Among many awards, Maria Ressa is a 2021 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her many decades of defending freedom of expression and democracy. In How to Stand up to a Dictator, Ressa exemplifies the reality that “The Personal Is Political,” a phrase attributed to feminist activist Carol Hanisch, then used in the civil rights movement and student movements of the 1960s. Basically, an individual’s agency and life chances are deeply affected by institutions of power.
What we are witnessing in the United States is the impact of authoritarianism and the de-legitimizing of institutions of power. For me, Ressa’s book was a page-turner. As a journalist and television reporter, her writing is readily accessible. As an outlier (a nerd’s nerd), her detective work, creativity, perseverance, fearlessness, and wit are infectious.
Born in the Philippines to Filipino parents, Ressa was adopted at the age of ten by her white American stepfather, a second generation Italian American. In the United States, her parents were able to achieve the American dream. Ressa successfully transitioned to a new country, a new language and a new culture, as well as a new name. She went from being Angelita Aycardo to becoming Maria Ressa. She benefited from excellent grammar and high schools in Toms River, New Jersey,and graduated cum laude from Princeton University. Ressa honed her journalism skills at CNN, where her reporting included coverage of local and global terrorism.
There are several themes to this book. One is the immigrant-to-America narrative. Another is how the abuse of institutional power affects individual life chances and creates societal disintegration. A third is the evolution of data and information from print and visual modalities to simultaneous multimedia in an increasingly digital world where, as Marshall McLuhan, presciently stated, “The medium is the message.” A fourth is the savvy, courage, and tenacity of the Global South in self-determination despite corruption by public officials and weak institutions. A fifth is the power of the collective, that a people united can never be defeated. The reader will enjoy discerning the first four themes.
The fifth is really the tenacity of the Filipino people over six centuries to fight for self determination. Maria Ressa’s founding of the news outlet Rappler, along with three colleagues, is the most recent manifestation of a collective speaking truth to power and preserving electoral democracy.
Filipinos revolted against Spain for over 300 years and the U.S. colonization in the first half of the 20th century. The United States established American public health and public education systems in their colony to “prepare” them for democracy. When the Philippines gained independence in 1946, their constitution modeled that of the U.S., and English became a major language.They were, in the words of Carey McWilliams, “little brown brother.”
The Filipino people took democracy seriously as exemplified by the 1986 non-violent revolution of People Power against the two decades of corruption and martial law, which ended with the specific election fraud and exile of President/Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. This successful power of the people was broadcasted to the world.
The Filipino people, like many from non-Western cultures, emphasize the group over the individual. Group identity is strong, and relationships are paramount. As Ressa points out, “Rappler called its founders ‘manangs,’ which loosely translated into ‘older sisters.’”
“That is how we behaved toward our team,” she said. “We were a strange mix of personalities and work habits.We that was not something that concerned us much; we always put our commitment to good journalism, truth and justice above politics.”
The other founders of Rappler in 2012 are Chay Hofilena, Beth Frondoso, and Glenda Gloria. Like Ressa, they had deep knowledge and decades of experience as veteran journalists who reported in print and visual media, including stints at CNN Asia and ABS CNN of the Philippines. They readily became fluent in the complexities of the digital world. They understood t hat this brave new world could be used for good and evil. They identified the emerging power of not just technology corporations, namely Facebook, but also influencers and bad actors, especially in the Global South.
Wikipedia states, “The name ‘Rappler’ was created by combining ‘rap’ (to discuss) and ‘ ripple’ (to make waves), symbolizing the website’s goal of sparking conversations and creating impact. The website’s core principles include: reimagining journalism; prioritizing the public interest; celebrating the good; and holding those in power accountable… Rappler’s innovative approach to online journalism—particularly its use of social media—has had a significant impact both in the Philippines and internationally… Rappler has been recognized as an example of “ activist journalism,” moving beyond simply reporting the news to actively engaging with communities and advocating for social change.”
Ressa and the Rappler team and their allies around the world reported the horrific crimes of then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte between 2016 and 2022. These included the thousands of deaths in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, alleged leadership of the vigilante group Davao Death Squad, and allegations of graft and corruption. Ressa was considered an enemy of the state and accused of various crimes. She and her cofounders warned of the instantaneous and sweeping influence of disinformation and misinformation through social media’s ability to cripple institutions and individuals’ ability to distill truth and facts from opinions and lies. Ressa and her colleagues began each work day with the question,“What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?”
In my view, How to Stand up to a Dictator provides a sobering lesson and blueprint for responding to rising fascism in the United States and other democratic nations.
Juanita/Nita is an activist since the 1968 BSU/TWLF San Francisco State Strike; since the 1970 census advocating for more detailed racial and ethnic data in Washington, DC, and now singing with the Seattle Raging Grannies. Her collection resides in the Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Author of Golden Children, Legacy of Ethnic Studies, SF State, Juanita is featured in the documentary, Agents of Change https://www.agentsofchangefilmnational.com/
