I took one week to finally get over myself and process my thoughts. This entry will be a testament that I have moved on. The full story is as follows:
In light of these occurrences, serious contemplation needs to be done with regards to how malls treat and regard its customers. Maybe, it was just for these malls where guards were not trained well, but what would happen if this were to happen to someone who is not able to defend themselves? Would their pride just be stepped upon? It is disturbing that in such a country like ours who follows the trend in democratic countries, and being an asian country would not be able to maintain politeness.Davao City. Last week, tuesday April 28, was a generally bad day for me. Financial troubles, academics, and family issues all at once seemed to have severely dampened the day. So, I wasn't able to move away from my bed as I contemplated my next set of actions and just generally moping about. It was only when I felt hunger (around 8:00 p.m.) that I decided to invite my roommate along for some food.Low on cash, we decided to make a quick dash to Victoria Mall to withdraw (my bank is PNB so I didn't think to use the RCBC outside). For some reason, I may have forgotten that this particular mall closes at 8:00 p.m. I blame my hunger and all the mudslide of unfortunate event for my absent-mindedness, and also because I am a frequenter at Gaisano mall which closes at 9 pm. We didn't take note of the lack of guards at the entrance, after all the door's not locked, we're just there to make a dash for the ATM and 15 min tops, we're out anyway.What I didn't count on was a shout from behind me as I reached inside."Oy! The mall's closing! Yada yada!" (In Bisaya) It was a female guard, who just wouldn't shut up and was already ranting.Sorry! We didn't know it was closed! The door's not locked! I said, calmly (though I rationalized in my head that other malls are not as strict as this, and even Gaisano mall seem to allow extensions as long as there are still people inside. In this case, there are still people inside so I thought it was still okay to enter, as we are not going to buy anyway, just to withdraw.)We were just about to leave when her rant became full blown. She retorted how we have no respect, continually ranting as she placed steel bars in front of the entrance door (not the exit, though, she didn't block us to be clear). I told her that she doesn't need to shout as we are not children. Can she not handle this calmly? But her voice grew louder saying we have no respect over and over.It was not just a simple act of a guard rebuking a customer, it became like a mother or teacher, verbally scolding and talking down a child, which to me is a conduct not becoming of guards. If she did show respect, we would have left just then and there. A simple "excuse me sir, the mall is already closing. Might I help you?" would have sufficed. Not used to this kind of treatment (most mall personnel I met are extremely courteous except for this lady guard), we joined in her game and it devolved into a shout fest.Eventually she called her superior who was initially accommodating, but she still wouldn't shut up at the back, causing my companion to constantly answer her.In the end, the superior did apologized but I felt it was not enough. To me, it appeared as a "Half-assed apology" with no real meaning. No reprimand was made to the guard and their tone was not apologetic. So out of pride, I just couldn't leave. The female guard at the back's constant whining about how we have no respect didn't help to calm us down. We can't help but retort to her insulting comments. The officer eventually raised his voice at us telling us to stop ("Tama na!" was his exact words) and another personnel at Victoria led us outside, more like forced us to went with him. He was stronger than either of us so despite our resistance, we were led near the road anyway, threatening to call the police.Of course this doesn't faze me, knowing full well that we didn't commit mistake (aside from, maybe disturbing the peace, but what we did was so minor that I was not afraid of legal action). But eventually, the hunger and the lack of energy eventually won out. Mustering the last of my pride, I calmed my companion and went on to do our initial task, withdraw (this time from RCBC instead of PNB) and find something to eat (which would double as a destressor and a way to cool down).Wheew, that was long, but my week was longer as I struggled to cope and move on. What I feared the most is a video of us spreading and becoming the next amalayer trend. So far I see no sign of this happening and so I am eternally grateful to whomever were there that hellish night for not taking a video.
As I held some discussion regarding this, some replied that maybe it was just the heat and I can understand that myself. I also rationalized that maybe the lady guard is just under emotional stress and so I decided not to pursue filing a complaint against her. Regardless, the ordeal did leave an emotional and mental scar to me and my companion. No matter what happened, and no matter what reasons she may have, it doesn't change the fact that she could have avoided it if she were just polite in the beginning. Again, it is concerning because most Filipinos are not willing to defend themselves. Had this happened to some other pinoy, they might have just let the lady guard yell at them and leave.
While I cannot deny that there have been some mistakes on our part, it is the act of defense that matter. We need to change this meek and pushover mindset. We are PROUD Filipinos, not doormats that you can just walk and step upon over and over without consequence. I will be doing some further analysis on this, for academic purposes. Maybe next time, we'll learn how to better defend ourselves, right?
Beware the lady guard.
