Newtown incident: Blame it on guns or hatred?

First of all, allow me to salute fellow countryman Nonito Donaire who stopped Mexican Jorge Arce, first on the second round and completely knocking him out on exactly 2:59 minutes on the 3rd round. This just sounds eerily similar to the dramatic knockout of the Great Pacman by Juan Miguel Marquez a week before. I also got a lot of texts indicating to that Donaire made the sign of the cross before the boxing match started. For sure, Donaire still has a bright future ahead of him in the sport of boxing. As for the Pacman, I’m sure he still wants to prove to the world that he is still the great boxing champion that we’ve always seen in him.

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The headlines of all local and national newspapers and of course the Satellite TV networks like CNN, Fox News, Al Jazeera or BBC news last Sunday was about another shocking mass killing in a small town called Newtown, Connecticut in the United States. This mass shooting by a lone gunman ended the lives of 26 people, 20 of them school children. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, first killed his own mother in their home, then he got her licensed handguns and went to Sandy Hook Elementary School and started shooting at the children and their teachers. Then he was reported to have killed himself.

This is the second incident that has shocked America in the Year 2012. Last July 20, 2012, James Holmes, a deranged man fired his assault rifle in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado killing 12 people and wounding 12 more. Come now, do such mass killings still shock Americans after so many such mass killings? There is no doubt that only an insane person would do such a dastardly act and authorities are still finding out the gunman’s motive... why he killed his own mother and why kill all those kids?

Once more incidents like this bring Americans back to the debating table about gun control. But then since the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy, gun control advocates always use such incidents to promote their cause. But should we blame the mass killings on guns? Or should we blame the hatred inside many people that drive them to kill others? I believe that gun advocates are barking at the wrong tree; it is hatred that kills, not guns.

Last Saturday a day before the Newtown mass killing, the Philippine STAR came up with an inside page report from the Chinese news agency  that a knife-wielding man also attacked an elementary school in Central China, where he slashed 22 school children. This report by the Chinese State media, which is usually secretive about such incidents, was so short; it did not even mention if any of the children died in this attack. Alas, this incident was not reported in the mainstream media at all. Why because the assailant used a knife... not an assault weapon?

THE BLACKBOX:

Last Saturday evening, even during a strong rain and unusually heavy traffic, I motored to be for the grand re-launching of Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island, Cebu, which is the flagship hotel of the Movenpick Hotels & Resorts in the Philippines. I’d like to emphasize that this was a grand re-launching because when Movenpick took over from the Hilton Hotels, they merely changed then removed the ugly pink color, while the rest was still very much the Hilton.

But as Manny Osmeña and his new general manager Knuth Kiefer proudly pointed out... that this was a total remake... and allow me to add, it was a remarkable remake that cost P500 million... hmmm, that figure could already get you a brand new resort. But their commitment to pour that much money into this project passed with flying colors because one can immediately notice the big change in the interior... and yes including the swimming pool and beach area, which could pass as a Club Med resort.

As GM Kiefer pointed out, “We are completely moving away from the conventional and offering guests a truly new and unique experience. Being the only hotel in the Philippines that offers an Ibiza style Beach Club.” Honestly speaking, when the rains struck Cebu City, I didn’t want to go anymore, but then I remembered that I promised to meet up Sir Miguel and Mrs. Milette Belmonte there. However, later I learned that they had to go back to Manila early. But then I’m still glad that I went, as we were able to meet a lot of friends there, like Gov. Gwen Garcia, Ma’am Ching Montinola and daughter Bernice Aboitiz, Jiji & Eva Gullas, Glenn & Honey Loop, and of course Atty. Jong & Sheila Sepulveda and Manny O.

One thing that one will immediately notice is the Rosewood decking from the lobby all the way to the beachfront, which used to be Manny “O’s”. In the daytime, the white walls make the hotel look more like a cruise ship, but at night, it has a bluish glow. As their brochure declares, “Cebu, Hip + Happening,” Indeed Movenpick Hotel is expected to be a truly fun place to be in Cebu.

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