Fact is, the Philippines is tremendously dependent on foreign entities to prop itself up. Not only do Filipinos rely on importing foreign goods into the country, they have a constant need to seek validation from foreign entities that they have good qualities.
Up to a certain point, Filipinos could be excused for saying that as an effect of 300+ years of colonial rule, their “country” is still struggling to find its place, its footing in the modern world. Perhaps even one other behavior has survived that period: Filipinos smooch and snooze with foreign entities to “get ahead”, while secretly resenting them, or taking advantage of what they perceive as naivety.
After almost 70 years of being “independent”, what have we got to show for it?
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Whatever one has to say about the former colonial masters, they pretty much built what Filipinos are living with up to this day. You’ve got a cultural capital infusion from the Spanish, and infrastructure development from the Americans.
Until now, however, Filipinos have not learned or developed any such ethic of self-reliance.
As I mentioned earlier, Filipinos are hopelessly dependent on foreign goods, on foreign validation, and, in addition, on foreign masters to host their overseas contract workers.
The Philippines faces the reality every day that it has to compete with other nations in order to attract foreign attention. You’ve got, as examples, the United States, Japan, and Germany as some of the most developed countries. You have China, a current economic powerhouse, and our neighbors in Southeast Asia are either already industrialized or are getting there.
It is inevitable that the Philippines get compared to the rest of the world. Invidious it may seem, but inevitable.
Criticism is an unavoidable product of the interaction between foreigners and Filipinos. The problem is that Filipinos are not good at taking it. You will have Juan de la Cruz, eager to welcome Joe and doing everything short of prostituting himself to get Joe to come to his home. When Joe tells Juan what he should improve so that he would come back, Juan would react by telling Joe to f*ck off and leave if he doesn’t like what he sees.
Filipinos are quick to the draw with racist remarks or crass jokes about foreign entities, yet when foreign entities do the same to them, they cry foul, persecution, and trot out a whiny demand for respect.
When Filipinos are ranked in lists compared to other nations, they are satisfied (pwede-na-yan) as long as they aren’t at the bottom of the heap. With Filipinos, most likely you will hear a statement like, “it is still worse in other countries, so nothing to worry.” But when certain other countries are ranked above the Philippines, they will be quick to react with, “how did that happen, we’re better than those people!”
When a fault or errant behavior of Filipinos is pointed out, many of them are quick to react by saying, “it’s like that in other countries too!” Yet when a comparison is made with foreign entities that makes them look “better” or “superior”, they are quick to thump their chests with pride and claim that “Filipinos are the best in the world!”
Filipinos admire or “are inspired by” the good habits of foreign entities when they see them, yet they are completely reluctant or unwilling to adapt them to their own situation. As an example, Filipinos constantly harp about how clean and disciplined Japanese are, but ask them to emulate such in their own public spaces and you will get blank looks, or maybe dirty fingers. Or maybe yet, Filipinos will say, “we don’t have the resources”, or “the Philippines is unique”, or “we are just a Third World country.”
It is such a waste of a good opportunity. Among Asian countries Filipinos have possibly the most exposure to foreign habits, customs, and best practices, yet ironically, it seems they were the ones who learned the least from it. That exposure, unfortunately, did nothing to temper the Filipinos’ collective laziness, lack of imagination, and inability to think themselves out of a paper bag.
For Filipinos to be respected by the rest of the world, they have to respect them as well. But most important of all, Filipinos need to respect themselves first. Without that, they will continue to look hollow and hypocritical as only Filipinos can.
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
SPOT ON.
The Spanish colonial masters, were the first to notice this negative Filipino characteristic: “The Indolence of the Filipinos”…But, Dr. Jose Rizal, defended us in his essay.
I cannot find in any country, people who are removing each other’s lice on each other’s head. You will find Filipinos doing this in the provinces. They sit on their stairs, and do this thing…you will find this character in some Monkey species, also…removing each other’s lice , on each other’s head…
Can they not buy some sort shampoos, or wash their heads, with some anti lice concoctions?
We have a long way to go; to improve our mindsets…otherwise, we are all doomed to become the OFW “servants of the world”…modern day slavery. The Filipinos, the modern day OFW slaves…
Rizal was right when he defended the perceived laziness of the Filipinos during his time. As Rizal explained, refusing to work is a sign of defiance against the Spanish policy of mandatory labor.
But today, it isn’t justifiable anymore.
I don’t think removing lice from ones head is not a bad behavior, probably they are not exposed yet to those anti-lice concoction or they are content to do those “bonding moments” or prefer suyod. Or money is an issue, what is stated in the article is the characteristics of the filipino not the “provincial behavior”, if you have gone to their place and was upset when yo see them removing lice then just go, but when it is done in your place, then you have the right to be upset.
“they have a constant need to seek validation from foreign entities that they have good qualities.”
-SPOT ON adre. kaya pag may fil-am na sumikat sa soical media i-interview agad ng abs-cbn yan. tapos they want the answer, “proud to be pinoy.” tangina kung lumaki dito ang fil-am na yan walang mararating yan. they are american first. ethnicity/race has nothing to do with success. it’s in the individual’s hard work who just happened to be a fil-am or with a foreign blood.
Filipino Americans have the American mindsets already. Especially, those who are born; grew up and studied in America.
They look like Filipinos, but they THINK like Americans. So, if they succeeded…it is the American “CAN DO” mindset/attitude that is working in them…NOT even an iota or a bit of Filipino mindset…
Please understand this ABS/CBN, the propaganda machine of Aquino…
An online report last year (I’ll have to relocate the source) mentioned that the most successful people in the Philippines are either foreigners or Filipinos who were educated in the West. This is no surprise. Look through Philippine history and you’ll find that the only times the Filipino people ever found real progress was either under Spanish colonization or American occupation. As I stated in a previous topic, it’s tragic knowing the Filipinos never took full advantage of the beneficial traits they received from their former Western colonial statuses after achieving ‘independence’ and today act as if it’s better to exhibit xenophobic attitudes. It just boggles the mind.
The irony of the ‘if you don’t like it, just leave our country’ statement is the ones most desperate to leave in such numbers are who?
kahit simpleng public cleanliness lang, hindi pa magawa. kahit candy wrapper lang, hindi kayang ibulsa saglit.
not only are the poor guilty of this, but supposedly college graduates as well.
that k-12 better spend the whole extra 2 years to teach students about proper citizenship.
There’s just something obvious about emptiness, even when you try to convince yourself otherwise.
The Failipinos hypocrisy insults my intelligence.
The collective arrogance insults the sense!
Does this pertains to a GRP collective or to the poseur adherents of GRP?
Sounds like your describing the pinoy dysfunction. Pinoys feel that they are above everyone else as if they own the world or more precisely they think they have a planet of their own just so they could separate themselves from the “evil” foreigners then brag about their so called “independence” and “pinoy uniqueness.” Indeed a toxic mixture of xenophobia and isolationism.
The Filipino, when compared to achievements as a people, are up there with Sub-Saharan Africa for virtually having created nothing original.Also in common is the near incapacity of governing themselves without the odorous thievery taking place.At least the Filipino has been able to get a form of dictatorial kleptocracy in place. All of this is really just a masquerade and the country is about as Democratic as South Africa. That alone separates it from the other African nations mentioned above, but just barely.
The ghosts of their colonial masters will always linger on with their xenophobic and egotistical mentality. They’re no better than the aborigines who waste their lives away taking advantage of white Australians like sniffing petrol.
For some reason, Philippine culture generally seems to believe that the country is in a contest with the rest of the world. Filipinos seem to feel the need that they need to prove to be better at something, like singing, acting, sports, etc. The pataasan ng wiwi things is so 11th century, but Filipinos still embrace it. That will never uplift the country. The thing that will provide the real uplift is solving the problems that keep our country backward.
“The thing that will provide the real uplift is solving the problems that keep our country backward.”
Now, this is what I want to see written here in this intelligent site! Does Grp blogger like ChinoF really has this “The thing” or is this just a wishful Philippine prayer that is vaguely oft-repeated by the bloggers and some allied commenters but failed to concretize to its readers?
Spot on Fallen Angel… Your recent articles are excellent!! They portrait with unforgiving sharpness exactly what lacks the Filipino society to move forward! Keep it up.
wow. after articles and articles with nothing good to say about the filipino, now comes the admonition for the filipino to respect himself.
schizophrenia. i guess that’s the prevailing wisdom here.
Filipinos are slaves, in spite being free from its colonial masters hundreds of years ago. Just look at how Filipinos worship Koreans now. They try to learn the language, eat kimchi and samgyeopsal, listen to K-Pop, watch K-dramas and movies, use Korean beauty products and some think they are the most coolest and good looking people in the world all so suddenly. The culture here is dead and it doesn’t progress because the people here do not do anything to make it better, they just do a copy of a copy of other countries entertainment. Rather than support original Filipino materials they buy copycat shit and support foreigners. Filipinos complain about lack of creativity in movies and dramas but they don’t support good independent movies once it’s out in the cinema. They want to speak Korean but don’t want their children to speak Tagalog. Philippines is a beautiful country, with beautiful culture and good food, the only thing wrong here are the people.