Celdran's protest stunt spawns Internet memes
The debate on the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill rages on in cyberspace in the wake of performance artist Carlos Celdran's recent protest stunt. Celdran's actions have also spawned a variety of internet memes, which are now making their way across the real world as well as in cyberspace. Carlos Celdran, celebrity tour guide and staunch RH Bill advocate, drew widespread attention last September 30 when he staged a protest inside the Manila Cathedral, disrupting the ongoing ecumenical mass that afternoon. Celdran's subsequent arrest drew widespread media attention and spawned the creation of various Facebook Fanpages in support of his actions. The pages showed their support in various ways, ranging from the obvious ("Free Carlos Celdran") to the tongue-in-cheek ("Keep Carlos Celdran In Jail") and even to the absurd ("Just Keep Your Rosaries out of my Ovaries -Señor Carlos Celdran"). These and other pages, such as "Rational Hero" and even Celdran's own personal page, have drawn comments from both sides of the fence all across cyberspace. Interestingly enough, the imagery from Celdran's colorful protest -dressed as he was in a black suit and bowler hat, holding up a sign that said "DAMASO"- has stirred up local pop culture in the real world as well as online. People have been sharing all sorts of materials online, including bumper sticker and t-shirt designs, caricatures, vector art, and motivational poster macros.