Filipinos need to mature from being emotional crybabies to level-headed adults

By -

Typically, we are a highly reactive easily butt hurt people. But we can mature when we try to win the opponent by helping them get back to their senses. When the Yellows call for “hukayin ang bangkay ni Marcos sa LNMB”, you can respond by saying “If will it add a single peso to your monthly take-home pay by doing so, go ahead”. If the Reds insist in fighting for their “never ending revolution”, ask them “have your actions so far brought in more jobs for Filipinos?” And if martial law cry babies bring up their “Never again” slogans, ask them if they are willing to be the ones in the front lines battling terrorists in the South.

The purpose of a debate is to win the opponent over to your side; so that together you can unite and build the nation. We should also take the initiative to not just react, but also “Set the agenda – the topic of discussion”. The more we move away from emotionalism and personalities, and towards discussions on principles, strategies and solutions, the closer we are to maturing intellectually as a people.

The last article I wrote, Duterte has won Filipinos so much respect that the Yellows can no longer hope for reelection, garnered a surprising 15K hits on FB – i guess because I included the magic words “Duterte” and “Yellows” in the title. Otherwise, if it were a rather neutral topic like “The benefits of harnessing green energy” – hardly anyone will read. So at this point, Filipinos are still very immature. Somehow, we still need to balance it out: between getting an audience and having relevance. Many of us are still learning as we go along on this journey towards national and cultural maturity. The quality of our debates and discussions is our mirror to keep us moving in the right direction.

Then there’s the concept of branding – Sass, Mocha and TP have all set up their own pretty impressively; and they did it riding on a bigger giant – Duterte himself. They deserve the socmed clout they’ve worked hard on – hopefully, they won’t squander the opportunities and huge potentials of having enormous followings. It’s quite interesting Sass started out here in GRP with that Tagalog article: Mga katanungan tungkol sa Philippines vs. China arbitration case. Since then, he/she never looked backed.

---------------------------
This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular this week

Leni Robredo is incapable of taking a position on CRITICAL national issues

By -
Image
The Philippines' "vice president" Leni Robredo is renowned for starting every statement with the phrase " ang sa akin lang naman " (in my humble opinion). As in something like this, for example... Ang sa akin lang naman, Martial Law in Mindanao won't be effective... Blah blah blah... And more of that to the same effect. What does Robredo's propose? Essentially nothing . The trouble with that is, Filipinos are all options but no roadmap . As such, Robredo mirrors the essence of the failure of the Philippine Opposition. They make a lot of noise about options (packaged as being "critical" of the administration) yet offer no pathway forward. It is hardly surprising why the Philippine Opposition led by the Yellowtards continues to fail.
Read more

Filipinos have a President, a real President, one that they are proud of

By -
Image
I finally feel that I need to speak up. There has been much in the press lately about newly elected Philippine President Duterte. Most of what is said focuses on his policies toward the illegal drug problem, and his direct (to put it mildly) comments to other national leaders, particularly to US leaders. The world's press responds with concern, even alarm. In the Philippines, he is immensely popular. As an American who has lived here in the Philippines for 30+ years, I think I understand why. Allow me to explain. First of all, the facts. 1) Americans almost never take culture and other cultures' viewpoints and values into consideration. Almost never. That explains nonsense foreign policy and constant misunderstanding. 2) Americans are one thing; the American government is something different. Generally speaking, Americans are liked here. Generally speaking, the American government is grossly arrogant and condescending, and is often despised because of it. 3) Other natio
Read more

The sound of a #Tagalog convo: 'like chickens and hens cackling in unison'

By -
Image
While I'm not sure the language should totally go the way Latin did, one can't deny the limited use of Tagalog. As it is now, a sentence can't be done without two or three borrowed words in English which makes it redundant in academia. Somehow you gotta address the technical jargon but there really is no equivalent to it in Tagalog so the English term just ends up jammed in between the local vernacular. Nevermind the fact that reading Tagalog online is cringey no matter who wrote it. Add the fact that it just doesn't sound pleasing to the ear. Normal conversation with Tagalog is like chickens and hens cackling in unison to the uninitiated. It's the peasants' language through and through. ------------ This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/06/kudos-to-the-commission-on-higher-education-ched-for-finally-junking-tagalog/comment-page-1/#comment-544143
Read more

Poor people in the Philippines seem to prefer poverty over aspiring to be not poor

By -
Image
Sadly, a MAJORITY of the poor people here are bad people. That is WHY they are poor. They disrespect others, they disrespect themselves, and they disrespect God’s creation. Exactly how do they think they’ll be rewarded for that? If you genuinely had empathy, you would be able to get inside their heads and understand why they do these things, and perhaps know how to fix it. However, you are confusing “empathy” with “sympathy”. I have yet to meet a poor person who actually WANTS to do the things necessary to escape poverty. The funny thing is, everyone can see that I’m more successful than they are. They think this is because I’m “rich”. I’m sure a lot of them are full of jealousy (as benign0 describes) and sit around thinking “ha, it’s not fair, that foreigner is so rich and I’m so poor. I guess it’s OK if I steal his stuff”. Which they do. Regularly. I grew up poor. I know how it feels to be hungry, all the time, every day. I decided I didn’t like feeling like that. I’m successf
Read more