Have you read the article, The Philippines Through the Eyes of a Foreigner By Barth Suretsky? (see reposted article below). I totally don’t agree with his article. I can’t believe that a foreigner would have the guts to criticize the Filipinos for not taking pride in being Filipino. All the Filipinos that I met through this blog take pride in being called a Filipino. It doesn’t mean that if you are outside the Philippines, you are not proud to be a Filipino. It has been OAP’s quest to document the Filipino Pride and proclaim the Beauty of the Philippines.
Maybe, we are just not vocal about it.
In Celebration of the National Flag Day (May 28) until June 12 (National Independence Day), let us put the Philippine Flag on all the Filipino Blogs out there. Lets declare that we are all proud to be a Filipino! You can steal and hot link the Philippine Flags below (I have enough bandwidth to take it). I also encourage you to design your own Philippine Flag and give me a small banner version and I will include it in this list. For those who are asking reciprocal links from OAP, just give me your own version of the Philippine Flag and I’ll be glad to link you from this site.
Philippine Flag Banners
Small Version:
<a href=”anton.blogs.com” title=”I am Proud To Be A Filipino”><img src=”https://awesome.blog/flag/small.jpg” alt=”Philippine Flag Small” />
Big Version:
<a href=”anton.blogs.com” title=”I am Proud To Be A Filipino1″><img src=”https://awesome.blog/flag/large.jpg” alt=”Philippine Flag Large” /></a>
The Philippines Through the Eyes of a Foreigner
By Barth Suretsky
Atin Ito Philippine NewsFeature April 2007
My decision to move to Manila was not a precipitous one. I used to work in New York as an outside agent of Philippines Air Line, and have been coming to the Philippines since August, 1982. I was so impressed with the country, and with the interesting people I met, some of whom have become very close friends to this day, that I asked for and was granted a year’s sabbatical from my teaching job in order to live in the Philippines
I arrived here on August 21, 1983, several hours after Ninoy Aquino was shot, and remained here until June of 1984. During that year I visited many parts of the country, from as far north as Laoag to as far south as Zamboanga, and including Palawan. I became deeply immersed in the history and culture of the archipelago, and an avid collector of tribal antiquities from both northern Luzon and Mindanao.
In subsequent years I visited the Philippines in 1985, 1987, and 1991, before deciding to move here permanently in 1998. I love this country, but not uncritically, and that is the purpose of this article. First, however, I will say that I would not consider living anywhere else in Asia , no matter how attractive certain aspects of other neighboring countries may be.
To begin with, and this is most important, with all its faults, the Philippines is still a democracy, more so than any other nation in Southeast Asia . Despite gross corruption, the legal system generally works, and if ever confronted with having to employ it, I would feel much more safe trusting the courts here than in any other place in the surrounding countries.
The press here is unquestionably the most unfettered and freewheeling in Asia , and I do not believe that is hyperbole in any way ! And if any one thing can be used as a yardstick to measure the extent of the democratic process in any given country in the world, it is the extent to which the press is free.
Nevertheless, the Philippines is a flawed democracy, and the flaws are deeply rooted in the Philippine psyche. I will elaborate. The basic problem seems to me, after many years of observation, to be national inferiority complex, a disturbing lack of pride in being Filipino.
Toward the end of April I spent eight days in Vietnam , visiting Hanoi , Hue , and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). I am certainly no expert on Vietnam , but what I saw could not be denied : I saw a country ravaged as no other country has been in this century by thirty years of continuous and incredibly barbaric warfare.
When the Vietnam War ended in April, 1975, the country was totally devastated. Yet in the past 25 years the nation has healed and rebuilt itself almost miraculously ! The countryside has been replanted and reforested. Hanoi and HCMC have been beautifully restored.
The opera house in Hanoi is a splendid restoration of the original, modeled after the Opera in Paris , and the gorgeous Second Empire Theatre, on the main square of HCMC is as it was when built by the French a century ago.
The streets are tree-lined, clean, and conducive for strolling. Cafes in the French style proliferate on the wide boulevards of HCMC. I am not
praising the government of Vietnam , which still has a long way to travel on the road to democracy, but I do praise, and praise unstintingly, the pride of the Vietnamese people.
It is due to this pride in being Vietnamese that has enabled its citizenry to undertake the mi racle of restoration that I describe above.
When I returned to Manila , I became so depressed that I was actually physically ill for days thereafter. Why ? Well, let’s go back to a period when the Philippines resembled the Vietnam of 1975. It was 1945, the end of World War II, and Manila, as well as many other cities, lay in ruins.
As a matter of fact, it may not be generally known, but Manila was the second most destroyed city in the entire war; only Warsaw was more demolished.
But to compare Manila in 1970, twenty five years after the end of the war, with HCMC, 25 years after the end of its war, is a sad exercise indeed. Far from restoring the city to its former glory, by 1970 Manila was well on its way to being the most tawdry city in Southeast Asia . And since that time the situation has deteriorated alarmingly.
We have a city full of street people, beggars, and squatters. We have a city that floods sections whenever there is a rainstorm, and that loses
electricity with every clap of thunder. We have a city full of potholes, and on these unrepaired roads we have traffic situation second to none in the the world for sheer unmanageability.
We have rude drivers, taxis that routinely refuse to take passengers because of “many traffic !” The roads are also cursed with pollution spewing buses in disreputable states of repair, and that ultimate anachronism, the jeepney!
We have an educational system that allows children to attend schools without desks or books to accommodate them. Teachers, even college professors, are paid salaries so disgracefully low that it’s a wonder that anyone would want to go into the teaching profession in the first place.
We have a war in Mindanao that nobody seems to have a clue how to settle. The only policy to deal with the war seems to be to react to what happens daily, with no long range plan whatever. ; I could go on and on, but it is an endeavor so filled with futility that it hurts me to go on. It hurts me because, in spite of everything, I love the Philippines
Maybe it will sound simplistic, but to go back to what I said above, it is my unshakable belief that the fundamental thing wrong with this country is a lack of pride in being Filipino.
A friend once remarked to me, laconically : “All Filipinos want to be something else. The poor ones want to be American, and the rich ones all want to be Spaniards. Nobody wants to be Filipino.”
That statement would appear to be a rather simplistic one, and perhaps it is. However, I know one Filipino who refuses to enter a theater until the national anthem has stopped being played because he doesn’t want to honor his own country, and I know another one who thinks that history stopped dead in 1898 when the Spaniards departed. While it is certainly true that these represent extreme examples of national denial, the truth is not a pretty picture.
Filipinos tend to worship, almost slavishly, everything foreign. If it comes from Italy or France it has to be better than anything made here. If the idea is American or German it has to be superior to anything that Filipinos can think up for themselves. Foreigners are looked up to and
idolized.
Foreigners can go anywhere without question. In my own personal experience, I remember attending recently an affair at a major museum here. I had forgotten to bring my invitation. But while Filipinos entering the museum were checked for invitations, I was simply waived through. This sort of thing happens so often here that it’s just accepted as routine.
All of these things, the illogical respect given to foreigners simply because they are not Filipinos, the distrust and even disrespect shown to
any homegrown merchandise, the neglect of anything Philippine, the rudeness of taxi drivers, the ill manners shown by many Filipinos are all symptomatic of a lack of self love, of respect for and love of the country in which they were born, and worst of all, a static mind-set in regard to finding ways to improve the situation.
Most Filipinos, when confronted with evidence of governmental corruption, political chicanery, or gross exploita tion on the part of the business community, simply shrug their shoulders, mutter “bahala na,” and let it go at that.
It is an oversimplification to say this, but it is not without a grain of truth to say that Filipinos feel downtrodden because they allow themselves to feel downtrodden. No pride.
One of the most egregious examples of this lack of pride, this uncaring attitude to their own past, is the wretched state of surviving architectural landmarks in Manila and elsewhere. During the American period, many beautiful and imposing buildings were built, in what we now call the “art deco” style (although incidentally, that was not contemporary term; it was coined only in the 1960s). These were beautiful edifices, mostly erected during, or just before, the Commonwealth period.
Three, which are still standing, are the Jai Alai Building, the Metropolitan Theater, and the Rizal Stadium. Fortunately, due to the truly noble efforts of my friend John Silva, the Jai Alai Building will now be saved. But unless something is done to the most beautiful and original of these three masterpieces of pre-war Philippine architecture, the Metropolitan Theater, it will disintegrate. The Rizal Stadium is in equally wretched shape.
When the wreckers’ ball destroyed Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo , and New York City ‘s most magnificent building, Pennsylvania Station, both in 1963, Ada Louise Huxtable, then the architectural critic of The New York Times, wrote: “A disposable culture loses the right to call itself a civilization at all !” How right she was ! (Fortunately, the destruction of Pennsylvania Station proved to the sacrificial catalyst that resulted in the creation of New York’s Landmark Commission. Would there be such a commission created for Manila … ?)
Are there historical reasons for this lack of national pride ? We can say that until the arrival of the Spaniards there was no sense of a unified
archipelago constituted as one country. True. We can also say that the high cultures of the nations in the region seemed, unfortunately, to have bypassed the Philippines ; there are no Angkors, no Ayuttayas, no Borodudurs. True. Centuries of contact with the high cultur es of the
Khmers and the Chinese, had, except for the proliferation of Song dynasty pottery found throughout the archipelago, no noticeable effect. True. But all that aside, what was here ? To begin with, the ancient rice terraces, now threatened with disintegration, incidentally, was an incredible feat of engineering for so-called “primitive” people.
As a matter of fact, when I first saw them in 1984, I was almost as awe-stricken was I was when I first laid eyes on the astonishing Inca city
of Machu Picchu , high in the Peruvian Andes. The degree of artistry exhibited by the various tribes of the Cordillera of Luzon is testimony to a remarkable culture, second to none in the Southeast Asian region. As for Mindanao , at the other end of the archipelago, an equally high degree of artistry has been manifest for centuries in woodcarving, weaving and metalwork. However, the most shocking aspect of this lack of national pride, even identity, endemic in the average Filipino, is the appalling ignorance of the history of the archipelago since unified by Spain and named Filipinas. The remarkable stories concerning the courageous repulsion of Dutch and British invaders from the 16th through the 18th centuries, even the origins of the Independence of the late 19th century, are hardly known by the average Filipin o in any meaningful way. And thanks to fifty years of American brainwashing, it is few and far between the number of Filipinos who really know — or even care — about the duplicity employed by the Americans and Spaniards to sell out and make meaningless the very independent state that Aguilnaldo declared on June 12, 1898.
A people without a sense of history is a people doomed to be unaware of their own identity. It is sad to say, but true, that the vast majority of
Filipinos fall into this category. Without a sense of who you are how can you possibly take any pride in who you are ? These are not oversimplifications.
On the contrary, these are the root problems of the Philippine inferiority complex referred to above. Until the Filipinos take pride in being
Filipino these ills of the soul will never be cured. If what I have written here can help, even in the smallest way, to make the Filipino aware of just who he is, who he was, and who he can be, I will be one happy expat indeed !
Who is this guy!? My father, God rest his soul, would have shot him clean between the eyes to shut him up. And my Lola, one of the very first Filipina leaders, would have given him a mile-long speech on PinoyPride if she were alive. No visitor to our country can claim to know more about what it is to be a Filipino and what it takes to be one. Bisita lang siya. We have survived invasions, wars, natural disasters, and wicked leaders because of our unwavering pride in being Filipino. Pride in one’s nationality is not measured by the beauty in his surroundings. In fact, national pride can never be measured by any yardstick. Maybe this guy should go back to his history books first and read up on how the Pinoys have stood together on numerous occasions to display our proud heritage which he has no business in questioning. It is precisely this pride that has built the country which he so willingly chose to live in.
Nice! Very nice kabayan! Mabuhay!
As a Filipina living in the US, I am proud to say that I remain a Filipina who has learned to assimilate in the American society. Although I may act according to society’s demands, I still hold the values I learned growing up in the Philippines very close to my heart. Those values such as being respectful, hardworking, religious, decent, kind, loving, generous have pushed me to where I am today; a successful professional in the Healthcare field. I see “Filipino pride” among my staff and coworkers all the time. The Filipinos I work with constantly help each other out. A sense of sisterhood is strong as I see them pull together when crisis hits.
Philippines, like any other country, has some things to work on to become better. But I strongly disagree with the writer because I think that for the most part, Filipinos are overflowing with pride. This pride for one’s culture/identity has helped alot of Filipinos overcome the trials of being in another country.
More power to the Filipinos and their beloved country!
Hindi ba’t may dagdag na kaunting kredibilidad and isang opinyon kung ito ay manggagaling sa isang tao na walang kinikilingan. Hindi man ako sang-ayon sa lahat ng kanyang mga sinabi, nguni’t ang kaniyang mga halimbawa ay pawang mga mapapait na katotohanan.
Ang dating napakagandang bulwagan ng Metropolitan Theater, na huli kong napasok ng manood ako ng El Filibusterismo nong ika-apat na taon ko sa mataas na paaralan, ay nananahimik na lang sa isang sulok ng Maynila. Unti-unting natatakpan ng maitim na alikabok galing sa mga tambutso ng mga jeepney at bus.
Sa aking palagay, hindi naman pangkalahatan ang ibig sabihin ni Ginoong Bart Suretsky nang sabihin niya na walang pagmamahal ang mga Filipino sa kanyang bayan. Sa paniniwala ko, kung hindi man lahat, ay mas marami ang natamaan ng kanyang pahayag. Oo, tayo na mga nasa maayos ang buhay at nakakapag-basa ng mga “internet blogs”, madali natin sabihin na mahal natin ang ating bayan. Marami tayong ginagawa para sa ating bayan dahil nasa atin ang kakayahan.
Ang politiko na nambubulsa ng kaban ng bayan. Ang babaeng mas piniling bumili ng “Havianas” na tsinelas sa halip na “Spartan”. Ang mamang driver na walang pakialam sa batas-trapiko at kung gaano kaitim ang usok ng kanyang sasakyan. Ang mag-anak sa Tondo na nagbenta ng kanilang boto. Ang lalaki na nagtapon ng kanyang basura sa ilog (sa tabi ng mga pabrika na nagtatambak ng libo libong tonelada ng dumi sa ilog din na iyon). Ang kapatid natin na Igorot na piniling dumayo sa Maynila, mag-aral at mangibang-bansa sa halip na tamnan at alagaan ang ating Hagdan-hagdang Palayan sa Banawe. Sila ba ang masasabi natin na may pagmamahal sa bayan? Ilan sila? At ilan sa atin na nagsasabing tunay na nagmamahal sa Pilipinas ang isinantabi ang ating ginagawa, lumabas at pigilan sila?
Sino ba ang may tunay na pagmamahal, ang taong nagbigay ng isda sa kanyang kapitbahay, o ang taong nagturo sa kanya kung paano mangisda?
Hindi ko na rin kailangan banggitin ang winika ni Gat Jose Rizal.
p.s. Apologies Anton for this long post.
Sorry Anton but this is not serious and a kind of hoax!
This is one of those letters that makes the round of the internet at least since 2003 (that is the time I discovered the letter!)It is probably much much older!
It is one of those (in)famous letters which, together with “A Rhose, by Any Other name” and “A matter of taste” from Matthew Sutherland, will keep appearing in blogs…
Barth Suretsky’s letter was even posted on the official website of “The Republic of the Philippines” (on their forum)on 11/26/2003 !!! See link below:
http://www.gov.ph/forum/thread.asp?rootID=16129&catID=2
The letter I downloaded in 2003 on my computer is the same but was authored by a certain Frank Woolf and was published in another website (I don’t remember which one).
And the result of what you are posting now …
“Who is this guy!? My father, God rest his soul, would have shot him clean between the eyes to shut him up.”
I guess that in 200 years someone will still want to shoot this Frank Woolf or Barth Suretsky in the head! 😉
A good example on how to make old news hot! Of course we could still be angry with what Legazpi might have said in the year 1570…
If Barth doesn’t exist most likely the real author is a Filipino pretending to be a foreigner.But i dont feel offended by what he wrote, most of it are historically correct.
hi anton! i totally agree on what have bob said… most of it are historically correct.
Matindi tlga ang colonial mentality ng mga Filipinos. For me as a model, ramdam namin un. Mas Priority ang caucasian models dito satin. Most likely they were the ones who always gets the job, madalas, pag filipino ka, second choice ka lang. Nakakalungkot un para sa sarili nating bansa. Kahit ganito ang ngyayari sa bansa natin. I am still proud to say I am a Filipino… alam ko na hindi pa huli ang lahat para sa bansa natin. Sana dumating na ang matinong Pangulo na magbabago ng bulok na sistema ng Pilipinas… Kailan kaya? Sana malapit na…
I have a “Pinoy and Proud” banner in my blog.
I don’t know who created it.
Hi Anton. Thanks for the banner. I have them on my blogs already.
Hi Anton,
I may not totally agree with everything written in this essay but somehow there’s truth to this. And like always, the truth hurts. A lot of Filipinos clearly want to belong someplace else. Like a Filipino asking another Filipino at the airport, “Pilipino ka?” and is answered, “Hindi, US citizen ako.” DUH! Really, this kind of Pinoys who are ashamed to be pinoys do exist.
Let’s just look at this article as a wake-up call for all the Filipinos out there to make our country proud AND be proud of our country.
wow! thanks anton for the banner. 🙂
hi, anton! any chance you have that guy’s email add? no, i won’t flame him, just want to give him my opinion. i am proud to be pinoy (or tsinoy in my case) as well.
Regardless of whether it’s real or not, there is some truth in it. Yes, our country is in dire straits, but I’d like to think that we do take pride in being Pinoy, even if we’re self-deprecating at times.
I have to confess though, at times, I don’t take pride in being Pinoy when my countrymen are being jackasses. I remember one time, when I was engrossed in an online roleplaying game, I never spoke Filipino in public, nor gave my nationality away, simply because Pinoys had a bad rep in that community: they were rude, they were cheaters, they were always trying to take advantage of the other players. Sure enough, a few months after I stopped playing, I heard they instituted a Countrywide IP ban on the Philippines.
I take pride in our culture. I proudly promote things Filipino and take care to translate and explain to foreigners so they may appreciate the things I love as much as I do. But I don’t take pride in our government, nor in the disappointing things our countrymen can do, just to get ahead.
(ps. i’ll take a stab at making a smaller version of the banner then share when I’m done :D)
I posted the smaller banner at my site. Thank you. 🙂
I agree with it 100% and even claiming guilty to some of his claims. But I take this article as constructive criticism. I have since changed my reckless and careless ways of treating my country. Instead of complaining about the problem BE THE SOLUTION. This is not an insult – IT’S A DARE. So my question, my fellow Filipinos, what are you going to do about it? We should not lay our hopes on our goverment. Goverments do not shape a country – IT IS THE PEOPLE!
@cookie: Fortunately, for your grandparents, they were not born TODAY so they are “morally correct” if Barth made these then “non-existing issues” 30-40yrs ago. Unfortunately (and for the rest of us), Barth was the poor soul born during “our times”.
There may be some truth to what he has said. The fact is, he’s an American and decided to settle in the Philippines, why? He found it more to his advantage to reside in the Philippies than in the USA. I could mention 1,000 reasons why the Philippines is better than the USA. What for?
We never claim we are perfect.
The point of the author is not really criticized the Filipino people, but rather expressed his observation. Filipino in general does not accepts contructive critism. Philippines is a work in progress, so each and every Filipino should be part of the solution and not be part of the problem. We always complain of this and that, but do we ever asked ourselves that “Have I ever done anything to improved the life of the Filipinos?”.
Hi Anton! Have been a fan of yours for some time now. I have your banner on my blog but not quite sure how to give you mine. Not to good with html codes yet. 🙂
I borrowed your flag. It’s on my site too. Thanks:)
hi Anton, thanks for this! I will definitely put this in my blog. 🙂
I still believe we can rise and succeed. It takes effort. From all of us, individually and collectively. let’s do our share.
Thanks for the banner Anton.
Mabuhay!
Thanks for sharing the flag. I have posted it in my blogpage. However, I cannot fully blame Mr. Suretsky for his observation. I certainly don’t think it is a criticism on his part. But whatever his motive is for sayingwhat he said, what he is saying cannot be denied. Some are very true, based on my own experiences. While there are people like us who take pride and stand proud for being a Filipino, there is also quite a number out there who until this very modern age of individualism and self expression, opt to blend in the crowd, putting on false (and forced) accents, dressing up in foreign inspired garb and badmouting everything Filipino. It’s a sad but true state. Perhaphs rather than react to what a foreigner is saying, we nationalistic Filipinos should give those who are ashamed of our roots a reason to believe in all that we stand for. We can do this!
Thanks for the banner. It’s now up on my blog (http://blogs.msdn.com/alving).
… And just in time for Independence Day ’07.
thanks for the Philippine Flag banner…
the banner is now proudly waving in my blog >> http://ofwlayf.blogspot.com
thanks and mabuhay ka kabayan!..
Hi Anton. Happy Independence Day. My blog now sports your banner. Thanks.
wow ganda ng pag ka kuha ng flag! 🙂
thank you for the banner. . .it is standing proud on my site.
I did not see this post earlier, but it’s never to late to declare “I am proud to be a Filipino!!!”
Paradise Philippines a truly must-visit destination in the world
Barth Suretsky was totally, wholly, absolutely WRONG when he concluded that the Filipinos have inferiority complex and no national pride. His basic defect is that he riddled his essay with fallacies, notable of which are NON-SIQUITURS and OVERGENERALIZATIONS (“one swallow does not make a summer!” e.g. one solitary Filipino not entering a theater until the anthem was over because he did not want to honor his country, DID NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT ALL or MOST OF MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF FILIPINOS DID THE SAME THING in the same manner that ONE BOSTON STRANGLER OR AL CAPONE DID NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT ALL OR MOST OF THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE BOSTON STRANGLERS OR AL CAPONES!). From those fallacies, Barth recklessly jumped to his unwarranted conclusions.
A critical mind easily notices in Barth’s essay, the lack of research, journal, study, surveys, recognized experts on the issue of when a country has national pride and inferiority complex. Thus, Barth made his own definitions, his own rules of the game, and popishly leaped to his conclusion – which turned out to be downright wrong!
Here’s why: The PHILIPPINES RANKS HIGH, EVEN AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD FOR NATIONAL PRIDE AND SUPERIORITY COMPLEX!
Here’s the proof: Before and after Barth Suretsky wrote his essay in question, “The International Journal of Public Opinion” (Spring 2006) published a global research study: “National Pride in Cross-national and Temporal Perspective” based on international surveys in 1995-96 and 2003-04 conducted by the International Survey Program, a consortium of survey researchers throughout the world.
The surveys for National Pride were conducted on 2 scales:
1. General National Pride (GNP) based on people’s sense of patriotism, nationalism and superiority complex (i.e. “My country is better than any other country in the world!”).
2. Domain-specific National Pride (DSNP) which “helps illuminate national character by revealing not only the overall level of national pride, but also by identifying what elements of Society are objects of particular pride in each country (Tom W. Smith, National Pride in Specific Domains, National Public Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, June 27, 2006). DSNP concerns national pride in 10 specific areas: the country’s democratic system; its political influence in the world; economic system; social security; science and technological achievements; sports; arts and literature; military; history; and fair treatment of all groups in society.
Which countries have been the top 10 in the world for NATIONAL PRIDE AND SUPERIORITY COMPLEX? The International Journal published these rankings in its Spring 2006 issue (pp. 127-136):
1. 2003-04 survey results: 1. USA and Venezuela (tied) 3. Australia 4. Austria. 5. South Africa 6. Canada 7. Chile 8. New Zealand 9. PHILIPPINES and 10. Israel (“The Jerusalem Post” headlined: ISRAEL SCORES HIGH IN NATIONAL PRIDE). Not in the top 10 were Great Britain, France, Spain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and many other countries.
2. On June 27, 2006, the National Public Opinion Research Center at University of Chicago released the research paper: “National Pride in Specific Domains” which showed the top 10 countries for NATIONAL PRIDE IN THE TEN SPECIFIC AREAS aforementioned: 1. USA and Venezuela (tied) 3. Ireland 4. South Africa 5. Australia 6. Canada 7. PHILIPPINES 8. Austria 9. New Zealand and 10. Chile. As can be seen, the PHILIPPINES outranked big industrialized countries of Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea and many other countries.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/06/060301.nationalpride.pdf
Now justifiably springs a loud and resounding HURRAH forever for the Filipinos and the PHILIPPINES!
This revelation should definitely and infinitely put an end to the masochistic stupor of some Filipinos who have been submissive and haplessly resigned to Barth Suretsky’ abysmally wrong conclusion downgrading Filipino national pride and superiority complex now internationally established and recognized.
This is a wake-up call to foreigners and other readers long tranquilized by their nonchalance or failure to research the whole truth about one of the NATIONAL PRIDE WONDERS OF WORLD – THE PHILIPPINES!
anton and to all readers: the topics mentioned is interesting it exactly voices almost the same opinions as mine{read all ‘other’ gmmahoney TOPICS comments }except generalizations is a NO NO because THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS IN EVERY RULES also filipinos have learned so much that they moved on and almost everybody is actively involved in their enviromental-cleanliness-art-education and even their own MILITARY programs so although he speaks some truth it is also close to being OBSOLETE mestiza is beautiful
but JENNIFER ILLUSTRE by:tekconcepcion in philippines youtube is the kind of beauty{typical filipina}reminds me of me{bubbly like-younger days}i promote to all filipinos to be supportive of her career she is ‘like’ a philippine flag to my eyes….another thing to consider is his misinterpretations of filipino cultures….. most filipinos are strict in implementing rules to their own people NOT BECAUSE OF INFERIORITY COMPLEX IN GENERAL but because they’re familiar with local corruptions-abusive behaviors so by being strict to locals means they’re doing filipinos a favor thru desciplines they also know that most swiss-americans-germans other white people are law abiding citizens plus the lack of local awareness{ignorance}about western cultures historical economic exploitations of their country during colonization periods filipinos are forgiving they moved on not wanting painful memories live in their minds-heart the reason why filipinos has very friendly-happy go lucky mentality{not vindictive by nature}READ ALL MY COMMENTS IN PHILIPPINES YOUTUBE and here too and YOU WILL UNDERSTAND why filipinos ‘actually’ has superiority complex by nature but not put on display or showing it openly as part of attention
deficit problem or false pride that most superior
complex westerners displayed when-wherever possible that prolonged their complex lifestyles-dominations century after century by killing anyone cross-passed their way…..the lack of INITIATIVES IN THEIR ARCHITECTURAL-HISTORICAL PLACES-EVENTS is due to governments lack of funding{mismanagements}they’re busy repairing-covering the framed{sucking their economic wealths}’set up’events didnt know was created for them to control philippine government-economic system….politicians focus-working{tied to}not to go to jail or face investigations
not because they dont want to fix their proud culture only that their ‘priorities’ were re-routed to other problems-solutions……but true that inferiority complex in poor majorities anywhre exist but more so with filipinos whose good natured are always taken advantage by non filipinos who’s personnal mentalities is BETTER YOU THAN ME as victims and BETTER ME THAN YOU FIRST kind of courtesy…..i am glad filipinos in general do not think like that i want a loving
caring friendly smiling filipinos STATE OF THE MINDS….always…..thank you filipinos
in america i saw how some white people in high places-power-authority injected inferiority complexes on ‘not their kind’ to penetrate-take over one’s life if it has a silent values in particular economically-politically etc. filipinos are the most vulnerable to this kind of ugly-horrible white american trademarks they put you in a lot of scrutinies to bring you down{stresses in secrecy}thru lies-deciets-manipulations until YOU are broken and not as much of a future racially socio economic threat
maybe reasons why a lot of filipinos are behaving the way they are because of what they had been thru in the hands of others…..a good example of how to control non white economies by intercepting-manipulating things they do by creating say scandals-conflicts like ‘war on terrorism’ as non suspecting manipulations of foreign cultures like philippines and all other united nation members as starter which will give filipinos and all other non americans a true INFERIORITY COMPLEXES resulted from all the tensions it will spread questioning all possibilities of even those who are not questionable but their access will greatly impacted any filipinos used to be down to earth-friendly peaceful lives and unaware where all these inferiorities COMING FROM because CONTROL creates tensions so inferiority complex are not necessary are from-born with-made by filipinos it is injected to them by whoever CONTROLS
but filipinos themselves cannot be without fault that is why i agree to a certain degree to the person who initiated this topic i found a lot of filipinos nonchalant-passive-dependant on merits-hardships-mercy-graces of others lots of them are guilty of ‘just waiting’ for something to happened and the too dependant on cash basis as their main-doors to’happiness’ small things are taken for granted{snubbing}’kind words’ most of the times are reserves to who can best ‘bribed me’-‘entertained me’ and love is not a love unless you prioritized their needs IT IS VERY HARD to love when true feelings-intentions are measured by cash-social values in general
there are “MENTAL-SOCIAL MAFIAS” going around
neighborhoods no matter how good caring things you do still they find ways to destroy you along with all the things you did for them just because some mental-social mafias compares them to the one who they asked to help them sort of challenging the goodwills that reminds them as underdogs instead of well “I NEEDED YOUR HELP_MONEY” my baby is crying for days because of water i feed him instead of milk…because of the social-mental mafias who’s main intentions is ‘social mind controls’ in the neighborhoods generally destroys the early advancements of people who has possibilities-needed the help so soretzky’s issues are not all incorrect filipinos or any citizens of the world are also the biggest part of the problems why they are third world countries-in poverties-unemployed-broken families-in constant debts-underdogs-victims-neglected etc….meaning they created most of their unhappiness-problems-social conflicts by not being honest-true to themselves which if they are will help open their minds of what-when-how-where all their problems-conflicts-unhappiness in life originated from as to prevent all it’s possible catastropic-disastrous results to ever happening again until-unless they are TRUE-HONEST to themselves they will remain forever in the same social economic chaos…..may god help all those dishonest filipinos ….may god not abandon them in their life misery……i will help carry humans misery-mistakes if god will only forgive
…..although a lot of good filipinos are moving forward willing to advanced even further more to help educate their hopeless and the rest of the world’s disadvantage it is imperative that we share most needed socialproblems-technologies-advance science-public services-religions-educational wisdoms open minded understanding on beliefs on all wide ranging ideologies for world’s better understanding to promote peace-harmony-friendship-understanding-tolerance-caring-love etc.etc.etc. it is in the outmost importance in this day and age that we practice wisdom honor and relive graciousness anywhere possible……how can we possibly neglected ignore the good relations of asia filipinos in particular to your european american african north americans pacific regions carribbeans etc.and all other united nations counterparts when we know all united nations members other non member allies are ‘still’ part of one world one planet one universe we lived in…..i maybe born non european non blacks non yellow race but my entire families now are of european american ‘caucasian descents’ or are residents citizens immigrants employees families dependants of white men’s race…..some of my families are legally attached-binded-related to descents from carribean countries to africa to middle east{very close ties}to down under asia and all other parts of the world so asia or filipinos or my entire families has relationships with almost anybody everybody all over the world one reasons among so many reasons why tolerance of other cultures is a must without neglecting-compromising your own since we are all part of the world…..remember diplomacy is the best policy….meaning communications must be of good intentions-honest-on time to prevent unnecessary controversies or any negative escalations of possible obsolete tainted wrong facts-info or old datas anywhere to ensure the world it’s citizens are protected from tyranny ignorant cruelty dangerous and agressive hidden agendas of some misinformed worldwide irrational leaders in powers to make sure we can maintain our world enviroment at peace in harmony longer and prosperity…..we must live in peace…..not ignorances to keep us safe happy together in one healthy awesome planet……called earth {cil}
Thanks for the flag. Am using it in my presentation.
[url=https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=906221730972719399&postID=5391826683715515009]daidaihua slimbionic[/url]
[url=https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=906221730972719399&postID=5391826683715515009]slimbionic[/url]
i think its good if we try to look through first the problems of the Filipinos in order to improve ourselves. Sometimes we react so much about these things and we don’t realize that why does it take a foreigner to tell us our own problems that we ourselves can’t point out. Sometimes we must humble ourselves and reflect about these things because maybe some points are really true and maybe we should change ourselves. Minsan kasi masakit ang totoo kaya imbis na tingnan nating ang totoo nating kalalagayan, ayaw natin tanggapin at magagalit tayo. Why don’t we just reflect on these problems and try to assess ourselves before we react violently. Wala naman kasing mawawala saatin eh
resist ‘violent’ tendencies worked on social ‘diplomacies’ instead..focus on positive good things-projects-associations only..even in these ‘adhikain’ social differences-conflicts can still rise lol..but the lesser the better..filipinos are truly friendly happy smiling very creative talented people-societies in general filipinos are very helpful very loving people overall philippines is one of the ‘very few’ best country to live-retire without a doubt lol
resist ‘violent’ tendencies worked on social ‘diplomacies’ instead..focus on positive good things-projects-associations only..even in these ‘adhikain’ social differences-conflicts can still rise lol..but the lesser the better..filipinos are truly friendly happy smiling very creative talented people-societies in general filipinos are very helpful very loving people overall philippines is one of the ‘very few’ best country to live-retire without a doubt lol
Before you people go telling Mr. Suretsky to recheck his history books, you should checks yours first. Did you know that the only reason why the Philippines lasted 400 years under the Spaniards was because it took the Filipinos that long *to learn that they had to unite in order to defeat the Spaniards?*
YOU PEOPLE ARE HYPOCRITES! Ilan sa inyo ang naglolook-down sa mga taga-Mindanao just because they just *are* from Mindanao? Ilan sa inyo ang nagsasabing masamang dugo ang mga Muslim ng Mindanao? Ilan ba sa inyo ang tunay na rumerespeto ng Bisaya, dahil isa nga ito sa pinakamagandang dialects sa bansa? Do you people realize gaano ang animosity between the people from Luzon, the people from the Visayas at ang mga taga-Mindanao? Some of you people would probably laugh off the Igorots because of their very “revealing” tribal clothes, until one suddenly steps up in front of you and speaks perfect English. (this happened to me, and as it happened she became one of the English teachers. FYI, she has a doctor’s degree in the subject)
What many of the people here speak of is not Nationalism, because Nationalism speaks of love for one’s country in a *national* level, but something else. You can love yourself and your particular denomination (Tagalog, Bisaya, Muslim Mindanao, whatever) all you want, but that’s not called Nationalism.
lol!
we’re guilty..our future share as filipinos would be participating or attending every provinces ‘best of the best’ festivals like ‘aliwan’ festival masskara dinagyang ati-atihan penagbenga flower festival pahiyas dinulog and all other festivals town celebrations and fiestas
past is past sabi nga ni sister gmmahoney na kaya may mahihirap na filipinos kasi in the past the philippine governments ‘inspire’ the poorest the disadvantage to be poor to be disadvantage by allowing them to break rules to operate to live in squalors as squatters in the gutters there are no set rules just like cavemen no implementations as preventions no lines no measurements no boundaries NO CONSEQUENCES to disciplined it’s own citizens thus allowing the very EXISTENCE OF POVERTies & CRIMES nationwide..phils. govt. allowed them to break rules in housing infrastructures building codes govt.allowed house building without any local o city building ‘permits’ so the slums-squatters MULTIPLY by-in millions that ‘resulted’ to deteriorations & degragations of enviroments & poorest communities..govt.allowed community buildings without proper SANITATIONS standard man lang that also resulted to millions & billions LOSTS of govt. annual incomes
for not implementing collecting fines without collecting ‘violations’ o warning tickets as part of DISCIPLINING it’s own communities it’s own citizens{practices to be law abiding}in returned it ENCOURAGES crimes to multiply younger poor couples to settle to multiply in millions early in life coz of LIVING CONVENIENCES AVAILABLE meaning poor citizens who multiply in millions annually without any social consequences just freedom to commit crimes & almost limitless explosions of any crimes any unlawful wills-deeds because THERE ARE NO PAID consequences & rarely implemented kaya who’s to blame sa mga paghihirap ng filipinong mamamayan na going abroad na lang ang alam nilang pag asa sa buhay yun pala social mental physical abuses etc. lang pala ang aabutin ng karamihan sa kanila liban pa sa maraming umaasa na lamang sa pag hingi pag limos at pag hintay ng mga grasya tulad ng istorya ni juan tamad pero salamat sa pprograms ng lady president nyo dahil umangat na ang karamihan sa inyong mga filipino salamat naman at were happy for all the good great changes ng pilipinas ngayon at ahead syempre naman
lol
spelling police salamat kapatid ko na mahal na mahal naming lahat lol kaya nga dapat my mga day care center in every philippine towns-provinces eh para naman sa mga under 6 years old na mga toddlers whose parents are more likely mga istambay sugalera tsismosa mga sanggano o maton eh di puede ng magtrabaho sila kasu yung mga abusive na tamad na mga parents they just let their young ones cry or miserable if not playing with strangers in the streets unsupervised kawawa at abusive din ang dating noong mga children na napabayaan alone or with strangers mostly these kids are physically molested kasi their parents are not present when they are in the streets so these children they grew up miserables not knowing how to deal with those ‘discomfort’ coz children didnt know what was that for until one day they grow up and say OH MY GOD I WAS RAPE BY MY NEIGHBOR & MY OWN UNCLE I THOUGHT IT WAS LOVE FOR ME AS A CHILD lol
cinemas if done with taste & honorable ideas are good educational tools to tell children OH OH! NOT THAT ONE pala lol so thanks spelling police for reminding us THE public
Stood together in…?
The reason why the Philippines remained under Spanish rule was because Filipinos are far from united. The Spaniards knew this, which was why they engineered ways to keep the Filipinos from ever uniting under one banner. Who do you think made a large chunk of the Spanish armies? Filipinos. And although many years have passed since the Philippines became independent Filipinos are still divided: the prosperous, the poor, the Tagalog, the Bisaya, the Muslim, the Lumads…
In America the lowest of the low still have the potential to become great. They even have a black president now. But in the Philippines very, very few of those who started with nothing ever prosper much, and those that do probably had help from the very few persons from “elite” families who are neither corrupt nor prejudiced.
I do not agree with everything Suretsky has said but I know that some of what he says is truth. Just because the man does not deserve to judge us doesn’t mean that what he says is wrong. Who are you to say that you know all your own flaws? Flaws are relative between people, so unless you are schizophrenic it will take another person to notice your flaws for you.
united does not mean all filipinos must be part of some dogtags but nothing wrong if some belongs to one..united also means believing in common senses{general terms}like believing that good filipino citizens are those who are law abiding they pay taxes right-on time good filipino parents are those who provide-protect their children with love food clothing shelters education health care etc. that a clean sound neighborhoods o communities are prefered o di kaya total nakedness any intense sexual acts must be done ‘privately-in couple’s privacy’ believing accepting that many different religions & many different names forms of gods do exist & are worships everyday around the world which one is the best the truth the reality is up to filipinos-foreigners to choose one by birth or later in life etc.etc. all these ‘few’ examples are part of what united filipinos meant but let’s put the facts straight..foreign invasions of any country has both GOOD & BAD sides bad if there are ‘casualties-victims-damages’ but good if the colonizers meant to share what good different cultures they may have like when portuguese-spanish or the americans first came to the philippines they brought their religion that until now are practice-enjoys by many filipinos same way they enjoy the gift of knowledge taught-left behind by americans like road buildings schools
hospitals health clinics public parks even a form of a constitution both chinese malays japanese & muslims brought trades between them & the philippines etc. etc but NOW many filipinos realized that the best better healthier wealthier happier future is ‘knowing’ who they are as people meaning WHO ARE THE FILIPINOS? proud filipinos are these locals that practices their new & old filipinana cultural heritage anywhere they go around the world bcoz it’s so beautifull so colorful sweet but exciting also so diverse that uniqueness came out if it
Hi Pinoys! I’m a Norwegian living already 18 months here in RP (in Lapu-Lapu). I might agree in some of the things Suretsky comes with, although it is (as he says himself) exaggerated. On the other hand, I really am surprised of some of the comments in here. Especially Cookies (the first comment). I interpret it as “If you ever critizise us we’ll kill you!”. What kind of reaction is that in a modern and open world? This isn’t the 19th century where all discrepansies were solved with war! It is as some (stupid) Norwegian might say to a foreigner: “If you don’t like us, just go home!”.
Nationalism is positive if it concentrate on the positive things, like: “We’re united, we love our country”,”We’re proud of our history and past”, “We’ll promise the world we’ll be a better place”.
But when it comes to: “I hate foreigners because they have other views on us than we do!” or “I don’t like foreigners coming here telling us how bad it is, even if we know their right, it is ONLY us than can critizise ourselves!”.
Well, I might say: no wonder there are wars in this world!
Many, many (of many nationalities) warned me when I decided to move from Thailand to RP: “The criminality rate is one of the highest in the world”, “Democracy is a joke in RP!”, “Corruption is the only business pinoys know!”, “If you use a language a pinoy don’t like, he’ll shoot or stab you!”
Is it true? Not after my opinion (after 18 months here).
Well, I love this country, although I have my views about RP. Especially do I feel that a country that has 3 different languages (or sort of different): Tagalog, Visayas and Mindanao, actually have a integration problem, don’t it? Anyway. With discussion on charter change and all that, I feel I am living in the middle of the modern RP’s history. Exiting times coming up! 🙂
Btw: Did you know that there a over 16,000 filippinos/filippinas in Norway. Several I know tell me that they would NEVER move back to the Philippines! Strange, but true.
im proud to be a filipino. 🙂
you people are stupid. WE HAVE NO PRIDE. HE IS RIGHT. LOOK ALL AROUND YOU WE HAVE NOTHING TO HOLD ON BECAUSE WE SIMPLY DO NOT WANT TO HOLD ON THE THINGS WE DO HAVE!!!!!
This man is a Filipino but it is sad he had to be born a foreigner to see our mistakes
Cookie’s comment only proved Mr. Suretsky’s point. Such impertinent response is not only giving Filipinos a bad name but more reason why most Filipinos do not take pride in their culture (and people). I have lived in Europe since a teenager and I must say that in the last 25 years I did not give that much attention to the Philippines, as far as I was concerned there is nothing to be proud about. Corruption is so common and I completely despise the social hierarchy that divides people. One good example is when I watched Urban Zone, there is a lady showing how magnificent her condo unit is and explaining where her kitchen tap came from –( US of course!); and she moved to the bathroom, again she pointed out that everything is from the US. It was funny and painful to watch. What made her think we are interested where her kitchen tap or pillow came from? Perhaps this makes her better than everyone else? I once had business dinner at the Shangri La with someone who is clueless but his relation to the Managing Director boosted him from graduation to Manager, but I can bet that the waiter who served us was better educated than the idiot who I was having dinner with.
I have worked in investment banking for the last 15 years and this had given me the opportunity to visit beautiful places in the world yet when I go HOME to the Philippines I am humbled the way people managed to survive with low income. There are still a few who takes pride in themselves and are very polite, as far as I am concerned they are the epitome of true Filipino (Old School), unfortunately the rest are pretty much the same…they treat me with (false) respect because of my address and what I have and not because of who I am as a person, these are the people that irritates me most, their presence does not give me any joy.
I have built a house in Tagaytay with everything from the Philippines. Why? Because I don’t see anything wrong in building my rest house with local materials, it is just as good and had given my home the identity of who I am, I am a Filipina who was raised with the old school belief of working hard and taking pride in oneself. I am not a nationalist, I simply believe in learning, working hard and being fair. It’s up to you if want to call that being Filipino.
Btw Cookie if your father educated you a bit more perhaps you will have a clue of what Mr. Suretsky was talking about! If your Lola were alive perhaps she will give you a mile long speech on how to put your point accross without making a fool of yourself. Perhaps next time you can engage your brain before you start typing away. Also, the Philippines did not survive invasion, look around you. What do you see? What do you hear? The invasion of the west remains to this day and most Filipino cannot get enough of it. I have met Filipinos who refuse to speak tagalog to me and I can tell from their accent. Why?? Maybe you can answer that!!
Mabuhay!
Kapag napasyal ako sa ganitong uri ng blog, AT ang talakayan ay may kapupulutan … ay may kagalakan at pagmamalaki akong nadarama.
Nawa’y magpatuloy pa ang mga pagpapala sa inyo; NGAYON, BUKAS, at MAGPAKAILANMAN!
Tanging tunay na Pilipino lamang ang wagas na magmamahal sa kapwa Pilipino: IsangIsip, IsangSalita, IsangGawa; IsangKapatiran = IsangPilipino
Kuya Jes,
wagasmalaya.blogspot.com