Tolerate Overly Proud Pinoys
(Kahit minsan di mo na kaya)
It can be irritating when you hear Filipinos say "Proud to be Pinoy", or when a youtube video has a fuckton thread of comments saying "Like if you're Filipino" when a little praise comes for their race.
I'm a filipino. I'm a proud one. Every citizen has the right to be proud of their geographic identity, but damn, why do Filipinos overdo it?
Maybe it came from the fact that Philippines was hella insignigicant. For 333 years, we have been the lesser colony when Mexico was the favourite. For 333 years, we have been told our skin is not beautiful, that our men and women are not as educated, that our language is inferior, and that we will go to hell because we can't pay the church. After those centuries, there came the Americans who told us we are 'little brown Americans'. They told us they love us, they told us we are the prominent colony, while they try to make us forget our culture, language, and access to our own natural resources. After that, WW2, not culturally significant so we'll skip to post-Fidel Ramos administrations where economic depressions were constant, where the government was always being unfair, where the system is inefficient. Those times, Filipinos developed the habit of comparing themselves to other nations, telling themselves that it would have been better if they weren't born a Filipino. We were the laughing stock of the world.
2010s happened, a lot of shit happened, but those were the times when the Philippines is getting known for things. It started with the singers, the FilAm artists, the beauty pageants, then the economic rise happened at 2015s. Then, the Filipinos, not used to the positive limelight, suddenly felt the elation of identity. They started being proud of their color, their hair, their language, even at their toxic mentality. They've become so proud that they exagge the positive comments the world has been giving. Hahahaha (All Filipinos are nice my ass).
I hated this behaviour, too. I wouldn't share my socio-economic background, but I could tell this behaviour is a bit peasant-y. However, maybe it's just me being cynical, or trying to be smart ass, or being embarrased in front of my foreigner friends. Because beyond the "Shut up, Filipino!" thinking, you can see and understand, and there you learn to tolerate.
In reality, Filipinos have been more self-deprecating than appreciating. After forced inferiorization of cultural identity to consecutive economic crisis, finally, the Filipino can be proud of something for once.
This ends my essay. Paalam.
