People come and go. Governments rise and fall. Disasters (natural or otherwise) happen and leave their effects. In this regard, the Philippines is not much different from other societies in the world.
What distinguishes us is how we react. Despite knowing some things happen cyclically, rather than improve their response, it seems Filipinos collectively would prefer to go around in circles.
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The cycle of rearing Pinoys
Starting from the family, Filipino children are reared to obey their parents unconditionally. Children are still seen by some families as property of the parents; they can do whatever they want with and to these kids, even to the point of humiliating them and eroding their dignity.
Normally, kids are encouraged to be curious about their surroundings, and ask questions to get answers. But it seems that there are still quite a few among the Filipino grown-ups who don’t like entertaining questions from kids. Some of the grown-ups think that being unable to answer a question is a loss of face. Some probably think that asking questions disrupts the air of “harmony” or “bliss”. Still others may think that kids should concetrate on being children – property as defined previously.
Worst of all, certain Filipino grown-ups who do unacceptable things to/in front of their children don’t own up and apologize to them. Rather, they scare the kids into saying nothing, or else the young ones face risk of physical harm.
In short, certain Filipinos don’t treat children with respect for them, but rather treat them with the respect which puts children “in their place.” Anyone who’s been told, “bata ka pa, wag mo muna isipin iyan (you’re too young to think of such things)”, could attest to this.
When these Filipino kids grow up, most of them may do it to their kids because it’s the only way they know. Or worse, because they feel the need for “sameness” or “retribution” towards their kids. These are the type of people who strengthen the case that Filipinos should stop having children they can’t raise properly.
This manner of rearing and molding young Filipinos continues in our universities. It is obvious from the collective state of Pinoy society that students are taught what to think, and not how to think. Especially with schools run by religious orders, feeding them political dogma is but an easy, extra, small step when you’re already indoctrinating them in religious dogma.
And what happens to the “leaders of the next generations”? They wil simply keep on the tradition of dogma in the Philippines – their elders will shove their beliefs down on them, the students will be discouraged from thinking, and thus become additional bricks in the wall.
The cycle of reacting to unfortunate events
A few factors come into play when talking about how Filipinos react to unfortunate/unforeseen events:
1) Some view natural disasters as “tests of faith by God”
2) Most Filipinos don’t plan for the future.
3) If a good idea is someone else’s Filipinos will find a way to take credit for it, or discredit that idea by discrediting the people attached to it.
With that, Pinoys follow a predictable cycle:
1) Observe cavalier disregard for their environment.
2) Get hit by calamities.
3) Smile, grin, and bear it, then finally;
4) Blame the government for not doing something.
Filipino government officials, on the other hand, follow their own cycle:
1) Disaster preparedness protocol/infrastructure are not given the proper budget.
2) Legislators ignore preventive measures if there is no way to insert themselves into the picture.
3) Local unit suffers avoidable damage in calamities.
4) Legislators conduct hearings on why they were caught unprepared.
The cycle of victimhood
No discussion of Pinoy culture is complete without mentioning their penchant for victimhood. Filipinos, quite simply, don’t recognize personal accountability; to them, their misfortunes are usually someone else’s fault.
If you failed to prosecute an opponent, they cheated.
If you lost a competition, the other party cheated.
When your opponent gives as good as he takes from you, your voice is being “stifled”
Do Filipinos truly want to change their society, truly for the better? Then they need to improve on how they do things for the next cycle.
Otherwise, Pinoys are just spinning in circles. And they keep coming back to the same thing over and over again.
Photo credits to 350.org
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
If Filipinos even attempted to make any improvements in their lives, they’d destroy the precious myth that they’re all helpless victims. So they can’t. Or won’t. Which ultimately results in other people laughing at them, disrespecting them, and abusing them … reinforcing the idea that they’re victims.
In other words, Filipinos are perfectly happy with the way things are.
Pnoy illegally abuse the constitution by giving amnesty to trillanes which is not applicable to treason that’s why his amnesty is already void from the start.
@marius,
Your comment is spot on, they’re not really going to move to improve themselves, because the principles that are suppose to motivate them are just not strong enough to overcome the idea of hero-martyr-saint, and for as long as people believe that there will always be heroes and saviors, who they can rely upon, they will just sit and wait for martyrs and saints to take care of them.
Incidentally … your comment about raising children reminded me of something I saw the other day. I was looking over somebody’s shoulder where she had an open document on the desk.
She was, it appears, doing teacher training, or something similar, to escape her current dull, dead-end job.
The document was written something like the script for a play. First the teacher would say something (typically inane, like “now class, who can tell me the main exports of Colombia?”) then the students would – supposedly – respond politely with “Please Miss, the main exports of Colombia are guns and cocaine”. Or whatever the correct answer was. And the teacher would then come back with “Well done, student A! Now, who can tell me … [insert next tedious question here]”.
I think anyone who has any experience of classroom behaviour would recognise this document as a complete waste of trees. In any case, the unwritten assumption was that school is a place where teachers line up kids like compliant zombies, flip open the top of their heads, and pour “knowledge” into them. Nowhere in that charade was there any mention of getting kids to think.
Like a lot of foreign technology, Filipinos have looked at the concept of ‘school’ with interest … and come up with their own cargo-cult version of it that completely misses the point.
marius , School is supposed to teach you how to learn on your own. Well in my opinion decades and decades of our schooling system here manifest itself on our TV screens and movie screens and what passes for our reading material. Big fail for our education system which has either taught us to value the ridiculous or ignore the significant.
Indeed.
I’ve argued elsewhere that if Filipinos were to fix one thing and nothing else, they should fix the education system. Break the cycle. Stop teaching kids to be idiots. Unfortunately, to do that, they’d have to import a lot of foreign teachers, and that just isn’t going to happen for political reasons.
And so the cycle continues, with the blind leading the blind, producing a new generation of blind teachers …
Father: Come with me my son for I will teach how to survive in this world, I will teach you the knowledge and skills of how to become a great pickpocket, and I will give this knowledge to you all for free.
Son: You’re a great Dad.
Parents will always be the best teachers to their children.
What I’m saying is, is to make parents of poor communities get themselves involve in teaching, rather than playing BINGO the whole day. A lot of these parents knows ABC and 123, they can start teaching at that level.
Not qualified? Make them qualified.
You are not worthy of becoming a parents if you don’t have the ability to teach.
Why doesnt your beloved president Duterte change the school system?
On what basis? The pinoy culture is what it is. If you sir, could change 3 things about the school system what would they be?
It’s a very good question.
Robert, had you not been a foreigner you might already have been labelled as a “yellowtards”(dilawan), only yellowtards criticize Pres. Duterte, this kind of pattern usually end up in fascism where you no longer can criticize those on top, and again we’re back in circle,
I wonder how many youths in the “poor” communities with potential to become great doctors, great teachers, great scientist, and even great leaders were killed just because they were deprived of their right to get a proper and formal education. If education is free from the start do you think we will get leaders like Noynoy as president?
As a foreigner, I can only concur to everything that is written here. Not bad, hey, for a foreigner ?!?!
The very first time, I learned things about the Filipino culture, I immediately started to ask questions, such as why. So, I think, one of the first things kids are taught is the Mano AND that when the parents do get visitors, the kids (or maybe only the daughters) have to leave the (living) room. The very same, I see, with ‘honorifics’ like ate, kuya etc. It all doesn’t make sense to me.
Critical thinking and asking critical questions is still not on the daily menu for Filipinos.
It is a vicious cycle that we are all in; from chiildhood to adulthood. It is unfortunate, that we have this kind of child rearing culture. However, mindsets and cultures can be changed, modified, or discarded; if they do not work well for us .
We do not question our elders. We are reared to respect them, even if they are stupid or are crooks. Religion and the church, play a vital role on the lives of most Filipinos. This is why, we have the , “Bahala Na” attitude. And , if calamity, or misfortune hits us. We leave everything to God.
We put too much respect on our political leaders. They are placed on pedestals, and some political follower , worship them as , “Demigods”. No matter how crooked, they are. They seem to be “untouchables”. So, these politician crooks , spin tales of overrated accomplishments, sainthood, heroism, etc…If you look deep into their lives and characters : they are full of crookedness and evilness.
Unless, we change our mindsets, we will never improve ourselves and our country. We are now caught up in a vicious cycle. The cycle keeps spinning around and around. We are all forced to ride on it, because we think: we cannot do anything about it !
I hear what you say but there is a contradictio in your statement.
Respecting parents/older people even when they are stupid? And you do question your politicians. Politicians have far lesser (or even no) impact on one’s life than parents do have. So ….
A very simple question a kid/child can and should ask his/her parents is:
“why did you make me, knowing the two of you are dirt poor?”
Not the question is intimidating nor offensive, but only the answer will be.
@Robert Haigton:
Filipino parents are presumed they have lived long enough to know better. So, they are respected.
On the case of our crooked politicians. There are blind political followers, who just follow these political leaders, without questions. They do no do a thorough research of their background, like employers would have done.
So, we elect, incompetent, corrupt and useless people as our leaders. We even elected, Benigno Aquino III , as President. He was suffering from depression , early age mental retardation, and mental illness. This dude, never had a good accomplishment in his life.
“Filipino parents are presumed they have lived long enough to know better. So, they are respected.”
Respect is something that needs to be earned and deserved based on achievements (plural, that is). Being a parent and/or being old(er) is NOT an achievement. “Living long enough” is not an achievement and does not qualify to be respected as a single issue.
How is it possible to vote for incompetent politicians? Now, you make me wonder who is the most incompetent? The politician or the voter? I put my money on the voter.
“why did you make me, knowing the two of you are dirt poor?”
The respond to that is, “Ingrate!, had not been for us you’re not going to be born, you owe it to us that you are here, so just shut up!”
Pilipino children are trapped into this “debt of gratitude” that they accepted that this is just the way it is, and when they’re grown up, it is their duty to start paying this debt, mostly the eldest of the sibling suffers most, as the brunt of the burden of responsibility that is suppose to be of his/her parents all falls into his/her hands.
“The response to that is, “Ingrate!, had not been for us you’re not going to be born, you owe it to us that you are here, so just shut up!”” (sounds an awful lot like Utang na loob, to me)
Making love or having sex or procreating is an individual freedom. I dont know a country where sex is forbidden by law. But procreating also comes with responsibility (and accountability).
I also do think that many Filipinos (M/F) dont even know the biological “laws” of their body.
Anyway, based on all the comments here, it just shows that Fallen Angel’s article is spot on. And that nothing will change soon. So, basically, the Philippines as we know it, is fucked. The funny thing is: this time it is fucked by themselves and not by a foreign 3rd party colonist. Ironic !!!!
@Robert Haighton: That’s why, when Filipinos immigrate to develop countries countries like US or Canada, they really got a “culture shock”.
@Robert Haighton:
Parents presumed to know more, are ingrained in our culture. This is how , we Filipinos are reared by our parents. The elders are presumed to know more than the younger. That is the reason you see the “mano po” on our parents and our elders. Or, you hear the address of : “kuya”, “ate”, “ditcho”, “lolo”, ” “nanay”, “tatay”, “tio”, “tia”, etc…our culture is unique.
With the case of our blind political followers… Most Filipino voters are naive and ignorant. Most are stupid. I hope, I am not included as one of them…
We have an interesting case about the late, Nazi Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. He was a drifter at an early age in Austria. He went to Germany, and enlisted in the German Army in World War I. He was awarded, the German Iron Cross, but suffered from : Posttraumatic Syndrome Didorder (PTSD). He was crazy/insane, after the World War I.
He entered politics thru the National Socialist Party (NAZI). He lost election to become a Chancellor, but was made a Fuhrer, thru a coup d’ etat. If the German people would had a thorough research on Hitler’s background. They would had found a crazy/insane Worlds War I German veteran Corporal.
So, stupidity and incompetency, are not the monopoly of Filipinos . There are stupid people in every race and in every country !
It should read: “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)…correction please…
>> our culture is unique.
Filipinos only believe this because they’re ignorant of other cultures.
Do you realise you only believe “our culture is unique” because THOSE EXACT WORDS appear in your grade-school textbooks? You’re so brainwashed you don’t even know you’re brainwashed.
Honorifics for family members, elders, etc are the norm, not the exception. Most world languages have something similar. Some have even more extensive vocabularies. Some have an entire separate vocabulary for addressing elders. However you’re right that few cultures have “mano po”. That’s just pure, distilled Filipino arrogance. Elders in other country recognise that the respect they get derives from being wise, not from merely being old. An old, stupid person is ridiculed everywhere because he’s failed to learn anything from life … except in the Philippines.
>> There are stupid people in every race and in every country !
Ah yes, the perennial excuse of the Filipino. Look at country X, they’re far worse than us!
Here’s the difference: the Germans voted for ONE Hitler and repented of their mistake for 50 years. Filipinos have voted for thousands of politicians who aren’t smart enough to be a Hitler, and in 50 years they haven’t learned to stop doing it.
“So, stupidity and incompetency, are not the monopoly of Filipinos . There are stupid people in every race and in every country !”
I do not deny that. But pls remember, the Philippines is still today a poor 3rd world country, where divorce is not possible, where simple other human rights are not available (like abortion).
In short, I rather be stupid and incompetent in a real free country. At least, I can undo my stupidities (married the wrong person and then file for a divorce), getting pregnant unwanted, untimely, unplanned and solve that problem by having an abortion. Where a government does not kill its own people because they are drug addicts.
Need I continue …..?
Robert. Laws in any place are a reflection of culture. Like chewing gum in Singapore. Philippines is holding out when it comes to divorce and abortion because of the hold the Church still has. It just does. It may not be the same as even 30-40 years ago but it still has. That is why the plastic, superficial LP try to latch on to the Church trying to squeeze the lemon juice of symbolism dry since they have no other leg to stand on. Always photo ops in Church and with uniformed religious people. Even if the person ( Sereno) is not Catholic.
Same as cultures do not allow alcohol or even certain degrees of exposure in “sexy” photos and films you will find divorce and abortion a tough nut to crack here. One more thing. Once in a while I mention in my submissions that this culture does give one flying F*** about driving under the influence. It took them years to even pass the law. Who the hell gets caught ? No one does it?? No one breaks the law? The law is there with no teeth to apprehend violators. That is culture.
Gogs,
that is why the Philipine Liberal Party (LP) is NOT liberal at all. It actually is very conservative and old-fashioned. To vote for that political party is even probably dumber than voting for any other Philippine party to get some progress in the Philippines.
DUI (Driving Under Influence; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_under_the_influence):
In my country , one is allowed to drink 2 glasses of beer. But – like in PH – one will always take into account what the probability is of getting caught. The other side of that coin (getting caught) is the poss of killing or (physically) hurting someone while driving with alcohol in one’s system. This still happens also in my country. A solution may be to install a lock in one’s car that will prevent the car from starting when alcohol is established in the driver’s system (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignition_interlock_device).
The fact that PH women are not “allowed” to wear sexy clothing, is absurd. I always see that when I am on a beach in PH. It always makes me laugh and thinking I am in Saudi Arabia.
Finally, culture is not always captured in laws and cannot always be captured in laws. Unless of course one lives in a dictatorship kind of country (China, North Korea and probably many more).
“Where a government does not kill its own people because they are drug addicts.”
You were spot on with your other statements until this sentence of yours (rolls eyes).
And where did you get the notion that the government’s mandate is to kill drug addicts on a whim? Oh… just because the President said so (as a scare tactic). Rolls eyes on you.
Good luck proving that to the high courts or anyone else and believe your statement.
Tsk, tsk, Robert, Robert… you are still just a foreigner and a noob to the real life in the Philippines.
“Parents presumed to know more, are ingrained in our culture. ”
I really doubt whether that is factually true. Yes, parents – normally – have more life experience and wisdom about how to manouver through life without making (stupid) mistakes. But talking about education, I really doubt it, especially in PH parents and prospect future parents.
Lets compare YOU with your parents.
Maybe you went to the exact same school as your parents. Same building, same location, same address and maybe even same teachers (god forbid). The difference between your days in school compared to the days of your parents, should and must be the text books used. Your text books must be and were the updated version of the text books used by your parents. So, your knowledge is more up-to-date. And so, you must know more than they do. And this continues at every level: primary school, secondary/high school, college and university.
So by the time you are 22 years old, you do know more than your prents did and do.
Unless of course both your parents and you were taught from school Biology text books where it says that god makes you pregnant. Well, in that case, all parties have the same “knowledge”.
Sarda,
“That’s why, when Filipinos immigrate to develop countries countries like US or Canada, they really got a “culture shock”.”
Not only those who migrate to developing countries. I strill see it (culture shock) when talking with pinays who are still living in PH when talking about how things are done here in the West.
Gogs,
“On what basis? The pinoy culture is what it is. If you, could change 3 things about the school system what would they be?”
– Is what pupils/students are taught now in PH schools, in line with – lets say – modern 1st world countries? What I still see, when visiting PH school websites is that god is placed in the centre of everything. Now we can hardly call that scientific, can we?
– stop wearing those stupid school uniforms.
@Robert Haighton
School uniform is part of the elite image, it makes one feels better superior than the other student in (public)school, a feeling of being more “classy”. And this mentality of course carries on even after leaving the “alma mater”. Filipino parents will go to many length, even if it means corruption, just to send their children to a school that is already recognized and established as “prestigious” and all because they want an image of high status in society. Just go and attend some Filipino alumni reunion and you will know what I’m talking about.
Sarda,
isnt wearing school uniforms a way to indicate/show that pupils/students are the same/similar (homogeneous). To show that there is no difference between you (r parents) and me (my parents).
A few years ago there were a couple of incidents where PH students (I rather call them pupils) were involved. And they were identified by their school uniforms. Not very smart, if you ask me, to wear your uniform after school hours.
One incident is still captured in my memory. It took place in 2011 or 2012 and it was about St. Theresa’s College (STC) in Cebu City. I even think Benign0 wrote something about it. That incident clearly shows that your country is so much different than what we have here in Western Europe. Schools have nothing to say about me what I do in my spare time and they actually dont care what I do in my spare time. But okay, that is another different topic.
@Robert,
“isnt wearing school uniforms a way to indicate/show that pupils/students are the same/similar (homogeneous). To show that there is no difference between you (r parents) and me (my parents).”
I wish it were, but it’s not really much about the children, it’s about the parent’s caprice, it’s a show-off, status image, and “keeping up with the Joneses”, it’s to tell others, “we are not poor!” I’m sad to say, it’s not all about the education of their children, it’s about themselves(the parents).
“– stop wearing those stupid school uniforms.”
Try telling that to other countries who were school uniforms like those in Japan.
I see such students here in Singapore were uniforms (even those with overall while outfits both tops and pants!) and also uniformed students in Australia.
Do you have something against school uniforms that you find “stupid”?
Sometimes really Robert you can become inconsistent in your thinking and analysis (and at times come out as ignorant in some of your remarks).
But hey, nobody’s perfect.
My name is Mr. Nobody.
@Robert
There’s not much difference in the idea of students having school uniforms with the way other groups of people in other fields have their own sets of uniforms. (like Doctors, Soldiers, Policemen, Athletes …)
To encourage stoppage for the practice because one finds it stupid is a very silly and narrowly-viewed proposition as students in every school, just like the athletes of Netherlands national football team (whose players wear uniforms), can also be considered as belonging in a team.
https://img.fifa.com/mm/photo/world-match-centre/nationalteams/02/57/99/10/2579910_full-lnd.jpg
Nena,
I didnt see that one coming. But hey those athletes are getting paid, And, here it comes, the athlete organization(s) has it as mandatory/compulsory (and each body above it). Well, anyway, in my country we dont do such things as wearing school uniforms. And even back in my days (1960s and up) we didnt do it.
Wouldnt it be a challenge to see 2 teams (with 11 players each) wearing all different jerseys and then see which team can play the ball most often to a player of the same team? Or in other words, how well does one player know the player(s) of its own team.
Gogs,
“The pinoy culture is what it is.”
So you accept this as the ultimate pinnacle idea of living in a fantastic cultural country? Then why do you write here? If everything is so peachy and swell, then there is no need to write about things that need to be repaired. Right?
OK. Point taken. I admit I did not clarify myself in that answer. The Pinoy culture is what it is. I write here how I see it. At the end of the day the “baduy” values will still reign supreme in TV sets, radios, jeepneys and basketball courts around the country. Writing here will make others who feel the same way articulate better what they see. I doubt it will eradicate conventional noon time programming in my lifetime. Pinoys have low standards in many things and that is why nobody around the world cares about our food, TV and athletes. If people are proud of Hidilyn Diazand think she is famous ask those same people to share what they know about weight lifting and other champions. People will bring up Manny and many of my thoughts are here https://www.getrealphilippines.com/2016/07/manny-wanting-time-off/
Sarda,
“Robert, had you not been a foreigner you might already have been labelled as a “yellowtards”(dilawan)”.
You make me laugh and smile with your above remark. I mentioned here before (not with this article) that although I am a liberal, I would not never vote for the Philippine Liberal party. They are not liberal at all.
Criticising the current PH president is easy. He hasnt changed anything for the betterment of the people; all people. He has a big mouth with a tiny little heart (that is an expression we use in my country for people like Duterte).
I often read here (GRP) that PH education sucks, that PH mentality sucks. So what did Duterte done about that? Diddly shit. Although the RH law will not work – IMHO – but where does it stand now?
@Robert,
Sorry if my remark makes you laugh, as I’m not really prone to the English language like a journo or a writer do it, but as I said, critics of the President will only be regarded as “yellowtards”(dilawan), it would only mean, you are a just part of the sore losers, your criticism will mean nothing. Secondly criticizing Duterte alone is what the elite lead yellowtards wants you to do, to focus the blame on one person alone and not on the elite system of society of which is the one I’m really aiming at. The elite lead yellowtards only wants to oust Duterte so that they can bring themselves back to power and really, you don’t want to be used by these people. My focus is to make people be more aware of the great divide between two world, the world of the elite and the world of the ordinary people. I don’t need to criticize Duterte, he should know where he stand.
Again, sorry if my remarks makes you laugh.
Sarda,
Really, there is no need to aplogize. I am not offended.
My ideas and opinions about the Philippines are with good intentions. But pls help me understand what Duterte did (and is doing) to make some progress for the country and more especially for the people? Because I dont see them. I dont see any progress. I dont see an increase in freedom for the individual. All I see is that he didnt stop the killing of drug addicts. Instead he could set up a plan to get people into rehab. Or is that too social (pls dont confuse that (being social) with socialism)?
As an Philipine/Filipino individual, I can take all kinds of freedom(s) but the law wont allow me to do so (if I was a Filipino). Hence,, only the president can permit full freedom by changing the constitution and a zillion laws. Ergo, the only one I can blame is the president (plus the PH government). Without modern laws, I cant develop myself in PH. Plus there needs a complete make-over of the PH culture. Because for me its quite sufficating. Too many unwritten rules and laws in the PH culture.
Finally, the educational system also needs a make-over. I am really shocked how little is known academically/scientifically even by those who ‘only’ did high school.
@Rob
You are not referring to the real analysts and intelligent bloggers and writers who have been dishing out articles and thoughts of how Duterte is slowly making small steps of improvement to the country. We doubt that you are really digging deep into social media (especially in FB) where there tons of good information and discussion about the things that’s improving in the Philippines. If you surround yourself with “dumb” people and local neighbors or those who like to gossip and speculate on what’s happening back there instead of following real analysts (e.g. Sass Sasot, Thinking Pinoy, Trixie Cruz-Angeles, the radio cast of Karambola DWIZ, James Deakin, Gadget Addict, minus Mocha who seems to be still… ummm… scatter brain most of the time so forget about her) then you’ll never be able to get real information of the real improvements in the Philippines. We don’t need to list down the improvements here as you can just follow these people and get the real score of the state of the Philippines.
If you don’t see any improvements (no matter how small or slow it is coming) at all then it’s only you who are not seeing it. It’s ok, that is your “own” problem, not the problem of the people who still support the president. You can say “change scamming” as what the opposition likes to say but reality tells a different story – they just want to say it while closing their eyes to the truth around them.
You don’t see an increase in freedom for the individual? Oh my God, the citizens there are mostly free to (irresponsibly) do or say whatever they want to the point they thought they could get away with these acts.
Just… get real Rob. You are free to say what you want, but try not to appear ignorant at all on what’s really happening in the Philippines. You’ve seem to be living there for years and still… you appear naive and full of questions.
Talk to real intelligent bunch of people there and not simply surrounding yourself with gossiping locals.
Up to you, bub. Nobody would care if you ‘re still uninformed.
It is easier to teach an old dog new tricks than Filipinos old tricks !
AMBITION IS NOT GOOD. BECAUSE AMBISYOSO IS BAD
Opportunity is not good, too. Because if one takes advantage of opportunity you are branded as opportunista. Opportunista is not good.
Sarda,
“I wish it were, but it’s not really much about the children, it’s about the parent’s caprice, it’s a show-off, status image, … ”
Okay, I accept your explanation.
But what about the jewelery, I wear (as pupil)? The Rolex watches, the golden rings, bracelets, tattoos, piercings?
What about the cars that parents use to bring their kids to school with?
What about the (high end) jobs the parents have?
What about membership of a golf club by the parents?
What about wearing Lacoste polo shirts (by the pupil/my daughter/my son)?
In short, a school uniform means (personally) nothing to me. I cant distinguish myself from the rest of the pupils/students nor all other parents. We all still look the same, while in reality we are not.
The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end. The extent to which this generation of circles, wheel without wheel, will go, depends on the force or truth of the individual soul.
Anti-Robert,
Did you yourself come up with that great creative name or …..
Improvement? You really dont need to breast-feed or spoon-feed me, but last time I looked, the laws and the constitution were and are still unchanged. Or have I been sleeping the past 10 years under a rock and in a cave? Pls enlighten me. Because I must have missed a few law changes. I am sure divorce is now possible. Oh wait, that is not an improvement. My apologies.