johnd’s post in this thread in the forum.
In all this hoopla, i forgot to check my yahoo e-mail. well lo and behold, Mr
sebastian got wind of our outrage and wrote me a letter……here it is:May 15, 2006
Hi!
This is Jesus Erle.
Sorry to have gotten your blood pressure going. I guess I got too carried away writing about detestable motorcycle riders and by that I mean the irresponsible ones. Male menopause I guess. The column was really meant to get the responsible riders out there to speak up and be counted as one. Now after that has gotten your attention, hope you’re riled up enough to start getting on your brothers who are not responsible riders like you.I have been writing a column for over a decade, and I’ve found out that oftentimes satire gets people to think seriously about things that we often take for granted. Like road safety.
Now I guess I am on the firing line. I just hope that when you people meet up and talk about that know-nothing, calumnist, idiot, hack on the back page of Top Gear, talk about what you can do to shut up people who think all two-wheeled motorists out there are dangerous. And I don’t mean hunt them down. But show them that there are more responsible riders out there than not. And not just writing letters to the editor.
Hey, I am an equal opportunity satirist, and also make fun of all motorists on two-wheeled or more vehicles, commuters, pedestrians, traffic aides, police, mayors, presidents, etc.
I just hope I’ve been effective at getting people to think about the craziness on the road and a lot of other things in this country we love to hate, and get them mad enough to do something about it.
Always it seems people want someone to write something constructive, suggest solutions, recommend something practical instead of just criticizing others.
Well, I am all for that too.But like in the movie “Network.” I also want people to get all angry and say, “I am mad as hell and I won’t take it anymore.”
Again I am sorry for messing up with your blood pressure. I may have been too effective at getting people riled up that they vent their ire on me instead of what’s happening on the road.
Really enjoyed reading your letter. Maybe I am a masochist as well as satirist and everything else you called me.
Keep safe! Peace!
Mr. Sebastian,
Do you honestly believe you are the only one who’s brought this to our attention. All these issues of road safety you so eloquently brought forth in your article have been and are still being discussed in forums you may not be familiar with. MotorcyclePhilippines.Com, MCAsia.Com, Motorsiklo.Com, the cubclub forum, euroscoot forum, the MIB forum, and all other club forum out there, despite of differences, discuss these matters and take these thing rather seriously. These are just the online discussions. Then you have the Motorcycle Philippines Foundation, the Motorcycle Advocates of the Philippines, the National Racing Association, the Motorcycle Riders Course, NAMSSA(?) and the other organizations that are dedicated to making life on the road as safe as possible for everyone. We have been fighting this battle long and hard. Yes we want something constructive, specially from people who probably don’t realize the skills that are needed to survive on the road day in and day out. Yes we want something positive, for a change, since most of the news that comes out which involves a motorcycle usually involves someone either getting killed or robbed.
If Mr. Sebastian has been writing for more than a decade, then he should know better. Complete BS response from Mr. Sebastian.
Good day everyone. Let’s us all keep this issue in perspective.
Although I respect everyone’s opinions to the fullest, let me say that I have known Mr. Sebastian for the longest time. I was with him in his first foray into the motoring world–Automotion, where I wrote and edited the Motorcycle Section and had a column called Minus Two near the closing years of the pioneering magazine.
I may not have agreed with some of the points Erle raised but I did find it one good read. The many years of unvented frustration and the bottles of beer and brandy in between probably helped developing Erle’s love for satire (and his consequent “neurosis…” that was a joke, please.)
The title of his column “Loco-In-Motion” says it all. His style is to poke fun, (translated: satirize) situations to give it a stab-in-the-heart. Something only the most committed journalist can do.
I remember some years ago, when this website was just starting, someone from MCP called me a “fool” for “reporting about the ban of motorcycles 400 cc and below in SLEX.” I was writing for BusinessWorld then. Some time later, reporting for the Inquirer about “the ban on motorcycles below 400 cc in SLEX will continue…” and “there was no consensus on the part of the motorcycle groups represented…” I was called an “idiot” or something similar.
But what did I do wrong? I merely REPORTED on the issues and then I get slammed for it? Talk about fairness. When Aida Sevilla Mendoza made public her opinion about motorcycles “weaving in and out of traffic,” she was instantly branded as the enemy.
The point I am trying to drive at here is this: Why can we not read between the lines of Mr. Sebastian’s article?
No offense meant to anyone, but I personally do not think his response is complete BS. And Erle never said that he was the only one to bring “the safety issue” to our attention.
Don’t we get it? He is on OUR SIDE…even if it may not appear to be so. Such is the charades of literary satire and the subliminal messages of his prose. It may be rousing, but I must say it is one damn good piece of reading…even if it hits us bikers with a 1-2 punch in the nose and an searing stab in the heart. Being a dyed-in-the-wool biker I understand how this feels.
I am at the defense of Mr. Sebastian because I know the man, and I know his mettle. It is his precisely his decades of writing and his involvement in motoring that gives him this knack to write the way he does.
Erle is not a fighting man but he is very passionate about what he does. When I first read his article in Top Gear I knew he would get the flak especially from this site. I followed the thread with great interest but my busy schedule only allowed me to state my case now.
All I can say to Erle is MOTORCYCLES RULE! And we should all join forces to keep the roads safe not only for bikers but for everyone who shares them.
Raymond B. Tribdino
formerly a motoring journalist, STILL VERY MUCH A biker, father, and weekend mechanic. Now working for a car company.
To the EIC and Jesus Erle…
Why don’t you do the motorcycle community a favor and just stop printing anything related to motorcycles. Obviously, your continued support for Mr. Jesus Erle’s pathetic article May 2006 “Those Menaces on Two Wheels” and his subsequent arrogant reply (as quoted in one of the motorcycle forums by a member) has done the harm it was looking for.
Better yet, delete your section for motorcycles in your TG forum. You guys don’t deserve to speak about, nor write obout topics on motorcycling and the people who ride two-wheeled vehicles.
Well, your magazine certainly got the attention it was craving for from the motorcycling community. Unfortunately, that attention is going the wrong way. Kudos on a job well done. Your satirical article just back-fired.
Male menopause?…What a lame excuse!
male menopause your ass Mr Sebastian!
hah ano, road safety? responsible? Ikaw? hah! i have a car and a bike i love them both. but one time stormy bad day i was hit and run by a car while riding my offroad bike, ikaw kaya yun? ah ewan ko pasalamat ka may mga hero na riders na nagtitiis sa bad Xtreme heat, storm, Pollutions. just imagine if all riders use four 4 wheel vehicles Super Trapekpek di ba?! wag mong tirahin mga riders, no. 1 violator mga four wheels nakakasikip sila ng kalye, kabig pa ng kabig, mga pa-cute wala naman balls! yes, some riders are stupid, its because of crisis and having a bad day, we are only humans, kahit ikaw mr. sebastian dumadating din mga oras ng kahihiyan mo! pero mga riders, they are extra ordinary men! byahe byahe byahe!!!
No one in his right mind would accept such a lame excuse from Mr. Sebastian. He’s adding Insult to Injury…if he’s got some decency left in him, he better resign from Topgear and join the tabloids…
Asuuus!Pinagtatanggol ni Tribdino… Magsama kayo mga P)*^n@i#@ nyo!!!!
tama magsama na daw kau!!!! hahahaha!!! hahanap na ba ako ng pari?! para magsama na sila hahaha!! joke! joke! joke!
“Don’t we get it? He is on OUR SIDE…even if it may not appear to be so”
nang uto ka pa…Pareho nga kayu…
Well I did read the column and what pissed me(including other bikers) is that Erle generalized the biker community. I did not see any specifics marginalizing the iresponsible riders in the article but what i read was that he generalized all riders. This thing wouldnt have become this big if Erle and his EIC apologized sincerely and humbly. What we get is an apology yet arrogant reply telling the riders that they are right and we are wrong. This should serve as an eye opener to you journalist to be carefull with what you say. Be choosy with the words you use and always backup your materials with facts. We dont need journalists who stirs up and induces anger and hatred to our fellowmen because these type of writings has caused our country great damage. These materials tend to divide our nation and thus instead of helping… is creating more problem to our country.
I suggest we all buckle down and wait for what Top Gear is going to do next.
If an apology is necessary for what is perceived to be sweeping “generalizations” then let us ask for it repeatedly. I am quite sure an apology, if not an explanation will see print in the next issue.
Although the “wake-up call” by the fictional Jesus Alisdyan lampoons in a similar way sa the original satire it was plagerized from. And it too contains a “generalization” of sorts.
Yes it is a searing wake-up call for Top Gear, but did it not work the same in the original piece? A wake up call for riders? The thread sort of feels retaliatory.
Retaliation by writing that piece is not the answer.
Neither is calling people “P)*^n@i#@ ” in a thread or giving out Mr. Sebastian’s home address. What is the intention? To ride over there and lob a molotov cocktail or spray paint his gate in glowing green the words “idiot non-riding journalist?”
Opinions must be respected, and these posts are opinions. BUT motives must be made clear.
My question to all of this is:
Did Erle do THAT much damage to the motorcycling community by his article?
Did his “generalizations” really mean to say that we are ALL guilty of these insensitivities and discourtesy SOME riders have–against other motorists–INCLUDING other motorcyclists.
Did he not strike a chord–a truly sensitive one–to all of us of have in one secret instance or the other beat the red light, did a one-way street the opposite way, rode without a helmet, snuck past a traffic cop, zoomed carelessly in traffic, or even threw a swear word or two against a driver who didn’t know how to use his side mirrors? Who shall cast the first stone?
Will the world end for all of us tomorrow? Will the government suddenly impose a ban on all motorcycles after reading Erle’s column? Will gasoline stations stop serving us because we are bikers. Will the motorcycle factories down south close down? Will our favorite Caloocan Sales, Exceed and CyclePlus go out of business? All after Erle’s column?
I think not.
Let’s not give Erle too much credit.
I am sure a lot of us here see my point. We didn’t like the “attack” that Mr. Sebastian did because in its literal context, it wasn’t fair.
Neon (No. 18 post in the next thread “Menace on Paper) sums this whole treatise I wrote in a 8 words: “it is not war. i call it fair.”
And fair it is for until we receive an official answer from Top Gear as to what kind of apology or statement we want to hear, there is no reason to fan the fire.
For if we want to crucify this “menace on paper” because of this, then so be it. But I implore everyone, let’s at least give “Mr. Loco” a chance to respond.
And let’s not make it a “damn if you do, damn if you don’t” situation, which I expect will happen. What kind of apology will the members of this site want from Mr. Sebastian is the kind that he should make, if only for all of us to move on.
Again I ask everyone to chill and let’s wait for TG’s next move.
Good day to all. Happy riding and keep safe!
I guess Mr. Sebastian’s satire worked. Really!!! That is, raise people’s blood pressure. What positive result has come out of it so far? Nada.
Sad.
What’s one effective anti-dote for this kind of disease that infects and raise people’s blood? Ignore aka Disregard.
To avoid contracting the disease? Avoid TG.
End result? TG decontamination.
Neither is calling people “P)*^n@i#@ †in a thread or giving out Mr. Sebastian’s home address. What is the intention? To ride over there and lob a molotov cocktail or spray paint his gate in glowing green the words “idiot non-riding journalist?â€
YEEEEES!
“I ashamed to admit it but I sometimes feel a twinge of enjoyment reading about bike riders getting creamed in accidents-not killed, mind you, just injured, preferably with a broken bone or two so they will be off the streets an not be a danger to others for a couple of months.”
Dami students sa ADAMSON Manila benta ng pillbox. Gusto nya manakit ha… Unahan ko na sya!
teka…….
wala ko masabi….
tama kayo lahat.
hehehe….
This is a email reply from Vernon Sarne:
Dear Sir:
I would like to personally apologize for whatever anguish Mr Sebastian’s column has caused you. I will devote my editor’s note in our July 2006 issue to this matter. In the meantime, I would like to reiterate what I’ve already told some of your fellow bikers:
Erle’s kind of writing is really satirical. It’s not designed to be as serious as Time magazine. Of course, we can argue all day about whether he is effectively funny or whether his points are valid. At the end of the day, however, it is one motoring journalist’s opinion. We may not agree with him but that’s his opinion. Same way that you have yours, which, by the way, I promise to publish.
Truth to tell, I’m not a big fan of bikes either. And I can’t blame many people for detesting them because many bike riders really pose a serious threat on the road. I should know—I’ve lost count of the number of times I almost hit a scooter all because the rider had no concept of mortality. Yes, of course, there are also many responsible, knowledgeable bikers out there—and I believe you’re one of them—but the column doesn’t speak to your group. It does to the irresponsible ones.
If it’s of any significance, I would like to assure you that Erle is a good person. He is by far the most honest, most kind journalist I have ever met in all my professional life—and I’ve met the best of them.
We at Top Gear do not look down on bikers. In fact, we even have our own Motorbikes Editor in Les Croyston. But we do not have to all agree on everything, do we? Because then, we’d all be brainless columnists and writers.
Sir, the nice thing about that column is that attention is now being drawn toward irresponsible bike-riding. You may not like how it was written, but at least, many people are now talking about it. Isn’t that the purpose of journalism–to make people think and question?
Again, my personal apologies if the column turned you off. It wasn’t the desired effect. Thank you for reading and God bless.
Sincerely,
Vernon B. Sarne
=============================
and another one after I replied to his email reply above:
You are most welcome Sir. I just hope that you can extend our apologies also to your fellow bikers. I still maintain that the piece was a satire, but then, it was probably way too much for many bikers’ sensibilities. We’re really sorry about it. If it means anything, I’d like to point out that the name of Mr Sebastian’s column says it all: LOCO-IN-MOTION. His pieces are really just meant to say the truth in an amusing, oftentimes very exaggerated manner. To be honest Sir, he doesn’t really hate bikers, because two of his closest friends are hardcore bikers. Then again, the article rubbed you the wrong way. Again, please bear with us. God bless you.
Vernon
By the way he is the editor-in-chief of TOP GEAR magazine…
july 20 daw na editorial idedevote nya dun sa topic mga bro.gusto nyang sbihin,abangan natin,bili tayo ng magasin nilang B>S>. hindi na po!!! hindi ako bibili nyan. abangan na lang natin dto. baka makacontribute pa ako sa sweldo ng m@t$%rF3ck3r na yan. mga bro, wag kayong bibili ng TG mag.
FUCK TO BOTH OF YOU…EDITOR AT WRITER NAYAN..
KUNG GUSTO NYO PUNTA KAYO RITO NG LEYTE..
TSUTSUPAIN KO KAYO…..
satirical also means mocking and mocking is a sign of disrespect….
kita nyo naman mga bro..inuuli ulit pa ang satirica na word na yan…galing nyo dalawang panget kayo……
He writes satirically, then makes apology, He should belong in circus animals. I would rather read factual motorcycling than stupidity write-ups. Mr. sebastian, have you gone to the coldest ride ever in Mountain Province? try it, and write it!
i forgive you mr. sebastian.shit happens and you did shit.life goes on fellow benchwarmers.Let us forgive basting for his slip.one more and that will be another story though.when gas prices hit 60 pesos to the lietr,mag ba bike din yan and he will eat what he wrote about us and our beloved horses.ciao!
the trouble with our pen pushers is that they write about things in the comforts of their room without actually having a feel of the REAL LIFE.you guys at top gear have too much press freedom.hinay hinay naman.
Mr. Sebastian, magpasalamat ka na ang MCP ay hindi “Machinegun Club of the Philippines…”
mr. sebastian.
how does it feel maligo sa mura? kahit nakatalikod ka, mag-drive ka or mag-commute…. everytime may makita kang naka-motor, makita lang yung mataba mong burog na muka, alam mo minumura ka…. hanggang paglayo mo,.. minumura ka parin… satirical….. bobo… satirical is mocking and disrespectful… sardonic, cynical and sacastic…
hindi ganun kadali mag sorry… lalo na kung sacastic pa sagot mo..
[quote] rayme_525 | May 20th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
“I ashamed to admit it but I sometimes feel a twinge of …..off the streets an not be a danger to others for a couple of months.â€
Dami students sa ADAMSON Manila benta ng pillbox. Gusto nya manakit ha… Unahan ko na sya!
[/quote]
ano ito bumaligtad o ano? pakilinaw nga :d
Dami palang neanderthal dito sa ‘Pinas, nakakatakot…
guys, guys… arent we supposed to be used to these kinds of bad comments against biker’s already?? i mean cmon! the biker vs. cager is a worldwide issue. dont waste ur blood pressure on this guy. save it for the weekend ride adrenaline rush! hehe! ride safe ya’ll. chill…