We beg to differ.
I have a friend who disagrees very much with my social and political views about the Philippines. He thinks that my commentaries about the country come across as negative and therefore running counter to his own views. This deeply offends him even when I’ve assured him many times these commentaries are not about him. I…
Read More “The Philippines: Between Poverty and Ignorance” »
A lot of Filipinos have an identity crisis. You can spot these sorts a mile away. They are the ones who shout out “I am proud to be Filipino!” as if they hold a monopoly over harbouring such a sentiment. It is usually in the way it is expressed and in the context and timing…
If I lower my guard and take the comfy view that I am fundamentally defined by where I was schooled, I’d call myself an “Atenean”. When you are an Ateneo alumnus (and specially when you remain on as a faculty member), you usually come equipped with a lot of connections and the frame of mind…
Read More “Tulong Dunong, ACIL, ICTUS, and other memories from up the Hill” »
I found something in my mailbox this morning that I thought might help provide a few folks who are in the business of noisily proclaiming what amounts to no more than a hollow pride in “Being Filipino” with a bit of perspective. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At…
We need to exercise a bit of that non-Filipino trait of lateral thinking when we regard this whole issue of “credentials”. I find that the best way to induce this rare form of thought is to ask a child-like question: What are credentials? Any schmoe can Google the term or look it up in Wikipedia…
Oftentimes it is the most mundane of things going on around us — things we take for granted as business-as-usual that, when regarded from the point of view from a lateral thinker so effectively highlight some the most disturbing aspects of our society. Picture these scenes, for example: – The ubiquity of heavily armed uniformed…
Shrek: [observing a giant building] That must be Lord Farquaad’s castle… Do you think he’s maybe compensating for something? If anything pushes my hot buttons enough to make me interrupt my days of meth consumption it is the spreading of ignorance by Pinoys online. The only reason you spread ignorance is because you…
Read More “One More Term For Pnoy and Other Examples Of Blatant Ignorance” »
The “increase in population” that has been made the excuse du jour of Malacanang to wash its hands off the appalling mass transport crisis paralysing Metro Manila today is something that the government cannot absolve itself of any responsibility for. Facing mounting calls for the head of Al Vitangcol General Manager of the Metro Rail…
Read More “Metro Rail Transit crisis gripping Manila a result of long-term failure in thinking” »