My Ambivalence Towards Anti-Pinoy

The Philippines has just celebrated Jose Rizal's 150th birthday, accompanied with lots of conferences and igniting many Filipinos' sense of patriotism. Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda is the Philippines' national hero, born at Calamba, Laguna, in the 19th of June, 1861. He was a famous Propagandista (basically a reformist), and actively threw criticisms towards the Spaniards' political and religious system during its colonization of the Philippines, most of which are found in his two famous novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. I would like to expound on the rich story-telling abilities of Rizal in the said novels, but that's not why I'm writing this blog entry in the first place.

Amidst the celebration of Rizal's battle for the rights of Filipinos, a video concerning the misplaced pride of Filipinos ended up in my news feed on Facebook. Here is the video.

I confess myself ambivalent after watching the video. For one, I am fully aware of the dark side of the Philippines portrayed in the video, and I should say that it was an intelligent move for the part of the uploader. I myself am dismayed with all the catastrophes ravaging my homeland, both natural and man-made, and this video somehow served as an outlet of my sentiments.

On the other hand, I was also inclined to disagree with the video's propaganda of spoiling the pride of the Filipino heritage, saying that "as a third world country, we have yet to earn it." Yes, the Philippines is an economically impoverished country, but I cannot bring myself to condemn the Filipino pride altogether, because what fuels many to strive for the better is their taking pride for what they have, despite its flaws, and the hope and perseverance accompanied with that pride. To repeatedly treat something with contempt will sow indifference in one's being and that will grow in time.

This brings me to the website I've stumbled upon after finding the video. The website's name is, not surprisingly, Anti-Pinoy.com. Here is the link.

The website welcomes the reader with this note.

"Does your coach yell at you and tell you what you’re doing wrong in practice? Why does he do that? Is it because he hates you and wants nothing to do with you? You think so? Then why are you still on the team, and starting every game? Sometimes the harshest criticisms, those words that hurt the most, are what in the end lead you to achieve your best.

In a very real way, this is what we’re about. We’re not here to put Pinoys down for the heck of it, after all, we are Pinoys too…it is an altogether uncomfortable realization that the land we call home is a dysfunctional mess, but it is hard not to see the painful truth. We love our country, we want the Philippines and all Filipinos to improve, and for this country and society to live up to its potential. But before that can happen, we need to know what’s wrong about us so that we can fix ourselves and point ourselves in the right direction.

So who is the Anti-Pinoy?

In the day-to-day exchange that defines real life for most Pinoys, the daily news, radio and TV broadcasts, our cinema, and in casual conversation, the masa and those who celebrate mediocrity – those who are quick to boast about how ingenious Pinoys are and point to our colorful Jeepneys as examples, or who count the number of look-alike, sound-alike local celebrities or the once-in-a-generation gifted professional athlete as a measure of national greatness – set an UNPATRIOTIC example and lower the bar of public debate.

The more the Anti-Pinoy glorifies these mediocrities and focuses on the vacuous and the trivial, real issues that affect ordinary lives and futures are forgotten or pushed aside. Like the unambitious student who is praised by his parents despite consistently doing poorly in school, the bad habits and low expectations of Pinoy society are reinforced, making it that much harder with every passing day to find the right path. So that’s where we come in, and we bring a message: The path to prosperity, the path to the place the Philippines deserves among the world community, the path of patriotism for all true Pinoys is to first honestly and bravely acknowledge the ills of society and then have the initiative to seek to fix them.

The Filipino’s greatest enemy is himself – the Anti-Pinoy.

The question is, are you?"

I was once again ambivalent as I read the introductory note of the website. As I read article after article, my ambivalence only grew even further. And considering that I'm using the word "ambivalent" quite too much, let's just jump to my text-wall of sentiments regarding the reason why my opinion towards Anti-Pinoy is, well, ambivalent.

What I like about AP:

It is an eye-opener, just as expected of a website with such a sobriquet. It expounds on the incompetent political systems, cruel oligarchs, money-driven capitalists, silly familial traditions and unjustifiable social hierarchies, just to name a few. AP actually has the guts to acknowledge the rotten crap under the sugarcoated compliments on our country, the heinous crimes and malice beneath the superficial hospitality of Filipinos, and the rampant corruption concealed within the government's promises that have been already broken from the start.

In summary, it aims to abolish established Filipino principles and stereotypes, even if it means earning the ire of their fellowmen; a meritorious move, if I do say so myself. It does fill the role of the Philippines' constructive critic quite well, and I feel the need to give them props for that.

Anti-Pinoy's cause is controversial, yes, but nevertheless beneficial. It exposes the naked truth that most Filipinos are still sitting ducks for corruption and treachery, for they themselves are prisoners within their own superficial mentality. Most Filipinos refuse to leave their fantasies and rebuff anything that might be detrimental to those fantasies, because "what you don't know won't hurt you"; a mindset I abhor with passion. AP seems to prioritize dispelling such mindsets. Hence, they have my support.

What I don't like about AP:

It serves its purpose well if, and only if, the following holds:

1. The reader is good in English.
2. The reader is naturally intelligent and open-minded.
3. The reader is okay with huge text-walls.

While it performs its role of continuously exposing hidden evils quite well, it fails to fulfill another important objective; making it truly accessible to all kinds of Filipinos, which, I believe, is an extremely essential element of a blog, especially if its purpose is to convince. Judging by the way the articles were written and the ambience of the true Anti-Pinoy spirit, it's simply bound to repel a great deal of readers, which defeats a central purpose of AP, which is to enlighten the masses.

We already know that should a person fail to satisfy the conditions mentioned above, then he can be deemed as your "typical Filipino." Now, the thing is that these "typical Filipinos" seem to be your target readers (or, at least it's what is implied in your introductory note). We then find ourselves in a miserable dilemma. We want to attract people whom we intend to inform, but we end up repelling them in the process, which is frustrating, unless...

As I skimmed through shared conversation between the participants of AP, I can't help but see a bunch of people just making fun of narrow-minded folks at Pinoy Pride, together with their blinded beliefs. "Filipinos really are stupid," "Filipinos really are narrow-minded," "Filipinos are so funny." Even the articles are, though informative, too derogatory, not to mention daunting in the perspective of an average Filipino. Heck, even the name itself betrays a hint of the desire to seclude itself from the "Pinoys." AP in conclusion shuns itself from the grasp of the masses, the intended target of the website's information, which is quite ironic. Whether this is intentional or not is beyond me.

As I ponder on these points, I can't help but wonder about what's happening within the cyberspace walls of AP: is it really faithful to what it supposedly advocates, which is the enlightenment of the laymen, or does it just serve as a sanctuary for the self-righteous, trying to look smart by isolating themselves from the gullible masses? The cause at face value is noble, but several actions committed for that cause contradict it.

As I end this blog entry, I want to impart this message; what's the use of a good intention if the intended recipients do not benefit from it? AP claims to inform people about their own naivety and hypocrisy, but they make it so hard for those people to get that information, what with the unfriendly environment and derogatory criticisms. If one truly wants to persuade people, he must bend. You can't expect someone to easily understand what you're trying to say, let alone everyone. Therefore, he must be flexible enough to really know how people see things, not to just bash your ideas inside one's skull with his sharp words. Otherwise, what he does will just look like a mere display of his mental superiority, and an insult to those who fail to comply with his intellectual standards.

~~~

Really, I've never been this ambivalent before.