Why are Filipinos Like That?

Hello there!

After an extremely uneventful week (though my gaming life was filled to the brim, haha), school finally resumes, and so do the observations I've been making since getting back from abroad about the people of this country. It annoys me that something so simple can be overlooked or brushed off.


1. Using pedestrian lanes.

Photo from Google (not in Naga city)

I've been to two countries where people know how pedestrians work and the rules about them, but it seems to me that this knowledge is yet to be discovered by the Filipinos. I've also observed on my way home from school that, though a pedestrian is present, vehicles don't follow the rules, which is to slowly stop for those crossing the road and waiting for them to get to the other side before moving on.

What happens here in Naga though, is quite different. Instead of observing the rules, the motorists/drivers get annoyed if they have to stop to let people pass, and honk their horns as if they ruled the road. Now isn't that great?

As I was crossing the road the other day, I followed road rules like looking left and right while crossing and moving quicker than normal, making sure the traffic enforcer had my back as I did so. You'd think that with all these, drivers on their part would have the common sense of slowing down to give way, right? No! Their time is too precious to even stop for pedestrians. I was even honked at even when I was being extra careful on crossing the road.

It just disappoints me that there are a lot of educated people capable of sharing road rules - basics, even - yet a lot of people are still unaware. Either that or they choose not to care just so they could arrive to a movie screening on time.

Another thing - am I the only person who finds it weird that stop/walk signals are stationed by pedestrian lanes? I think it should be placed where there are no pedestrians, to aid motorists and people on foot. It should be a given that pedestrian lanes prioritize people on the road. Tsk. Ignorance causes so many problems, and the longer we are uneducated about something, the bigger the trouble gets.


2. If people give you lemons, throw rocks back.
We all have our pride, right? However, I've noticed that we Filipinos take retaliation to a whole different level. Why is it that when another nation is the laughing stock, we ride along with a few jokes of our own, but when the tables are turned, we immediately express anger and demand respect, no matter how wrong or right the accusations against us are.

Remember when Megan Young (now Miss World 2013) was bashed by Devina DeDiva, using words like "ugly" and labeling Filipinos with a stereotype, as maids or low, undeserving workers? Her comments spread like wildfire across the net, and Filipinos (even other foreigners) immediately fired back with a greater degree. That's a common response, since humans are innately defensive. The sad thing? Our comments were way worse. I saw people saying "I hope she dies" or "Go to hell (followed by a curse word)" on DeDiva's Facebook page.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm in favor of DeDiva's comments about the Filipino people in general - in fact, I felt annoyed and angry at how low her perception of Filipinos are. I thought to myself how her parents could have brought her up in such a way, and to think that she was supposed to have graduated from the University of Manchester! But no matter how foul she described us, we still didn't have the right to wish for her death, among others. She apologized after and was denied by Manchester University as their former student. She also lost her job - isn't that enough punishment?

We did almost the same thing to the newly crowned Miss Universe 2013, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela. The moment Ariela Arida entered the top 5 of the Miss Universe Pageant, supporters could be heard hooting or shouting their approval. When she landed 3rd runner-up though, not even a single shout was heard in the stadium. Everything happened so fast and by the time Miss Venezuela was finally proclaimed the winner, The Filipino viewers had already found something negative about her. Just to make sure we feel superior, we do what we can to destroy the image of another.

I'm making an observation about Filipinos in general, and with the events that have been happening and the corresponding responses we give, this fact is far from false. I think it's becoming a Filipino trait to lash out 10 times stronger than what the oppressor deserves, just to keep a high status, or superiority. In the end though, we emerge even worse and nothing close to superior.


Although there are a few other things on my mind, I think I'll reserve those for another time. As of now, these are the major observations I've made, which disappoint me so much about the people of my home country. Sadly, if anyone tries to correct or give an opinion about something which should be done differently, those affected spare no time in fighting back. When will we change our ways?

How about you? What observations have you made about your country or the people in it, which you think should be fixed or questioned?