I have this picture in my head of the Filipino Janus face.

On one hand, it is cheerful, peaceable, maybe even docile. On the other, it is vicious, mean, maybe even cruel.

I have seen quite a few of these contrasting modes in recent months, nay, years. But it seems to have been coming out in spews, like the erupting Kanlaon and Taal before that.

Coming from weeks of tension caused by the Office of the Vice President brouhaha, where a budget scrutiny led to sharp exchanges, a lady in a huff, some congressmen’s hackles up, and before you knew it, detention and hospital scenes worthy of a telenovela, we came across troubled showbiz relationships, one that had people merrily joining the fray.

The hapless audience, barring head-scratching comic strip reactions, could only gape, rooted in place like God’s creatures caught in the headlights, unable to run even though that was the only thing running in their heads. Get me out of here!

And, like the Sara Duterte fracas, the Maris Racal-Anthony Jennings issue found itself in everyone’s frontal lobe.

Maris, of the sweet face known for her music and her unexpected relationship with a music icon, a young actress on her way up the showbiz ladder, was suddenly thrown into the midst of a controversy she was not prepared for.

One night, a story uploaded by one non-showbiz girlfriend shattered the tenuous peace in our land — some screenshots of private conversations — and practically erased some recent goings-on affecting the way we live.

At first glance, it seemed we were once again the unwitting victims to a drama of inordinate proportions. The screenshots were very telling, and they seemed to paint a scenario that TV viewers should be quite familiar with — a third party, and who’s to blame?

But, as someone who has covered life and entertainment for some decades, I knew it behooved us to ask the very important question: what really happened? What is the truth?

And — is truth relative?

So people went on to examine the issue… no? Of course not. People went on to react — some with censure, others with compassion.

The first flush had men, women and their mothers weighing in on a story so “explosive,” it surpassed even the Vice President, the South China Sea, and Kanlaon.

But what, really, was the problem big enough to get our hackles up that we would take to social media to express ourselves there?

Here is the thing: for all our care for “victims,” whether of typhoons, fires, earthquakes, and rampant corruption, we only bring ourselves to rise out of our catatonia (er, comfort zones) when we can “bully” someone else as much as we are “bullied.”

The bullied feels helpless, frustrated, unable to fight back, usually. So in our daily battles, and perhaps in the reality of our existence as citizens of this country, we may have these feelings too.

We take it out on something we think we can manage, or is maybe in a similar league as our lives. We lash out. We like to feel superior somehow.

Yet, of course, the other side of the story calls out.

On GMA Integrated News’ “Ask Me Anything,” broadcaster Mariz Umali found herself “trending” when she gave her take on the situation.

“Kaugnay sa nangyaring kontrobersya, ipagdasal na lang natin sila. Walang may gusto na malagay sa ganung kontrobersya, sakit at kahihiyan kaya (No one wants to be in that situation, so let’s just pray for them. No one wants the controversy, pain and shame)... let’s pray for their peace of mind and the ability to rise from this painful situation,” she said.