no, krip, this isn’t fun

it is hardly of any consequence that the usual lynch mob that marauds through social media is having such a fun time indulging in vituperation.

no one’s “having such a fun time“.   rather, it’s a sad sad sad state of affairs.

here’s a piece i solicited from a suki in my comment section, whose perspective on plagiarism i share.

FAILED INSTITUTIONS

It appears hubris has made another man mad.  Stuart Santiago is absolutely correct lumping the pang-masa Willie and the ur-conyo Krip Yuson in one post.  I am a writer myself and I pity the man for losing his grasp of reality.  Since I don’t really have one, I seldom use my name even as I flood the Interwebs with my thoughts, some of them pretty jarring if you’re one of those pedigreed types that compete yearly for best at Madison Square Garden.  Yuson, who has a name, is on the verge of losing it.  The first stage of grief is universal and we sympathize, but not to the point of selling out our future.

Perhaps it is only fitting that it was a real man who outed him. Yuson has this smell of alpha dog about him.  His first apologetic letter had the manly signature of admitting one’s mistake without really admitting it.

But let me give you my simple thoughts on the issue, based on fact and common sense.

Yuson edited the Joble piece for GMA News Online.  FACT.

Yuson wrote the Rogue magazine piece under his byline.  FACT.

Fact:  Jaemark called him out on April 6, calling his action plagiarism.

Fact:  Yuson replied, admitting he had “joined the list of perpetrators of plagiarism,” apologizing to “readers, as well as the entities involved” and predicting he “will beat my breast for a good long time, make that a long awful time.

Now on his 2nd writeup on the matter, we have a man less contrite than he was a week prior… FUCK! Instead of being raked over coals, he says he “might just break wind” over the entire thing. Fuck!

It also appears he has taken back his former admission of committing plagiarism, calling it “alleged plagiarism,” as it seems that an “editor can lay claim to part ownership of written work, as has been argued about in the past.” FUCK!  And another FUCK:

“… in all truth, the quotation marks and initial attribution to Rey Joble and GMANews Online were dropped, intentionally by me as the marks made the chunk look so clunky. I thought I’d work the credits back in somehow, once I was about to finalize the submission for Rogue. That didn’t happen, and that’s my grievous fault.”

Now for some common sense questions:

DO you dear readers accept this excuse for leaving out proper attribution: quotation marks look so clunky?

DO you my fellow gullible indios believe for one second that a writer who had the good intention of properly attributing said passages would forget to inform his editor on his sprightly omission of quotation marks?

Please take your time. Then here are more questions:

DEAR members of the academe, do you for one second believe that an editor has a write to recycle a “chunk” of another man’s writing into his own piece without quotation marks or other but equally obvious marks that indicate the “chunk” isn’t from the byline?

DEAR Atenistas, do you for a single minute believe that Yuson, being editor, is automatically part-writer?  OK, never mind that.  Let’s say you believe he is part-writer of the Joble piece, placing a comma in the original Joble:

“He was regarded as the man responsible for the revival of the popularity of the Philippine Basketball Association.  It was under his watch when the pro league agreed to send the first-ever all-pro national men’s basketball team to the Asian Games and when the Asia’s pioneering pro league institutionalized the annual PBA All-Star Game.”

DO you all honestly think it is all right for him to recycle said piece?  Have you ever heard of the word “self-plagiarism”?  How about double-dippingDove-tailing?

DEAR Rogue Editor.  Do you allow double-dipping?  Ok, let’s say you do since this is R.P.  Do you allow cross publication of a piece without crediting the first publisher?

DEAR Krip Yuson.  If indeed you intended to credit Joble for the passages, then why did you have to EDIT the piece – “The further ‘rewrites’ you cited were no attempt to paper or layer over the piece that appeared in GMAnews online, but simply efforts by me to make it read even better, or so I thought at the time.” Didn’t you already edit it on its first publication on GMA Online?  Did it sound too much like Joble?

Statement

I believe Yuson’s first crime is punishable by suspension from the institutions he is associated with.  His second and third crimes, the grave crimes of palusot, is punishable by expulsion.  Why are these latter crimes more serious?  Let me ask the faculty of Ateneo that.  Why is Yuson’s palusot a serious crime in academe?  To Philippine Star … what am I saying?   To GMA News Online … Are you seriously supporting Mr. Yuson?  Do you seriously think silence is a virtue, under any circumstances, in journalism?  To Krip’s friends…  I know you are no better than this guy, but do you honestly think he can get away with it?

To Stuart Santiago.  I hope your suggestion I write a post about it for your blog pays off.  We get satisfaction from explaining the obvious.  Such is life in this country.

BRIAN

Comments

  1. And as I’ve already disclosed to both Howie Severino, EIC of GMAnews Online, and Mari Ugarte, EIC of Rogue, in all truth, the quotation marks and initial attribution to Rey Joble and GMANews Online were dropped, intentionally by me as the marks made the chunk look so clunky. I thought I’d work the credits back in somehow, once I was about to finalize the submission for Rogue. That didn’t happen, and that’s my grievous fault.
    – Krip Yuson

    In his last sentence in the same article, he said he knew his wrong may be INADVERTENT but his explanation above clearly stated that there was intentional removal of the quotes on account of “clunkiness.”

    Was inadvertence present because he failed to somehow put back the attributions somewhere? Well, putting back the credits was in his thought anyway.

    What Yuson is probably saying is that, “It’s the thought that counts. I’m only HALF-GUILTY. So, please forgive me already.”

    It’s pretty apparent that Yuson is squirming. He did it…but he didn’t.

    Wow. Oh…to borrow his words…how his chunks of apology/explanation look so clunky!

  2. manuelbuencamino

    I guess those who read him will now be wondering if what they are reading is original or plagiarized. What a creepy experience that would be. I’m glad I don’t read him.

  3. Brian on Failed Institution-it’s strike 3 now on break-away by alumni of highly regarded institutions from Code of Ethical Standard, first, APF’s pabaon on Retiring PMA Generals AND Euro Generals, second alleged SC justices plagiarized decisions, now, a leading journalist from reputable school making the biggest joke in broadcast journalism. Quo vadis, Philippines’intellectual and moral heritage? Do i hear “damaged culture”?

  4. Joji, and it is pretty big, probably the stupidest case of plagiarism you’ll ever see anywhere. And they’re trying to resolve the issue through silence!

    I believe it is humiliating for other people to skewer a supposed great in Philippine letters (I am unimpressed myself by his OT prose and misused BIG words), but how can one possibly justify what he did? The intent was clear and even sinister. Parang wala syang paki-alam kay Joble, na junior lang daw. Reread his last apology again.

  5. Nonilon V. Queano

    Plagiarism is the worst crime one can commit anywhere. In Dante’s “Inferno,” he is equivalent to the theft with no form or person of his own, sent to nether hell (circle 8, malebowge 7), stung by serpents and who continually disintegrates and exchanges form with his fellow thieves each time he gets re-bonded. He has nothing of himself. Let Kryp Yuson pay and don’t let him get away with it. Who knows if he wasn’t doing it the whole time? It would be interesting to find out how he aped James Joyce or somebody in that mold perhaps in his Energy Jungle Cafe. Parusahan ang mga salaula’t magnanakaw!

  6. a heads-up from gabby then a heads-up from jaemark:

    Yuson contract not renewed
    04/21/2011, 06:06 PM

    GMA Network management has decided not to renew Mr. Alfred “Krip” Yuson’s contract as Editor-at-Large for GMA News Online. The decision came after a thorough investigation into an allegation of plagiarism against Mr. Yuson. The investigation was carried out by an ethics committee composed of ranking officers of the Network. The decision not to renew the services of Mr. Yuson is consistent with the policy of GMA that personnel do not plagiarize or copy other people’s work. Mr. Yuson’s contract expired in mid April.

    http://www.gmanews.tv/story/218427//yuson-contract-not-renewed

  7. Ateneo will have to follow suit since GMA has come out officially on the act of plagiarism.

    Yuson is a good poet. If he stuck to his guns instead of trying to charm “society” he would’ve ended up in a better place. A lesson to all young writers.

  8. Hey Katrina (thought your first name was Stuart, sorry), I heard about those rehashed press releases. I kind of expected something like that. But nothing on his literary works? Too busy?

    Still trying to get a copy of Jungle cafe