First, the US Secretary of State Sean Spicer impatiently claimed that there was a bigger crowd at Donald Trump’s inauguration than at the previous presidential inauguration. He accused the media for being deceptive, even if actual photos and video documentaries could demonstrably prove the ‘bigger crowd’ false! Then, when asked why Spicer would so blatantly lie, former Trump counselor and campaign strategist Kellyanne Conway defended him by saying that Spicer was merely presenting “alternative facts.” Conway got the flak for it. She was simply wrong. The “bigger crowd” was indefensible. There’s no two ways about it.
Conway later tried to wiggle out of it, saying “Partly sunny, partly cloudy. Glass half-empty, glass half full. Those are alternative facts.” Wrong again. Those are not alternative facts. Those are examples of one and the same reality. What she actually meant to say is “Those are perspectives.” And that maybe Sean Spicer should head to SpecSavers for a new pairof prescription glasses. Then maybe Conway could have lived it down. But soon enough, Conway was dismissed from the White House. One has to wonder, though, why Sean Spicer was spared. He is still doing the spins
But, guess what? In the defense of poor Kellyanne Conway, The Pinoy Strayan will put forward that there is such a thing as “alternative facts.”
“Alternative facts,” to The Pinoy Strayan, is a world apart from the revision of history perpetuated by wily men and authoritarian governments since time immemorial, as satirically portrayed in George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty Four.”
“Alternative facts” are not the hoaxes and the confusion wrought upon the unsuspecting public by evil mercenary trolls on social media. Some of the most searing places in hell are for them reserved! By acknowledging the “alternative facts,” neither do we intend to grant that truth is relative. Truth is truth. It is perception that is relative. Truth may not be always known, it may be partly hidden or just partly apparent. Or as Antoine de Saint Exupery wisely put it, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
To The Pinoy Strayan, it is the conviction that choices (alternatives) for information (facts) to highlight are almost infinite. There are, to paraphrase a tagline from SBS television, 7 billion-stories-and-counting that are developing every day, and they all contain a potential knowledge to be appreciated or a lesson to be learned, about people, things, and events. The breadth and depth and width of choices are infinite and overwhelming.
Only a paltry few of these “alternative facts” that can be found out there are featured in this issue. Hopefully, one is useful to you, here and now.
– Cecilia Concepcion
The PinoyStrayan
FIRST QUARTER 2017
Editorial Director & Editor-in-Chief:
Cecilia Concepcion
Creative Design & Production Services
Jimmy Concepcion
Photography
Amil Gudmaling, Charlie Giglia Anna Lacsamana, Shanelle Paule Rosy & Coy Oreiro
Editorial, General Advertising,
Circulation, and Subscription inquiries and information:
Phone +61 (0) 402 530 367
Email pinoynews.australia@gmail.com
Opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher and editorial board. Advertisements in The PinoyStrayan are the responsibility of the advertiser. Although utmost effort to check the accuracy of all information with the sources has been made, changes may occur after publication, and the reader is advised to countercheck before acting on published information, as the publisher accepts no liability for them.
The PinoyStrayan is published by PinoyNews Australia
17 Morgan Rd, Redcliffe WA 6104
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission.
