:angry: i've got mixed feelings........how about you? we've got to do something about this....never mind "nasty".....they're a dime a dozen......but it surely hits the spot.:rolleyes:

'The Philippines is a nation of starstruck
ignoramuses'
by Don Pedero
Philippine Star

Last July 23, I wrote about Nasty (short for
Anastacio), a balikbayan
from Los Angeles, who, while vacationing in Manila,
had nothing to say
but negative comments about the Philippines and the
Filipinos. The
article elicited a deluge of comments from our
readers. Though some agreed
with his curt observations, most were enraged at the
repulsive way he
acted and whined.

For me, he was the classic epitome of the "crow
perched on a carabao,"
thinking and acting nauseatingly superior just because
he has become an
American citizen, inequitably comparing everything
here to how they are
in the first world. I was particularly irked by his
repulsive "know it
all" attitude and peeved no end by his irritating
Waray-American twang.

Those who have not read that article may access
philstar.com and
click archives, then select July 23 and click
Lifestyle. The article
is entitled "Little Brown Americans." As a
backgrounder, here is an
excerpt:

The next day, I took them on a little city tour and
accompanied them to
do extra shopping at the duty-free shop. They were to
leave two days
later for their respective provinces (Randy is from
Pampanga,
Nasty, from Samar).

"God, ang dilem-dilem naman ditow (it is so dark
here)!" screamed Nasty
in his characteristic Taglish slang, "At ang inet-inet
pa (and so
warm)!

* * *

All throughout the day, Nasty complained about
everything. He griped
that all Filipinos he encountered were dense and
inefficient (I hope
that didn't include me!); that the traffic was
horrendous and drivers
"drove like they were late for their funerals"; that
the pollution from the
smoke-belching vehicles was irritating his dainty,
surgically-pinched
nose.

He was disgusted that water closets didn't work;
horrified that there
was no toilet paper in public toilets ("God, how do
you people do it?"
he bewailed); petrified by street children begging
while soaking
wet in the rain ("Where are the parents of these
kids?" he nagged).

He moaned about the proliferation of slums, people
crossing the
superhighways ("There should be underground or
overhead walkways for
pedestrians!" he demanded), the potholes on the
streets, the
disgusting garbage and filth all over the city, and
the annoying
floods! And all these he observed in just one day!

Weeks after the publication of the article, I took
Nasty's silence to
mean that of contempt and anger. I must admit that I
didn't care because
I was really turned off by his arrogance. The good
news is,
Nasty has finally decided to break his silence and
give us his
side,loaded with a big piece of his mind. The bad news
is, he hits more
sensitive chords and it stings.

* *


Nasty's E-Mail

Dear Dero,

My Zen master says, "Never fight fire with fire." So,
I sat in a lotus
position, imbibed the ethereal qualities of cool
mountain water and
stoically resisted the temptation of answering back to
defend myself in
rebuttal of your article. I kept quiet while you and
your readers had a
charlatan holiday, dissecting and fanning sarcasm on
my every comment
about your country and your people.

I am not mad at you for writing that piece. I was
never upset at any
point, even after your readers from all over the world
e-mailed in their
two-cents' worth. In fact, I found it rather amusing
and carnival-like.

I even felt happy that people still came to the
defense of your
Philippines!

If you noticed, I now refer to the Philippines and
Filipinos as your
country and your people. Every time I went back there
for vacation,my
Filipino-ness always took the better of me (blame
those damn green
mangoes smothered with bagoong!) and made me forget
that I am, in all
reality, what you aptly called a "Little Brown
American." I have come to
terms with my own identity- I am, after all, an
American citizen
carrying an American passport!

What precipitated my quick decision to sever my ties
with your country
(aside from your ***** of an article) were the Abu
Sayyaf abductions
(que barbaridad!), the Payatas-like downslide of the
peso (eat your
hearts out, I earn sweet American dollars!), the
"devoid of
conscience" graft and corruption in your government
(this has gone on
for the longest time-how shameful!), and lately, the
stupid "Juetengate"
and juicy but enraging "Boracay" mansion gossips.

With all these, who would be proud to be a Filipino?
Besides, to tell
you frankly, those Erap jokes are no longer funny-
they are passé and
leave a bad taste in the mouth and heart. No apology
if I sounded brash
and insensitive with the way I threw my comments.
Well, I
cannot do any-thing about that because that is the way
I am, and I
offer no apology. Here, in America, you have to tell
it like it is or
you'll never be taken seriously. I have learned to
drop my "Pinoy
sugarcoating" because out here, you get nothing done
if you are meek
and sweet and pa-api. Hindi puwede mag-Anita Linda
dito!

When I commented about your pollution, street children

mendicants,slums,potholes, toilets that don't work,
garbage, floods, and most of all,
the Pinoys' chronic lack of discipline, I was merely
putting into words
what I saw. I can't blame your being blind about your
country's situation.

My Zen master says, "One cannot easily see the dirt in
one's eye." I am
sure though that you are aware of those sordid
details, but have grown
accustomed to them (like most Manilans have). All the
complaints I
aired may have hurt your pride but what I wanted you
to realize is this:
The things I pointed out are all symptoms of a
failing, falling nation!

Suffering A National Karma?

Could yours be a country cursed with a huge national
karmic debt? It
could be payback time, you know. Look back into your
history, look deep
inside your hearts-what could you have done as a
nation to deserve this
fiasco you are in today?

What you are faced with didn't just happen
overnight-it developed and
grew into a monster in the course of time. Deeply
imbedded in the psyche
of the Filipino is the amalgamation of the characters
and events that
have impacted your lives - Dona Victorina, Dona
Concepcion, poor Sisa as
well the other hilarious and tragic characters of Dr.
Jose Rizal...
Stonehill...the notorious gangsters immortalized by
your Filipino movies
like Asiong Salonga (hmmm!), et al...the killers in
your (I thought
they'd never end!) massacre movies...those cheap,
appalling titles of your
movies...those staged "religious miracles" that your
naive masses
believed...family men with pushy queridas
(mistresses)...your crooked
politicians, undependable police officers and greedy
customs
collectors...your bribe-hungry court
judges...Imeldific, gloriously smiling and crying
at the same time, bejeweled. (How very Fellini!)

What you are is the sum total of your history, your
heritage and
culture, your education, the crap that your press
sensationalizes, the bad
icons that your movies glorify, the artificial values
your advertising
extols, the bad examples your leaders and role models
project. What you feed your country's mind is what it
becomes. You have
become the ugly monster that you've created. You are
now crying all the
tears your sickeningly sentimental movies wailed out
for
years and years!

Your Biggest Fault

If there is one thing that comes to mind, I think your
biggest fault
would be your individual greed. "Ako muna!" seems to
be the national
mantra. The trouble is, very few people think for the
common good in a
deplorable "to each his own kurakot" festival. Coupled
by your crab
mentality of pushing down others, this can be fatal.
You think barangay, not
national.

Hello, everybody else around the world is thinking
global! Europe is
unshackling her national boundaries while you are
building fences around
your nipa huts.

Do yourselves a favor and look at your nation as a
ship. All of you are
in it and it is sinking! Realize your oneness-what
hurts your brother
hurts you, too. Think about the future of your
children and the
succeeding generations, and do something about it
quick before your poor little
banca plunges forever into the irretrievable depths of
despair.

Star-Struck Nation

You are a nation of star-struck ignoramuses. You are
easily awed by
your movie stars who are usually nothing but
uneducated, aquiline- nosed
and light-skinned ******** picked up from some gutter
somewhere. I have
seen what these artistas illusionadas can get away
with. They just
flash their capped-tooth smiles and policemen let them
get away with
traffic violations; they bat their false eyelashes and
customs officers
impose no duty on their suspicious balikbayan boxes.

con't....................

Worst of all, with the Filipino movie industry taking
a nosedive,
hordes of actors and show personalities went into
politics. It is,as they
say, the next best "racket"-there is more money to be
made in
the politicking business than in show business! (And
what is this I
hear that in the coming elections, more are jumping
into the arena?
Mag-hara-kiri na kayo!) How can you expect these
comedians and actors, who
only know how to take directions from their directors,
to
direct your nation? For them, politics will just be an
"act". No big
surprise here, for they are mere actors with no
original scripts to
speak, no original visions to share. So what can you
expect but a government
that is a comedy of errors. Serves you and your star-
struck nation right!

My Zen master says, "Give unto Caesar what is due to
Caesar, but keep
Charlie Chaplin on the silver screen to make us
laugh." To survive,you
must teach your citizenry to say no to three things -
no to drugs, no to
stealing and graft and corruption, and no to artistas
in politics. I
hope you've learned your lesson by now. (Yours is the
only country where
Mexican soap stars are received like royalty in the
presidential
palace. How shoddy! God forbid-Fernando Carrillo
might end up being your next president. At least he
has great abs and
doesn't wobble like a penguin when he walks!)

For those artistas who honestly believe that they can
make a positive
difference in the Filipino masses' life, they must
first study law,
business and public administration, and immerse
themselves in the
life and passion of Mother Teresa. Politics is not an
art for
dilettante artistas to dabble in. It is called
"Political Science," hello?!

Educate Your Masses

Educate the masses - especially your electorate. What
you need is an
intelligent vote aside from, of course, intelligent
candidates. The
University of San Carlos in Cebu City, founded in
1595, and the University
of Santo Tomas in Manila, established in 1611, are the
oldest universities in Asia, and are even older than
Harvard. But the
standard of Pinoy education has deteriorated so much
that the
Philippines ranks among the poorest in the educational
hierarchy of
Asia.

Education, education, education-that's what you need
in this age of
information, information, information.

If all your social, religious and political sectors
don't sit down now
and decide to take the Right Way, the Philippines and
your children's
children will be grand losers in the worldwide rush to
the future.
Education is one sure way to salvation. Teach what is
right,good, beautiful
and beneficial. Downplay all negativity if you cannot
eliminate it
altogether.

The Ideal President

I've got news for you. (As if you didn't already
know.) No matter whom
you put up there as your leader or president, it will
be the same
banana. Even a holy man can turn into another J. E.
(Judas Escariot) for a
few pieces of silver. Kumpares, alalays, relatives
and cronies will encrust like flies and maggots on his
cordon
sanitaire. And it will be the same despicable "Sa amin
na 'to!" hullabaloo all
over again.

Take an advice from Aling Epang: "Pumili ng matanda,
mayaman, mabait,at
madaling mamatay." Get a president who is old - so
that he is full of
wisdom, rich - so he won't need to steal more money,
goodhearted - so he
will render heartfelt service to his people, and is in
the sunset of
his life - so that he will think of nothing but
gaining good points to
present when he meets his Creator. And may I add: At
iisa lang ang
pamilya! This is, of course, asking for the moon. Just
pray fervently for an intelligent leader with a pure
heart who
genuinely loves the common tao!

Magpakatotoo Kayo! Wake up and look at the real you.
Enough with
looking at your reflection in glorious,
self-embellishing mirrors. The
tropical sun can play tricks, you know. Do not wait
for darkness
to fall before you take that much-needed long, hard
look at your real
situation. Magpakatotoo kayo, ano? This isn't a
wake-up call-it is the
final alarm!

Save the ship while you still can. Don't wait till
your people have no
more dreams left to hang on to, no more hope to
sustain their broken
spirits. I came home, spent my penny-pinched savings
so that even in the
minutest way I could help your bruised economy. Your
politicians sit on their fat, farting butts and get
balatos (kuno!) in
the millions. Receivers are as guilty as the givers.
Now, tell me, who
is really nasty?

I Have Made My Decision; So Should You.

My Zen master says, "Life is all about decisions, not
choices." I have
made a decision which I know will be very hard for me
to keep. You will
never hear from me again (not in this vein) and I will
not even think
of visiting or buwisiting your Manila ever. This is my
way
of letting you know that I have given up on you.
Bahala na kayo! Only
you can help yourselves because at the stage you are
in, nobody would
want to help you. My Zen master says, "You have to
fall to learn to rise
again." How much lower do you want to go?

Anyway, regarding the Philippines as a tourist
destination, you have a
lot of cleaning up and face-lifting to do before
foreigners would dare
go to your islands again. The Abu Sayyaf episode has
done your
tourism industry more damage than you could ever
imagine, and it will
take a long time before the world forgets. (By the
way, your tourism
projects are lusterless and have no global impact. If
you want real
business, spruce up your infrastructure and do
aggressive marketing on
the World Wide Web!)

Of course, I would gladly reverse my decision if
someone offered me
exclusive lordship over lotto, bingo, jueteng,
pintakasi and the jai alai.
Think about it: this will be to your advantage because
I never
give tong or blood commission to anyone! (If only your
president used
the millions he received from those gambling lords to
build homes for
the masses, you wouldn't have any more squatters.
Huling hirit:
defrost those Marcos billions, pay off some debt,
place the rest in
high-yield investments, feed your hungry, and spread
bounty and joy to
every Filipino! Are you stupid or what? - That's your
money sucked from
the blood of your people!)

I have made my decision, now make yours. I would hate
for the day to
come when I'd have to say, "I told you so!" Good luck!
(You need it.)

An ex-Filipino,

J. Anastasio

"Nasty"

P. S. My Zen master says, "Vox populi is not always
the voice of God."

P. P. S. Come over to L.A and I'll show you a great
time!

P. P. P. S. Our friend Randy says hello! We will be
going to Vancouver
to feast our eyes on the colors of autumn. Wish you
could join us.

P. P. P. P. S. The new Miss America, Angela Perez
Baraquio, is of
Filipino ancestry. Dero, her parents hail from
Pangasinan just like you! But
keep in mind that she is an American (in case some
wise
fools over there claim her to be Filipino like they
always do whenever
someone becomes successful).

Wait for the girl to say it- don't put words in her
mouth!

P. P. P. P. P. S. Mabuhay kayo (SANA)!

P. P. P. P. P. P. S. Sa totoo lang, MAGDUSA KAYONG
LAHAT! (Don't you
just love my Waray-Kano accent?) He-he-he!

- Same

* * *

littlebadboy already posted this article. the thread even has the same title as the article

Originally posted by Gaijin
littlebadboy already posted this article. the thread even has the same title as the article

ooops...sorry!

but don't you think it would be nice just to remind everyone over and over again.

Originally posted by ricci
ooops...sorry!

but don't you think it would be nice just to remind everyone over and over again.

:D