False Patriotism Amidst the Recto Bank Fishing Boat Incident

“Thank you Vietnam” posts with both Philippine flag and Vietnamese flag in the background. Anti-China battle cries and social media campaigns pointing out that your President isn’t doing anything to condemn China. These now flood my Facebook timeline and I can’t help but say my piece in these posts.

The issue of a Chinese vessel ramming a Philippine fishing boat shouldn’t be about China vs. the Philippines. Yet to those that see the country’s President as evil personified, it’s a convenient situation for them to attack Malacanang and say that Digong is China’s lap dog. For those that are insecure of the Chinese superiority in terms of military might and industrial strength, this situation is their chance to ask for the government to go to war to China. For the educated, they compare the President’s delayed statement to his war on drugs, albeit the logic is that his government reacts with swift decisive action when in comes to Filipino drug pushers, yet fails to act quickly when it involves China. The “woke generation” is shouting: “fight for our Pinoy fishermen!” That is ridiculous and stupid.

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In the first place, why does this even have to be about the Philippines vs. China? The bulk of this government’s “Build Build Build” program involve loans from China and Chinese investments. To clarify, I am not a Duterte supporter (yet I’m sure butt-hurt righteous “disentes” will keep using the “DDS tanga” insult). Attacking China or hating on China won’t get us anywhere. I bet if it was the U.S. who rammed the fishing boat, the reaction of the masses won’t be that hostile.

We cannot risk insulting China or going against this superpower. I for one would gladly give them 2 to 3 islands minimum in exchange for them building and improving infrastructure and modernizing the city where majority of these anti-China Pinoys live. I would even go to the extent of saying, they can give Hong Kong their autonomy since Hong Kong can very much govern itself, and instead China should just govern the Philippines given how dumb and incapable our leaders are.

As in my previous post, our false sense of nationalism and patriotism is reeking of hypocrisy. “Para sa bayan” is a joke. You hate China yet use an Apple or Huawei device. You hate China yet you post “Gung Hei Fat Choi” and give tikoys every February. You claim “support local” yet you enjoy shopping for cheap stuff in Shoppee. You wear your 3 Stars and A Sun shirt yet you work for a foreign BPO. You’d rather type comfortably in your air-conditioned room and demand- “Justice to Pinoy fishermen!”

Want the cold hard truth? These fishermen don’t give a fuck on whether it’s China or from wherever who rammed their boat. They are using wooden boats in an age where they should be investing in modern ships yet choose to use the cheaper alternative. They are angry because they won’t have something to feed their families not because China is fishing in our waters. They are angry because this government they elected can’t provide modern equipment and a credible Coast Guard force to protect the seas from such incidents. Provide them a different source of livelihood and enough income for an extra shot of booze at the end of the day, and the simple minded fishermen will be happy.

Stop using this incident to wave the Philippine flag and promote sovereignty and Pinoy Pride. There is nothing to be proud about. Pinoys aren’t respected by the Chinese because we aren’t worthy to be respected. We are like dogs eating our own shit not because we are poor, but because we are stupid. We elect dancing convicts, ousted plunderers and self-confessed cheaters back into office, our elderly would rather fall in line and ask for jackets and cheap mobile phones from Willie Revillame, our so-called BPO workers would rather choose to believe in Vice Ganda’s political opinion or waste time trying to level with what Kris Aquino is doing, our indigenous people would rather have their lands converted to subdivisions in exchange for a few sacks of rice, our jeepney drivers would rather foul up the streets and sacrifice a steady income by refusing to loan and use modern vehicles, construction workers who are content with what they have and will slack off to prolong the project since they are paid per day. Stupid right?

The same people who talk about peace and investing in education and livelihood and opposing the huge budget for the modernization of the military and coast guard are now the same folks shouting that the government do something. Short answer- we can’t do anything. You can cry all you want and empathize, but that’s it. Our sad excuse of a nation is a joke in the international community.

It’s high time we accept that our tribal mindset and simplistic brains aren’t capable of self-rule. Let the foreigners (be it China or U.S.) run the country instead for the sake of a better, progressive future for our grandchildren. Nationalism and patriotism won’t put food in the table, hating on China won’t make you a “makabayan”.

9 Replies to “False Patriotism Amidst the Recto Bank Fishing Boat Incident”

  1. I can see now that the best example of one having a “tribal mindset and simplistic brains” is none other than this ranter of Filipino stupidity and what he calls “false patriotism”. Not wanting to go to war against China is the only practical choice the Philippines has. It is not a stupid decision; it’s a choice dictated by reality. The U.S. is a reliable partner only in words, not deeds, and it wouldn’t sacrifice any American life in our defense. That said, China does emerge as the one trustworthy ally we can have, regardless of the island-buildings it’s undertaking in the South China Sea. War guarantees our annihilation. Or it might give way to the annexation of parts of the Philippines. It’s not stupidity to stay sane. The false patriotism that we see comes from U.S.-backed advocates like this justice of the Supreme Court and his cohorts in Yellowland.

  2. What makes you think self serving foreingers don’t have a hand in running the show in the PH? Somebody who refuses to take responsibility for his own is certainly incapable of self-rule. It just will not gonna work!

  3. The word you’re looking for is “Jingoism” which along with “Yellow Journalism” has created international disasters like the Middle East situation, just ask if these fine “Patriots” will die for their country and will defend it by serving in the Fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines instead of virtue-signalling like a bunch of immature nutjobs with Grade School-level of International Relations knowledge and vocabulary. To them it’s realistic to confront China even after in 2010 the Manila Hostage Crisis and the brave Filipinos who supported an asinine President’s non-apology, refusal to take command and even personal responsibility, not willing to give compensation to the victims, and the greatest thing is average Filipinos taking selfies on the crime scene. They have short memories, overly emotional pleading and hypocrisy.

  4. I really don’t want to say this but maybe it’s time, Pilipino really has a “dog mentality”, because they always look for the ideal “amo”, the only difference is that Pilipino being still human can look and choose the “amo” they want to serve, and when this “amo” looks kind to his pet(employees) we call them “makatao” which means pro-human or being kind to human which of course is another way of saying this guy may not be human and of course like a dog right or wrong you will try to defend your “good” master because he/she can never be wrong. In the vernacular the word ”amo” have come to mean “the boss”, the master”, but the root word come in Spanish, “amor”, the way we say it to our love ones is the same way we say it to our master “yo te amo”, I love you, in a master/pet relationship. Dogs always look for pity that’s why they have this “puppy eye” look, Pilipinos are kind of the same, only puppies are just cuter.

  5. The Aquino Cojuangco political axis, thru their puppet: Lugaw Robredo, the opposition and the mainstream media have used the Recto Bank Boat fishing incident to attack Pres. Duterte. They already Politicized the situation.

    These idiotic fishermen, have now become the willing tools of Lugaw Robredo and her team mates, to put a useless issue, on the guise of patriotism. They failed in the “Bikoy-Trillanes kudeta”. So, this must be the diversionary tactic to cover the failed kudeta issue.

    We never saw outrage like this, when Pinoy Aquino ordered, the Trililing Trillanes, to conduct a “backdoor negotiation” to sell the Scarborough Shoals, and the mountain landfills to China. We did not see any outrage of the incompetence and cowardice , when Pinoy Aquino, hid in his little corner of the world, while a crazy policeman massacred Chinese tourists in Luneta.

    Now , when Filipino fisherman had their boat rammed by the Chinese…there is an outrage, especially from the propaganda mainstream media !

  6. This is another Filipino “dysfunction” bashing article, which is really too much to bear right now.
    People have serious problems that they have to deal with, and reading something like this is just discouraging. The way the culture is depicted here is not the whole picture.

    1. Then argue the points of the article then other than telling people to call it quits when blatant of politicization is going on along with jingoistic media reports for the straight week, if you aren’t critical that the media and politicians are riling up people to War, then you should go on and carry on and keep crying about criticism against emotional idiocy that you’re defending.

  7. US of A will not touch this impoverished country with a ten foot pole. We are lucky that China is helping the government of PRRD to modernize the infrastructure. Why the Yellow Shit want to destroy the China/Phil relationship because they want to derail the Build Build Build projects which will benefit the Filipinos. They don’t care about the suffering of the country and their main concern is to get back to power, preserve the status quo and fatten again their bank accounts,

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