Len-Len: PINKaholic

A lady senator, who plays the mistress of the house in a short video, scolds her househelp named Len-Len, off-camera. The name is a thinly veiled allusion, with mockery and malice, to VP Leni. Speaking in Filipino, she calls Len-Len to task for being dumb and inept in making her coffee bitter. 

Not content with that, she uploaded online this message, all caps: 

TIRED LEN-LEN

ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO WORK 18 HOURS A DAY IS EITHER LYING OR STUPID

What brought on this acerbic tirade against VP Leni? 

On TV, VP Leni was asked by an interviewer how many hours does she work. She replied, "18 hours." 

The all caps, white-on-black message of the senator, whose family reeks of money, on Len-Len went viral. 

Those who work 18 hours a day or more are many. Across the board, they have been demeaned, condemned for working hard and for long hours: 

• Farmers who wake up early to either plant or harvest their crops
• Healthcare professionals, front liners who often go into a double or 24-hour shift
• Advertising, movie, and TV production practitioners
• Movie and stage actors, and musicians 
• Journalists, authors, editors, and printers
• OFWs toiling the night away to earn enough for their families back home
• Single parents tackling two jobs
• househelps (stay-in or per day), gardeners, labanderas
• Market vendors, restaurant and supermarket staff
• CEOs, managers, department heads 
• Teachers who spend the night preparing materials and checking papers
• Security and coast guards  
• Mothers  
• Plus many, many more     

In unison, "We are not lying, nor are we stupid." 

This gave birth to a series of memes, where hardworking people (who can never have the lady senator's wealth even if they worked over 18 hours a day all their lives), PINKaholics all, have come forward as Len-Len. 

I am proudly one of them.  

Those of us who toil and work hard for our families, or for the love of our craft—if not recognized for our perseverance—should not be mocked. We might be insignificant like the tiny ants, but the Bible admonishes the high and the mighty, who enjoy an easy and relaxed life, to work like these little crawlers: Len-Len, we are called.  

Proverbs 6:6 reads, "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!"

Photo credits: All images of Len-Len were borrowed from social media.