This is more or less a response to Kate Natividad’s articles about breeding out idiots and why I think that, despite Ms. Natividad’s good intentions, it will be of little help in this country. This is also related to ChinoF’s article about “bakya” society and why this is one of the major problems we need to focus on if we want to advance as a society. You see, while there are a lot of smart people in the country, they are easily outnumbered by the less informed members of our society. If we really want to make positive and permanent changes in our nation, then we have to start soon or it will be too late if it isn’t already.
See, the problem isn’t just the government. One of the biggest obstacles to progress our country faces is that its very people seem to hate knowledge. Yes, that’s right. In other countries, information is considered a highly valuable resource even in the ancient days. However, around here, the bliss of ignorance seems to be all the rage and people who at least have their bearings straight seemed to be frowned upon. People around here like to say that “knowing too much” is dangerous even though the IQ of the typical Filipino is probably lower than average.
The thing is, while there is hope for the Filipino people, this is often outright crushed by the fact that Pinoys are simply caught within their own “Matrix” that prevents them from seeing the reality that they are essentially slaves to a merciless oligarchy. Worse yet, Filipinos are led to think in ways that are convenient for the ruling oligarchs instead of being encouraged to think for themselves and make their own decisions. This is because our society at large is actually a cult of personality and not the free-thinking community that we think it is.
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First off, let’s talk about idolatry. Did you know that among Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) any form of idolatry is often condemned? That is why, if you’ll notice, most Muslim sects have sparse iconography and what few they have are often abstract. The same can be said about most Protestant Christians and Jews spooked Roman pagans a long time ago because their temples had almost no depiction of any kind of deity despite their devotion to Yahweh. The Philippines is considered predominantly Catholic and supposedly adheres to Christian principles and Muslims are essentially our “cousins” in terms of faith. However, based on what can be seen so far, Filipinos are avid practitioners of idolatry.
That’s right. Filipinos treat their favorite celebrities like deities and not simply “entertainers”. In any other country, actors, actresses, singers and dancers are often given credit as artists, but unless they prove themselves to be competent in any other field like leadership, they are at best considered nothing more than entertainers. You can say that Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both actors who did well, but that was after they proved themselves worthy of leading their people. In the Philippines however, celebrities are treated more or less like gods and goddesses instead of just a source for entertainment. Notice also that geopolitical issues like China claiming our islands, the terrorists of the Mindanao causing untold mayhem, hostages getting killed in a shootout or politicians finally getting caught red-handed are often ignored in favor of celebrity news.
Here’s something else about idolatry. In the Bible and a few Canaanite myths, there is a deity called “Moloch” who could easily play the role of the villain of a good horror film. Moloch is essentially a brazen idol with the head of a bull who demanded the sacrifice of children. People of the time, the fools that they were, butchered their children like animals or burned them alive just to please this god. That God cast down idols like Moloch to prove to people that they were false (and possibly demonic) gods was proof enough that idolatry all too often led to madness and horror. Moloch and the place associated with him, called “Gehenna”, became a garbage dump for ancient Jews and even went on to be synonymous with Hell.
When accused with idolatry, many Filipinos are quick to defend themselves and rationalize that they are merely admiring the person and their talents or making the utterly hilarious “loving their fellow man” excuse. They will defend their deities from criticism, calling those who call them out as envious or bitter. They will continue to watch movies of their gods and goddesses and the products they consume even when their resources are depleted and their families starve. Well, to both these statements, I have an answer:
I’m an admirer too, actually. For instance, I find women like Francine Prieto very attractive and I am a huge fan of UFC’s Ronda Rousey. However, I will also state that these women aren’t exactly champion good girls. They’re kinda cool and hot at the same time (warm, perhaps?) but, beyond that, I wouldn’t really think of them as role models. Both of them have attitude issues, especially Ronda who doesn’t seem to be much of a sportswoman. If anyone ever decided to bash them for their bad attitudes, I wouldn’t really mind all that much.
As for “love of fellow man”, here’s all I have to say: What a joke! I mean really? Love for your fellow man. This was people’s favorite excuse when they obsessed over Vhong Navarro’s condition when he got beat up. Well, let me tell you guys something. Yes, Mr. Navarro deserves justice for what happened to him but when you think about all the unsolved cases in the country like the people who simply disappear, the people who die in the streets when beaten by junkies and those poor kids who get raped, killed and their bodies left in the gutter. You wanna talk about love of fellow man, well go think of something to help the Yolanda victims or find a way to comfort the devastated families of the SAF 44.
Coco Martin, Daniel Padilla, Marian Rivera or Heart Evangelista and the rest of their colleagues are just entertainers and nothing more. No, they are not gods and goddesses and they could really care less about you. There are few things they do that will have any real impact on your life unless you vote them into presidency and even then they probably wouldn’t be looking out for you in any way.
I wouldn’t be surprised if God eventually decides to cast down our idols in front of us, the same thing he did with the Jews in the Old Testament. For the life of you, your family and your country, celebrities are artists and not deities. Please people, it’s time to get real and grow up!
I HAVE RETURNED TO LAY WASTE TO OUR ENEMIES!
This is the same problem I have it right now in my facebook’s timeline, I even blocked some of them just to avoid getting irritated on their comments or post which I found so mababaw. I can’t help it not to blame the ABS CBN and GMA 7 for a giving us a shit teleserye that made most of the Filipinos pathetic and helpless.
Grimwald, WELL SAID.
I coudn’t agree less.
Anyone can ask me about anything related to national and international government affairs and I may have a ready answer. But, entertainment business?
I aint got time for that.
I don’t even watch teleseryes or showbiz talks. Nope. Not my cup of tea.
Personally, I don’t think I would gain a lot from knowing popular celebrities’ names. And it pissed me off big time that most Filipinos would rather get busy following updates on their favorite stars than get involved on discussions and issues that concerns their welfare in general. Talk about willful ignorance!
PS. I was thinking of writing about this very topic too earlier. You beat me to it 😉
Well done!
Thanks a lot.
But sorry about “beating you to it”, that wasn’t my intention. 🙁
I just wanted to speak out because it’s really horrible. I mean, what are celebrities compared to the basic needs of our society. For me, something that one values above one’s own life that is not necessary for survival can be considered an “idol” or false god.
Also, I am subjected to the Hell of having to listen to my housemates watching teleseryes. I wish I could say something but I don’t think they’ll take it the right way.
Haha. No problem 😉
I did a follow up on your article, actually (pending publication). It resonates your views but, I took it to a different level.
I remember reading in Twitter and Instagram that a group of Marian fans being mad to Ilda for not writing an article about Chiz and Heart wedding. Ilda reiterated that she was busy writing another article and during those time period was the incident of SAF Masasapano clash. The Marian Rivera fans felt that the Chiz and Heart wedding deserves criticism when they forgot that there are more important issues in the country. I went to Instagram and read a specific IG page dedicated to bash others and praise their “Queen” that as a saving glory that group of Marian fans went ballistic that Ilda didn’t write an article to criticize the Chiz Heart Wedding and even lambasted Kate Natividad too. This idolatry of the fantards are so irritating that they would rather waste time glorifying their idols than understanding that there are more important issues.
Typically Filipinos.
Slap them with the truth and they will bite you.
I am the Lord thy God, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
I guess these are empty words to the Bakya society you are referring to.
@nagtanong__lang:
That is your belief…others do not share your belief…
Hence, the Bakya society as pointed out by the article.
@hyden
true enough…but even without these, don’t you find it disconcerting how people go to such length in their “admiration” of these “gods and goddesses”?
Celebrities are idolized in Filipino society.
They are even elected to public offices. Even if, they are barely educated and incompetent.
Filipinos think that the heroism of the movie stars in screen, will translate into heroism in true life. Like solving the problems of the country.
Filipinos are Naive in thinking. Most have not grown up…
naive – having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge : innocent or simple
i don’t think naivete has something to do with the bakya society. Filipinos are an educated lot. So they know what they are doing.
On the other hand,
stupid – lacking intelligence or common sense
So I put my money on stupidity. I can sympathize more with morons or idiots but the stupid ones rattles my chains.
We, filipinos, since the beginning of our generation & civilization, have been oriented to idolization of deities & goddesses. Let us go back to our history, our minds had been “injected” with an idea that “some body” is protecting us, like the anitos, diwatas,ginoos, etc. We totally depend on these for protections. Hence, proper education is necessary! And it must start from home & school. No wonder most filipinos have become fanatics with their idols! I wish I could say more, perhaps next time. Thanks
The major problem with Filipinos and idolatry is that they honestly believe with all their hearts that the person the actor is playing on the TV is them in the bare flesh – never mind the script. So they believe characters personality they play is the same as the actor itself!
When reality is much more harsher. This is part of the reason why villains in teleserye are almost always one-dimensional jokes. Its because the more hated the character is, the more ill-treated their real life counterpart is.
Case and point Jack Gleeson. Better known for his role Joffrey Baratheon. The entire staff of Game of Thrones is really concerned with the guy’s future because of his role as one of the most hated villains of the show. As such, the interviews (and the other actors) try to show that Jack is a decent person and so far, his life outside the show has been fairly well. [Its been pointed out after the shooting of brutal scenes involving his character, he makes sure his fellow actors are doing physically well.]
If Game of Thrones were shot in the Philippines, Jack Gleeson would end up getting hanged or worse down here by delusional masses. Because of their inability to separate fact from fiction.
Just as some ancient kings and rules set up themselves up as gods, so do today’s celebrities and politicians. You still have this sense that celebrities and politicians should have been something people are expected to emulate. Thus it leads to the “looking for royalty” attitude of the fans and constituents. Or, as another article put it, “starstruck ignoramuses.” Thus, it’s a sense that deserves to be challenged.
One can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
sige na ikaw na magaling….daming mong alam….,typical Filipino reply 🙂
And when we tell them about their idolatry, they tell us to respect their ‘FAITH’. I am a Catholic myself, and it is an advantage of me because I have not been influenced by misleading church teaches. I don’t go to Church but I read the Bible. Parang school lang ang Catholic Church, mas may alam ka kapag sa labas ng simbahan mo aalamin ang lahat. For me, criticizing one’s blind faith is not disrespecting. May mga tao lang talaga na BIBIG ang basihan, ever notice why Catholics cant use bible verses to defend themselves? Because the BIBLE contradicts their idiocy.
So,lets see, WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS ?
Seriously,what are the average Juans and Juanita’s going to do? At least with their teleserye’s and all the other crap they watch,they can dull their sense’s from the miseries that are their lives.
Short of an all out tearing down of the entire societal order,which is probably what is needed(but Filipino’s do not have the stomachs for it),WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? SERIOUSLY? WHAT?
…and please,the elections are all rigged,so don’t say vote,LOL !
“Burn the forest.”
~Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark Knight
i am a Filipino by birth right. and i for one partially hate my own kind for being such a selfish, stupid, dumb and insensitive bunch of people. but first, please let it be known that if i am a north korean i would also hate myself and if being a japanese would probably hate a little bit. all these hate doesnt come from personal experieces and self understanding but to a general Filipino population becoming a stupid advance less agent of destruction. look at the politics the people being elected the things we are infamous for, the wasted chances of growth and advancements, our islands being taken away from us, the very proud PMAears whom mostly enlisted for free and paid education, the AFP the presidents, the media especially the top two if their kind. they are all nothing but waste and self serving acts of greed..wheeww.. well its too early to think about this… gud day everyone
Well. I agree PARTLY,
BUT poor Filipinos sure can be street SMART, because otherwize they wouldn’t survive… 🙂 :thumb up:
(I’m economic, but I don’t believe I would manage an 18 people family at only 5000 pesos per month, which I know a poor farmer (leasing land) family did, before four of the grown ups got employments.)