Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

It never ceases to amaze me how a nation could be so thoroughly convinced of its inferiority that its government would often bend over backwards to give a foreign power (read: the US) what they want, and its constituents would aspire to be something they are not. On further deliberation though, it is not so surprising. Amazing, yes, but sadly not surprising.

During the days of the Spanish colonizers, the concept of the indio was introduced as a means of putting the natives - namely us - in their (our) place. During the three hundred plus years of Spanish rule, our ancestors (except maybe those in Mindanao, who were never really conquered) were never treated on the same footing as those of their Spanish conquerors. To Spain, we were the conquered, the colonized, and thus, invariably the weaker. Unfortunately, too many of our ancestors saw it that way too.

When the Americans came, the oppression did not lessen, but rather took a different form, something subtler. By providing an American education for the Filipino, they have given us the ability to think like them, and act like them. It was apple instead of atis. The nursery songs “Planting rice is never fun…” and “clean little hands are good to see…” are examples wherein the American planted in the Filipino consciousness that the work we Filipinos do is not only fun, but also unclean. The Philippines, being an agricultural country, dpends on its farmers. The noble work the farmers do has been degraded, placing a permanent stigma on that profession. One would almost think that the Americans have never toiled the soil themselves. And why would they do that, you may ask? To put us in our place. To keep us wanting to be like them to the extent that we become dependent on them. As a result, the Philippines is probably the most western malay nation in the east.

But here’s the thing - we may have had the benefit of having a western education, but we ourselves are not western. The Amercans know this, that’s why we’ve always been the ‘little brown man in the land of the giants’. That’s why we’ve always been second class citizens, even in our land. That’s why there are Americans who believe they can just walk all over us.

Fast forward to now: 6 US Marines have been charged with raping a 22 year old Pinay. This is the 14th incident involving US soliders in the Philippines since the year 2000, or roughly, since the Visiting Forces Agreement was enacted. Now there’s talk that the goverment is letting the marines walk.

I’m not at all well versed in the legalese of the VFA law; read this post by the Sassy Lawyer to get a handle on it. Once you’re through with that post, you’ll understand why the whole situation sucks sour frog eggs.

The basis for my objection to the VFA - in fact my opposition to everything the US government stands for - isn’t based on a legal POV though, but ironically enough based on the writing of one very American author: Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, later known as Ayn Rand. She believed:

1. That man must choose his values and actions by reason;
2. That the individual has a right to exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing self to others nor others to self;

and

3. That no one has the right to seek values from others by physical force, or impose ideas on others by physical force.

Not just Ayn Rand, for that matter. The writings, deeds and speeches of the likes Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks among others, are very moving, very relevant, and ultimately very hypocritical when used by the ordinary Joe. Because these concepts, glorious as they may sound, when applied by your typical American, have an implied, unwritten, but universally understood addendum: so long as you’re an American.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” - so long as you’re an American. Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream

When she sat down on the bus, she stood up for the American ideals of equality and justice and demanded that the rest of us do the same - to other Americans. President Bill Clinton, (September 9, 1996)

We are confronted primarily with a moral issue… whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. JFK, Referring to race riots in Alabama in a radio broadcast 11th June 1963

I didn’t even need to add anything to the last one. The addendum exists, the bias exists, the deep-rooted racist is there, living inside them. Invading a sovereign state on the flimsiest of reasons, brutally mistreating the prisoners, slaughtering innocents, and now commiting unforgivable crimes against an ally and trying to get away with it - these are not the works of men who believe in the ideals of their philosophers. These are not the acts of men who hold “these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. These are not the doings of people who claim that no one has the right to seek values from others by physical force, or impose ideas on others by physical force. These are reflections of Godless men, of a depraved government.

My response to the typical American callousness is best illustrated in yet another quote, this time by Jesse Jackson: “I am - Somebody. I may be poor, but I am - Somebody! I may be on welfare, but I am - Somebody! I may be uneducated, but I am - Somebody! I must be, I’m God’s child. I must be respected and protected. I am black [brown] and I am beautiful! I am - Somebody!

The rape victim must be protected, must be avenged. Our collective consciousness needs it, our national pride longs for it, our basic moral principle demands it. It the lines weren’t drawn before, this is where it should start. Should the US get in the way of justice being done, I think the American government would do well to look into themselves first before shoving down our throats their own brand of democracy.

Popularity: 3% [?]