Filipino crabbiness
Schadenfreude. That is, one Filipino cannot stand to see another Filipino more successful than they.
This expression or observation of human behavior got its start. it is said, with someone watching a low-sided basket of live crabs. Each crab doesn’t really want to be in the basket … perhaps the sense their impending doom … so they individually try to claw their way up the side of the basket to freedom.
Some say because of their innate need to not let someone else get out before they do, or perhaps just because of a more simple urge to use the convenient legs and body of their fellow crab as an escape ladder, other crabs will grab the first adventurous climber with their claws and pull. The weave of the basket provides enough grasp to give a single crab at least a fighting chance to drag himself up and over the edge, but nowhere hear enough traction to pull any “hangers-on” along with him … so he loses his grip, tumbles back into the writhing mass of crabs at the bottom and invariably the process begins over again, usually with another crab taking the lead.
It’s fascinating and a bit sad to watch … left alone almost any crab might make it to safety but as long as there is a group it’s almost dead certain that they will all end up in the cook pot.
The person who first told me about this behavior trait is a Filipino and the story is well known to many Filipinos who widely call the situation the “Filipino Crab mentality” … the group conspires to see that no one in the group excels.
Now I don’t want to create the impression that this characteristic is completely unique to Filipinos. As soon as you make any sweeping generalization like this about a people, you are wrong. There are millions of Filipinos who help each other … indeed it’s a very common Filipino trait within families … and there are certainly millions and millions of people in other ethnic groups that tend to be jealous of the success of their peers and will even pull their fellow travelers down.
But facts are indeed facts and if you live here in the Philippines for any length of time, you are going to see the crab mentality in action nearly every single day.
In particular you’ll see this attitude in evidence every time you come across a successful business person … Filipino or foreigner. Sit and talk to some neighbors about Henry Sy, the desperately poor immigrant who came to the Philippines 50 years ago with nothing but a dream and built a huge retail empire that provides hundreds of thousands of decent jobs here in the Philippines. Comments you are likely to get?
“Oh he’s a horrible person, he didn’t build all those stores himself, he used borrowed money.” Ummm hello? Virtually every business with more than one employee, and many one man businesses as well, borrow money on a regular basis. Goodness, if you had to find the money in their own pocket to fund their business completely, how many of us would have ever even found our first after school part time job? Sounds like sour grapes to me.
Let me give another illustration of this real-world problem. I was talking with a lady who is a real graduate dentist with experience in the field. She’s a single mom right now and planning to go back to work overseas. Why isn’t she a dentist here in the Philippines? “Can’t be done”. I showed this doctor the web page for one of Bob’s clients, a dentist who uses the web to get more business and is also more than willing to offer treatment to foreigners. My dentist friend’s response? “Oh her prices are outlandish, no one will pay for that sort of dental work around here.”
Well the whole point of the exercise was to show that a dentist doesn’t have to focus only on the clientele in his/her local area. If you took a look at Dr. Lourdes Tingson – Lebosada’s web site prices and have had an dental work done in the US in recent history, you can see that you could easily finance a vacation trip to the Philippines just on the money you would save from getting a couple crowns done while you’re here. So her prices are “outlandish”? Hardly, in my book, and I have the dental bills to prove it 😉
So what’s the point, Dave? How can this problem be fixed? If I was that smart, I’d be rich. I can’t fix the “anti-success” attitude. But I can offer some advice to both my Filipino readers and my foreigner readers who interact with Filipino friend’s and loved ones every single day.
- Recognize that this Schadenfreude “crabbiness” exists. If you have a good idea to help some one you have to remember that it likely won’t be met with smiles and open enthusiasm when you first bring it up. From a personal standpoint this has been a source of some sadness to me … and I expect many other Westerners have had the same experience.
- Take smaller steps. Perhaps instead of finding a dentist who wants to set up a practice from scratch you could use a dentist’s skills to help build a directory of dentists who want publicity and overseas clients, as just one possible example. I truly believe Filipinos can accomplish anything, but expecting someone to take a vague and unfamiliar idea and ‘run with it” may lead to disappointment on both sides. One step at a time.
- (especially for my Filipino readers) … It’s wonderful to have the support and love of family, barkada and other friends. But if you let others make your decisions for you, even the best of friends my be unconsciously stricken with the “crab” disease. If you see an opportunity, and you can take it without huge risk, then don’t shy away just because others aren’t familiar with it, or worse yet seem almost scared that you’ll succeed and make money with it. You can do much more than you think you can, and almost certainly a lot more than your friend’s think you can.
Many Americans have all but forgotten him, and except for certain WWII vets he never loomed large in many people’s live, but General Douglas MacArthur is still a very real figure to many Filipinos and held in high esteem by more than a few. “Doug” left a few famous words behind, but one message he left I think speaks both to Filipinos and also to my fellow Americans in these times that seem troubled and for some even devoid of hope.
“There is no security in this world, only opportunity”
Dave: I find that attitude amazing… When speaking about someone successful, it's almost like jealousy, rather than thinking about how the success came about. They admire the success, but are envious all the same. Does it come down to old superstition that those who are successful are just "lucky"? Is the history of corruption here so great that everyone automatically assumes success equals dishonesty? A true shame….
So allow me to get back to that school project in the Philippines that we did in 2006. I spearheaded the fundraising here in the states. Two donors who were originally from this town in the Philippines ponied up the money to build four school buildings. We received ZERO cooperation from Dept Ed in Manila. In fact the Region V school officials tried to get us to pay them to replace their dilapidated buildings. Believe it or not we forced our people to knock down the existing buildings so we can begin the construction.
We hired a group of local people to manage the construction mainly to give them a sense of pride and help out the people in the town. These people proceeded to collude with the Dept of Education that only this group will be allowed to receive all donations to the school. The next step was for this group to let the locals and the Dept of Education know that they were responsible for finding the donors. Long story, but the second donor and I managed to break this collusion and we proceeded to build the main building. We hired workers and site managers from out of town and we managed from here in the U.S. Our cost was less than half what these local jokers spent in the first phase. Be very wary and kick ass if you have to in order to keep people in line.
Aldel: I wonder how "…….and kick ass if you have to in order to keep people in line." worked out in the long run. That would seem to an outsider with only limited knowledge of the overall culture to be a very, very risky behavioural pattern in the Philippines. Especially when one considers the level of corruption in place throughout most areas wherein money is concerned. It would be hard to believe that one could possibly buck the system at a level as high as the Dept. Of Education in Manila is concerned. I would love to hear more details on just how this got done.
Nonethless, congratulations on getting part of the job done !
John is that what they are calling that big Green eyeball that sticks out in the head of Filipino women Hee Hee 🙂 always a bad word for the prosperous .. Do it here too
I am on the end of a lot of those thought too .. My wife's friends were so mean to her cause she had a "rich American bf " ..
Schadenfreude – Jealousy – Rich American – Envy " what's the difference ??? … It can only cause trouble .. just waiting for my " Been there done that " shirt 🙂
Phil n Jess
Dave,
Have you ever ask why some Filipinos have this trait before composing this article?
This trait has its roots. I'm not being defensive or something, I only want to share this to you and your readers of its origins. This negative trait is not inherent to the islands' natives before white men came and grab the land from the natives (no pun intended). We have to dig years back and study the country's history during the American occupation and Spanish colonization to find how this peculiar Filipino trait have come to evolved. Its always true that one needs to study the country's history to know and understand its people… Fortunately, we don’t need to go to a library and read history books to research this subject matter. I found an article which best explains its origins, this is coming from a Filipino Muslim writer…err just muslim writer, I added Filipino to distinguish him for a muslim person living in the Philippines..I forgot, they don’t want be called Filipinos…below is an excerpts from his blog…this is sooo true!!!…
—————
When the Spaniards conquered Luzon and Visayas in the late 16th century, the natives, or Indios or Naturales as they were called by the Spaniards, lost all their rights to life, liberty and property. For 350 years, the indios were considered perpetual legal minors. They could not even own property or do practically anything unless approved by their legal guardians – the Spanish civil or church officials.
The Spaniards owned all properties in the islands. But, they gave some to their favorites – their sidekicks, their lovers or their illegitimate children. These favorites became the native elites called Ilustrados. These ilustrados were the cronies of the Spaniards. They managed the plantations in behalf of the Spaniards, much like the cronies of President Marcos who managed the business conglomerates in behalf of Marcos.
The favorites of these ilustrados became the petty politicians – the gobernadorcillos, the alcaldes, the tenientes del barrio, etc. These petty politicians and their families made up the native middle class called the Principalia.
The rest of the population had to serve these classes and the Spaniards who were then called Filipinos. There were two kinds of Filipinos – the Peninsulares and the Insulares. The former were the Spaniards born in Spain but residing in the Islands. They were usually the officials sent by the Spanish government and church – from the Governor-General and the Archbishops down to the lowest officials. The Insulares were the Spaniards who were already born in the Islands. These were the landholders and business people.
For the indios or naturales to have a good life, they need to be in the good graces of the Filipinos. The women can be the lovers of these Filipinos. It was common for Spanish priests to sire mestizo children. Jose Rizal’s Padre Damaso and Maria Clara are the most famous examples of a Spanish (Filipino) friar and his illegitimate child.
To be in the good graces of the Spanish-Filipinos, one needs to be a loyal and hardworking servant. The easier way was to destroy the reputation of a favorite and extol one’s own qualities. Thus was born the Indios’ crab mentality.
Since going up the social ladder is based merely on the whims and caprices of the Spanish masters (called Filipinos), the indios needed to totally embrace the crab mentality in order to survive. A whisper from a favorite indio (an ilustrado) could mean life or death for an ordinary indio. And it goes down the line. A word from a principalia indio to an ilustrado indio could make or break an ordinary indio. This was the state of affairs for 350 years under Spanish rule.
When the Americans came, the indios, who were now called Filipinos, simply continued the tried and tested practice of crab mentality. The Americans simply replaced the Spaniards. New sidekicks like Tuason became owners of vast tracts of lands. Others, like the Ayalas, married Americans. Many of the Ilustrados obtained legal ownership of the lands and businesses they managed in behalf of their Spanish masters just as many cronies obtained ownership of the companies they used to proxy for Marcos, to the great indignation of Marcos’s widow, Imelda.
The new Filipinos had to master the crab mentality again in order to succeed during the American Occupation. They especially needed it because the American regime opened up new vistas for the new Filipinos – government posts, employment in businesses, etc.
A new window of opportunity opened – American education. People who were educated and spoke English had greater chances of employment.
When Philippine Independence came, the Americans departed – well, most of them. A new round of sucking up and backbiting ensued. There were massive opportunities to join the ilustrado and principalia classes. And those who didn’t know how to play the game simply fell on the side.
Education became even more important in the social ladder. Educated people were taken in by the ilustrados to run their businesses or to be their proxies in the political arena. Education was publicized as the great Equalizer. The myth that good education guarantees good life was set in the agenda. “Education, not revolution”, was the idea promoted by the new Republic.
The pacifist Jose Rizal was declared the national hero while the exploits of revolutionaries Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio were downplayed. The educated cosmopolite Jose Rizal became the role model of the young new Filipinos.
But for the clever ones, they knew that the crab game was still the game to play – with or without education.
For the complete article..
http://jamalashley.blogsome.com/2007/05/05/filipi…
Oh, BTW….Crab mentality is not unique to Filipinos as stupidity is to Americans…crab mentality do exists here in the USA, its called backstabbing, backbiting…
Famous quotation: Hollywood tinseltown is based on JEALOUSY…In the UK, nosy parkers speak ill of their neighbours, but smile in an instant at the prospect of being invited to a pub for a binge-drinking session. Jealousy is human nature. It has nothing to do whatsoever with race, colour, creed. Americans are one of the top two envious people in the world—that's precisely why the majority of the Americans are in deep financial trouble: living way beyond their means just to outdo the other. Atong, you said it right:backstabbing, backbiting is the norm in the USA. Enough said, before other Pinoys start a backlash…
Filipino crabbiness? Does that make us "crabby"?
Isn't "Filipino crabbiness" or crab mentality the same as the tall poppy syndrome?
I'd like to think that everybody wants the same thing. We all want the same thing for our children–good education, good health, good food, the best cheese etc.
Fil. #1: Henry Sy is not a good employer.
Fil. #2: Yes, he exploits the system. (Under labor law, employers like Sy don't have to "regularize" contractual workers so they can avoid providing benefits. Thus, "end of contract" of 5-6 months is a reality among contract workers in the Phil.)
Foreigners: You Filipinos are guilty of talangka/crab mentality.
Fil. #1. That big house is the only one spared from the big fire.
Fil # 2. Why would you be surprised? That house is full of 'drug' money–they offered sums of money to the firemen so they can be spared.
Foreigners: You Filipinos are guilty of talangka/crab mentality.
Filipina # 1: You know, she has changed. As if she behaves like a bigshot these days.
Filipina # 2: She thinks she has become "American" too, always insisting on talking to us in english..you know..saying "how are you" when she knows that we just go "oy ano na?".
The above conversations are just arguable statements. People argue about something but that does not mean they are envious about it.
Envy is one of the deadly sins. The bible did not point out the Filipinos are the most susceptible to this. Just because I have seen white people in adult magazines, movies since I became interested abt the "ways of life" did not make me think that they (the white race) are more prone to the deadly sin of lust.
See what happens when we simplify human frailty?
Roy,
I like your example number two as have really seen it happen before in true to life. A restaurant in Butuan was on fire and my friend owned the store right next to the restaurant. Anyway I was outside and he stopped all panicked and ask my to go with him, it seems their fire insurance had lapsed and he needed help getting the expensive equipments , like auto-refractometer, and others out of optical. Anyway, Funny thing was the fire department demanded a bribe to not let the fire spread to his building and wanted it right then, he had to go get several thousand in cash but once done they concentrated on not letting fire hit his store. Also, Saw same in a residential fire as well.
I though do not think the crab mentality is in anyway exclusive to Filipino's as Americans display this same mentality. I believe just last week Bob had a article on this topic as he stated a mutual friend of his brother and himself stated his brother will not talk to him due to his success, to me that seems crab like if true and without doubt America probably contains millions of such stories.
Justin
Hi Roy!
Your example number 1 is so true. I know someone personally who only employs on a contractual basis to avoid paying benefits.
Hello Mrs. Beth,
That's true and also most people I knew with businesses also hired contractual for same purpose, its very common I believe.
Some of the contractual jobs are really funny even. For example my wife's uncle has a contractual job in a government office. I have no idea what his job title is but I call him a copy machine guard because he just sits by a copy machine but doesn't use the copy machine, I guess he makes sure no one steals it.
Anyway, The job pays 500php per day but is only a one month contract and him and another guy each take turns every month, on the off month he guards another copy machine. I just found it very funny a fellow gets paid to sit by a copy machine and do nothing but must alternate copy machines monthly as is only one month contract.
You don't even apply for job though but rather just help a politician during campaigning period and in return he gives you a job. It happens in America also but in both countries such a thing seems strange to me really.
Justin
Hi Dave, this is again a great post. Congratulations! And you are so very right! Amazing, you are using the German term SCHADENFREUDE – malicious joy… .
Thanks Beth! & to Dave & Mita as well,
The point of those examples is to present that people just engage in arguments, i.e. Henry Sy is a good empoyer. Or not? Just because he is being evaluated as such doesn’t mean people do not want him to succeed w/c makes them guilty of crab mentality.
Truly we have all the Henry Sy’s, Gokongweis, Ayalas, Jollibees to thank for. It’s because of them that our young work force have jobs.
The legal practice of not “regularizing” is well entrenced in our labor system.
& yes, since the Phil is a poor country we just have to be thankful that there are jobs at least for 5 months–we get that.
There’s an Fil indie movie “ENDO” w/c means end of contract. I haven’watched it but I imagine how contract workers move from one SM store to another Robinson’s store, one Jollibee to another McDonalds (?).
When I was a crew in McDonalds, I didn’t have an ‘expiration date”. I stayed there for 2 yrs.
Ok, my point Dave is people & Filipinos included do engage in arguing issues that are debatable, arguable because those issues are just that–debatable, arguable! Is he a good boss, or not a good boss? But it doesn’t mean that Filipinos are driven by envy, by their crab mentality dictated by their DNAs. I think we Filipinos would like to pretend that we are smart like white people, you know, capable of engaging in healthy arguments.
You know one of the hings that has amazed me since I have been in the Philippines, mainly, even though I have held jobs in the past when I where I was a rank and file union member, is the fixation on _benefits_ … even though the whole world is going through a tremendous financial upheaval I see so many people focusing on 'benefits' rather than being grateful for a job. I do know one thing, if I ever decided to go back into business where I had employees I wouldn't walk away from the Philippines, I'd run away.
The idea that is a man climbs the side of the basket far enough to get a successful business started he is then obligated to pull all the other 'crabs' along for life is absolutely amazing to me. The concept of entrepreneurship and free enterprise, to me at least, seems sorely lacking here in the Philippines. It's a significant drag on economy groth to my mind, why on earth start a business here that employs people and gives them honest work.
Not long ago I watched a TV interview show where the far from impartial hostess was talking about new legislation, which she strongly supported, that was being introduced to criminalize the act of sub-contracting workers. Wow.
Can't get much farther from the principles sof life, libery and the pursuit of happiness than that. Or so Dave opines.
Thanks Justin, See my answer to Beth, same subject.
Thanks Klaus.
Actually i came across that word and used it out of cowardice. So many people hereabout get stirred up about Tagalog versus Bisayan words (even when the word is Spanish) I figured a German word was safer. Besises, when it comes to verkomplizierend (obfuscating) human behavior/physcology, das Duetch got der Landessprache, Ja, sicher!
Im not much of a scholar and hardly a German linguist, I lived in the Saarland (Zweibrucken) area for a year or so but I'm pretty much limited to the "Herr Ober, Ein Beer, bitte" level of proficiency. 😉
Hi Dave,
I'm not sure I fully understand your reply to me. Pardon me but from what I can gather from some parts of your reply, you were saying in effect that to give benefits to employees is like being "obligated to pull all the other ‘crabs’ along for life". If I am mistaken, please enlighten me.
I believe that Roy mentioned it as an example that if someone points out that Henry Sy is successful and someone else comments that he is indeed successful because he doesn't give benefits (thus more money in his pocket) by getting contractual employees, then, this type of thinking is considered crab mentality.
I am not denying the crab mentality of Filipinos. Yes I see that as well as with other nationalities.
Back to the benefits issue, I agree with you about being grateful for having a job and not just focus on what benefits they get but I also believe that by hiring on a contractual basis to avoid giving benefits is a form of taking (by going through a loophole… to avoid sharing the wealth to those who have helped in making the business successful through the years.)
I think it's a matter of perspective. If a man becomes successful, you can look at it as someone who was "obligated to pull all the other ‘crabs’ along for life" or someone who shared his wealth and success with others and they all became free from the bondage of the basket (trap) and all eventually enjoy roaming the earth.
🙂
It is a sad fact that there is no successful ex Spanish colony – The Spaniards left behind them a legacy of graft,corruption and a politicised church.I have thought long and hard but cannot find a single country that was left any better by the Spaniards.Colonialism for good or ill was a fact of life and I can think of other countries that prospered with the legacy that was left by their former masters – Singapore,HongKong,Malaysia etc.It is just a pity that the British occupation of Manila was so short!!
Klaus the German word schadenfreude is used in English frequently and I am sure you will find it in English dictionaries as it has been adopted into the language – along with 'zietgiest'.languages are changing mainly due to the internet and words are becoming interchangeable – I really believe that in less than 2 generations most of the world will speak and learn in one language which will have English as its basis – it will not be the English that we know.
When it comes to business, individuals will have their own way of doing things. Even in the US right now, there are some companies who cut their employees' work hours rather than lay off a portion of them. Then there are those who just close operations not thinking of the employees who will lose their jobs.
I don't want to sound like I'm defending Henry Sy, but whenever I enter an SM establishment and see all the young people gainfully employed, I can't help but think about where they would be if SM or Henry Sy were not around. So long as the man is not doing anything illegal, is providing employment, in so many different parts of the country where no major retailer has gone before – I will praise the man and his business sense.
" It is just a pity that the British occupation of Manila was so short!! "
Hear, Hear, funny how that works isnt it ?
The rule of LAW is definitely doing a lot better in ex-british colonies.
We have the "tall poppy" syndrome here in aust., same thing different name, no one is allowed to succeed without suspicions being raised.
D.
Bryan,
Singapore and Malaysia succeeded because they didn't have elected politicians—these two countries had been run with an iron hand. It's just in recent times that they have become "civilized" in terms of giving their constituents the right to vote. As for HK, it had to to do with the governance itself, but the business was being run by the indigenous Chinese in general. India was pillaged, savagely treated by the Brits—for 300 years—does slumdog ring a bell? Taiwan only had their democratic elections just under twenty years ago. As for Thailand, this country has been ruled by the army and military for the most part of fifty years. Bryan, if you have something historical to say, do so without the added insult of being too patronising. Otherwise, please back up your pretentious knowledge of world history with some form of formal education, It seems, you judge people by how they live. Sure, people in the Philippines may not live in swank homes, but they are more civilised in behaviour than your counterparts who go on a riot at a drop of a hat, be it football. Hooliganism is rampant in the West. If that's civilised behaviour, I don't know what isn't. Bryan, it is people's behaviour you should judge, not the bank account, or the one-bedroom house with only one TV set. Your world revolves around materialism. The world is now in trouble because of the monumental corruption of Wall Street, the Stock Exchanges and the private sector. How shallow can your thinking be???
Hello Dave, wow, this article certainly stirred some emotions. I guess I will be a target of this type of mentality, not for long. I have radically changed some business norms here that did not make business sense to me. Some people are not happy with the change, but to me, the ultimate goal of a business is to be financially successful. I always remember my ex-boss’s speech before – If the company is successful, the shareholders are happy. When they are happy, the employees are happy. When we all are happy, the bank will be happy. 🙂
Benefits – My experience is that employees do not even realize how much premiums a company pays on their behalf. Medical/dental premiums are expensive, especially for 100% coverage. In the end, the employees only cared for how much pay increase they will have – i.e. how much will go straight to their pockets, and not really how much coverage they had for dental work. Here in the Philippines, I bet that if I said, I will not pay for your medical/dental premiums and instead use that to just give you the money, they will opt for the money. Outsourcing and contract work makes good business sense for companies. Permanent key and loyal staff are covered, but all others can be outsourced or contracted out. I do not think it is mainly to cut the costs of paying benefits, but it could also be an efficient management system of handling trainees and employee turnovers. Also, if a business does not justify full time employees, then outsourcing is the best alternative.
Ellen, what we Filipinos cannot seem to understand is how the individual decision can and does affect the greater good. We think of our own benefits (literally) with nary a thought to the greater good.
The big picture can and mostly is, businessmen have to keep a keen eye on the bottom line and yes, that means profit. However, profit for profit's sake is not all that simple. There's profit for business' sake as well. Profit is put back into the business. When a business expands, so does the opportunity for more people, for the community and for the country.
Oh I'm sounding so serious ! The fact is, I've worked and lived with companies that outsourced certain services. I can't really blame businessmen when they do it, especially if they have to work with a very strong labor union. Annual increases, bonuses, premium health care does cost a lot of money over time…
Jenny – Both Singapore and Malaysia have had elected goverments for the last 50 years – strong and in Singapores case honest to a very high degree -look at the corruption ratings.Where is there any mention in my posts regarding big houses etc?I was in Singapore as a child when the first elections took place and can see the progress.India – it is a miracle that democracy has lasted in a country so diverse I have been there too.Hong Kong was run by the Chinese – exactly! the Spanish did not allow the colonies indigenous people to run themselves.I made no mention of behaviour – in my part of the world we have not deposed our elected leaders with street demonstrations – murdered any of our opposition leaders or kill our media reporters at a rate second only to war zones so I suggest you have a little inward look before criticising other countries.All that I said was the Spanish left no post colonial country in a successful condition – name me one. In the 1950s The Philippines was the most advanced country in SE Asia to my sorrow it has been left behind due mainly to the legacy of the Spanish.
Wow,some charged comments here.
I'm No Fascist, but sometimes an iron fist is needed to shake a country out of its complacency.
We all know things can work better in PI,all it needs is a strong leader with determination.
Look at the success of Davao City, which to some degree modelled itself on the Singapore Success story.
regards Chas.
The British left behind a Civil Service in the former colonies which was comprised of local people and had a tradition of honesty and lack of corruption.The countries that have had the most success are those that maintained this.Could a country as vast as India been governed solely by the British?The most heavily populated country in Africa – Nigeria never had more than 600 British people there in colonial times due to the unhealthy climate so again most of the administration was in the hands of locals – unfortunately tribalism after independence meant that corruption became a way of life.
Hi Bryan, interesting – thanks a lot. I haven't found it my several dictionaries (Webster etc.) – but I am glad you allowed me to learn something new. The "Zeitgeist" I really met several times… .
Hi Dave, you are very welcome. I didn't know that you lived in Germany for almost one year – and, in Zweibruecken – lice place there. Your phrase "Herr Ober, ein Bier bitte!" (Waiter, one beer please!) is really important… hehehe….
Hey Dave sorry about calling you John ,I just read my mistake ….Phil
Hello Dave,
I love your blog/article. I'm a filipina and yes i admit i too sometimes have this crabbiness in me and i'm not proud. Unfortunately, i hate to sound anti-filipino but even though the crabbiness has it's background still it's not justifiable by any means. I just wish my fellow filipinos and muslims would get rid of this petty attitude and grow up. thank you for your insights as a foreigner.
Bryan,
Sometimes, it's tough to tell the awful truth, but here goes:
The Uk also colonized the following countries:
1. Pakistan – unstable, violent, poor, 45% Illiteracy rate;
2. India – violent, poor, unstable, 35% Illiteracy rate;
3. Kenya – violent, poor, unstable, high illiteracy rate;
4. Nigeria – oil-rich, violent, unstable;
5. Zimbabwe – once-rich, now, extremely poor, unstable, violent.
Successful, Bryan, because these countries were colonized by the UK?
Jenny – Dont you think your description of the countries you listed would fit the Philippines ie –
poor,unstable [I was on the street in Makati and heard the gunfire from the last fiasco.]Violent – I have seen the bodies of the so-called "salvege victims" on the old coastal road.How many members of the media have been murdered or disappeared in the last few years?
The only difference is the higher literacy rate which really doesnt seem to help matters except to provide other countries with an educated workforce of better than average work ethic to the further detriment of the Philippines.
I will make this my last post on this matter as it could go on forever – it is not a simple subject.[Have you located a successful ex Spanish colony yet?]
Bryan,
There's no need to hyperventilate. We are only having a discussion. Simple or not. Do compose yourself, will you?
Are you telling me and the readers here that the British colonizers who went to conquer those poor countries were actually "clean as a whistle"? In other words, they didn't pillage, torture, rape, or steal quantity after quantity of artifacts, antiquities and the like? That they left those countries in good stead? And not in tatters?
Singapore is now succesful because of one brave man: lee Kuan Yew.
He developed that country mainly because it was going through extremely rough times, i.e., high unemployment, lack of housing development, lack of institutions. This city-state had its first democratic elections only in 1993 when he handed over the mantle of political responsibility to his eldest son, who to this day still heads that country. Despite having three different parties there, the ruling party PAP – or People's Action Party still dominates all sections of society.To develop in the 70's, Mr L K Yew had to resort to censorship, control of the Media, Broadcasting Network, Print. An iron hand was needed to speed up economic development. According to Amnesty International, Singaporen had possibly "one of the highest execution rates in the world…"perhaps, next to the USA.
The Spaniards left fine architecture and institutions in South America, Cuba, the Philippines. The oldest institution in Asia, the University of Sto Tomas is found in Metro Manila, and this university is 25 years older than Harvard University.
The Asian Institute of Management or AIM, was first established in Asia, and based in Makati in 1968. The first to queue? Singaporeans, Malaysians, Thais and Indonesians in that order. To satisfy their educational needs and reach the highest echelons of business and success. While churches, basilicas and cathedrals were built in the Philippines, South America and Cuba and institutions in place, the British left nothing tangible except that charming Raffles Hotel fit only for Mr Raffles himself.
The Asian Development Bank established its main headquarters in the Philippines because in those days, it was the most prosperous and stable, second only to Japan. (No doubt, that country will get there again.)
let me end this piece with a quotation from the owner of Mr Mohammed Al Fayed:
"We were already building pyramids while you Brits were still using sticks and stones."
P.S. The first metro rail in the ASEAN was first established in the Philippines. Singapore came many many years later.
I believe I have experienced this myself. Do something for someone and someone else gets upset over it. I attributed this to " Cultural Differences " . According to your article here I guess my summation is correct. Thanks for clarifying my suspicions.
Hi Dave. Excellent article! I've recently found Mindanao Bob's site and your one of the writers I've enjoy reading. Very well written and great insight.
~August