Do You Blame Colonizers

QUOTE (AngelRebelde @ February 09, 2006 04:37 pm)

I don't know, I don't think it's good for the soul to hold grudge, because a lot of countries in the world, there was a lot of bad stuff too, but I think times change, and the Europeans during those times had different views and social norms, that are not the same today.

I do think a lot of things need to be changed about the educational system in the Philippines though. I was in Manila recently, and I was shocked when I was helping my nieces with their homework, they're about 8 years old, and they had this Filipino textbook/coloring book that's a course, and it had a question in Tagalog like, "What's the skin color of a Filipino?" And they had 3 choices of pictures, one was dark, one was light, and the other was tan, and they showed that the correct answer was the LIGHT one. Then they had a question that's like, "What's the eyes of a Filipino?" Then they had 3 choices, one was really small Chinese eyes, the other one a medium eye, and the third like big Caucasian eyes, and then the BOOK showed that the correct answer was the Caucasian eyes, and if the kids chose any other answer, it would be marked wrong by the teacher. This was just the tip of it, there must have been 20 questions in the section dedicated to this and about 2 sections dedicated to this topic, and the rest of the answers were so racially biased, I could not believe it, and this was what they were teaching kids in grade school, and it's no wonder the Philippines continues to be brought down by this sort of mentality, they teach it from grade 1, but I guess the studies of a country, reflects the opinions and norms of the people, and the Euro-centric view, whether we want to believe it or not, is a norm in Philippines. But that's gotta change really, I sat my nieces down and told them that the book was wrong, that a Filipino can have dark, light, or tan skin, and can have small, medium or big eyes, and that all they had to do was look around.

Oh yeah, and then they had this question that was like, "What's the hairtype of a Filipino?" And they had 3 pictures, one of a person with curly hair, one with wavy hair, and another with straight hair, and the correct answer was the person with the straight hair! The book was so hypocritical because they also talked about accepting of people of mixed races "Nancy is half-Filipino, half-American, she is a mestiza"etc., but then they turned around and said that only one type of hair, straight hair, is acceptable for Filipinos! This affected me especially, because their dad, my cousin, along with practically everyone in my family has wavy Spanish hair like the one in the book, and my nephew has light brown curls like the picture in the book, but they're teaching the kids that the only hairtype a Filipino has is straight! Oh and then they had a question that's like, What's the haircolor of a Filipino? And the answers, in Tagalog, were yellow (the tagalog word for yellow, forgot what it is, but it meant yellow), brown, or black, and the correct answer was BLACK! Now it's true that the majority of us have black hair, but if the book talks about mixed race Filipinos, then all the answers should be acceptable, brown curly hair, black wavy hair, brown straight hair, dark skin, instead of just the correct answers that the book says: light skin, straight hair, black hair only. That upset me, because I would be thinking, what happens when my light brown haired, curly-haired nephew goes to school and is taught this, that his hairtype is the WRONG ANSWER in his SCHOOL TEXTBOOK! How is that gonna make a small child feel?

My gosh, things have to change really. The government always talks about positive change, but they don't realize that they've got to start the change from the youth today from grade 1, because colonial mentality like this is being taught in schools from grade 1, and I found out later that the textbook that my nieces were studying was a NATIONAL Philippine textbook, and ALL Filipino children are taught it.

We have the wrong sense of nationalism. Brown pride my ass, pero it's true. This 'brown pride' gives us a very big misconception of what a Filipino is.

And for Christ's sake Filipino is a nationality/citizenship, not a race (with exception if you migrate to another country, you'd be considered as an 'ethnic Filipino').

It's not the inherited Western culture that is wrong. I believe Filipinos should live the amalgamated culture of native, spanish and chinese. The problem lies on how we deal with our own culture.

We cannot change the past, but we can do something in the present and in the future.

Being Filipino's pretty much like being born into a particular family. No one & nothing's perfect. We can spend life moping over what should have been, blaming others for why things as they are & wishing things were different. However, it will be my choice as to what I will do with what God creating me as a Filipino.

Thus, it's not just what was done to Filipinos in the past. It is what Filipinos must do about what we have at hand that is more important.

One very important note, though. We have to discover & understand Philippine history as it really happened, why & how. I'm not satisfied or convinced with what was taught & written for us.

Those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Those who learn the wrong history are bound to commit worse blunders.

QUOTE (tertullian @ November 14, 2005 02:46 pm)

for everything!!!!

who the heck needs western civilization anyway??!?? we could live without that, and everything they gave us.

or should you say "who the heck needs philippines anyway?" wala namang oil. saksakan pa ng inet. puru calamity pa.

QUOTE (manilla gorilla @ August 18, 2006 02:14 pm)

or should you say "who the heck needs philippines anyway?" wala namang oil. saksakan pa ng inet. puru calamity pa.

People who want
to sell to over 80 million consumers
to keep extracting our mineral & forest resources
to encroach our territory & violate our sovereignty
... for deep sea fishing
... for a foothold into the much contested Spratleys
... for a strategic military foothold over the oil shipping routes to the Pacific
to visit our incomparable tourist sites
to work as expats
to simply make friends

Aw c'mon! It's like asking, why do millions of Filipinos want to go
to the Middle East (to get oil? less calamities?)? tambayan/4_6_2v.gif

to Canada (kasi me winter?) tambayan/coffee-drinker.gif

ah ganun ba? kala ko ang issue dito colonising and invasion.

QUOTE (AngelRebelde @ February 22, 2006 07:02 am)

Wow, grabe.

Well I'm with you girl, tanned skin is like the sexiest thing in the world, no?

I like Filipino TV, but it makes me sick to watch the teleseryes because everything is so OVER-white, like first the make up on the face is all white with no blush, even the guys, so they already look like a multo, and then they have the bright bright unnatural lighting, which makes them look like dead people speaking to each other, hahaha, diba? Nakakatawa talaga.

two centavos from a caucasian guy, I LOVE my wife's brown skin, wavy black hair, beautiful almond shaped brown eyes...and just the cutest little nose you ever saw in your life!! All wrapped with a smile that lights up the room...no maam...I wouldn't change a thing.. tambayan/spoton.gif

QUOTE (manilla gorilla @ August 19, 2006 04:38 pm)

ah ganun ba? kala ko ang issue dito colonising and invasion.

It is... from a military & political form to an economic & commercial version & the weapons are information, knowledge, awareness & choice.