Saturday, September 25, 2004

Christopher Misajon; A Eulogy

The UP Cebu Masscomm Faculty was a boyband, the joke went. Maggie was the gay one; Marx the talented one. And Misajon? The pretty one. He WAS pretty. And he knew it. He had a reputation for being insufferably arrogant. I was sooo afraid, because of the stories i heard from my classmates. Then when i finally got into his class, I was shocked. Because he treated me like an equal, i guess i strived to be a teacher's pet. He had three favorite people in my block: Floyd, Idal and Me. And i guess i never really appreciated it properly. But it was the highlight of my masscomm education, together with iturralde's marxisms.
He was also pretty crazy, like when he'd launch into an outrageous story about his days as a newscaster, always ending with, "And that's why I got kicked out of ABSCBN." To this day I don't know the real reason why he got kicked out. And he'd make plans about how he and marx were going to put the UPCC masscomm program on the map. He was a dreamer, and a vain one, too. He grew his moustache to hide the scars left by an accident.
He was pretty funny too. He had a really strange laugh. It was a cross between a wheeze and a snicker and a grunt and a wail. He'd grin reaaallly widely, then he'd go, "Whee-hee-hee-*snort*-hee." Then he'd do impressions of our classmates and other teachers. It was hilarious. And he would text us when he didn't feel like holding class.
But Chris was also pretty fearless. I guess he felt the immortality of youth. He drove around on his motorbike like he was in the x-games. But he was never afraid of his profession. He was idealistic about what he taught us. "Never be afraid of telling the truth." He assured me once. "You're a journalist. You of all people should know how far and wide broadcasting reaches, and so what if you get hurt afterwards? You got the message across." Then his eyes would crinkle, then he'd say," Of course, if you slandered someone, it would be the same thing." He was bigger than life. I still can't imagine him gone.
He just added me to his friendster account the day before he died. And i never got to write him a testimonial. But this is it, I suppose. And he was 29. TWENTY-FUCKING-NINE.
I was going over the news reports. Four men stopped his car and one of them held a gun up to his head. And HE PUSHED THE BARREL OF THE GUN AWAY FROM HIS HEAD. That is a trademark Misajon trait, I guess. nd he got a stomachful of shotgun pellets for his trouble. I guess if he had a choice, he would have approved of the spectacular manner of his death, splashed across the major newspapers and half the net. The last two days were not easy for him or his wife, or their two year old baby. I only hope that they get justice, and soon.
May God have mercy on his soul, and may he rest in peace.

"...I'm innocent... i've been using this line for years and it still is true (the internet is such a wonderful thing allowing us to say the truth and all...)" - Chris Misajon (1975-2004)

No comments: