Kimmy Go Dong Hae is either an oracle, or has a very reliable bubwit.
When the writer of the movie KimmyDora put business tycoon Manny Pangilinan in the spotlight for the 2009 comedy, many only knew the man as “that guy who bribed Erap to force Alfonso Yuchengco to sell his sizeable shares at PLDT”.
Now this whole brouhaha on his speech at the Ateneo graduation rites being “borrowed” from the speeches of JK Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’ Brien and Barack Obama has definitely spun out of proportion.
You may ask, “Are you kidding me? Plagiarism is a serious offense!”
I’m just saying, haven’t we used some of the famous words of other people without quoting them?
I read somewhere an intelligent alibi on plagiarism. The accused has photographic memory that he, unconsciously, utters the words he read or have heard somewhere – same thoughts which have either inspired him or he thought was great to listen to.
The whole plagiarism issue “could be” forgivable, given MVP’s offer to resign.
I “would have” also admired MVP’s courage for taking the bullet for his speechwriters, as he took full credit for not reading the speeches thoroughly
I used the words “Could be” and “Would have” because recent Google searches show that this “borrowed words incident” was not the first time.
MVP wasn’t a virgin on plagiarism – neither are his speechwriters.
Whoever these writers are, they’ve been giving MVP “borrowed” speeches since 1997.
Proof?
In his Corporate Social Responsibility speech after the Ondoy mishap in 2009, MVP spoke the words: “From the streets of Marikina to the flooded plains of Pangasinan, Filipinos should write the next chapter in their stories. Together, we should ensure that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer, and better prepared, for the tragedies that may come. That’s what CSR is all about. …” . This was taken from Barack Obama’s 2008 Political Sortie which had these words: “From the streets of New Orleans to the Mississippi Coast, folks are beginning the next chapter in their American stories. And together, we can ensure that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer and more prepared for the challenges that may come.”
In the same speech, MVP spoke: “These trials also remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation – that the despair of one touches us all. …” These words are similar to the one given by former US President George W. Bush: “These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we know, … And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation, and that the despair of any touches us all. …”
I personally think that was an all-time-low. Quoting Conan O’Brien was funny, but George W. Bush? Come on!
In his 1997 address to Xavier University, MVP asked the students to do him “Just one favour. Exercise your right to dream. Sure, you must face reality — that which is. But dream of a reality that ought to be — that must be.” If this sounded familiar, it’s because this is similar to Jesse Jackson’s 1984 speech in the Democratic National Convention which went “I just want young America to do me one favor, just one favor. Exercise the right to dream. You must face reality — that which is. But then dream of a reality that ought to be — that must be. Live beyond the pain of reality with the dream of a bright tomorrow.”
In that same speech he said that he “always believed in the strenuous life, in the life of labor and effort. The highest form of success comes not to the man who desires easy peace or inherits instant wealth, but to the man who does not shrink from risks, from hardship, or from bitter toil.” In Theodore Roosevelt’s speech before the Hamilton Club in Chicago in 1899 (The Strenuous Life), he uttered the very same words: “I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.”
MVP’s speeches containing “borrowed” words here…..
and here ….
and here .
MVP seriously needs to fire his speechwriters. Or make them write “I will quote my sources responsibly” 100 times in a chalkboard. Or better, he should start writing his own speeches – a man of his caliber should be able to do so in a jiffy. Because if he won’t, Kimmy’s buying him out, the way he bought Yuchengco out.
What goes around comes around.
*****
Update: Karma’s a bitch. After my continuing attempt at notoriety (thank you ABSCBN News – click the link please), my tire got nailed, and I really have to pee.
One Comment
yes