La corrupción no le pertenece ni a un partido politico, ni a una ideologia

Its 2.13 am. I have a final in less than 24 hours. I am absolutely unprepared for it. I have mono: it is making my glands swell and my head palpitate. I am sitting in my dorm room alone, half in darkness because the headache also makes my eyes hyper sensitive to too much light. I can't focus. I really just want to sleep. Shit. I need to sleep.

But I can't

Something awful happened in Guatemala. I feel the need to comment it. Yes, finally a man was brave enough to stand out against corruption. Yes finally, FINALLY the public opened their eyes and realized that this is the harsh reality.
But how do we process this eye opening experience? This ridiculously painful realization that Guatemala needs change?
Through hate. Through labels. Through simplistic categorization.
Everyone just yells out to the world on how much we hate Colom, what an asshole he is, how can he be corrupt, how did we elect someone as corrupt as him, why is the world so unfair, so unjust, damn Colom, damn his government, he should burn in hell next to Pinochet and Hitler.

Yes, we knew from day one he was not going to be a good president.

Hell, what pissed me off the most is that the campaigned around the country calling himself a socialist, a man of the people, a man of the public, a man of the needy. He paraded around town with a pseudo leftist label, creating false hope among many of the poor, and unreasonable fear among the rich.

But, do you all young people remember the elections? Who was his main oponent? No one but General Otto Perez Molina. Didn't the title tip you off a little? Just saying, he is a military man... Guatemala had gone through many years of awful right wing military government... It wasn't pretty. He himself is known for having benefited from the civil war...
Yet he was from the right. Didn't you see that when rich city dwellers were more willing to vote for a military tyrant just because he's from the right vs. Colom who was from the "left," that change needed to happen??

So you all voted. And then Colom won. The rural/poor section rejoiced. The rich city succumbed in depression.. Not only did you not even try to understand his so called political agenda.."oh no, my 20 cars will be redistributed? THIS IS THE END OF IT ALL!!!"... but you went and complained about his speech impediment and assumed he wasn't man enough because his wife had a voice in their relationship.

But hold on, I'm not defending him.

First off, the political agenda everyone attached to him was absolutely off. Second of all, he is corrupt. We knew this was going to happen. After all when doesn't it? My point is this. PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO VOTE FOR A RIGHT WING MILITARY TYRANT BECAUSE THEY WERE SCARED OF THE SO CALLED LEFT.
Doesn't that fact scare you? It scared the shit out of me.

So here we are. Once again a proof of corruption has risen to the air. Once again we know that there is corruption in our country. Around time you noticed Guatemala, this has been going on for years. So you call up a revolution? No, too radical... Maybe a strike? Ok ok that's better at least we don't have to work that day... We make some signs: "COLOM SUCKS" ok, that's getting us somewhere right? We incite hatred, we blame his government, we blame the left.

And again, I'm not defending him, I dislike that man as much as any of you, and he is a horrible president.

But why did it have to get this far? This is not the government's fault. This is not a fault of the left. Hell its not even Colom's fault, other than that he is an opportunistic bitch.

The fault is ours. We let this go on for too long. For too many years we were afraid to stand up, to talk against corruption. For too many years we have given cops 20qs to not get a ticket, for too many years we have accepted to vote for someone that will give us financial benefit. FOR TOO MANY YEARS WE HAVE BEEN QUIET AND AFRAID. FOR TOO MANY YEARS WE HAVE LET OUR INDIGENOUS BROTHERS AND SISTERS GET SHAFTED BECAUSE IT BENEFITED US. FOR TOO MANY FUCKING YEARS WE HAVE JUST LAID BACK AND ENJOYED OUR PRIVILEGE.

Colom ran for President because he knew he could pull this off. We are the ones that let corrupt men rule us.

We cause corruption because we allow it. Want to change our country? For God's sake, change yourself first.