WORD: Grandstanding
The reason why I want to discuss this word is that something amusing just happened.
My friend and I were listening to a blogger in his daily podcast, and he was using the word grandstanding. Wall to wall carpeting kasi ang mga inbestigasyon ng Senado at sa House of Representatives tungkol sa flood project scam ... so tanong ko sa kanya, "alam mo ba ang ibig sabihin ng word na yan?"
Sagot niya: "Gusto kong subukan i-explain ... wala naman masama siguro kung mali ang sagot ko di ba? College drop-out lang naman ako ... so what is there to lose?"
He continued ... "dahil hirap akong e-express ang aking sarili... I will just use it na lang in a sentence para madali mong ma-gets kung naintiendihan ko nga" hamon pa niya.
"Ito na nga: "STANDING room only ang FREEDOM GRANSTAND.. Maraming artista ang dumating at nagperform kaya puno ng tao." Tama ba?" excited niyang tanong.
Ang kaibigan ko talaga oo. May pagkatoso ... kasing toso ng mga involve sa flood project scam. He mixed GRANDSTAND and STANDING ... akala niya yon na ang sagot? What was funny was he thought SRO (or standing room only) and grandstand ang mga root words ... and mixing them together will guide him to understand what it means ... kaya ang pumasok sa isip niya JAMPACKED ng tao ang GRANSTAND?
"Dahil sa sinabi mong yan gagawa tayo ng post sa blog ha", sabi ko.Pag napublish na ... babasahin mo para maintiendihan mo ang word." Ok naman sa kanya.
DEFINITION: Grandstanding is the action where a person behaves in a showy or ostentatious manner in an attempt to attract favorable attention from bystanders (in the case of the DPWH and the contractors), ang target ng mga senators ay ang media, the Senate regulars, or the TV audience at home.
Other words for grandstanding include impressing an audience, showing off, playing to the crowd, showboating, attracting attention, and flaunting one's knowledge.
Grandstanding, as the word implies, comes from the idea of "playing to people in the grandstand" (may punto ng KONTI ang kaibigan ko) or in a stadium ... and is pejorative to describe someone's intent on drawing attention to themselves or hugging the spotlight to their advantage..
USING IT IN A SENTENCE: Here is one example. The congressmen and the senators in their committees (re congressional hearings on flood project scams) did not hesitate to GRANDSTAND in the most bombastic way possible, even if their temper tantrums ... their almost lachrymose tearjerking presentation and display of arrogance alienated and antagonized the audience and the TV viewers.
And while we are at it, since pinagusapan na rin lang natin ang grandstanding ... let me make these side comments.
I have seen all the histrionics and exaggerated behaviors (senators pounding the table, name-calling galore, complete rejection and outright denials ... and senators so emotional ... they are almost on the verge of a heart attack.)
They yell and shout ... all the drama and display of emotions, all seemed like an act ... it is like putting on a little show to highlight and showcase themselves. Or distance themselves from the heat.
The whole exercise doesn't look like the Blue Ribbon investigation anymore - it is all theatrics ... all noise ... with no accountability direction.
Some of the protagonists, whether they admit it or not (in their overt and covert behaviors), look like they are protecting fellow colleagues ... regardless of whether what they did is legal or not.
Like what de Lima said, the investigations are self-serving, and while the rest acted like they were there for the people's hard-earned money, the Filipinos did not feel the sincerity because they had done the same thing in a not-so-distant past.
An independent investigative body has to be formed ... if BBM wants the people's trust.
RIP%20Walter%20Navarro.jpg)
