Filipinos are ignorant fools

I’ve previously written about how some Filipinos overreacted (more examples, read the responses as well: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)  at a piece of satire not even aimed at us. It seems everybody including Manong Tambay and one’s local tongressman congressman foamed at the mouth when they read the part about “nation of servants”. The writer, Chip Tsao, was under such pressure from the Philippine  warlords-thieves elected officials that at one point, he was blacklisted from entering the country (since he is not a 50 something white male in search of a 20 something Filipina wife, there’s no reason why he should visit the country).  Not to be outdone, the Filipina workers in Hong Kong staged their own rally to protest Chip Tsao and his employer. There were a couple of things that contributed to the success of  that Hong Kong protest. The Jollibee fast food restaurants were closed that day, and the Wowowee event scheduled to visit the city was postponed. Everything else being equal, having Jollibees nearby and a Wowowee event will lead to Filipinos entering a state of euphoria. Not that day it seems. The angry Filipinas marched and let their voices be heard. Unbeknownst to them, they also proved two things. First, the educational system of the Philippines is of low quality. The people who got angry couldn’t read between the lines. The foolish Filipinos who brag about their Ateneo, De La Salle, and UP degrees (all  useless outside the country) and got angry at Chip demonstrated how dumb they are. Secondly, the “controversy” proved that Filipinos don’t have an indepth grasp of English despite the often cited claim of Filipinos having the best English skillsets in Asia.

The whole event demonstrates that either some Filipinos can’t read between the lines or they love to be part of the herd (pasawsaw). I came across this post made by Joseph Dent in the excellent Indolent Indio that explains the matter to the mangmangs (ignorant) who need to be reeducated in Efren Penaflorida’s mobile classroom.

“My fellow Pinoys, Mr. Chip Tsao is defending Filipinos and Filipino maids and is actually ridiculing these so-called “Chinese patriots”.

When Tessie Tomas pretends to be a rich matrona in “Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata” and then says outrageous, ridiculous mata pobre things, Tessie Tomas is not really mata pobre, instead, she is exposing the mata pobre of the Filipino upper class. That is how this article works as well: satire. In the article, Mr. Tsao is pretending to be one of these Chinese patriots. He then proceeds to say outrageous, over-the-top, racist statements to show them that the viewpoints of his fellow Chinese citizens are in fact outrageous, over-the-top and racist!

In the first paragraph, he exposes the hypocrisy of the Chinese government when they turn a blind eye on Russia and Japan’s violations (who are big nations), but suddenly become a bully when it comes to the Philippines.

He then exposes what you guys are angry about: that some of his fellow Chinese citizens in fact look down on the Philippines as a “nation of servants”, and that’s why the government is not afraid to bully us. (note Mr. Tsao does not believe we are a nation of servants, he is still playing the part of the proud Chinese patriot)

Now there really is no Louisa. You guys got so angry about how he treated his domestic helper, but she doesn’t really exist. Again, this is still part of the act. When he mentions Louisa has a degree in International Politics and then shows her a map, he is exposing how ridiculous the Chinese are because Mr. Tsao knows that according to the map, the Spratly Islands are in fact close(r) to the the Philippines and according to International Politics, we do in fact have a right to lay a claim on it.

In the next paragraph, Mr. Tsao is actually defending the dignity of Filipino maids. He is condemning his fellow Chinese citizens for their lack of respect and appreciation for their maids who work long hours for them, and showing them what hypocrites they are for hating on the Philippines when in fact they rely so heavily on these upstanding Filipino citizens to keep their households running smoothly.

Then he actually points out that the Chinese are wrong to belittle Philippines given the fact that we have good ties with the USA. Finally, he ridicules the propaganda of his own government back in eh day.

So you see, everything he said here, what he really meant is the opposite. He’s just acting the part of the “racist Chinese patriot”. He is exposing how offensive and ridiculous his fellow citizens and his government are, and the fact that we got so angry proves his point: that how his fellow citizens and his government are behaving is very shameful.

Let’s not throw abuses at Mr. Tsao. He is on our side.”

tl:dr Mag isisp ka! Critical thinking skills won’t kill you.