““When a man gives his opinion he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion she’s a bitch.” Bette Davis
There are two sides to a story. Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay called Sarah Bonnin Ocampo, a Philippine Airlines flight attendant, a “menopausal bitch” for failing to get him a seat beside his sons on a flight to Los Angeles.
Let’s take the side of the woman being hurled such “sexist remarks”. Though I am way past 50 years old, I am not menopausal yet or don’t feel the symptoms of menopause. I’d certainly get peeved for being shouted such names and would not take it sitting down. I can be a “bitch” sometimes. My daughter calls it “bitch power” or knowing when to use my assertive powers. Nothing to burst an artery over if that is the meaning behind the “bitch word”. Hold a second, I am not in customer service. Does it give me a right to tell the customer “‘Sir do you have a problem with me?!’ ”
That remark is just plain rude.
Now let’s take the side of the customer, a parent who wants to be seated beside his sons. It doesn’t matter if he is a congressman or not. I used to travel a lot with my young girls. As a parent, we want to be seated beside them. It is not a big favor to ask. As a customer, I expect a reasonable reply. Apparently, the PAL attendant raised her voice (or her voice is high -pitched). Imagine the disappointment of the father to be told off that way. (His son actually had health issues which later turned out to be appendicitis and had to operated on in the USA).
I would be disappointed wouldn’t you? and angry if the manner delivered sounds like “shouting”. But….I wouldn’t call the PAL attendant a “menopausal bitch”. I will be livid with anger. The congressman forgot his position at that moment, only thinking as a father. He forgot he represented a group of teachers where, guess what are probably menopausal too.
But let’s go back to customer service. Heck, if I am in customer service, I would not provoke the irate customer to “‘Call me more names, call me more names!’ ” and threaten to call “security”. Oh and to add drama in a tense situation. No need to be a cantankerous hell-on-wheels!
See, there are two sides of the story. Both are wrong. The PAL attendant did not show patience and pacify the customer in a soothing manner. The customer shouldn’t have called her a menopausal bitch.
This is a case of high emotions, bad hair day, misunderstanding and holiday stress. Why did Ms. Ocampo resort to a press conference? Why didn’t they try to resolve it between them before filing such a complaint? Shouldn’t one settle it first before filing a suit. Clogging our courts is not the answer.
Reactions are mixed. Most take the side of the “menopausal bitch” because the remark is sexist. To be a bitch or not to be a bitch, that is the question.
What do you think of all this fracas?
Out of curiosity, I checked if 
I had the chance to meet gifted kids from Philippine High School for the Arts (PSHA) when my two girls joined the Manila Children’s Choir in the late nineties. Among my daughter’s circle of friends was Jourdann Petalver and a couple of kids with powerful soprano voices. It was during rehearsal breaks that I got to know more about their life at this exclusive school for gifted kids in the creative field of music, art, writing, dancing and others. I often wonder what have become of them and even of PSHA. If there is one great thing that Imelda Marcos did , it is the promotion of culture and arts and the nurturing of gifted children. I believe parents should be aware of options of their gifted child and the road they travel as they hone their gifts.
My late father was quite active with St. Martin de Porres, a school for special children. As a young child, my dad often told me how much smarter these special kids (in comparison to regular kids like myself) are for maximizing their brain potential. Some of us are just plain lazy to actually maximize our true potential. I found that out myself as I got older and wiser.
