Three things disgust me about Filipino culture and society.
There are a lot of annoyances like mentally challenged clowns constantly saying “only in the Philippines” to lament social ills that almost all societies suffer from or the very common Pinoy trait of borrowing money with no intention to pay it back. There’s also the classic “kayabangan” where big talk and boasting are intended to fool people into turning certain delusions into reality through group think.
Still, all of the above are tolerable compared to the 3 things below that I truly hate:
#1 False Pride - So many Pinoys develop temporary (or even permanent!) psychosis whenever someone mentions something negative about the Philippines.
So many Pinoys can’t take criticism. They take any critique of the Philippines as some sort of personal attack or an assault on their value as human beings.
Why is this so toxic and counter productive?
If you can’t handle objective criticism, it means you choose not to see a problem so you NEVER CHANGE for the better.
#2 Constant complaint about things they should be doing for themselves - So many Pinoys automatically believe it is the GOVERNMENT’S FAULT why they are suffering.
While this is partially true to the RENT SEEKING and MONOPOLY BUILDING and PROTECTIONIST POLICIES the PH government pursues that keep the Philippines poor, PERSONAL CHOICES still go a long way in fixing one’s poverty.
Sadly, so many Pinoys don’t see the connection between their CHOICES and their PERSONAL STRUGGLES. It’s as if the concept of CAUSE AND EFFECT is completely ALIEN to them.
Similarly, so many Pinoys (especially ‘leftist’ or ‘liberal’ pundits) keep ASKING the Government for solutions to the bulk of Pinoy problems.
Considering how corrupt and incompetent the government has ALWAYS BEEN, it takes a special kind of DELUSION to believe asking for more failure from a failed system will lead to anything good!
Let’s put it this way, if you’re so dependent on other people to fix YOUR problems, you are a SLAVE to them when it comes to your votes come election time. They have NO REAL INCENTIVE to fix the problem because your DEPENDENCY gives them votes.
See the problem? Good. Now you know why there are so many SLUMS in the National Capital Region and elsewhere.
#3 Parasitic Family Relationships - In any given Pinoy family, there is at least ONE hard working, intelligent, or driven family member who manages to MAKE SOMETHING out of themselves.
What happens next? The REST of the family - up to the THIRD GENERATION - start sucking the LIFE out of the family member with the presence of mind and intelligence and moral courage enough to SUCCEED IN LIFE. OFWs and US/EU/Canada/AU-based relatives know this all too well.
Worse yet, that successful family member is made to feel like some sort of LEECH and TRAITOR or INGRATE if he/she gets fed up about being the CASH COW of the family.
It’s not uncommon for siblings to deplete a successful brother and sister of their money but when it comes time to simply SHOW UP for the WAKE of the dead successful brother/sister, they can’t even be bothered!
It turns out those leeches are actually RESENTFUL of their more “fortunate” (success is always explained as LUCK instead of something that comes from PLANNING, SACRIFICE, PERSISTENCE, and PAIN) relative.
With all that said, there’s a lot to love about being Filipino. I’m proud of being a Filipino and I plan to die here. But I’d be LYING TO MYSELF and TO THE WORLD if I were to PRETEND the 3 TOXIC PINOY SOCIAL REALITIES above didn’t exist.
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