Scrolling through my social media feed the other day, a story stopped me cold. Jude Bacalso, the Cebuana media personality known for her travel shows and cultural advocacy, was trending – but not for the usual reasons. It turns out she had publicly humiliated a waiter for accidentally misgendering her. Now, my wife and I are both staunch allies of the LGBTQ+ community. We believe in the fight for respect and equality. But what we saw in the reports of this incident was not advocacy; it was something else entirely. It was a public display of power, a demand for respect that only served to create more division. As someone who has seen the struggles of LGBTQ+ friends and family firsthand, I couldn't help but ask, " What were you thinking, Jude? " For those unfamiliar, Jude Bacalso is a prominent figure in Cebu's media scene. She's hosted her own talk show, promoted Filipino culture on Netflix, and even mentored young travelers. She's someone with influence, wit

So, last night was one of those nights. You know, when you’re tossing and turning, unable to get any sleep. Instead of counting sheep, I revisited an old favorite, ‘ Friends .’  I landed on this episode, “ The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS. ” Classic. In it, Phoebe and Joey dive into this super exciting debate. They’re trying to figure out if there’s such a thing as a selfless good deed. In his classic Joey style, Joey insists that every good act is selfish. Why? Because he argues that doing good things makes you feel good, but it’s not 100% selfless. Honestly, this whole thing got me thinking. Was Joey onto something? Could every act of kindness we do is selfish because it makes us feel good? And if that’s true, like Phoebe, how can we prove him wrong? Let’s unpack this and see if we can find an answer, shall we? Understanding Joey’s Perspective On to Joey. His argument? “There’s  no such thing as a selfless good deed. Whenever you do something nice for someone, you do it because it make