not try a softer approach that doesn’t involve destroying what’s little left of our hope? Sometimes, whether or you hate it or not, we actually have a point. And speaking of…

You can’t accept that you’re wrong.

The #HijaAko hashtag trended in the Philippines due to a controversy where 19-year old Frankie Pangilinan, or Kakie for short, spoke against an ill-advised, now-deleted Facebook post by the national police that told women to wear less revealing clothes unless they want to be raped. Kakie fought back by accurately saying that rapists should be to blame for rape, and not the survivors. Of course, heterosexual male boomer Ben Tulfo tells Kakie that she doesn’t know what she’s saying, as he condescendingly calls her hija: a term older Filipinos use to refer to a little girl.

Unfortunately, this is one of the annoying problems that we zoomers face every day. You don’t seem to treat us seriously just because we’re younger than you, and I say this as a working adult who has already graduated college. Sometimes, older people look at me and think that I’m crazy for opposing them even if I do bring up valid points. This is most likely a trait predominant in Asian families, but I can’t get one rebuttal in without being told that I’m fighting back (sumasagot ka na ngayon?). Like, no. I’m merely disagreeing with you and telling you why. Let me speak!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned though, it’s that when a boomer resorts to using age as an excuse to end the argument, it means you have won

Your traditions don’t hold up anymore.

Please retire the line of thinking that the way your generation perceives the world is how everybody else does too. The “issues” you regarded as taboo during your time are most likely just normal for us now. Just take a look at the shows being broadcasted in your television and streaming platforms, then you’ll see what I mean.

It’s normal for homosexuals to be in a public relationship. It’s normal for women to get abortions. It’s normal for teenagers to have sex. It’s normal for women to raise a baby by herself. It’s normal for people to smoke. It’s normal to get into open relationships. It’s normal to be atheist. It’s normal to get into an interracial relationship. It’s normal. And the only people making them abnormal is you!

The only reason why they get depressed is because of judgmental and pretentious members of society who think that their morals and virtues are spotless. If you’re a Catholic or a Christian, then even better! Can you stop using Bible verses to rationalize your hateful behavior? You’re not much different from the people who partook in Jesus’ suffering. Here’s a reality check for you: God told His people not to use His name in vain, which in simple terms, means that you should not use God in arguments to justify actions and words that go against His teachings of love.

Stop dragging God’s name through the mud, ya weirdo. I went to a Jesuit high school for twelve years, so I think I know what I’m talking about.

So I know my tone wasn’t particularly friendly here, but I grew up in an environment where I was discouraged to speak up. Regardless, I still do not feel comfortable saying my opinion in front of boomers and baby boomers, because time and time again, they wouldn’t listen. And that’s all I want you to do: listen. It just so happens that most of you don’t listen when we say it calmly.

If your kid or student isn’t telling you these things, then it’s probably because you’ve groomed them into submissive, obedient members of society. Is that something you should be proud of? I don’t know. But if the world is still alive (no thanks to climate change) in forty years, I don’t want my grandchildren thinking that we just went with the status quo.

And to all my fellow Gen Z folks & zoomers reading this, I hope you become better than me and continue standing your ground.

Featured Image: Alev Takil on Unsplash

The post Boomers and Gen X are Ruining the World: An Open Letter appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

Got nothing better to do in this rainy weather? With classes about to resume and the coronavirus pandemic forcing us into our own homes, it’s a great time to finally sit back and enjoy a book. The great news is that you can order all of these from Fully Booked Online, which is open for orders and delivery. Simply click on the book title, and you will be redirected to the order page in the website (this isn’t a sponsored post, but I just love Fully Booked).

Even though some of these books may delve into some heavy topics, these are books for teenagers alike! I went ahead and placed content and mature theme warnings for our younger readers. I recommend researching these books further; after all, they don’t come cheap.

1. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Depression

What It’s About: The author details his own experience of suffering from depression as he tries to inspire the readers to celebrate the small victories in life. There is always one thing to live for.

Why Read It: This book was published in 2015 when the phrase “mental health” was making its way into our everyday vocabulary, and we were just starting to take the matter seriously. Haig removes the stigma around the issue of depression, and some parts will definitely make a lot of people go, “I feel that too” or “So that’s why my friend behaves this way”. He speaks very openly about the topic, and does not hold back. The fact that he is a “survivor” makes him all the more credible and inspiring at the same time.

There is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet.

2. The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith

Genre: Non-Fiction, Politics

What It’s About: Is democracy real, or is it just a made-up concept that the powerful leaders in the world continue to propagate to make us think that we have a choice in the matter? The authors of the book cynically believe that leaders will do whatever it takes to stay in power, and delve into real-life examples to support their case.

Why Read It: I love me some fact-based political conspiracies! If you loved watching Frank and Claire Underwood politic their way to the top in House of Cards, then this book will remind you to be wary of the leaders we’re in. Given the political climate here in the Philippines where we’re basically live in a faux democracy, this one is an appropriate read and will make you realize the inner mechanism of our government’s minds.

There’s nothing better than a rigged election, so long as you’re the one rigging it.

3. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Multiple mature themes

What It’s About: As the title suggests, this book gives us an insight into how strangers think and how misguided we are in striking a conversation with them. The author of this book happens to host a podcast about history, so he gives us practical tips on how to talk to strangers built on the foundation of, you guessed it: historical events.

Why Read It: ‘Tis the season of Tinder, Bumble & Grindr, and we are in these dating apps to have our own quaranthings/quaranflings. The problem? Some of us have no idea how to talk to strangers. Like, at all. If you don’t like the feeling of being left on read by someone you barely know and you wonder why that happens to you a lot, maybe this book is for you. It all boils down to one thing: miscommunication.

You believe someone not because you have no doubts about them. Belief is not the absence of doubt. You believe someone because you don’t have enough doubts about them.

4. Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse by Jackson MacKenzie

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Emotional abuse, talk of truama

What It’s About: That is one extremely detailed and informational title for a book! The author is a psychologist that helps people process their toxic relationships. He guides readers in realizing the traumas that they have encountered, how their toxic relationship has changed the way they behave (believe me, it really messes up our psyche), and helps us cope through some exercises.

Why Read It: This one is pretty close to my heart, as I’ve helped picked up the pieces of my friends when they were going through a toxic relationship. The worst part is that most of them did not even realize that they were already being emotionally abused by their partner. This book is not only informative, but explains how much damage someone inflicted on you. More than that, it helps you look into yourself and feel free. I would recommend this book even to those people who had not felt that they were in a toxic relationship, but felt like they were not themselves after a breakup.

It is recognizing and accepting the full extent of the damage this person caused, and choosing not to carry it as your own damage anymore. It means you can walk away much faster the next time.

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

What It’s About: This award-winning book which also had a critically-successful film adaptation centers on 16-year old Starr Carter, who witnesses the unjust killing of her best friend. And of course, a police officer did it because what? All cops are bastards! The killing sparks protests, and Starr is caught between keeping quiet, or risking her life.

Why Read It: It’s chilling how this book published in 2017 reminds me so much of what’s happening outside our own walls. It mirrors so much of what’s happening right now with the Black Lives Matter movement, and is a pretty realistic reflection of society. We follow the story of a female black teenager navigating a world where black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) get the short end of the stick, and end up dead for just being born with a different skin color. More than that, a lot of issues intertwined with race, like class divide, are also highlighted in the book. Older readers, don’t be fooled. This may be a young adult novel, but it’s a damn good one that doesn’t beat around the bush. It may even move you to tears!

I can’t change where I come from or what I’ve been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?

That’s it! Happy reading. I hope these (mostly non-fiction) book recommendations for zoomers and young people not only entertain you, but move you to think differently of yourself and the world around you.

Featured Image: Min An on Pexels

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