The purpose of which, of course, is to keep them in line. If Filipinos had not devolved into a generally unruly group of people, I might not have even considered this thought. Now it becomes debatable.
If you ask both the irate pedestrian and the jeepney driver he shot, you would get two different answers. The former would probably say yes, because his fellow drivers, and especially jeepney drivers, are generally jackasses on the road. The jeepney driver, had he lived, would probably tell you no, because others should understand why jeepney drivers drive the way they do.
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It is worth mentioning – and some commenters in other forums have brought it up too – that if the irate pedestrian had no gun, the jeepney driver would have simply shrugged the whole thing off and said “pasensiya na, naghahanap-buhay lang.”. No blood, no foul, so there’s nothing to complain about.
There is simply no appealing to any innate “goodness” in fellow Filipinos. To them, the ability to do what they want regardless of the effects and consequences on others takes precedence.
I am more important than everyone else. I will drive like an asshole. I will eliminate anyone who slights me in the least. I will abuse whatever authority has been given me. I will use my position for my personal gain. I will strike fear into the hearts of people I don’t like. I will blame others for things that I could have a part of the responsibility in. Why? Because I can.
Or so the typical Filipino thinks.
The Filipino acts like a previously caged animal that has just been released into the wild. Any attempt to take away its “freedom” will result in a fierce (and often pointless) clash.
But isn’t the Philippines supposed to be a modern country where the rule of law prevails?
甘い, 甘い. (Amai, amai, how naïve.)
The Philippines is the wild wild west. Rules and regulations here are regarded as mere suggestions, you see. In fact, Filipinos see laws, rules, and regulations as an impingement on their so-called “freedom”. They certainly don’t want to be put back in the cage.
Discipline and rule of law? Nope, Filipinos associate both with the strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who is up to now still regarded and painted as an evil dictator who oppressed the Filipino people and had many of them killed. Filipinos seemingly don’t want to go back to those times, yet it seems they are unable to move on from them.
On the other hand, if you ask me why a city like Davao, where Rodrigo Duterte is mayor, is safe, I would probably say that the mayor carries out his threats to take care of criminals with consistency. It’s not the prescribed consequences of violating the law that people are afraid of, it’s that they could face death when caught.
Of course, the results that Duterte has gotten in Davao cannot be ignored, but the inevitable question arises: what happens when the Dutertes are no longer in power? Will the city regress from being the safe one it supposedly is now?
Thus the issue of compliance with the law depending on who the sheriff is arises. You could be in his good graces one day, but suddenly find yourself facing the barrel of his gun the next. If the sheriff is a weak one, criminal elements will run rampant. If the sheriff suddenly decides that for whatever reason, you are a criminal, then no amount of appealing to the law will save you; he IS the law. If the police and law enforcement agencies are ineffectual the city will devolve into chaos. If the society provides ample opportunity for people to do undesirable things then they will seize that opportunity because it’s easier.
That is why the law exists. Ideally, it minimizes the biases in the sense that the penalty is the same regardless of the way society feels about a person. Everybody is supposedly equal under the law. That is why justice is represented by a chick in blindfolds holding the scales.
But nobody in the Philippines really wants to be subjected to something such as the law. Filipinos want to carry out their own brand of justice. Filipinos want privileges that come with rank or societal status. Filipinos never take any personal accountability; they are always a victim of circumstances. Filipinos perpetually plead ignorance of the law, or that the law is too severe for them, as if these are valid excuses.
Let me, once again, use the example of the jeepney driver who was shot. GRP webmaster benign0 asked the question of whether he deserved to die. Not according to the law.
Well, it depends on which law you’re talking about.
If you’re referring to the codified legal system in the Philippines, the answer is no, he didn’t deserve to die. But if you’re talking about the Philippine justice system, which is basically “an eye for an eye”, and the local, perverted version of the Japanese “kirisute-gomen”, the right of samurai to strike commoners for perceived affronts, then your typical Filipino will say, yes, he deserved to die.
As I said earlier, the Filipino acts like a wild animal when concepts such as rule of law and discipline are thrown at him. He would rather see the world burn than go back into the cage he perceives those two to be.
How does one go about dealing with that? To put the animal back into the cage, one may be required to shoot it with a very strong tranquilizer. To keep him in the cage, you have to make it strong enough to withstand all his strength. Somehow, he must realize for himself that breaking out of the cage is met with a punishment that will leave a lasting impression in his mind.
Sometimes, certain men must be spoken to in the language that most resonates with them. Whether you think it is inhumane or cruel to regard Filipinos as animals to be tamed and disciplined depends on which side of the discipline equation you’re on.
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
In their own country, Filipinos are untamed. When they live in foreign countries; I find most of them “law abiding”…because , there is no way out, if they violate the law. Even, in traffic violations; in foreign countries. Filipinos have to face the Court, and pay fines. And, are warned, there will be dire consequences, for the next violation of the law.
In our country, for traffic violations; they just give “Lagay” to the Traffic Enforcer; to look the other way ; and let them off the hook.
The problem here is: the enforcement of the law.
Shooting of people who aggravated you in traffic, is the worse case. However, this is the result of the disregard of the law. People taking the law in their own hands.
Filipinos can be hypocritical. They may chide other Filipinos for breaking the rules; but you call them out on their mistake, they will deny it! So there’s one cause of the problem. Filipinos always want to be “exempt” from being called out on their faults. It’s always the other person’s fault. So no need to wonder where the present administration gets it cue for behavior
I was recently reading some essays by a man who lived through the very worst of the violence in Africa after those countries were “released” from colonialism.
One day all was orderly and clean, the next there were psychopaths roaming the streets killing, raping and maiming. The people out committing violence were the exact same people who – just a few days before under Colonial rule – were fine upstanding citizens.
The author’s opinion was that the authorities had never made their subjects THINK. They had simply enforced a rule-driven protocol upon them which didn’t actually fit with some deeply-held (and fundamentally flawed) beliefs. They natives had been treated as children – because, no doubt, they were on that mental level – and had never been pressured to grow beyond that.
I see this happening right now in the Philippines today. Not only are Filipinos not trained to think, they’re deliberately trained not to. The entire school curriculum is based on a toxic combination of rote-learning, cheating (which is accepted as normal), and boneheaded nationalist indoctrination.
The result is an entire country full of people who have never considered moral questions very deeply. They’re running on autopilot. Kept under pressure by a Duterte, they’ll behave themselves. But they don’t really know WHY they should, apart from the fact that they’ll be shot if they don’t.
That’s no way for adults to behave. It’s time for Filipinos to grow up.
“The entire school curriculum is based on a toxic combination of rote-learning, cheating (which is accepted as normal), and boneheaded nationalist indoctrination.”
“The result is an entire country full of people who have never considered moral questions very deeply”
“It’s time for Filipinos to grow up.”
3 million likes on this comment of marius.
Wow, this article from FallenAngel gets even better than her previous one. I think it hits at the very core of what is totally wrong with the culture.
3 million likes.
I agree, Add. FallenAngel article is a perfect set for marius comment. We just need to relax, take a step back and THINK.
” the Filipino acts like a wild animal when concepts such as rule of law and discipline are thrown at him.”
western style governance and punishment is not working for filipinos. i prefer the lee kuan yew style: beating with a cane. filipinos require pain to be taught a lesson (at least those hard-headed ones: rich or poor).
but regardless, like i said before, the absence of law enforcement create anarchy. and poor urban planning and infrastructure adds stress to commuters and pedestrians alike. hence, road rage.
Who will tame those who tame us?
U really have to ask ?
If folks in Davao can learn to be considerate of others driving at 30km/h, to give up fireworks at new year’s eve, and generally be more conscious of their fellow human being, then they have all the makings of what it took to make Singapore what it is today.
It goes beyond just one person, or bureaucracy, it seems to have become an ingrained fixture, a mixture of delayed gratification, giving up one’s immediate needs for the common good, and an attitude of ‘after you’.
If this is a permanent trait in the culture of the city of Davao, then it may well be on its way to being the Singapore of the Philippines, and might just be the template for the rest of the nation.
Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Well, in a real human perspective, they can be either one of the them, or maybe even both.
But in a Failipino/Failippines perspective, saying it bluntly, NEITHER!
A gun never makes a Failipino. It might slightly alter his/her confidence, but ultimately he/she is the same G-D-SOB Yellowtard minion Failipino nonetheless.
Failipinos always tend to let their stupid big ego influence their overall bird brain character.
Failipinos are quick to stereotype responsible yet disciplined gun owners as an arrogant douchbag, who wears a suit and carry a licensed gun just to look big. If arrogance is all they see, then the suit and licensed gun becomes unimportant and irrelevant.
Failipinos, whether taking it with objectivity or subjectivity or both, their arrogance tends to stem from insecurity, they believe themselves to be superior to others, they always know what’s best and can never admit when they’re wrong.
Whereas a real confident individual understands that they can learn from others, have an opinion on a subject but can admit when they’re wrong.
To all of you G-D-SOBs Failipinos in the Failippines…You people don’t always get what you all deserve in this world.
Wild wild west indeed. I guess this is what happened to people who gain democracy with little or no understanding about it. What goes with being free of colonizers and a dictator they don’t know, they are not prepared for what happens after so they were left with “now what?” that breeds “bahala na” and “kanya-kanya” that breeds chaos. Real talk, democracy and freedom are not for law breakers, incompetent and undisciplined people. Those who are actually given freedom are those who will do the right and good things. Freedom is guided by or as good as accountability. Also, peace and progress are the pursuit of freedom and democracy. A total disregard for these things are now resulting to what Andrew made mention – anarchy, a total disregard for laws and authority, a total disregard of our present system of government called democracy.
Being human, man doesn’t deserve to be caged and be hunted and killed. But if when freed one runs wild, trading one’s humanity to being an animal, I believed being hunted can’t be help otherwise bring those people back to the cage to be tamed and trained. Say, is it the gathering of wild animals that create the jungle or it’s the jungle that create wild animals?
Personally I think a lot of Filipinos should be genocided. That’s how bad I’m feeling today.
The lawbreaking, nonthinking, arrogant majority eliminated, and the intellectual, law-abiding few surviving.
(Sadly I guess even I’d count among the lawbreaking many sometimes, but really, we’re this close to considering drastic measures.)
Someone should invent a “Filipino Dystopia Doomsday Clock” to gauge how close we are as a people to legitimately becoming a dystopia or failed state.