The title applies to you, as a Pinoy, if you swallow hook, line, and sinker, everything that you are told by media, your elders, and your politicians. You submit to the matrix that is Da Pinoy condition. You submit yourself without question to the collective “bliss” of the Hive. You hope that the world will change, yet you sit on your ass and apply a bahala na attitude to life.
[Photo courtesy vastrm.com]
If this is not you, read on below.
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By the time you read this, 2013 will have officially started. 2012 was not a dull year; in fact if you go by Malacañang’s standards, it was the best year for the Philippines according to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. I’ve got one thing to say about that, though; activity does not necessarily mean accomplishment.
If you want to go by the latest SWS surveys, 92% of Filipinos supposedly look forward to 2013 with hope. As usual, the following question is just begging to be asked:
Hope in what exactly?
Not very often have we here in GRP come across commentators who can actually substantiate what it is that Filipinos can have hope in. More often than not Filipinos pin their hopes on the very politicians whom they’re very poor at choosing anyway.
It is but normal to look toward the future with optimism, but are we just going to stop there? As Gandhi says, be the change you want to see in the world. And so the process of getting real simply continues in 2013. This being an election year, it looks like there will be plenty more matters than usual to scrutinize and to focus our ever-so critical eye on. One of them is the ever-so stubborn collective failure of the Pinoys to learn from their mistakes, whether it be from elections or bracing themselves for the next natural or man-made disaster.
Is change for the better something that will elude the Filipinos indefinitely?
We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Cue in the music from Pink Floyd.
Depending on whose point of view you take, one can apply the above lyrics to da Pinoy condition in more than one way:
1) Pinoys are satisfied with merely getting by and coping with whatever life and Mother Nature want to throw their way. They don’t want to learn from their mistakes. They don’t want to question their existing ways. Pwede-na-yan and bahala-na mentalities kick in. If you try to give them advice, you have to deliver it softly-softly, lest they take offense and consider the advice as insults to their intelligence. The phrase constructive criticism is all but alien to the Pinoy mind; so is the concept of personal responsibility. Pinoys believe they are always victims of circumstance and thus take every opportunity to use the victim mentality and puppy dog eyes paawa act.
The New Year is certainly a time to make a list of resolutions, of things one wants to improve. Unfortunately, the idea of a New Year’s resolution seems lost on Da Pinoy because he/she does not see the need for change.
[Photo courtesy: Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, published by Universal Press Syndicate]
2) From the Get Realist’s view, one will, at the very least, question, but not necessarily shun altogether, such “traditional” sources of information such as one’s elders, mass media such as television and/or the broadsheets, and, oh yeah, the politicians. This is not to say that everything they say is wrong, but if something smells fishy, Filipinos need to speak up and not to learn to take things sitting down. They should learn to question authority intelligently.
Pinoy society, as we know it today, has become a rigid and inflexible one where the people just believe everything they hear, and where subservience and deference to authority are valued above creativity and innovation. People are taught what to think but very little emphasis is put on how to think. It is a society where mediocrity and impunity run rampant, and people don’t take questions about themselves too kindly. Even the most innocent of questions can seem offensive to the hypersensitive Pinoy. And Pinoys certainly haven’t taken too kindly to satire and sarcasm as literary devices either.
Is the influence of the mass media unshakable?
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
– John Mayer, “Waiting on the World to Change”
[Photo courtesy: knowledgeisking.ning.com]
There is a reason why mass media is called mass media. Their circulation is extensive, and they are in charge of a very broad and wide-reaching information dissemination system. It is a disconcerting thought, indeed, that the power to shape the minds of so many is in the hands of so few. The bottom line of the main TV stations and newspaper dailies that we have here in the Philippines is profit. Why argue that they need to make money in order to keep their companies running? Unfortunately, because sensationalism sells, it has become the norm here in the Philippines to compromise journalistic integrity for either profit or currying favor towards the powers that be (e.g., government officials).
What is disturbing, more so last 2012, that media has transformed itself from being the watchdog to being a lapdog of government. They have become the current president’s propaganda machine and cheerleading squad.
Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it
For sites like GRP that seek to point out to Filipinos the cultural dysfunction that exists, the battle is uphill. Sometimes it can seem hopeless because the mass media have the resources we could only dream of having. Mass/popular media, whose bottom line is profit, counts on having as many people coming back to them as primary sources of information, even if it’s not entirely correct or even if it’s not an objective, impartial, or unbiased account. It is ultimately two opposing voices vying for the same audience.
GRP does not sugarcoat or use the softly-softly approach in its analysis of Filipino cultural dysfunction. To the greatest extent possible, all the articles here are backed up with solid facts and draw little from hearsay or conventional beliefs. GRP often takes the unpopular stance on many issues; one of the main contentions here is that the popularity of an idea is not a good indicator of its validity.
Unlike many other alternative blog sites who have folded or have become part of the Establishment, GRP is still here. And it will be here to stay for quite some time, as the ideas presented here will always be relevant as long as Pinoys refuse to do anything about their cultural dysfunctions.
With that said, here’s to a 2013 where Getting Real becomes a reality for many more of us!
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
You forgot to cue a stirring anthem. This piece makes me proud to be a reader of this site. No candy coating. No B.S. in more ways than one. Be blunt with the truth even if the truth hurts. 2013 will be a better year if we take off the blinders and educate those who want to be educated. Of course that education starts with ourselves. No we will not bend over and take Malacanang statements at face value. Activity is not synonymous with accomplishment and the current occupant of the helm I doubt is familiar with either anyway.
You must assimilate. Resistance is futile..
Another way to think of GRP is it really is a form of candy. You know, one of those disgusting Pei Pa Koa candies they sell at Binondo, or those flavorless ice cream candies in South Korea. But many people eat it anyway, and many more Filipinos(like me) are developing a liking for them. I guess it’s because they are starting to get tired of rubbish like Maxx’s Candies (those give me headaches, seriously), aren’t afraid of tasting new flavors, or are afraid to grow too fat from a bar of Mars; just as many of us GRP open minds are tired of the propaganda flavors that are in mainstream media, aren’t afraid to embrace new, right ideas, and are afraid to get “too fat” with droll, unintelligent ones.
Guess it takes a lead belly to take all the rads that is GRP.
But Gogs, how is activity not synonymous of accomplishment? Is activity, in that context, something that cannot be credited if it isn’t something that a Filipino can live off and be REALLY proud of?
Yeahh, thanks to all of you bloggers. I wouldn’t have/keep an open mind if it weren’t for y’all. 😀
Well said fallen Fallen Angel. Indeed, it is difficult to counter the propaganda dished out by the mainstream media because the two major dailies,the Philippine Star and the Inquirer for example have the widest circulation. They are in fact even given away in some fast food establishments. Compare them to the papers that give more straight news like the Manila Standard Today and Daily Tribune. But you seldom see them in newstands much less being peddled in the streets. Thank goodness, we still read those independent writers like Amando Doronila, Rigoberto Tiglao, Jojo Robles, Nestor Mata, Benigno, Ilda and others of Get Real Philippines. I hope their tribe will continue to neutralize the brainwashing being done to the Filipinos by the Goebbels of Philippine media.
The system just stirs the same sh#ts around the cesspool as they lie, cheat, steal, and even murder opponents/critics.
When you have senators like brain dead lito lapid, who even gets his wife to launder money, then you know that you are up sh#t creek without a paddle.
Do not trust a politician who has never done a real job for a real company, or says ‘public service is my calling’! – The mantra of the idle trapos, and the corrupt crooks who are incapable of hard work, and just salivate as the prospect of a foreign bank account full of pork barrel commission.
P-noy, who sleeps hard until lunchtime, and then works until lunch break is finished, promised change but has done exactly the opposite as he has consolidated patronage politics, bribery, and greater inequality, ensuring that the status quo is retained and the country will be run – ruined – by intellectual retards and family inbreds.
And aided by the propagandists posing as mainstream journalists. The corruption in mainstream media is no different to senate/congress itself, as will become even more apparent as certain candidates get airtime, column inches proclaming their virtues!, but never asking them any real or difficult questions.
Shame on them, if they had any conscience or standards.
I see blogging as a diary that one has decided to make public. Just throwing out your thoughts and opinions, and somebody will say, you are right. And others say you’re not and are a paid hack. But I’ll boldly say, I’m blogging here to throw out my thoughts and opinions, and I’m not a paid hack.
Happy Nuclear! hehe
I’d also like to see myself as a brick that gets thrown to shatter the glass of the world.
Call me a maverick. A free spirit and non-conformist who does not follow the herd. I am a free and independent thinker who refuses to be manipulated by media, surveys, propaganda, false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing and the subtle dictatorship that is getting bolder in imposing tyranny in the Republic of the Philippines.
Mahirap talagang baguhin ang ugali o maniniwala ng pinoy, minsan pinapayuhan mo kahit alam niyang tama eh ayaw niyang tanggapin, pinagpipilitan niya yung gusto niya kahit mali at baluktot. Madalas ikaw na lang yung manimbang lalo na alam mo na may pagkabalat sibuyas ang kausap mo at hirap tumanggap ng payong maayos. Gusto kasi karamihan ng pinoy eh sasangayon ka sa gusto nilang or sa opinion nila, ayaw nila yung sasalungatin sila kasi magkakabangga lang kayo. The things that I learned working abroad, I used to understand and undergo different character through different nationalities. The only thing you should not forget to carry on your luggage is “patience†it is worthy to have it all the way. I want to share this saying from my friend’s lolo, which I applied everyday
“kapag ang palay nakayuko, may laman; ikaw na ang mas nakakaintindi kaya ikaw na ang mas umunawa†basta ganoon daw yon and I found it effective hindi ko na kailangan makipagtalo.
by the way nice article, and I remembered my niece ng natalo si PACMAN and nagbiro si Justin Bieber, masyadong foul daw yung biro ni Bieber at nakakawala ng respeto bilang pinoy. ang sabi ko na lang pabayaan mo ganoon talaga ang mga Puti liberated silang mag-isip kahit ano gusto nilang sabihin kahit gaano pa yan kasakit yan basta sasabihin nila gusto nila. Kahit sila rin biruin mo ng ganyan hindi nila papansin maliban na lang kung negro yan at pagsigawan mong negro sila kahit USA yan eh may boldyak ka, ganyan ang pinoy ayaw ng katotohanan gusto lokohan at utuan parati.
A reason why whites continue to be the supreme race despite the equality movements? They can take a lot of verbal shit, and when it’s actually true on them, they change. What did your child say afterwards?
It is amazing how some people will just put up with whatever is thrown at them,it is becoming a world-wide phenomena though. It is as if the whole wolrd has turned into sheeple although a lot of what is being done to counteract the corrupt elite is not covered in the mainstream press. That said though,if there were a significant resistance to the corrupt elite it would be showing up in places where it would be hard to ignore.Th Spanish people have done a li’l to stop what is going on,India is buying Gold/Silver in record amounts as the people do not trust the currency and the Arabs are really the only other people doing a full-on rejection of the people in power…AND LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THEM,HA!!!
it remains the same all over,no matter what happens….Kill the King, Long live the King! same,same!
HAPPY NEW YEAR ANYWAY!!!
A close relationship (working, or otherwise in some instances), between media and politicians/government leads to passive reporting rather than investigative journalism. Not to mention the ‘brown envelopes’.
Independence and integrity are compromised and they do a great disservice to themselves, their profession and the country.
Rappler, which is part funded by cojuangco, is a case in point. A wolf in sheeps clothing. Pretending to be independent, but pushing the governments agenda, adopting selective reporting, and now actively promoting LP candidates.
Abs-cbn cannot even lay claim to a political journalist, and although lynda jumilla tries, she is just a lightweight who wants to be liked by everyone and does not have the drive or passion. I think she is more interested in sport and more of a twitter level! Credit to karen davila – she has her moments but still is more in the entertainment and establishment camp.
Those with the intellect and who ask the hard questions ( standard/tribune) are kept out of the mainstream arena as far as possible for obvious reasons.
The vacuous and superficial nature of the politicians is very readily exposed and are incapabke of serious discussion/debate so better to ask about their love life than political goals and ideologies.
The reason mass media succeeds is that it appeals to the masses. The so-called “news” and “entertainment” is what the average person wants to see and hear. The change that must occur is at the individual level.
“May kasalanan din ang taong bayanâ€
Change at the individual level is achieved through a variety of external influences of which the mass media is clearly a major one.
Their responsibility is to balance the revenue earning programmes with others which have more education content, or be more creative in their scripts to reflect social issues. Currently programmes are simply adverts between breaks for adverts which invariably make impoverished filipinos debase or make fools of themselves for a few pesos. How demaining.
‘ICEE’
INFORMATION
COMMUNICATION
EDUCATION
ENTERTAINMENT.
And buying in or copying american programmes hardly seems the solution to educate an already dumbed down population.
It certainly would be nice if the media held to their social responsibilities just the same as it would be nice if the politicians did as well. However, as stated in the article, Da Pinoy sits idly by and wants the mindless entertainment, thereby being culpable for the state of things.
is grp an arroyo lapdog?
Is sendonggirl Pnoy’s personal b!tch?
Is sendonggirl smart enough to rebut our arguments?
Is sendonggirl really a girl?
Answers:
YES,NO,NO
if you’re a grp fanboy you can slander any commenter you disagree with
Im not a fanboy but you are a TROLL
Hypocrite. You’re much more of a SLANDERER than us. Stop being emo on Arroyo or any of PNoy’s political enemies and look at the bigger picture. 😛
stop bein a problem and start bein part of the solution vergin
What solution are you talking about sendong”girl”?
Being a yellowtard like you? Being someone who is blind to the true nature of this administration? If those are your “solutions” then you are sadly mistaken if we would join you.
the solution is to be useful instead of bein a drag to the country. get it? got it? good
@sendonggirl:
I’m being very useful. I’m just pointing out what’s really wrong in this country. And you’re just going on the easy way and say “It’s all Gloria’s fault!” w/o any analysis or looking at the bigger picture. If THAT is your definition of a ‘solution’ then thank God I’m laughing at your stupid ass miles and miles away.
“What else do you plan for your life?”
Also, only ignorant, onion-skinned simps would think that the likes of us are dragging down the country while in reality that they ARE the ones who are dragging down this country with blunders, stupidity, and mediocrity.
Get it? Got it? Gooooood 😀
@sendonggirl
Im actually being useful in pointing out whats wrong with the government and trying to do something about it . Unlike YOU who just sits and does NOTHING. Got it? Good!
P.S.
Troll harder
i guess you can say cheerleaders have their use. but only the kind who look good in skirts. im not sure thats the case for our friends jonny and vergin here hehe
the solution kids is to empower each citizen to be useful. it doesnt lie in any leader. do i have to explain everything to you?
@sendonggirl: Actually, your credibility is ruined because you come up with ad hominem attacks.
Also, your solution is very flawed. How can you make every citizen useful if most of Filipinos still cling on the dysfunctional culture. And sometimes, it relies to leaders. Just ask Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew, and Park Chung Hee. These are leaders. Yet with their values, and response to the citizens, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea became progressive countries.
I know you have a thick skull since you would never answer my question: “So you prefer a government whored by media, telling you that ‘everything is ok’ and never look forward for progress as a society but to be part of a mediocrity?”
You don’t need to explain everything. That because it is I who would explain everything to you. I never expect solutions to ‘balat-sibuyas’ people like yourself who prefer tsismis and ad hominems rather than 100% facts.
Sendonggirl is a hypocrite. Claiming to be useful by trolling, that’s not even useful, it’s retarded. Sorry senddongfag, YOU LOSE.
well you know vergin we cant really move on to the issues unless we establish basic facts like grp is pro gma and anti pnoy. anyway your solution to our country’s issues is that we continue with the status quo until we stumble upon a great leader of our own? remember that we can only change one every six years. that’s just asinine asiten asileven asitwelve
@sendonggirl: Wrong. You’re totally missing the point.
I’m just anti-stupidity and anti-incompetence, that is all. Unfortunately, PNoy is the embodiment of those.
Also, your solution won’t even because that is more like socialism in my view. It was you who wants to prefer the status quo with a flawed government and a flawed system. Your response is asinine since you keep on discussing people while I’m discussing IDEAS.
You must assimilate, resistance is futile….
What does that have to do with the article, hmm?
I don’t know, you tell me.
@sendonggirl
You are the cheapest propagandist available. What no quality argumentation, flawless logic and truthful statements? No wonder… the palace hired help lacks intellect and even imagination.
im sorry man i cant help you if your idea of quality argumentation and flawless logic is anything that comes out of arroyo and the grp writers’ mouths
What makes you think that this blog is Pro Gma? Maybe you shouldn’t be here at all if you don’t like what you read here.
Sarap magbintang ano dumkopf? Just like your precious pwesident. Your credibility is so indio.
because they constantly praise gma and gloss over her faults. do i have to spell everything out for you jonny?
“because they constantly praise gma and gloss over her faults. do i have to spell everything out for you jonny?” — Could you pinpoint the GRP articles where they explicitly praise GMA and then gloss over her faults?
Girl, nakakasira iyan ng ganda. Tama na ang troll. 😀
You dont have to spell it out for me, TROLL. You still haven’t pinpointed ANY blog posts here that prove your baseless accusation. Grow a brain you stupid retard.
Even if she is indeed corrupt, why you think GRP should not praise gma if she has some great and humble credits for the country while your precious pwesident takes them like it’s his own? Masyado ka nang nagiging emosyonal tarantadong inutil.
Nope, girl. What makes you think that we are Arroyo’s lapdogs?
Today’s lessson boys and girls is Troll Math
Saying truth about Noynoy Aquino’s lack of capability to lead and govern plus his tendancy for favoring friends and oppressing non friends = lapdog of Arroyo
Translation= Can’t handle the truth
you say truth but what you mean is grp. see you confuse the two, for you grp is gospel and it is you who cant handle reality. get out of your cubicle once in a while
Uhh, what proof do you have that Gogs takes GRP articles as gospel truth, girl? Also, by chiding him to get out of the cubicle, what proof do you have that Gogs is just in the armchair?
Proof, girl. Proof.
What do yo expect from a troll like sendongfag? No proof as usual, just like his/her retarded malacanang troll team.
Porket anti aquino lang, pro gloria na kaagad ang itatawag. Anung klaseng pagiisip ba yan? Ipatingin mo nga utak mo sa doktor.
Gunggong
Lumalaban ka pa e tarantadong inutil. Kita mo na ngang lahat kami ay di sang-ayon sa iyo nagbibigay ka pa ng maraming palusot at atake sa amin. Just admit that you’re only here to “murder” us. You just want more “blood” do you dumkopf?
She’s not even close to “murdering” us. I’d say her attacks aren’t even effective. She is just a dumb pathetic little TROLL.
read his comment impaler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“saying TRUTH about noynoy aquino’s…” grp’s opinion is their opinion, but for gogs and other fanboys its TRUTH!!!!!! himala!!!!! unimpeachable!! unbelievable the mutual admiration here
@sendonggirl: And will you just believe on what the biased media says?
Care to elaborate, please.
Yes, I do not deny that PNoy and his lackeys are doing a…fair amount of good works for this country. I’ve seen them in the news.
But I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say, thanks to Gogs and GRP,
-that PNoy has done little if not none to weed out corruption among his friends in high places.
-that despite Arroyo’s alleged corruption, she has still done some good works, and PNoy’s doing credit-grabbing on occasion.
-PNoy has still done good so little, and has done a lot of LOLwut things like establishing a Truth Commission and impeaching Corona on rickety articles.
These…”fanboys” and I believe Gogs and his writer pals because they have articles that discuss these before in well-researched detail and logical observations.
I admire the fact that you don’t take articles here at face value, just as we don’t on mainstream media, but when you’ve labeled us as GMA’s lackeys for opposing Mr. President, we went, LOLwut?
I repeat my other question: what proof do you have that Gogs has spent too much time in a cubicle?
1. it is very important that the media and blogs such as this play an adversarial role instead of bein cheerleaders for either gma or pnoy. to check abuses.
2. the impression i get is most of the grp fanboys here are pro gma
3. i am the adversary of the fanboys i will fiscalize them and set them straight. ok?
4. gogs and some fanboys are in a figurative cubicle. cubicle of fanaticism hehe
You are entitled to your opinion, but keep in mind that opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and most of them stink. Have a nice day
Honestly, you’re much of bigger asshole then.
Actually, some of us here are stating FACTS and not some from the biased media. Unfortunately,
1. Blogs like this are a better alternative. If you prefer things like ABS-CBN or Inquirer, then there is something wrong. Even Rappler.
2. If I prefer FPGMA, then so what? It’s better to have a magnificent bastard than a nutjob. I don’t value INCOMPETENCE.
3. ‘Fiscalizer’? How can you set those people you call ‘fanboys’ straight if you defy logical thinking and use emotional outbursts? Being EMO doesn’t mean being smart. Ok?
4. You also have a cubicle of fanaticism. You say ‘I love Philippines’ yet you just want to prefer a life of mediocrity and not striving for progress.
Still missing the point. Your efforts are and will still be futile with that angry mob mindset of yours.
Sendong,
I asked you to come clean since you seem so expressive. You reek of someone with an agenda. In the words of an old blues classic “before you accuse me, take a look at yourself”.
What comes closer to the truth, the butt kissing of PDI/ ABS CBN/ Rappler or GRP? If we are full of lies, you may leave.
Well, they are attacking you on the ground that you think we are GMA’s lackeys. We are not.
So…your proof that Gogs is in a cubicle because of his fanaticism?
Gogs, what can you say?
@Impaler,
fanatic – described as a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiam or zeal. As in religion or politics.
GRP saw it fit to publish 29 of my submissions since May 2012. Lots of ammo to prove if I am indeed a fanatic. I would like to think I backed up every point I made. Just because one agrees or disagrees with my support does not make me right or wrong. In the words of Pontius Pilate, I have written what I have written. If sendong girl does not like it , go somewhere else.
Indeed, judgement is based on facts, not just someone’s opinion.
Well, whoever is right. :))
This actually applies to people in many countries.
Aquino is in delusion. Lacierda is in delusion. Maybe, they want us to share their delusions…
Yeah, like those Mayans, who while predicting the end of the world, stuck tobacco and cannabis leaves up their asses. XD