There's a great, thought-provoking post from about a month back on Torn and Frayed that asks, Does the world look down on the Filipino? I'm not entirely sure, though, that the question is the right one to ask -- or rather, that the answers provided aren't exactly the right ones. (Granted, I can't answer his (?) question either.)
For instance:
Filipinos, on the other hand, are generally seen as hard-working, uncomplaining people, who stay out of trouble, lead hard lives, but manage to stay pleasant and cheerful through it all.and:
The fact that so many countries are keen to employ Filipinos would seem to support the theory that Filipinos have a good international image compared with that of other immigrant populations.Torn and Frayed already partly answers this in the entry. Such traits as industriousness, hospitality, cheerfulness, et cetera -- all those virtues long enumerated as being inherently Filipino by both Filipinos and their colonizers -- can also be read as easily exploitable, won't complain to or about their employers, will work for long hours for below minimum wage, come from a country where people live in garbage dumps (so being worked to the bone in, say, Singapore, won't look so bad in comparison) -- and still have big smiles on their faces! "Staying out of trouble," for instance, can be anything in a whole range of behaviors (from smoking weed to joining an anti-government protest). They're only easily trainable to the extent that the government has already thoroughly prepared them to be ready for foreign discipline, whatever that may entail.
Filipinos are routinely sent to countries where they are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, and this is all tacitly approved, and indeed enabled, by the Philippine government. In short, people may say, on an individual level, that they like hiring Filipinos because of such-and-such characteristics -- but it obscures the way states collude with one another to make Filipino labor more marketable as commodities in a globalized economy.
(I could go on about "inventing slights," but I'll stop there -- suffice it to say that the whole Art Bell hoax is quite interesting in and of itself.)
p.s. Metro's comment to the Torn and Frayed entry (scroll close to the bottom) -- "Yes the flips try to connect to asian culture, yes its ridiculous considering they are more mexican than anything" -- aren't as inane as they sound, but only if you're talking about Filipinos in the U.S., and only in the last century.
There are, after all, some fruitful parallels that can be made between them: their colonial experiences, the language, Catholicism, shared histories of sending migrant workers (and their exploitation), fairly similar issues of citizenship and transnational migration, recipes for adobo, and so on. (One can take Puerto Rico for an even closer colonial comparison -- colonized both by Spain and the United States, and still controlled by the latter in different degrees. What was it that folks say about Latinos and Filipinos again? Different mommies, but the same daddy?)
But on the whole, such assertions only really deal with about a hundred years of history or so, and only in a particular part of the world. Arguments about Filipinos being more similar to Latinos than to other Asians are fatuous at best, and are perhaps made by people who know little about Southeast Asia and its history.
Thanks for your nice comment.
Yes, I agree that the “positive” aspects of the Filipino abroad that I cited have a downside. I suppose that is probably true of all national characteristics, or at least national stereotypes—Germans are very organized, but perhaps that makes them a bit rigid in their thinking; the Chinese are good with money, but that may make them a little soulless; French pride in their culture can easily be read as arrogance, and so on.
I also agree completely with what you say about the commodification of international labour and how the Philippine government colludes with other governments to make sure that those precious balkibayan dollars don’t dry up. You might have thought, for example, that the Philippine government would have supported Japanese government’s recent clampdown on granting visas to “entertainers” from the Philippines, given that the girls are invariable grossly exploited and are often victims of violence. Not a bit of it, the government pulled out all the stops to make sure that the remittances from Filipino “entertainers” in Japan continued (it was left to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to support the Japanese government).
Since my partner runs a successful chain of Mexican restaurants in Manila, of course I also agree that there are similarities between the two cultures. I just didn’t feel like agreeing with Metro because he sounded like an idiot.
By the way, since you wrote there has been another interesting comment on the original post.
Finally, the really interesting thing about the Filipino psyche--as has been pointed out many times and is alluded to in the title of your post--is why is everyone so happy (here and abroad)? If ever there was a characteristic with an up side (Pinoys are easy to get along with, everyone likes being around them) and a down side (nothing ever gets better, because everyone is too busy being happy) it is smilingness of the Filipino.
On the other hand, let me ask you this: If Pinoys are such a great people, then why have Filipinos failed at building a nation that serves their interests.
You cite that "many countries are keen to employ Filipinos". This begs the question: Why are we so reliant on foreign employment? Here's a possible answer: Because we as a people failed to build a nation -- and a society -- that treasures its own citizens.
More views like this? Visit:
www.getrealphilippines.com
I totally agree with what you have written. Sad to say that behind that positive attitude is the underside of the coin. But then again, true to our history, once oppressed we fight back. Filipinos might be exploitable but they do know when to say enough is enough...and with a smiling face too.
Posted by: Lumpianghubad on April 9, 2005 06:20 AMOn the other hand, let me ask you this: If Pinoys are such a great people, then why have Filipinos failed at building a nation that serves their interests.
You speak about Filipinos as though we were one homogenous whole.
Evidently, we can be classified in different groupings. A certain group of Filipinos are fine with just how things are. They reap what these islands can offer and live extremely comfortable lives. The reasons why are a lesson in history.
Nation-building requires intense social conflict and the resulting compromises made between contentious interests. Our problem is, we've never had any internal upheavals serious enough to warrant "nation-building."
Posted by: sparks on April 10, 2005 04:18 PMTo the Get Real Person: Why don't go to the library or bookstore and pick a book before you whine aimlessly. Read up on history and you'll find answers to your stupid questions. May I suggest David C. Martinez's A Country of Our Own so you'll find some perspective on what happened with our country for the last 100 years. Or Jared Daimond's Guns, Germs, and Steel if you want the perspective from the last 500.
Posted by: ding_eab on April 13, 2005 02:47 AMMr. ding_eab
Instead of pointing me to the library, why not post your views on why you think my post constitutes "aimless whining". What's the matter? Unable to form opinions based on your personal understanding or interpretation of what you read?
Any schoolboy can cite book titles. But what separates the men from the boys is the ability to form an robust interpretation and understanding of what one reads in books.
Up to the challenge, dude? ;)
Posted by: benign0 on April 14, 2005 12:33 AMYour ideas are whack. Nothing that has been thought of before. Come up with something original.
I especially find this piece the funniest among your lame-ass ideas:
"Our obsession with personal cleanliness and hygiene is legendary but only speaks of our own narcissism, insecurity, and pretentiousness as a people."
Dude Filos just wanna be clean, living in a high humidity tropical country that's all. Not because of those far-out unreal reasons you came up with. Maybe those are your reasons for taking a shower and shit. Please don't be speaking for us rest of the Filipinos no more you don't REPRESENT.
Mr ding_eab,
Guess again, dude. I'm as Pinoy as Pinoy gets. And as the saying goes, *it takes one to know one*. lol!
And as to your assertion "Your ideas are whack. Nothing that has been thought of before. Come up with something original", get this: I never claimed my ideas are original. All I do is come up with a cool website to consolidate The Truth About Pinoys.
So here's the sad fact: Maybe you are a testament to the old age saying: THE TRUTH HURTS, doesn't it? :P
And as to your saying that "Filos just wanna be clean", so what? Most people do wanna be clean. The only difference is that Pinoys have one of the filthiest capital cities on earth. What's the point in being personally clean when spending just 5 minutes out of your airconditioned Honda Civic and you already feel like taking another shower because of the sewage you just stepped on and the black dust that just blew across your face?
ha ha!
www.getrealphilippines.com
Hi, I just stumbled on your page and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I hated it when we emigrated from Pinas to Canada in the 70's and I had to explain over and over again that I wasn't Chinese and where the hell Pinas was...
It was amazing and an eyeopener. Another thing I cannot stand is watching a movie and seeing the servant, nanny, nurses be Filipinos. Why not the rich guy? Socialite? Doctor? *sighs*
Posted by: Amy on May 11, 2005 01:41 PM