Self-Bashers

[stef]

so are the people of the Philippines self- bashers? here is a few line from an article in todays daily inquirerSelf-bashers “We have been belittling ourselves and have become the worst self-bashers in the world,” De Leon told the symposium organized by the Heritage and Arts Academies of the Philippines Inc.He traced this behavior to a “cult of smallness,” which he attributed to more than three centuries of colonization during which Filipinos had been told that their culture was “inferior.”“As a result, we have adopted the smallest in our country as our national symbols—the smallest fish, the maya (among the smallest birds), the sampaguita (one of the smallest flowers), and the bahay kubo (nipa hut),” De Leon said.Unhappy with brown “So we tend to regard anything Filipino-made to be poor in quality and anything foreign or ‘stateside’ to be better,” he said.Many Filipinos also are unhappy with their brown skin, making the Philippines the biggest market for skin whiteners, De Leon said.Celebrating defeats He also said Filipinos celebrate defeats, instead of triumphs, a practice which distorted national consciousness.“With this disease, we have been celebrating our defeats such as the fall of Bataan and Corregidor. We also have a statue of our national hero, Rizal, which shows him with hands tied and almost falling to the ground after being executed (on orders of Spanish colonial officials),” he said.full article here http://newsinfo.inqu...gged-in-PH-woes

[Jake]

De Leon's speech about the national consciousness does have some merit to it. Its theme somewhat parallels Senator Aquino's Sr. speech back in the 1980's about losing our soul as a Filipino. Tribal mentality was the norm before the Spaniards colonization and then after three hundreds years of Spanish influence, one could easily be confused and dejected at times if you weren't in the upper class society. Upper class generally meant having mixed blood (Spanish friars spreading their "seeds") or the Filipinos obtaining advantage over other Filipinos by conspiring with the enemy. Throw in Japanese, American, European, Chinese and middle eastern influence will eventually erode the Filipino heritage and culture. Is France, Germany and the UK facing the same dilemma with the invasion of thousands and thousands of immigrants? Respectfully -- Jake

[brock]

De Leon's speech about the national consciousness does have some merit to it. Its theme somewhat parallels Senator Aquino's Sr. speech back in the 1980's about losing our soul as a Filipino. Tribal mentality was the norm before the Spaniards colonization and then after three hundreds years of Spanish influence, one could easily be confused and dejected at times if you weren't in the upper class society. Upper class generally meant having mixed blood (Spanish friars spreading their "seeds") or the Filipinos obtaining advantage over other Filipinos by conspiring with the enemy. Throw in Japanese, American, European, Chinese and middle eastern influence will eventually erode the Filipino heritage and culture. Is France, Germany and the UK facing the same dilemma with the invasion of thousands and thousands of immigrants? Respectfully -- Jake

In England, When you walk down the street it is now a case of spot the Englishman

[Tom in Texas]

De Leon's speech about the national consciousness does have some merit to it. Its theme somewhat parallels Senator Aquino's Sr. speech back in the 1980's about losing our soul as a Filipino. Tribal mentality was the norm before the Spaniards colonization and then after three hundreds years of Spanish influence, one could easily be confused and dejected at times if you weren't in the upper class society. Upper class generally meant having mixed blood (Spanish friars spreading their "seeds") or the Filipinos obtaining advantage over other Filipinos by conspiring with the enemy. Throw in Japanese, American, European, Chinese and middle eastern influence will eventually erode the Filipino heritage and culture. Is France, Germany and the UK facing the same dilemma with the invasion of thousands and thousands of immigrants? Respectfully -- Jake

Jake... insightful thoughts.But don't despair for the Filipino heritage or culture... or the "heritage or culture" of any other country... ... they are all an amalgamation of bits and pieces of the cultures of other societies acquired over many centuries... and melded into a "new and unique" culture... which over time coalesces into what each society then considers its own "unique" heritage. Some derisively call it "multiculturalism" and rail against it.... even as the very process inexorably continues to take place over countless generations.The United States is the "poster child" for this process. The United States has been shaped and sculpted by continuous mass immigration since its origin. It has absorbed, mixed and amalgamated the stream of immigrants, each group assimilating or integrating at its own pace, to became what we now see as "American." Oddly, these very "Americans" are now fearful of new groups of immigrants who have not yet assimilated into American society. America is a 300 +/- year example of the strength and viability of multiculturalism. America is the essence of a multicultural society... and still evolving.Other countries, like the Philippines, who had a homogeneous population for many centuries... but who are now experiencing mass immigration into their countries... are having their long-existing homogeneous populations experience the fear and uncertainty that inevitably comes from unavoidable changes... and unfortunately leads to irrational reactions (racism, isolationism, segregation, bigotry, anti-immigration policies) in a futile hope of staving off such changes. I understand concerns about multiculturalism... but don't allow it to become irrational fear... which would be the same as fearing yourself. Tom in Texas

[Jake]

De Leon's speech about the national consciousness does have some merit to it. Its theme somewhat parallels Senator Aquino's Sr. speech back in the 1980's about losing our soul as a Filipino. Tribal mentality was the norm before the Spaniards colonization and then after three hundreds years of Spanish influence, one could easily be confused and dejected at times if you weren't in the upper class society. Upper class generally meant having mixed blood (Spanish friars spreading their "seeds") or the Filipinos obtaining advantage over other Filipinos by conspiring with the enemy. Throw in Japanese, American, European, Chinese and middle eastern influence will eventually erode the Filipino heritage and culture. Is France, Germany and the UK facing the same dilemma with the invasion of thousands and thousands of immigrants? Respectfully -- Jake

Jake... insightful thoughts.But don't despair for the Filipino heritage or culture... or the "heritage or culture" of any other country... ... they are all an amalgamation of bits and pieces of the cultures of other societies acquired over many centuries... and melded into a "new and unique" culture... which over time coalesces into what each society then considers its own "unique" heritage. Some derisively call it "multiculturalism" and rail against it.... even as the very process inexorably continues to take place over countless generations.The United States is the "poster child" for this process. The United States has been shaped and sculpted by continuous mass immigration since its origin. It has absorbed, mixed and amalgamated the stream of immigrants, each group assimilating or integrating at its own pace, to became what we now see as "American." Oddly, these very "Americans" are now fearful of new groups of immigrants who have not yet assimilated into American society. America is a 300 +/- year example of the strength and viability of multiculturalism. America is the essence of a multicultural society... and still evolving.Other countries, like the Philippines, who had a homogeneous population for many centuries... but who are now experiencing mass immigration into their countries... are having their long-existing homogeneous populations experience the fear and uncertainty that inevitably comes from unavoidable changes... and unfortunately leads to irrational reactions (racism, isolationism, segregation, bigotry, anti-immigration policies) in a futile hope of staving off such changes. I understand concerns about multiculturalism... but don't allow it to become irrational fear... which would be the same as fearing yourself. Tom in Texas

"The United States has been shaped and sculpted by continuous mass immigration since its origin. It has absorbed, mixed and amalgamated the stream of immigrants, each group assimilating or integrating at its own pace, to became what we now see as "American." Oddly, these very "Americans" are now fearful of new groups of immigrants who have not yet assimilated into American society". Hello Counsel, Your point about multiculturalism is a good thing to some degree. The original thought of America being the melting pot,especially after WWII for the European immigrants, provided a growing nation to prosper quickly across the board. However, some of today's immigrants does not seem to appreciate the golden opportunities as compared to my family's fresh off theboat experience. I learned very quickly how to assimilate to the American culture and language. These days, our tax dollarsare paying for driver's license written test in other languages. Why is that?Unfortunately, part of the Filipino culture is the wildly accepted practice of corruption, even down to the street vendors. Myresearch continues about the origin of corruption in the Philippines. And more importantly, why can't it be eradicated or atleast reduced to a manageable level. Respectfully -- Jake