Get Real Philippines has always emphasized that culture is often at the core of societal problems. We bloggers and our readers alike talk about how dysfunctions are inspired by mass media and movies. In other words, among the most effective influences on people’s behavior is popular culture, in addition to older traditions and beliefs that are wrong and obsolete. Thus, one of the apparent courses of action for solving the problems of the Philippines is resisting popular culture.
This culture comprises more than just the TV shows and movies that seem to impress on people certain behaviors. There are also advertisements and music videos, and these might have more effect on forming culture than the other media. For example, a video shows how ads by Edward Bernays helped change the American breakfast habit from a light to heavy one. Another is when marketing cigarettes to women, Bernays called them “torches of freedom,” thus influencing popular culture ideas about smoking. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, while he has found his way into modern Christmas lore, was originally part of marketing for retail company Montgomery Ward. The ideals about the family that our parents held in the 1950s are very likely the effects of advertising at the time. Perhaps the most interesting cultural meme is that of heavily sexualized ideas of beauty, which advertising and music videos are heavily loaded with.
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Didn’t our parents get fooled by ads like these?
Thus, advertising as part of modern-day popular culture helps forms our lifestyles. And the reason for popular culture these days is to sell products. As a Psychology Today article put it, we are what we consume. Fads are always there to take advantage of our impulses and take our money.
As Marilyn Manson says in the meme I showed before:
Aldub was the recent pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. First, we see them do this:
Source of hope: The phenomenal ALDub love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza
But in the end, this is what it’s all about:
And people go gaga buying the products endorsed. They end up being like the people described in a recent article: stylish, but starving.
I posit that dysfunctions in society can be traced to the influence of popular culture. The ideas of beauty mentioned above have created problems, such as women with anorexia and bulimia. They help influence our brown-skinned people to seek to become white. Popular culture helps bring across twisted and corrupted notions of what is desirable in society – including the notion that being a sexual monster or “pataasan ng wiwi” (piss contest or the rat race) is something great. They teach us to consume more than we can afford. And a lot more.
Political entities also make use of popular culture to influence and distract people. In fact, the message is being propagated in society that you should be a good citizen by being a good consumer. Just consume products, be quiet, and turn a blind eye to the societal problems that affect even you. That’s indeed one of the ways corrupt governments use to keep people from working for change – especially in our society.
Some people turned to politically correct resistance back then. I am talking about the Weathermen or Weather Underground, a mostly student-led group that did jailbreaks and bombed buildings (mostly government buildings and banks). I remember a scene from the documentary Century of the Self that showed an interview with an irate female member, who said that the selling of products to people constituted a sort of violence, so the Weathermen felt justified to use physical violence in response. This for me was certainly politically correct, as it seemed to me that violence was an inappropriate reaction. I say the Weathermen did wrong by risking the lives of people with their physical violence.
Instead of physical violence, there are other ways to resist popular culture. Perhaps the best “violence” against culture you don’t like is simply this: don’t consume it. It’s like when a vain person asks you to flatter her, you refuse to. While some people advise you to comply and make bola (lie or flatter) to people to stay out of trouble, you are doing better telling the truth to prevent the spread of others’ lies in society. That’s similar to how popular culture is being resisted. Resisting popular culture is not easy, but it can be done. Here are some steps I suggest for doing it.
1. Develop the mindset that popular culture and the mainstream are not “laws to follow.” Stop trying to be “in” and resist the bandwagon. Start accepting the everyone is different, no one needs to be the same. Popular culture tries to give you the idea that everybody should be the same. For example, if everyone likes AlDub or Justin Bieber, you should like the same; otherwise, you get insulted and ostracized. That’s the way starstruck ignoramuses work. This is something we should all stand up to.
Commercial media tries to make us think that it’s important to be “in”, be “cool,” part of the group, in line, etc. As a friend once quipped to me, “look, if it’s popular, it must be good!” No, that’s not true. Marketing and advertising spend millions to polish turds, and people yet buy into it because their critical thinking skills are non-functional. Popular culture is popular not because it is good, but because the marketers fool you into loving polished turds. Thus, one must learn to disconnect from the bandwagon and develop their own crap radar to see through the polish of the turd.
Those familiar with the advertising industry know the principle of “create the need.” Let’s say a customer really doesn’t need a product. The advertising industry will make messages to convince the person that they need it. It is a sort of mindjobbing to convince people to buy things by creating the illusion of need. It’s a legacy of the pioneer propaganda expert Bernays.
In this regard, I have a theory that the Pinoy Pride belief as a product of advertising, not government. It seems Filipinos did not seem to feel any inferiority in general back then. Someone in the advertising industry might have thought of Pinoy Pride in a campaign. However, people felt good about themselves already, so “pride” was not necessary. To create a need for “pride,” ad people decided to make Filipinos feel inferior, so they would resort to Pinoy Pride to make themselves feel better. In the end, this planted inferiority lasted too long, with damaging effects. This makes sense when you look at the skin whitening products that depend on propagating the notion that whiter skin is superior over darker skin.
2. Stop thinking of life as a rat race. One reason why people join bandwagons is the belief that being part of bandwagons gives them some superiority over others. This is enticing especially to Filipinos, who as Benign0 described, are culturally hobbled by a compulsion to assert class dominance over each other. Popular culture tries to fool people into believing that life is a contest. To win that contest, they buy luxury brands, fad gadgets and many other needless things. It goes to the point of spending beyond their means. The rat race takes advantage of human hubris and uses this to deceive people that their lives would be better if they became higher than others; but in reality, it drowns them further into misery. Dissociate vanity from dignity. Get rid of the pride that makes you want to “shine above others,” you’ll find life to be happier. And your culture to be cleaner.
Another probable source of rat race motivations would be… wait for it… motivational ideology. Things like The Secret that say, “you deserve what you want,” “you can be better than others,” “you deserve to be rich and famous,” “be the top dog” and all that. These things are prevalent in business circles as well as media, and they promote the wrong sense of entitlement. They convince people to become further engrossed in rat races and thus consume products to help them do it. Thus, we would do best to avoid such questionable motivational content as well.
3. Stop making the pleasing of other people an important pursuit. Yes, I admit pleasing other people is something I’ll put on top of my list of things I hate doing the most. But for good reason. People who insist you should please them usually just want to use you. A wise friend advised me before, “never be a pleaser in life.” When you think about it, pleasers tend to be people who keep wanting things from others, tend to be sycophants, and are likely free-riders and moochers. The reason they please others is because they want to get something from it. Often it’s something they do not deserve. Better deny it from them.
There’s also the myth that pleasing other people is the same as altruism. Altruism is caring for the welfare of others, while pleasing others merely appeals to their emotion. Thus, pleasing others does not necessarily see the other’s welfare as important. You can seek to please someone and still have no concern for their welfare. So seeking to please others is barely a requirement if you want to be good to others.
Marketers make use of wanting to please others by first, trying to convince you that pleasing others in important to be accepted. Next, they sell their products as essentials for this act. For example, you want to please someone because you have sex with them. To do that, you get products to make you prettier. Revisit the quote by Marilyn Manson above.
4. Keep an open mind to alternative lifestyles and unusual things. Accept outlandish things, don’t be limited to what’s acceptable. This is one thing that may be a challenge in an overly conservative culture like the Philippines, but is very relevant. The thing we call “geekdom” started out this way, a fringe movement of sorts that was ridiculed. Today, it permeates movies, literature music and other cultural items (but of course, we must be wary that something “mainstreamed” can also be part of commercialism). Sounds easy, but pressure from other people to dictate your tastes will try to ruin that. Stand your ground. You don’t need other people to tell you want to like; you should do it yourself.
5. Be educated, not just in knowledge, but in discernment, wisdom, insight, sharpness of mind, cleverness, wit, streetsmartness, and most of all, common sense. In other words, don’t just be intelligent, but be smart and practical as well. You should know the tricks. Including the tricks media uses to trick your mind. Know how to tell when something is a hoax or fake. Know when you’re being sold to, and know when to not give in.
Stop being a rumor monger. In other words, tsismoso/a. That’s the culture we have, one where rumors and gossip are more trusted than evidence being presented. People who love tsismis do not like discernment.
Also, since some people at least try to not be impulsive consumers and have their own businesses, they will use friendships or make friends just for their businesses. That sometimes ruins the friendships, or leads to shallow friendships. Filipinos try to be “entrepreneurs,” but are sometimes unaware of the traps that not only lead to failure, which also make life more complicated.
6. Don’t trust your own feelings all the time. It’s simply because media tries to touch you and influence your behavior through your feelings. Feelings are the bridge, because they are often the part of your psyche where you tend to relinquish control over yourself. Also, your feelings can be mistaken. Learn to withstand emotional appeals as well. Emotional shows by other people can be faked, so learn to resist that.
7. Go for Clean Living. Yes, develop healthy habits, stop smoking, know how to recycle, save energy, save water, eat properly, don’t overconsume, and maybe even plant a tree, all contribute some way to resistance to popular culture. Control your everyday habits, as self-control is an essential in good living. Popular culture with its “get what you want” attitude makes us embrace very unhealthy habits.
8. Be persistently questioning. Even the Bible has a verse for that: “Put everything to the test.” The media and other people always try to be persuasive. Sometimes, they try to impose things on us that are not for our own good (refer back to “create the need”). That is where we must learn to not accept it at first, and question it. People out there are trying to deceive you, and thus you should question what they bring to you. Even if it what’s being pushed is claimed to have some “authority.” As I explained above, even bad culture gets forced on you, or gets sold to you like snake oil.
9. Maintain an outsider perspective. Benign0 suggested to me a book (The Outsider’s Edge) that claims outsiders are the real movers, shakers and innovators of society. This is because local people are often for the status quo, resisting change. If something has been going on for so long, even if it is wrong, they’ll keep it that way. For example, some people believe beating servants has always been acceptable. So when an outsider introduces something like the Kasambahay Law, saying beating servants is wrong, they will be angered. Often, it’s outsiders that bring meaninful changes that people need, and they work to remove the resistance and make sure the necessary changes work.
10. Don’t be afraid to criticize culture. Many people hold on to culture as if it is something sacred that should never be touched. No; culture is not a sacred cow. Culture is artificial, so if humans made it, humans have the right to change it. And nothing should insulate culture from criticism or efforts to change. If someone wants to disobey culture, that’s fine. Culture should never be forced on other people, because it is not law. Because, simply, humans have the right to live according to their own personal culture, provided it conforms to universal ethics and morals.
11. Get off mass media. Indeed, the advice of turning off the TV or radio and getting into a good book or other reading material is still sound. This is because mass media is the apparent tool for weaseling their dictates onto your personal culture. Always try to keep your personal culture under your control, and not under the control of other entities.
In the end, culture wars are not between millennial and baby boomer, east versus west, conservative versus liberal or any other opposite you can think of. Culture wars are not after hearts and minds or things like that. Culture wars are actually between competing commercial interests. They are after your money. It can also be seen as between the consumer and the “consumer of the consumer” – or money-grubbing commercial interests.
In conclusion, I will say that counterculture exists for a reason. Culture can be corrupted to a point that it becomes harmful, and thus counterculture is needed to oppose it. In the 1960s, we had that big wave of counter culture that formed many of our modern ideas about freedom. Yes, there may have been some side effects, like political correctness and the drug culture. However, counterculture has existed throughout time. A book called Counterculture Through The Ages (which I have yet to get) has traced counterculture from the time of the Biblical Abraham (yes, he is considered counterculture in his time) through Socrates, Zen, the Sufis and Bohemianism up to the flapper dresses and zoot suits to 60s counterculture which helped bring about today’s world.
Counterculture or some offshoots does sometimes become the dominant culture, but new counterculture will come to challenge it. It is a cycle of change, of evolution if you want, necessary for improving human society as a whole. While there might be some bad apples in the mix, counterculture generally gives us some ammunition for the cultural resistance against commercialism and other elements that try to mind-control you and direct your behavior. We must be careful and choose the right mix in order to counter the assault that not only affects our wallets, but our intelligence as well. Let us also never forget that our ego always tends to be the target of culture, and it is through our ego that culture is used to manipulate us. Working on our ego is perhaps the most essential part of resisting popular culture.
Advertising and media professor Sut Jhally wrote that our society is headed for a collision course with nature. If humanity does not rethink its consumerist ways, it may be well on its way to self-destruction. The difficulty is that humanity has been taught to love its consumerist ways and even be aggressive against those who oppose it. But this can be overcome with realization of the problem and acceptance of the solution, however harsh it may seem.
Marketers and advertisers will continue to study ways to overcome consumer resistance, but consumers must continue to hold the fort.
I believe, as my cohorts here do, that what Filipinos embrace as their culture is what actually pulls the country down. And those who seem to be anti-dictators, who may also believe themselves to be “heroes,” are the real dictators.
I agree 100%.
Well written.
I personally do not watch television.
Have not watched it in years.
Occasional movies on a rainy day yes but less and less as time goes buy.
So much time is wasted on television, youtube, facebook.
Social media is a joke of pc popularity.
I personally have better things to do with my time then waste it.
We only get once chance at a life.
Wasting it in front of a box where im bmbarded with how i should think. What i should wear and constant fear.
Yeah my life is much better and i notice im more switched on and much happier then e eryone else i know.
These days while at the gym i even audio book my way through my cardio just to maxiumize my time.
Thank you.
Thanks for the comment. Good suggestion on what to do at the gym.
No wonder youve got time to debate and troll almost every other commenter on this site. very productive indeed
Right. How pretentious of him…
Do u people know what a troll is?
Its someone trying to get a rise out of people deliberately.
Im obviously not a Fucking troll.
Yes well public transport gives me free time to read shit on data.
Of course you are.
That is due to your one-sidedness that you always all go EMO.
Go figure.
I disagre with the opinion of certain people on this site because their opinion is just that not based in reality or facts.
Should i bow down to and become a typical filipino that nods and agrees with the majority?
Yeah that would be dishonest.
Atleast i stand up for my opinions and are steadfast in them.
Not seasonal or like the rest of our nation.
Have an opinion based on facts and ill agree with you.
Pretty simple really.
I’ll just say that while some of our articles seem to favor Ferdinand Marcos Sr., what I’ll say is, even the current bad guys can ride on the anti-Marcos bandwagon in order to get away with it. When people get fooled and believe “oh, he’s good since he’s anti-Marcos,” they’ll let the bad guys get away with their shenanigans.
With KD set to join the Warriors, expect a tide of bandwagon fans riding on the Warriors’ dicks. You have no idea how ridiculous the fan base for GS grew after 2015. Where were these people before then? Where were the so-called Heat ‘fans’?
There, sport fandom. That’s another thing that’s all about merchandise sales, not real sports. It’s like the gladiatorial combats in Ancient Rome, except that no lives are lost, and you now have sponsors whose products you are encouraged to buy as part of your “fandom.”
Choose the path where no one goes…….it is not for the feint of heart. You will see that the view is superior to that which has traffic.However the beasts you encounter you must rise above and conquer or you will be eaten alive.
Believe me,
its fun and NEVER BORING !!!
so lets go jump into the bandwagon of bandwagon hating.. nowhere man it is
Good article. I am always bewildered by Filipinos (mostly women) buying whitening products there. I heard these products are best sellers. I think media is the major culprit with this one. The desire to change your color is, in my opinion, self-loathing, especially considering possible unkown side effects. That’s an example of Filipinos wanting to be someone else, and rejecting their natural beauty. In my opinion, darker, tanned skin looks great. Watch a fat Caucasian walk through SM, with his pasty, fat arms and tell me how great that looks.
Ironically, people in the West are always trying to tan or get tanning lotions, because of how good being tanned looks to them. I wonder if skin color changing has the same purpose in the East vs. the West. I think in the West it’s partially a lack of self-acceptance – but mainly vanity. In the East I think there is more of a self-acceptance thing, due to all the ‘white’ movies and shows.
Hey Filipinos, stop with the skin lightening crap. You already look good. Besides, lighter skin increases skin cancer risk, due to having less protective melanin.
Watch a fat filipino walk through sm, with his oily sweaty dark arms and blotchy diabetic skin.
Tell me how great he looks?
Beauty is subjective but not sure why being racist was a point u wanted to make.
Was it to get ” brownie points” ( pun totally intended).
Lets lay off picking on other cultures.
In all honesty i see a lot of young fit white girls and guys in this country.
They look pretty damn good to me.
Overweight and u healthy people’ regardless or ethinicty or race, look terrible no matter how racist you are.
Just a fact.
You are a moron. Your post does not make sense; you don’t write very clearly. You seem to be playing the race card, so through ambiguity I am guessing you are another knee-jerk, leftist. I am assuming you are a fat slob Caucasian, so I may have struck a nerve; you seem offended.
You see many young Caucasians in Phils who are fit? That is either a lie, or you are just stupid. In my trips there I have seen maybe 6-10, who are there on vacation; the rest( 20-1 ratio) are fat slobs. Tell me, where are all these hundreds or thousands of thin Caucasians in the Philippines?
I am Caucasian of German/ Nordic descent, and I will pick on whichever culture I want to, especially the lazy, undisciplined, classless, shameless Western culture. Perhaps this affects me personally because I come from the West, and it makes all of us westerners look pathetic. It is embarrassing to see lazy, fat slobs everywhere, who have no appreciation for life. Not to mention the number of them who are probably there to exploit girls. There is no shame in American culture, unlike in Korean culture, for example. Funny, I don’t see any morbidly obese Filipinos when I visit. I have seen maybe 10-20 very fat Filipinos in my trips there. Tell me, where are the 300-400 pound Filipinos?
Nope, not trying to be a sychophant. I don’t do things to kiss-up. I’m just giving my opinion that tanned skin looks good and, in my opinion, looks better than pasty skin and should not be chemically alterated; that’s all. The media is involved with the skin whitening phenomenon, which was another of my points. Would Filipinas be trying to lighten their skin if they were completely isolated from Western media, and had never even seen a Caucasian person? I’m guessing not.
If you cannot handle criticism, or someone giving an opinion, without getting pissed, you are nothing but a child, and need to grow up. Try arguing with clear points and not emotions.
Im mid 30s and a gym rat.
Does that answer your question.
Also live in the philippines full time for more than a decade.
Spend a fair bit of time in Boracay and travelling to festivals with my work.
I get around greg.
Once upon a time you were correct but not the ladt 3 to 4 years.
A lot of young foreigners not only gidit but work here.
They just do not not hang out in bars or clubs or places poor, retired tourists sit.
I have met a few at my local university here studying also.
Its amazing the difference of living so ewhere and living somewhere and having a point of view.
Any woman i have ever dated has bern dark skinned like me because i spend a lot of time in the sun.
Be it hiking or diving or swimming in secluded volcanc lakes on too of mountains.
Obesity is a very real problem in the philippines.
So is diabetessnd heart disease.
These are not skinny people diseases greg.
Im happy you have opinions and im happy to debunk them.
A 2011 survey by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) showed that 22.3 percent of Filipino adults are overweight and 6.1 percent are obese. The prevalence of overweight Filipinos is expected to increase significantly by 2015.Oct 20, 2014
Philstar.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/06/26/1470048/who-obesity-rise-among-pinoys
I do not blame you as you obviously did not know, nor do u live here.
Also most tourists i see here are young twenty year old koreans.
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/pages/industryperformance.aspx
I know right.
Facts versus opinions. Sigh
What you assume Greg is doing is not racism. It’s something you might call “fat-shaming” in America. However, I doubt Greg was fat-shaming either. It is still true that when a person is obese or overweight, they are less healthy than a person with a more balanced body. It doesn’t look great, and it’s a result of overconsumption that I’m talking about above. That’s calling a spade a spade.
Correct there was no racism. The race card is used by people who lack valid points. Light skinned people come from different ethnic groups. Many Caucasian people have reddish/pinkish skin, which is why I do not use the unscientific term ‘white’ to refer to them.
True I was not fat-shaming either, although I admit I was being critical. Fat-shaming was invented in politically correct America, where a percentage of the country lives their lives in order to be victims, so they can exploit it for sympathy. What I find pathetic is perfectly healthy people destroying their bodies for pleasure, and flaunting their destruction, while a baby is born with a defective heart and will die.
There is also the lack of discipline that cries weakness/ lack of shame. A lack of basic discipline is a trait found in 5 year olds.
I have the notion, Greg, that some people don’t see the connection of personal habits with health. They just believe, when they get fat or get sick, it just happens on its own without cause. Or it’s sabotage by someone else. They don’t realize what they eat or their hygiene habits can be factors. And I’m talking about “educated” people in the cities, not just the ones in the far-off bushes.
Greg,
We use sunblock (not tanning lotion) against the UVs.
And yes we like to get a tan during summer season. Thats because we hardly have good weather. Yes, it is out of vanity. Whats wrong with that?
Do you shave? Do you use a deodorant? Do you use an “after-shave”? Do you change your clothes daily? All signs of vanity.
I would differ on some. Having deodorant, shaving and changing clothes are not signs of vanity. It’s hygiene and cleanliness, not to be confused with vanity.
Robert,
I do shave and engage in general grooming. Out of respect for myself, as well as my wife, I want to be clean and look my best for her. I suppose it may be part vanity- but I believe it is more about respect and wanting to be the best I can be.
It is also about discipline. If I have a thick beard, don’t groom myself and become fat, I would feel lazy. I also like to believe that I live in a modern era and have access to modern society, with its utensils. I don’t want to feel as though I live in the 11th century.
As ChinoF says, it is partly about sanitation, as well.
Nice one, I also thought about it in those terms after I commented above. Respect for self and others. Obviously, if you feel you have the “right” to let others endure your stink or dirt, you have no respect for them. You willing to stay dirty (you don’t clean up after handling sand or gravel at construction work, or coal at a boiler), you don’t respect yourself.
Let me add, the idea of white skin as clean and dark as dirty is common, but is a twisted message. Indeed, cleanliness has nothing or little to do with skin color. Marketers unfortunately conjure this relationship for selling their products.
Greg,
actually I dont see anything wrong with vanity.
If a guy wants to flaunt his six-pack then he must (and will) do it.
If a woman wants to flaunt her boobs (cleavage) then she must (and will) do it.
I dont mind at all.
I live in a world where each individual decides for him/herself what he/she wants to do. Total freedom for each.
I really dont see negative sides about vanity. And for that matter, I dont see anything wrong with all other points mentioned by Chino.
But hey, Chino lives in a different country.
Robert,
What you are referring to is personal hygiene and good grooming. We are talking about the ridiculous amount of hype regarding whitening products. What is really the point? I’ve travelled to enough countries to know that beauty does pertain to your skin color. Rather, it has more to do with physical fitness and proper nutrition. A lot of people here are short and stocky because our diet is mediocre.
Inter,
Just wanna share 2 things.
As far as I know and knew, my pinay GF didnt and dont use whitening products.
She always told/tells me that she likes my pointy nose. Excuse me, but there is nothing special about my (pointy) nose. I didnt have a nose job.
I don’t have a chip on my shoulder; it is probably anger at the fact that the corrupt U.S. politicians are globalists, and are trying to destroy our civil liberties. The U.S. is becoming lawless, just like the EU. This is being orchestrated by globalist elitist edicts. I believe that each country ought to have its own autonomy. The EU was created by elitists from around the globe, and the next step is the NAU ( North American Union). The NAU will be designed to strip Americans of their rights, just like the UN/ EU. I want each country to decide its own fate and not corporate/ elitist masters. This is why the U.S. and other countries need a leader who follows the law and stays out of other countries’ business.
When you mention the way things are done in Europe, not all people want European ways. Just as many Europeans/ Asians don’t want Americanism shoved down their throats, and I understand that. Not all people want prostitutes and drugs everywhere, even though Amsterdam wants that. Each country has strengths and flaws, as well as its ways.
I wish there was a place in the world people could go to get away from lawlessness. I don’t think such a place exists; perhaps Switzerland is as close as it gets. I would not be able to live in Phils for a number of reasons.
Greg,
what is it that you cant do in your own country? What civil liberties are destroyed in USA? You can own guns. I can’t. I dont even want to own a gun.
To a certain extent, I do agree with you that each individual country must be able to set its own rules, laws and regulations.
Lets try a a few examples.
– If we want to sharpen (lower) CO2 emissions but my neighbouring countries leave them untouched then the whole purpose goes down the drain. So for this issue we need the entire EU to do the same in order to make it stick and work.
– if Germany wants their citizens to carry guns and we dont, then thats fine with me. For this issue there is no need for an EU.
– You wanna talk about abortion and same seks marriage? For me its simple. If you are against those 2 then dont use those liberties. But for crying out loud, for others its a solution. Be practical.
– Personally I am against certain paragraphs of both CETA and TTIP. So as it stands today, I will vote against if it comes to a referenda. IN EU we have set higher standards for consumer products and consumer food (meat etc). While USA has far lower standards.
As a businessman, I need healthy consumers especially now the birth rate/fertility rate is going down in EU.
Personally, I am not bothered by prostitution and the drug use (in my country). In both cases its a minor issue. And only soft drugs is allowed legally.
I really would not know a country that has 0% crime rate. I guess even North Korea has crime.
I will only leave my country if it will get infested with too many refugees that dont want to adapt and adopt our open and free modern, liberal society. I dont want to go back to the Dark or Middle Ages.
@ Robert,these are just two of the ‘civil rights’ that have been taken off the USCnstitution since 2011: on Dec. 31, 2011 Obama signed the NDAA that officially wiped the 6TH AMENDMENT(habeus corpus) off the books. The NSA is involved in SURVEILLANCE of evryone’s e-mails/telephone converstions (SO USE A VPN,u kno?) 24/7/365 which violates 1ST,6TH and I believe the 4TH amendment.
Tortue has not been prosecuted and is in violation of the Nuremburg accords which the USA is a signatory (and may be even the writer of those accords to.).If I had more time I could get to a few more civil rights that USA citizens no longer enjoy, BUT I don’t have the time right now.
The White people pay a lot of money, to TAN themselves, to become brownish. The Filipino brown people, uses, all kinds of skin whitening products; to become white people…use surgery to have white people’s nose…
I have a friend, who is a little bit rich. He go and buy what is new… After a few years; the new product,he bought, become obsolete…so, I go and buy his obsolete products, for my use, at bargain prices…
I do not buy, anything, if I do not need it ! No more , no less. You may call me: “kuripot”…but I am always thrifty in my life.
Always, Be Yourself … do not imitate others, or want to become the other person. We are all unique, in this life, and in this world…there is no other: Chino F or BenignO or Hyden Toro, in this world. Nor there will be another one , in the future. Enjoy, your accomplishments and your life…all I believe is grace , from our creator ! If you believe , there is a creator…
It’s that herd instinct/ lack of sense of individuality in this case.
Though I’m not a pure evolutionist, the said instinct is for survival but only to a certain extent. If we hope to maintain and advance our civilization, a balance between the collective and the individual is required. Otherwise, it’s back to square one. Generations would have to live through the same cycles.
It’s a fact that we’re advancing in technology yet most of us have been intellectually downgraded. It’s a mismatch and a recipe for- you know what..
7. Go for clean living. Yes, develop healthy habits, stop smoking, know how to recycle, save energy, save water, eat properly, don’t overconsume, and maybe even plant a tree…
– Eat properly as in eat with spoon, knife and fork or eat healthy as in nutritious food?
– I am only allowed to plant trees in my own yard/garden. For planting a tree in public spaces, I need a permit (which costs me money). Public spaces are owned by the city government, provincial government or national government.
7. Go for clean living => can I add: stop procreating?
I’ll just answer, eat healthy as in nutritious food.
I was unaware of the light skin being clean, and dark skin being dirty idea. I wonder if that is a marketing scheme to increase sales. It has a sick tone, no doubt.
Well sugar and a sedentary lifestyle are most the most prevalent.
Change sugar and move around more and everything in moderation and you are all good.
I need a new phone. Thos ones buttons are way to small and i can not see what im typing half the time
Voice,
I do drink – red – wine occassionally. Only during dinner with friends and/or during a business diner. I dislike drinking alone.
I do use sugar in my coffee and tea. To compensate I am an active athlete. And not only to compensate but also bec I love being busy with my body. Being and becoming fat (overweight) is ugly and unhealthy.
Robert,
I don’t think vanity is the worst thing in the world. The problem is when people damage themselves in an attempt to be vain. People showing off their abs or boobs is not vanity, it is attention-whoring.
Greg,
I am okay that you use such word(s) (attention-whoring). We dont use such words.
We dont ‘judge’ people by what they wear or what they show off. For me it means that that person is free and feels free what to wear (or not to wear).
Come on, Gregg, I only need to go to any beach in my country to see people sunbathe fully naked. And mind you, that are public beaches. I am used to that since I was born.
Gregg, you really need to lighten up. I dont even pay attention when I see a girl/woman showing a cleavage. I do notice it but I wont stare at her.
Robert,
Well you may not use term attention-whore – but one deliberately flaunting themselves is needing attention. I call it what it is.
I don’t need to lighten up because I never said people should not do as they please; none of my business. I believe in civil liberties which is one reason I could not live in authoritarian Europe. Things are getting bad enough in the U.S. as it is. I am not Dutch and do not care for the liberal prostitution and drugs in Holland. If women want to advertise themselves in windows like watches, as though they are from the 18th century, and people want to be drug addicts, they will do it. People cannot be forced to evolve into the 21st century, unless forced to by a dictator. I don’t believe in drugs or prostitution, and all of the mess that comes with it. However, I do not live in Europe and do not care what Europe does; none of my business, anyway.
Greg,
I dont even mind if/when they want to draw all my attention to them. Sometimes they will succeed, most times they fail.
It seems to me you hold some grudges (chip on your shoulder?). Are you disappointed in USA society? And now you are fleeing to PH? What are you afraid of? What is bothering you?
Ok I stand corrected on a few points. I do not live in Phils and don’t have the same perspective. I have never been to a bar or club there; mostly regular mom and pop-type sari sari shops, malls, beaches, and other establishments in rural areas. No I have never seen more than 10-20 very fat Filipinos, out of probably tens of thousands of Filipinos I have seen there. I have seen some overweight people as well – but not many. Data show that many Filipinos are actually malnourished calorically; I see people there who are emaciated. I’m guessing about 40% I have seen are underweight. Koreans in Phils being thin is irrelevant because they are not westerners, and generally have discipline. The Caucasian westerners I see there are fat. The westerners I have seen in other Asian countries are generally not.
You didn’t debunk my point about fat and diabetes, because it is a fact. I work in medicine and deal with this every day. As of now approximately 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. There is an intracellular mechanism that causes pancreatic miscommunication, leading to blood sugar issues. People who eat a lot, and are sedentary, often have high blood sugar. They do not burn off the excessive sugar they consume. Rarely do I see thin people with diabetes; they do exist, however.
there are plenty of fat and overweight Filipino’s. it is due to the quality of the food as much as the poor wages in the country. One needs money to buy food, and even more money to buy healthy foods.
Robert,
I am commenting in wrong places because some comments have the reply option unavailable.
We have most of our civil liberties in the U.S. They are being stripped slowly and what I see coming is going to be worse. In many states it is very hard to legally own a gun, especially a handgun. In New York, for example, it is virually impossible in most counties. Our Constitution provides us with the right to self defense, so restriction like this is illegal.
Freedom of speech is being eroded by things like the ‘Fairness Doctrine’, and political correctness. Just saying things in a workplace, even if facts, can get you suspended or in trouble. In Germany and Sweden there are people who have criticized Muslim migrants for raping girls, and have been accused or legally charged with ‘hate speech”. This is only the beginning.
I do not care if gay people marry; none of my business. Some co conservative types do not support gay marriage – but many of them are hypocrites.
I am against the TPP because it, from what I have read, will cause more job losses in the U.S. The corporate globalist crowd wants it in order to increase profits. It supposedly has language that stifles rights – but I have not read it.
Abortion is a tough issue. The way I see it…it should be legal. However, if not for stupidity there would be no need for it, except for rape. People apparently cannot use birth control properly; if they were not stupid they would know how and avoid abortions. Sticking a spike into a fetus’s head is harsh and should be avoided at all costs. There right wing types who don’t even believe in abortion in cases of rape are evil people, and have as much respect for women as the rapists themselves.
The world is being changed by globalist international laws. Things are getting worse and I am worried.
Greg,
I dont know what I can say to a collegue (in the nagetive). Most of us have our own specific field of work. During meetings, its quite open and able to say the harshest things to each other. Its not about her/him nor about me, its about the company that must thrive.
In normal circumstances abortion should not be needed but that requires knowledge of our bodies. Those who are low and not educated dont have a clue about their own bodies (sperm count, sperm quality, sperm cell, egg cell, egg quality, ovulation, menstruation). This is exactly what the RCC (and any other religion) wants people NOT to know. Common knowledge, knowledge, facts and therefore common sense is not a priority for them.
However, there are circumstances where abortion is the only solution to solve a problem (rape and unwanted, unplanned pregnancies).
Knowledge, truth, common sense, facts dont mix very well with religion.
Personally I am against gun ownship. Why? Because when we (you and I) have a conversation that goes overboard, you (or I) can just get our gun and kill the other.
What happened in Orlanda and US schools cant happen in my country.
Robert,
I am wondering why you use the standard ‘liberal’ argument( I use the word ‘liberal’ here even though it’s actually authoritarian), because you don’t apply that logic to your responses regarding drug use and parenting. I believe you blame people for using drugs and not the drug lords who supply them. You blame the irresponsible parents for their kids being in poverty, and not tge Catholic Church or government. Your logic is reversed compared to your gun comment. Guns don’t kill people themselves, people do. The riff raff criminals kill people. Blame the criminals. Using your logic the people who try drugs should not receive any blame, only the drugs or dealers. Blaming guns is a childish way of thinking, devoid of logic. You favor logic over superstition and nonsense, right?
In the U.S. approximately 40,000 people each year are killed in motor vehicle accidents; I do not know the number in European countries. Why don’t you propose a car ban? In the U.S. cars kill 4 times as many people as guns. Again, why blame a reckless or drunk driver when it’s the car’s fault?
It is the leftist ‘liberal’ policies and culture that produces violent people. The only reason you even hear about shootings here is because the media selectively chooses to focus on it for ratings and to fit their leftist agenda. You won’t hear about the daily shootings in Chicago, because the people doing shootings are black; media only reports Caucasian mass shootings so they can demonize Caucasians. Also, Chicago has a ‘liberal’ government with very strict gun control; only the violent criminals have guns there because law abiding people cannot get them.
Europe was all but wiped out by the Germans in WW2. The Nazis banned guns, except(of course) for themselves. The Soviets did similar things. How did that work out for Europe? There was a Japanese emperor at the time who said it would be foolish for Japan to invade the U.S., because there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. We are free because of firearms; Europe was not so lucky.
In Switzerland there is a military-issued rifle in each home. I don’t hear about mass murder and shootings there. The people are raised with discipline and values, not ‘liberal”, violent culture. People who believe in the rule of law don’t commit crimes. Leftists don’t believe in laws and regularly parole violent criminals. They are larely responsible for the criminals who are out in the streets.
The Orlando shooting was committed by a Muslim, and the San Bernardino shooting was committed by 2 Muslims. The leftist ‘liberal’ politicians, like Obama, let them into the country. The two radical San Bernardino shooters had made radical comments on social media prior to the event. The woman involved made radical comments PRIOR to being allowed to immigrate here. The government did not screen properly, or wanted to allow them in. The Orlando shooter had been investigated by government authorities; however, for some unknown (wink wink) reason was allowed to continue. Obama is ‘liberal’ and defends Muslims at all costs. He never blamed them or blamed Islam. He blamed guns.
Now that the same dictatorial European governments, who have banned guns, are letting in violent Muslim migrants, how are the people going to defend themselves? The women and girls in Germany, Denmark and Sweden are being attacked and they are defenseless. The governments cover up what is happening to protect the Muslims. I heard a specially trained American military guy talk of seeing (at a train station) young Muslim males aggressively swarming around a girl ( It was a European country, maybe Belgium or Germany), and the guy said he saw that she was shaking from fear. He and his friends sat next to her to protect her, while everyone else there just let it happen. It’s a shame to see people beaten down into submission by their controlling government. Well, that’s what the father, authoritarian government wants. If a radical Muslim tries to attack you or your family in Holland, with a machete, what are you going to do?
Greg,
Probably I minxed words in such a way that other people (you) had to draw that conclusion. That was not my intention.
People do pull the trigger (and not the gun itself).
(poor) People have sex in an irresponsible way leading to pregnancies and thus more poor people. The bible nor the church cant make those women pregnant.
Its the lack of being critical to their own religion; its the lack of being critical to gun ownership (by the people).
Its the people who start using drugs. Even if the druglord tries to sell it to them. A person can always say NO.
In short: I blame the (poor) people who have irresponsible sex, the people who use drugs and the people who buy and use guns; I do blame the car drivers (and not the cars nor the car manufacturers).
Example:
If and when I have a hedonistic mindset about sex then I must not be surprised to end up having/getting STDs and/or HIV/AIDS.
The last couple of months, we (in my country) get to hear only about USA – white – cops shooting/killing black people. Dutch cops also wear guns but I am never afraid to stand next to one. I have been ‘arrested’ (halted) a couple of times for a alcohol test while driving. Always come up clean.
I dont consider myself a law-abiding citizen. I just know what alcohol can do in traffic, so I wont use it while driving. I am allowed to defend myself and in doing that even killing a person (who attacks me) and I wont end up in jail.
What I do think is that many people are made numb regarding refugesss/Muslims and are afraid to be called racists. Those refugees/Muslim often times use the racist-card.
Orlando (as well as Newtown,Connecticut) are BOTH FAKE EVENTS. Where were all the ambulances? where are all the bodies? In the Newtown,Ct. situation the state has refused to release the death certificates of the deceased and have made a state law to prevent it. I can site sources but you are capable of the research yourself. the Boston Marathon bombing,FALSE FLAG !!!! How does the older brother get handcuffed, then taken into custody and then die in a shootout with police where he was run over twice ? Black back packs were used to conceal the devices that exploded and the two brothers are seen carrying Blue/Gray backacks moments before the explosions.
EXPLAIN ? LOL, you believe the MSM ?
Having a dissenting opinion on movies, music, or clothes, or owning clever or obscure possessions, is the way Failipino people fight one another for status…Hipsters, then, are the direct result of this cycle of indie, authentic, obscure, ironic, clever consummerism…It is ironic in the sense the very act of trying to run counter to the culture is what creates the next wave of culture people will in turn attempt to counter.
Good read. Sadly, this happens everywhere not just in the Philippines.
Common sense is simple. Whatever you see typical Pinoys doing –> simply do the OPPOSITE.
For once i agree with you lol
Lol, well you probably don’t realize how many things we have in common. I don’t watch TV, don’t waste time on Facebook, and multitask every chance I get.
I’ll even give you a tip since you’re such a faithful GRP commenter here, and such a good sport after our last debate.
While at work, you can simply paste a GRP article into Google Translate. Press the natural speech reader button, and you’ll be performing 2 tasks simultaneuosly to save on you precious time.
Life is short pal, maximize and make the most of it.
And one more tip : Learn to NOT need processed sugar on your coffee. Sugar is poison.
I wonder if Prez Duterte can declare a National opposite day and see what it’s like to be normal for one day. Hahaha