Major Major (but not the Catch-22 character)

Pardon me, but I do not agree with those who think it was the "major major" answer of Venus Raj in the question and answer portion of the Miss Universe Pageant that cost her the chance to win the crown.

To me, Miss Raj was simply not beautiful enough to be Miss Universe. Compared with the rest of the final five, especially with eventual winner Miss Mexico, I think our Miss Philippines was simply the "least beautiful" and thus could not have gone beyond her 4th runnerup finish.

Even if Miss Raj gave the most appropriate answer among the final five contestants, I do not think it would have been fair for the "least beautiful" in a beauty contest to take the crown just because her answer was better than the others. This was not a quiz bowl, remember?

Perhaps, if all five finalists were all so beautiful that no clear judgment would have been possible unless determined by some other measure, then maybe how well a contestant answers a question would be an acceptable determining factor.

The Miss Universe Contest is a beauty contest. So the most beautiful should win. In an oratorical contest, the best orator wins. In a spelling bee, the best speller takes the crown. In the 100-meter dash, the fastest sprinter takes the title.

So I do not see why, in a beauty contest, we should look for anything other than beauty to determine the winner. Indeed, in the other aspects of the Miss Universe contest, physical beauty is emphasized -- swimsuits, formal gowns, etc. The thing about brains is just a bonus.

My guess is, the question and answer portion was thrown in as an attempt to prove beauty is not skin deep and thus quiet critics who view beauty contests as hollow and exploitative. Of course I disagree with the critics, but I don't think intelligence is necessary to disprove them.

Of course, the hosts of the contest, just before the question and answer portion, have to emphasize that the outcome "now boils downs to how well the five finalists answer the questions." They could not really say otherwise, could they?

Now, while the answer of Miss Raj clearly failed to address the question (what was your biggest mistake in life and what did you do about it?), still it was not exactly a stupid answer that would have dealt a telling blow against her intelligence. Listen, here is what she said:

"You know what, sir, in my 22 years of existence I can say that there's nothing major, major problem that I've done in my life, because I'm very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So, thank you so much that I'm here. Thank you, thank you, so much!"

Except for the "major major" part which seemed funny to some (not to me), nothing in her answer suggests it may have drastically ruined her chances. For all the flap it generated, has anybody even bothered to talk to any of the judges to find out if this was so?

I do not think it is fair to say Miss Raj lost based on that 55-word answer. It was not as bad as some people are trying to make it appear, even with the "major major" thrown in. It is just one of those things that people nitpick over. She could have said far worse. But didn't.

   Thus, I do not think intelligence matters sufficiently enough to set aside what is evidently beautiful in a contest that is essentially about beauty. Miss Raj can answer a complex mathematical equation for all I care, but if she ain't pretty to me, I will not vote for her.

Truth to tell, when I saw the replay (I had to know what all the hooplah was about since I did not see the contest live) and the five finalists were called, I knew right away even before the question and answer portion that Miss Philippines just wasn't pretty enough to win.

The reason I think why many Filipinos are nitpicking on the answer of Miss Raj is because they need to pin their disappointment on something. They could not believe she lost, especially given the tremendous hype that attended her supposedly being one of the early favorites.

 Unfortunately, that part about being a favorite was contrived, its sole basis being text votes and therefore highly suspect, considering the rabidness of Filipinos as inveterate texters. With that in mind, it is a wonder how we can all fall for our own tall tale.