Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (local pronunciation: [pɐkˈjaʊ]; is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed Pac-Man,not to be confused with the other , though he did deny that his nickname was derived from the Namco mascot, but rather as a contraction of his surname and first name he rose from poverty to become the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing, has won twelve major world titles, is the only boxer to win world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s), and has taken on a Barbie-level laundry list of side careers from acting to being a basketball coach among other things. Pacquiao entered politics well into his boxing career in 2010, when he was elected as the representative of the Province of Sarangani and was later elected as a senator in 2016, juggling between his duties as a politician and as a boxer (though given his numerous absences from the Philippine legislature, he leaned more towards the latter). Pacquiao retired from boxing in 2022 in a bid to further pursue his political ambitions, and unsuccessfully ran as presidential candidate in the 
Much as how Scientology took Tom Cruise's life for the worse, Pacquiao's life is a tragic tale of how an otherwise skilled and talented boxer has gone completely batshit insane through being swayed into religious fanaticism and zealotry, as well as fiendish crooks within the Philippine sociopolitical elite puppeteering him into less-than-noble pursuits such as politics.
==Descent to fundieness==
Originally raised as Roman Catholic (his equally eccentric, nouveau riche mother Dionesia Pacquiao being a devout parishioner for one), Pacquiao converted to Evangelical Protestantism in the early 2010s, claiming that he had a vision where he saw a pair of angels and heard the voice of God, leading him to engage in Bible studies and wean off of his vices. While it did convince him to turn over a new leaf and to exhibit a more humble public image compared to his fellow prizefighter contemporaries like (who was reviled even by his African-American compatriots notably after his bout with PacquiaoMayweather beats Pacquiao but will never have victory he wants the most especially in light of Mayweather's domestic violence controversiesFloyd Mayweather has a disturbing history of domestic violence), Pacquiao's turn to born-again Christianity nevertheless raised eyebrows especially in light of his outspokenness and zeal towards his newfound ideology, particularly the conflict between Christian aversion to violence and the gladiatorial nature of combat sports,Watson, N. J., & Bolt, B. (2015). Mixed martial arts and Christianity:'where feet, fist and faith collide'. The conversation. as well as his sociopolitical views. Some have slyly joked that the numerous blows to his head during his boxing career may have either accounted for the delusion vision or otherwise driven him into making bombastic statements regarding his religious views.
===A Pharisee in the Senate===
Pacquiao's biblical zealotry even in his political career garnered scrutiny from some commentators and groups. In an opinion piece for Sun Star, columnist Rhoderick Abellanosa argued that Pacquiao went beyond his job description over his use of scripture as his rationale for proposing the reinstatement of the death penalty, all because he believes the Bible told him so. Never mind the fact that while Filipino religious leaders can and do have a significant sway on national politics, the country is still established under secular principles and thus religious and morality-based arguments "belongs to the pulpit and not in the legislative chamber."Abellanosa: A critique of biblical Pacquiao
===Homosexuals are "worse than animals"===
Pacquiao generated furor in 2016 when he made a statement in Tagalog about his views on same-sex marriage, opining that those who have engaged in it are "worse than animals". Unsurprisingly, this did not sit well with the LGBTQ+ community, especially in his native Philippines, where prominent local LGBTQ+ celebrities — namely and – took umbrage and condemned his statements,Vice Ganda tells Manny Pacquiao: Make sure we won't see you in hell with Vice Ganda pointing out the boxer's hypocrisy by way of his previous extramarital affairs,Vice Ganda throws jabs at 'false prophet' Pacquiao. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved on 25 June 2022. as well as with Filipino-American former professional wrestler lashing out at PacquiaoDave Bautista: 'Pacquiao's An F'ing Idiot' My Mom's Gay, I'm Extremely Offended and having his tattoo depicting Pacquiao covered up out of disgust over the boxer's sociopolitical views.Dave Bautista had Manny Pacquiao tattoo covered up after his 'anti-gay statements' Prominent Filipino Broadway singer and Disney Legend – herself a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights – also took to Twitter where she voiced her criticism of the boxer's religious views towards the LGBTQ+ community by calling out double standards towards Pacquiao's use of which supposedly condemns same-sex relationships, and responding by quoting a number of verses from Leviticus which Pacquiao has flat-out violated such as a treatise supposedly prohibiting bodily mutilation such as tattoos. Pacquiao was initially defiant and continued his show of force as a Bible thumper, citing , but later back-pedalled and issued an apology, though he still reaffirmed his stance and argued that same-sex marriage is contrary to biblical teaching.Manny Pacquiao Apologizes For 'Comparing Homosexuals To Animals'
Pacquiao's comparisons with homosexuals to animals is not factual: homosexual behavior is widespread among mammal and bird species.Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity by Bruce Bagemihl (1999) St. Martin's Press. ISBN 096588001X. His statements were also condemned by some as a form of cherry-picking and an ad hominem attack towards those whom he does not agree with, particularly with the phrase "but I’m not condemning them. Just the marriage" contradicting with "worse than animals".A Missive to Bible Cherry Pickers As a result of the scandal, sports apparel company Nike dropped him as an endorser,Nike Drops Manny Pacquiao After His Anti-Gay Outburst and Pacquiao was also banned from entering in Los Angeles.Manny Pacquiao once again banned from The Grove over gay remarks
However, Pacquiao's opposition to same-sex marriage is par for the course in the Philippines, whose population is predominantly religiously conservative, even in the case of supposedly-LGBT celebrity hairdresser Ricky Reyes (whose statements regarding cross-dressing and the bathroom debate raised a lot of eyebrows from the community); while public opinion towards LGBT rights have become increasingly positive in recent years as evidenced by growing participation in pride parades and other LGBTQ+-centric events, as well as the likes of Vice Ganda through television programmes such as It's Showtime actively promoting and advancing causes in favour of the LGBTQ+ community, the Catholic Church's influence and vehement opposition towards progressive policies served as a barrier for LGBTQ+ groups to be accepted by society."Power of the Catholic Church slipping in Philippines". Christian Science Monitor. March 6, 2013. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved April 5, 2022. It is even worse in Mindanao where Muslim-majority communities have an even dimmer opinion on those whom they view as "sexual deviants" and "perverts", sometimes even advocating violence against them.Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, Homosexuality in Islam (India: Oneworld Publications, 2010) Interestingly though, the various precolonial tribes of the Philippine islands did have a far more accepting stance towards homosexuality prior to Islam and Christianity being introduced to the natives.Salazar, Zeus (1999). Bagong kasaysayan: Ang babaylan sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Philippines: Palimbang Kalawakan. pp. 2–7.
===On raising his family===
In an interview with Pacquiao's wife Jinkee recalls having used a stick with a Bible verse inscribed on it when administering corporal punishment on their children.The Interviews Of The Wives And Children Of The 2022 Presidential Candidates: Pacquiao Besides the obvious controversies regarding the practice of spanking one's offspring (though it remains legal in the Philippines), the idea of putting a Bible verse on a cane does reek of undue religious indoctrination especially given the Pacquiaos' born-again ideology.
===The matter of life and death===
Pacquiao has voiced his vehement opposition against abortion, even in cases of rape victims who were impregnated against their will.Pacquiao maintains stance vs abortion, even in rape cases Perhaps paradoxically, he also initially voiced his support for the death penalty,Pacquiao: Gov’t ‘biblically’ allowed to impose death penalty on heinous crimes but later took a step back from it when he stated in an interview that judicial reform should be implemented first before capital punishment is reinstated. Pacquiao was previously criticised by local Catholic Church authorities for using the scripture to advance his death penalty agenda.From being a staunch supporter of death penalty, Pacquiao says 'Not now'
===(An attempt at) knocking some sense into him?===
In what is perhaps one of the lowest points in his career, Pacquiao suffered a humiliating defeat in 2012 when knocked Pacquiao out on the sixth round, landing face-first onto the canvas after receiving a right hand to his mouth.Prithingar, Keerthi (December 8, 2012). "Pacquaio knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez". The Guardian. Pacquiao's defeat became something of a cause célèbre for Catholic apologists who questioned his sudden religious conversion, particularly when he gave up on his previous practice of carrying the rosary and making the sign of the cross prior to his fights. Dionesia also launched a similarly heated and bombastic tirade against "those Protestant pastors" whom she perceived as having corrupted her son's faith through incessant Bible study sessions that she believes has affected his career.Manny Pacquiao's mom blames loss on switching religion Pacquiao later pleaded his critics to leave religious matters out of what had happened, maintaining that his defeat had nothing to do with his switch to evangelicalism.Leave religion out of this, pleads Pacquiao as debate over 'new faith' simmers back home To Pacquiao's credit, he did win a few more bouts since then, scoring a knockout against , his first in over eight years.Manny Pacquiao tops Lucas Matthysse via 7th-round TKO
===As if that wasn't enough...===
If one nutter like Pacquiao isn't enough entertainment for you, some wingnut blogger took to his webshite to shoehorn the boxer into the ever-expanding Illuminati lore, particularly the so-called 201 New gematria conspiracy for some reason.The 201 List
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Actors
Category:Anti-abortion activists
Category:Anti-Catholicism
Category:Anti-LGBT bigots
Category:Asian politicians
Category:Christians
Category:Christian fundamentalism
Category:Crank magnetism
Category:Fundamentalists
Category:Government incompetence
Category:Homophobes
Category:Living people
Category:Philippines
Category:Sport
Category:Theocracy
Category:We're on a mission from God