Ang Pinoy..
"Ang Pinoy masipag."
Haven't you heard that too many times? I certainly have and sometimes it does get to me. Why? Because, that's not the only thing Filipinos say. I bet you've also heard, "Ang Pinoy talaga tamad." Well, isn't that contradicting? How can we be masipag and tamad at the same time? I personally think that we, Filipinos, like generalizing too much.
"Ang Pinoy mahilig kumain." Well, give me a race that doesn't like eating? Don't all races boast of their love for food and their exquisite tastes?
There's also the concept of "Pinoy time." It's how Pinoys are always late. It's also how 3pm means 3:15pm to us. Maybe, that's not just us. Maybe, it's not even for most Filipinos.
So the question is, why? Why do Pinoys say things like that? I have this theory that it's how we defend ourselves from colonial mentality. We want to define ourselves and push away from our colonizers. We want to be unique. We want "Pinoy" to be a brand name.
Why do you think there are always those jokes about three people, one being Pinoy, competing with each other with the Pinoy always winning in the end? Simple. Because Pinoys are proud. We are a proud, proud race. Though one thing is for certain, we do and will always have something to be proud about -- be it bad, be it good or even something made up.. as long as there's something to be proud about.
"Ang Pinoy mayabang." pero panalo!
Haven't you heard that too many times? I certainly have and sometimes it does get to me. Why? Because, that's not the only thing Filipinos say. I bet you've also heard, "Ang Pinoy talaga tamad." Well, isn't that contradicting? How can we be masipag and tamad at the same time? I personally think that we, Filipinos, like generalizing too much.
"Ang Pinoy mahilig kumain." Well, give me a race that doesn't like eating? Don't all races boast of their love for food and their exquisite tastes?
There's also the concept of "Pinoy time." It's how Pinoys are always late. It's also how 3pm means 3:15pm to us. Maybe, that's not just us. Maybe, it's not even for most Filipinos.
So the question is, why? Why do Pinoys say things like that? I have this theory that it's how we defend ourselves from colonial mentality. We want to define ourselves and push away from our colonizers. We want to be unique. We want "Pinoy" to be a brand name.
Why do you think there are always those jokes about three people, one being Pinoy, competing with each other with the Pinoy always winning in the end? Simple. Because Pinoys are proud. We are a proud, proud race. Though one thing is for certain, we do and will always have something to be proud about -- be it bad, be it good or even something made up.. as long as there's something to be proud about.
"Ang Pinoy mayabang." pero panalo!