The Filipino Reaction To The Tianjin Explosion: Another Sign Of Immaturity

I would like to ask for a moment of silence to pay respect for the 50 dead in the recent explosion that occurred in Tianjin, China and, if you’re the praying type, let’s offer a prayer for the quick recovery of the 701 who were injured in the blast…

There. I’m sure that all of you are looking at me now as if I’m some kind of traitor because I’m choosing to show sympathy for a people who have essentially taken our western islands from us. There will be those of you who will say that China deserves the fate that has befallen Tianjin. Like President Aquino and his utter refusal to apologize for the bus hostage crisis and even calling the Chinese “Nazis” in his speech, I know there are a lot of you who are pleased by these turn of events.

tianjin_explosion

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In fact I’ve already met a few who are in an almost celebratory mood just because China has suffered this latest disaster. I have even met people who are not just happy about what happened but are even hoping that there were more casualties. Then I hear the usual prattle about the Chinese bringing their troubles upon themselves and that they deserve everything that happened to them because (again) they are not a Christian nation like the Philippines.

Well, heck, what’s so Christian about wishing ill upon others? Hasn’t anyone else noticed that most of the casualties in the disaster were civilians? Also, while the People’s Republic of China might be largely secular compared to the Philippines, I’m sure that it has its share of Christians as well and that a few of them might actually be victims of the Tianjin explosion. So much for our alleged “Christianity” again, eh?

Look, I still think that the China has to answer for a lot that it has done not just to the Philippines but also other Southeast Asian countries. I believe that the Chinese government and its military are bullies and need to be put to justice. However, I strongly disagree that the Tianjin explosion is something that its people deserve.

Remember that the common Chinese citizen is probably no different from a common Filipino citizen and might even be worse off considering the kind of poverty and overpopulation the country faces. Would you be happy for instance if your home burned down with your family in it? Would you be happy if your loved ones burned to death and some ignorant fool out there will just be laughing and saying that they deserved what happened to them?

Why must we be so morally myopic? We cry bloody murder when Mary Jane Veloso is about to be executed even when she was proven to be carrying drugs and thus committing a crime while we laugh at innocent people who burned to death. We cry “discrimination!” when a foreigner makes fun of us and our backward culture yet we ourselves like to bash people’s physical appearances (even our own) for fun and resort to personal attacks when we can’t win an argument.

I believe that China needs to face justice for the crimes of its government but it should do so in a court of law with a fair trial. If we are forced to (God forbid) go to war with China, then let us face off with their military personnel who are trained combatants. Wishing ill on its civilian population just shows off how immature we are.

No innocent deserves to burn to death ladies and gentlemen, even if we are enemies with their government.

[Original photo courtesy CNBC.com.]

15 Replies to “The Filipino Reaction To The Tianjin Explosion: Another Sign Of Immaturity”

  1. a big hand to the Christian, kuno, country of the Philippines…
    but what do we expect from pinoys whose lives are geared towards waiting for somebody to fail and get pulled down rather that celebrate achievements

    A nation built up on schadenfreude indeed

  2. Besides, it’s their leaders we are against, not the common citizens who I bet some doensn’t even know what is happening in the WPS and even if they do, either they don’t care or they don’t agree with their government.

    I hope you remember that before you mock them and celebrate their injuries.

  3. Did he really call the Chinese Nazis? That’s absolutely f’ing bizarre. The Philippine political system is, and has been for most of the last century, explicitly National Socialist under the NP.

  4. It is easy to wish ill on others whom we feel deserve it, but remember that when you point a finger at another, three more are pointed back at you.

  5. Christians are a judgmental flock and Filipinos are as racist as most Asian peoples.

    Put that together and you have people justifying China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Nepal’s respective calamities as “god’s reminder for them to convert to Christianity.”

    But if it’s our country that experiences a disaster, it’s just a test from god.

    1. If tragedies happen in other poor Catholic countries, like those in Africa and South America, do Filipinos tend to show more sympathy to these people that are “on their side” thanks to the arbitrary history of conquest?

      1. Nah, they will just look for their fellow OFWs to see if they’re safe.

        The media and the government emphasize the safety of the OFWs more than the natives living there, who are probably being the majority of the victims of any tragedies that will happen.

  6. who are the Philippines in the world arena to laugh at such tragedies. Every country has problems big and small. everyone, no matter what religion they choose, cannot and should not make joyous remarks about death or injury. Did people in the world applaud the loss of philippine lives when hurricanes struck ? or when the rains flooded people out of homes and life ?

  7. And I recently found out that the Filipinos blamed Maria Ozawa for the miscarriage of Mariel’s triplets.

    I think for the Filipinos, being Catholic means superior towards non-Catholics and even more superior towards Catholics.

    1. Yep, seems like only those who live in the tiny Papal state of Vatican City are the only Catholics that are above Filipinos in their eyes.

  8. To rejoice at the misfortune of other people is absurd. People are people, whoever they are; we sympathize with the Chinese families, who lost their love ones…may they find comfort thru our prayers.

    The accident happened in a Chemical Warehouse. Several kinds of Industrial Chemicals, were stored in that warehouse. A fire broke out; then the firefighters tried to put the fire out, with water. There was some Calcium Carbonate; and other volatile chemicals stored there. The water reacted with those chemicals. And, more explosions and fires broke out. There was even a Sodium Cyanide stored, industrial grade chemical. This chemical can seep into the water table; and poison their drinking water. In addition, the fumes of these chemical are very toxic…it can kill in a minute.

    It is an accident that happened. They should had known better, not to store various chemicals in a warehouse. Any chemical can become unstable; and reacts with other chemicals. The result could be disastrous, like this one.

  9. The only thing that I blame on this tragedy is not the Chinese people because they’re really the victim of the incident. It is really the Chinese Commie gov’t who are the culprit of it. First of all they really want to cover up that incident since the real reason why there’s a huge explosion from the heart of an industrial zone of the city of Tianjin is caused by the chemical reactions to the toxic materials from a factory where it was started to explode, and those toxic materials are surely made available to the consumers outside China that are Chinese products or 3 words: “Made In China”. And many environmentalists and political activists around the world would like to boycott Chinese products due to their products are containing dangerous toxic chemicals. And it’s quite sad that the Chinese Commie gov’t want to sell those products outside to their country while their people are working & suffering in a dangerous job for making a poisonous and substandard “made In China” products. Those gov’t are really greedy and evil isn’t it? BTW, there’s a news reporter from CNN had disrupted by the so-called “family of the victims” of the said incident and they said that they’d been insulted but I do believe that when I’d saw that video, it looks like a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer by 2 or 3 of them and a Chinese guy who wore an Americana dress (in which I do believe he’s a politician guy from a Chinese Commie Party) is blocking his report & try to censor it. The Chinese Commie gov’t really done their job for covering up the incident and there’s no transparency on it. And yes, try to look that video from youtube and make a comment on it.

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