Pinoy 101

Everyday is a study in progress on what pinoy is like. The global net has many negative stories especially the "only in the Philippines" series itemizing fumbling traits particular only to pinoys. The problem is even pinoys accept and just seem to surrender to these self-deprecating blabs with the home-grown pinoy humor that makes them one of the happiest race in the face of the earth. Where on earth can an election have yet to be decided after more than a month of counting?, "only in the Philippines". The flip-flops are so many that one begins to doubt the government direction on vital leadership issues. The pinoy is really one for the books. Reading the daily papers can turn the most brilliant of minds smile then shed tears on the soap-opera like contents of different politically-colored columns. Still the patriots among us wouldn't give up. They'd say the Filipino is worth dying for. There are a number of pinoy world champions in bowling, boxing and billiards, world class entertainers, pinoys who made good in foreign lands. Why we can't seem to move forward as a nation is quite perplexing even to prominent intellectuals and historians. The blame is on so many things, the language, their identity, damaged culture, even on the stars. Still, the pinoys keep on banging away, laughing away the things that keep them poor and hungry for generations. Someday, somebody from the poor will hit the jackpot as some before them did. That indomitable spirit that wouldn't give up. Life is too precious a commodity for them whether it is lived in a gutter or in luxury. They have a low suicide rate. Still they can snuff away another man's life if it threatens their own. Pinoy 101 is not as easy as it is supposed to be. There are some sneaky people who might have studied the pinoy psyche that keep them imposing their obnoxious will subverting the fun loving ordinary folk who's just happy to be born of a country rich in natural resources and cultural heritage and grow up free to leave for places where opportunities abound. In essence, they themselves are to blame for the rut they've placed their own "beloved" country in. The powerful just keep on pushing their weight around. They know nobody powerful would go to jail because money would buy them freedom or even life. The lot of the poor is their own making because they could be easily fooled or buy out. For such short-sightedness, the pinoys are actually all poor and hungry. The powerful crave material wealth for this assures them of followers and servants ready to kill or die for them. The poor kowtow with the powerful for this assures them that their simple and immediate needs would be met. Pinoy 101 is not a simple study. It is an explosive peep-through of horrible things to come. Colorful characters of all sizes start all together on opening day. All professes love of their land of birth but to observant foreigners such as the Koreans, the Filipinos, poor them, do not really love the Philippines. That is very big enough lesson to unlearn and fail in the course.