Pinoy Pride

The article under scrutiny: Why Pinoy Pride will never save the Philippines

Summary of my opinion:

There’s no problem being proud of successful Filipinos – the problem starts when this “pride” causes us to immediately assume and attribute our heritage as the cause of [their] success.

What matters ultimately is motivation and action. But these are individual traits, not something that being Filipino, Japanese, 1 Although one can debate that Japanese culture does inculcate some semblance of collective cooperation/action American, etc. will cause one to be.

Commentary

A tricky topic to be sure.

Like I said earlier, there’s no problem being proud of successful Filipinos – the problem starts when this “pride” causes us to assume that heritage as the singular reason for their success. And in turn develop this twisted sense of entitlement that because we’re Filipino, that we’re better than the rest by means of these “success stories.”

This is why I tend to get pedantic when it comes to the pinoy pride lists; there really ought to be some qualification applied there. We shouldn’t consider people that solely operate on the local space – not because they’re not worth admiring/respecting, but simply because every other country has its share of local success stories. 2 I’m not saying we shouldn’t be proud of these people – I’m just saying that in context of the pride used in these memes we read in the net, the attribution [usually] doesn’t commensurate

I Personally use these points as a standard to even consider a personality/celebrity worth being considerably proud of:

  1. They should be ubiquitously known. The whole world needs to recognize them before we consider them eligible.

  2. Just having Filipino blood and being in the entertainment/viral industry isn’t enough 3 The these industries are a cop-out way to get exposure that you don’t necessarily deserve. They should actually have contributed significantly to the country’s image (to the world) in whatever field(s) they are in.

  3. The more significant #2 (contribution) is, the less #1 has to be fulfilled – this will at least give the scientists, teachers, and tech entrepreneurs the respect they deserve.

  4. They should actually consider themselves Filipino. Normally I’d say they’d have to be pure Filipino, but I think considering yourself more Filipino than the other nationality you’re affiliated with should be enough. 4 So yeah, the Azkals get a pass after much internal debate LOL

All four should be simultaneously fulfilled.

So personally, I’d be proud of the likes of Lea, Pacquiao, and apl.de.ap (among others). But personalities like HappySlip (#2), Pangilinan (#1), Jessica Sanchez (#3), not so much.

But I digress… the point the article makes still stands. Even if we are proud of these people – it doesn’t make us, or our heritage any better than any other country’s. In fact, I bet if we did a statistic and collected all eligible Filipino candidates to “be proud of” – we’d probably discover the other countries having much more to offer than we do.

Japan would be a good example to put into perspective how pointless this “pinoy pride” is. Try remembering one Japanese personality that’s ubiquitously known throughout the world… Hard right? Yet it’s a fact that they’re better than us in ALL but two things: warmth, and probably faith – though the latter isn’t exactly helping our lot.

In short, I have to agree with the article. Its only mistake was that it sounded too degrading and superior, as if the author was dissociating himself with the very thing he should acknowledge being a part of. But overall, he makes a solid case.

Ultimately, it’s not really the success of our famous kinsfolk that will make us “better” – it’s our collective culture… and, as it pains me to point this out – if you want a general idea of what we are really like collectively, then the masa would be a good place to start.

Notes

Notes
1 Although one can debate that Japanese culture does inculcate some semblance of collective cooperation/action
2 I’m not saying we shouldn’t be proud of these people – I’m just saying that in context of the pride used in these memes we read in the net, the attribution [usually] doesn’t commensurate
3 The these industries are a cop-out way to get exposure that you don’t necessarily deserve.
4 So yeah, the Azkals get a pass after much internal debate LOL

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