Category: Culture

Under federalism, EVERY Filipino tribe will find out what they are REALLY made of

July 13, 2018July 14, 2018 benign0 25 Comments

At the moment, every boy and his dog is writing one or another bit of “analysis” on the matter of the Philippines’ transformation into a federal republic. Under a federal system of government, each state is given autonomy to sort out its own affairs leaving the feds to handle the bigger issues of national consequence…

Charter Change, Culture, Development

Filipinos suffer from a bad case of English envy but don’t do anything to narrow this gap

July 10, 2018July 10, 2018 benign0 14 Comments

The facts are quite confronting. Filipinos who not just speak English but speak it well and with the right accent go places. This is the reason wealthy Filipinos spend a fortune on the best private schools to educate their kids — because those who gain mastery of this important language make the most connections with…

Culture, Development, Economy

On Filipino Hatred of English, Languages and Intellectualism

July 9, 2018July 9, 2018 ChinoF 30 Comments

Since language is once again on the topic table, I’ll put out this piece that had been waiting for the right time. Filipino hostility towards English and foreign languages, as well as towards intellectualism, is not hard to see. People with such attitudes say it is a “patriotic duty” or more nationalistic action to be…

Culture

Should Filipino thought leaders communicate in ‘maka-masa’ style or in proper English?

July 9, 2018 benign0 30 Comments

What is the goal of the Philippines’ elite communicators and thought leaders? We are told many times by the Philippines’ so-called “social media experts” that there is a huge responsibility on our shoulders to produce and publish high-quality content that could help uplift the Philipines’ public discourse. The quality of this discourse is important because…

Culture, Education, Media

Basketball vs Filipinos: Can genetic underdogs win international respect?

July 6, 2018 zaxx 46 Comments

The recent disgusting and shameful yet shameless brawl that engulfed what was intended as a friendly match between two allies (Gilas Pilipinas and the Australian team) brings us to a point of deep reflection as a nation of civilized Homo sapiens. The grave level of pikon (butthurt) and crushing tambak defeat of the “Pinoy” shooters would not…

Culture, Society

Resbak Mentality Keeps the Philippines backward

July 5, 2018 ChinoF 7 Comments

I wrote before about how the culture of retribution contributes to more violence in the world. It is one of the things keeping our own society backward as well. Not only in life, but in sports. People who are pro-Gilas brawl in Facebook keep raising up resbak as the justification. They say that because one…

Culture

Filipino pride and ego delivered NOTHING to Gilas Pilipinas

July 5, 2018 benign0 8 Comments

A common argument I’ve been seeing directed at people who dare write about Filipino-style basketball in a critical way comes in the form of this statement… You probably don’t play basketball so you won’t understand where we are coming from. Funny that. If there is anything more bizarre than Filipino exceptionalism, it is Filipino Basketball…

Culture, Society

A Simple Solution For The Problem Of Trolls Who Tell You What To Write

July 5, 2018July 5, 2018 Gogs 69 Comments

I noticed there was the distinct flavor of reaction to Kate’s recent post in GRP: Gilas-Aussie brawl proves basketball is a TAMBAY sport in the Philippines A lot of people seem to believe that GRP writers should not even write about sports. Even more people think GRP writers should not write about anything. Well you…

Culture