Floyd Mayweather is a boxer, and when he retires again, he will finish as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Jay-Z is a rapper, and not only is he a businessman, he’s a business, man. Barack Obama is not just America’s president, but in many ways the most powerful person in the world. What separates Mayweather from the latter two is that his legacy will be boxing and nothing more. Manny Pacquiao is a boxer, but he’s also a successful entertainer and an elected congressman. He could be considered a living national treasure. His words carry weight, like those of Jay-Z and maybe even President Obama. That’s what makes it even more disappointing with the words he chose regarding gay marriage.

It’s been a huge story this past week when Obama said one simple sentence:

“I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

Whatever motivations there may be behind him saying that, the statement is clear, concise, and very progressive. Meanwhile, on May 15^th Jay-Z called the anti-gay marriage movement “discrimination, plain and simple.” Strong words from one of the leaders in a genre of music criticized in the past for gay bashing, but his stance may turn many within the black community who ironically denied civil rights to gays in California in 2008.

Many people are weighing in on the President’s words, including our very own Manny Pacquiao who stated “God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married.” Those familiar with the Pacman shouldn’t be too surprised with his opposition to same-sex marriage. He’s a devout Catholic and the Philippines is known to toe the line very strictly when it comes to the Bible. While the views of a boxer may not mean much, it does mean a lot more coming from an elected official, and even more so from the man who is “the fighting pride of the Philippines”. Pacquiao has also voted against sex education and contraceptives, issues that perpetually strike the nerves of religious conservatives.

One opinion I’ve always had on Pacquiao is that he never should have run for office, and he never should have been elected. He is a boxer who will also end up in the record books and hall of fame. Politics are nothing but a distraction for him, and he has no need for the money and power that political offices offer. He simply isn’t qualified.

Now I think he’s just plain wrong. I honestly think he has given no critical thought to the issue and is giving a snap reaction based on what he knows from his upbringing and religion. I’m not saying he isn’t allowed to disagree with President Obama, but his response was so by-the-book it’s obvious he has nothing to add to the discussion. Unfortunately, as a role model and icon to many Pilipinos he has a much greater influence than he probably deserves. Will I still cheer for Kuya Manny? Sure. But file him with the rest of my relatives who I respect but completely am at odds with.

At least my relatives aren’t on every other billboard in the Philippines.

UPDATE (5/16 9am Central): Well, this has blown up overnight. There is now a petition for Nike to drop Manny and shopping area The Grove refuses to allow Manny there for an interview for the tv show Extra. What troubles me is all the misinformation that's going around regarding this backlash. Yes, Manny Pacquiao is against gay marriage. I don't want to muddle that fact. However, many many many articles are saying he believes that gays should be put to death.

Manny never said that. This is a consequence of brilliant spinning by the original interviewer, and shoddy reading comprehension by everyone else.

Here's the only true source - an inverview with the National Conservative Examiner. Any other article you find ALWAYS points back to this interview.

Manny never says it. The author of the article refers to it, and sets it up so it looks like Manny said it. But Manny never did himself.

And with all the attention this small interview is now getting, I think author Granville Ampong did his job brilliantly. But now that it's out there - it needs to be reeled back. Pacquiao doesn't approve of gays, but he's not a hateful bigot.

UPDATE (5/16 10:20am Central): As I thought. Manny has finally responded, saying he does not believe gays should be put to death, saying gay people "can't help it if they were born that way". It was in fact poor reporting as I mentioned previously. Also as expected, Pacquiao's stance on gay marriage has not changed - but hopefully people who were quick to jump the gun may change their stances.

I am a casual player of the very popular indie game “Minecraft”. I bought the game in its early stages out of curiosity, but I haven’t had the chance to be pulled in like some others have. I describe “Minecraft” as playing with virtual LEGO blocks, but you have to dig up the blocks you want to use. Oh, and there are evil spiders and skeletons too. As the name implies, you mine the ground for various materials like diamond and gold. In the real world, though, mining isn’t so fun. It’s one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, and wars are fought in Africa over precious stones like diamonds. It may not be as well known, but the Philippines has been swept into the mining craze.

Photojournalist Larry C. Price has published a set of photos he took late last year as part of an effort to expose child labor in gold mines (see the set here). He saw children as young as four years old panning for gold, carrying ore, and even going below ground to mine. There are no safety measures in place, and they are exposed to poisonous materials like cyanide and mercury. The most dangerous method of mining involves diving into a deep pit of muddy water where their only source of breathing is a simple tube that goes to the surface. The children work in pitch darkness and risk having the walls of their pit collapse on them.

This set is just the beginning of what Price hopes to capture, as he plans to travel elsewhere on the globe to find more examples of child labor. Now I’m not going to say I’m an expert on the global economy, human rights or child labor. Obviously the younger children are being exploited when what they need is an education, but I’ve read it argued that the people in these areas may not have many other options to make a living. While this may be their reality, that doesn’t mean things have to stay that way. If anyone knows how to start attacking this problem at the source, please share, though I imagine the International Labour Organization is a good place to start.

Last week I covered a couple of videos created by Michael Goodman; one covering twenty great things about the Philippines, and another about twenty not-so-great things (even though, ironically, there are some common items between the two videos). Well, the videos haven't only gone viral here, but also in the social media hungry Philippines. Most vilified of all was Jimmy Sieczka, the narrator of “20 Reasons I Dislike the Philippines” whose curse-filled tirade spread like wildfire. But is any hate toward him warranted?

This past week, Sieczka posted his apology video, seen below:

As I suspected, Sieczka doesn't really hate the Philippines. Someone who's chosen to live there for years certainly would have reconsidered their situation if they didn't like it that much. In the above video, an emotional Sieczka professes his appreciation for the people he's met and the country and area he's lived in. He states he only wanted to shine a light on some issues that were either being taken for granted or being ignored.

Surprisingly, his words may have struck a chord with city officials. This Monday, Cebu City councilor Sisinio Andales wanted to have Sieczka declared “persona non grata”, or as someone legally not welcome in the city. The next day, however, Mayor Michael Rama moved shifted several people around in City Hall. A former mayor says the moves are political, but Rama says the moves are in response to Sieczka's video. Rama swore to crack down on the vandalism, litter, and beggars he witnessed in the video.

My take has always been that Sieczka didn't really hold some kind of grudge toward the Philippines. If you watch his video and realize he's attempting very tongue-in-cheek humor, you can see he's not attacking the Philippines, but just making fun of some of the country's idiosyncrasies. I do believe everything in his apology video is true and that he is not doing it to deflect the backlash. Also, I don't entirely believe Mayor Rama's claim that this video is prompting him to make some of these changes – it just happens to be convenient (though I am no expert at Philippines politics by any means).

Sure, you can be offended by Sieczka's video. It's meant to evoke emotion from its viewers. And seeing all the responses that came from it – video comments, blog posts, government responses – I think it worked. All this city and national pride in response to one guy's harmless twenty minute video. I won't go as far to say that Sieczka made his point in the right way, but I will say the guy at least deserves a break.

Related post:

• 40 Things About The Philippines

I’ll admit up front - things are kind of busy round these parts. Most of it I owe to preparing for a conference next weekend that I’m speaking at, with a little bit of slight sickness mixed in. I think I’m in a bit of Linsanity withdrawl - he’s still doing good, but the 24/7 coverage seems to have died down. So instead of something deep and heavy-handed, a little something lighter.

It reminds me of a scene out of Borat - a rooster somehow had gotten loose in a subway of Chicago this past Monday, causing service to temporarily shut down. Pilipino police officer Enrique Molas was able to take advantage of some prior knowledge to handle the situation.

“I grew up in the Philippines; we have a lot of livestock.”

Unfortunately, while Molas’ rescue was successful, the bird was eventually euthanized due to a broken wing. Now I’m of the opinion of people like Mark Zuckerberg - you kill it, you keep it (also may apply to hitting animals while driving). Now of course Molas saved the rooster initially, but if they have to put it down anyway...

I’m just saying! There aren’t many farms near the heart of Chicago. Hard to get some really really really fresh meat. It’s okay Officer Molas. I won’t tell anyone.