Today, in the Philippines, millions of Filipinos are flocking to churches and cathedrals across the 7 thousand plus islands to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In about 12-14 hours later, their Colombian counterparts will do the same.
Roughly 83% of Filipinos are Roman Catholics and the Philippines is in fact the third largest Catholic nation after Mexico and Brazil. Colombia on the other hand is 90% Catholic. While the two nations are geographically apart, they actually share so many commonalities thanks to the centuries of Spanish rule.
In the world of pageantry, Colombians and Filipinos were actually allies. The current rift of course was induced by the wrong announcement of results by Steve Harvey last December during the Miss Universe contest. It went downhill from there where volleys of insults and bashings were thrown back and forth from both countries.
To this day, while majority of Colombians are happy with the victory of Pia Wurtzbach, a large number of them still think she won in a fraudulent way. Similarly, while majority of Filipinos are sympathetic to Ariadna Gutierrez, many still think she’s a sore loser.
Colombians and Filipinos should be reminded that holding grudge against each other benefits only their adversaries. They should take a good example out from the gesture of Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega who may have been really hurt to remove the crown from Ariadna but she still have the duty to uphold the truth and what was right.
For the Catholics both in Colombia and in the Philippines, today, the Easter Sunday, is a day for forgiveness, fresh beginnings and transcending from negativity. Perhaps it is now the day to forgive each other and concentrate their energies on what lies ahead rather than on what happened in the past. Colombians and Filipinos were friends. They should both allow the spirit of Easter Sunday to rekindle that friendship.
So why do I think Pinoys will always be stupid?
Pinoys Are NOT Attentive
Okay, let’s talk about my previous article, the one with the AlDub photo. How many people do you think actually read the whole article before reacting? How many do you think simply let their emotions get the better of them when they commented? Better yet, how many do you think simply let their own emotions answer for them instead of considering what they’ve read first?
In the comments section alone, as I’ve mentioned in the article I wrote before this one, I have commented multiple times that I was not the one who chose the photo and that the article itself had nothing to do with the AlDub couple in the first place. However, one can note that many commenters simply assumed that I was attacking the AlDub couple and its supporters without even bothering to look at the comments I’ve made on the issue.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is our inability to read between the lines and listen to what is not being said that has ruined us time and time again. As I’ve said in my article about President Aquino’s “Straight Path”, it just sounds good but one has to ask what is it really and what has it achieved for us as a nation? More often than not, we react almost immediately without first considering what’s in front of us and what our actions might cause. We are so much like dogs who bite first without ever thinking that we are essentially biting into poisoned meat.
We Like To Delude Ourselves
The thing is, I was actually surprised by the great number of comments on my previous article but was disappointed to see that a lot of commenters missed the point entirely. Again, as I have said, people simply saw what they wanted to see, heard what they wanted to hear and thought what they wanted to think. The whole point of the article was never even considered by a lot of commenters as they went on to assume things and come to their own (often wrong) conclusions about what I was actually talking about.
It’s painful to note that the point of the article was quite far from bashing the AlDub couple yet still, the brave defenders of the noon-time sensation went on to insinuate that I was accusing the show and those who watch it as “stupid”. Also of note, in no point in the article did I imply that I was excluded or exempt from the five negative traits I mentioned and I even actually admitted to it in my next article. At the end of the day, people just resorted to taking my words out of context and using personal attacks simply because they altogether failed to grasp the actual gist of my articles.
See, the problem is, we really like to lie to ourselves. We especially like to do it to make ourselves seem superior. When people attack or offend us, we like to take words our of context and make assumptions like “they must be attacking me because I’m beautiful” or perhaps “they’re just bitter at me” instead of really considering what is being said. More often than not, we let our emotions do our reasoning for us, especially our pride, and refuse to consider how out-of-context our own assumptions may be.
We Are Always In Denial
Here’s another one and this goes hand in hand with our hypocrisy as a people.
When other people, especially foreigners, call us out on our wrongdoings, we are quick to vehemently defend ourselves and insist that they are wrong or are being cruel. We never even stop to consider the possibility that they might even be right and that it is we who needs to apologize to them and not the other way around.
How can we say that we are not thieves when just about everyone seems to think that stealing is okay as long as you don’t get caught? How can we say that we aren’t perverts when we put films like Etiquette for Mistresses over masterpieces like Heneral Luna? How can we say we aren’t sadists when we find other people’s misfortunes funny?
See, refusing to answer these questions aren’t going to disprove them. Denying them is like sweeping rotting food under the carpet. Sooner or later, it will just stink, attract flies and other pests and become a nuisance. Unless we actually clean them up, things will only get worse.
And you are posting this irrelevant comment of yours reeking of negativity to the article above which is espousing reconciliation because…?
Oh I’m sorry – you lost me after you identified yourself as a self-aggrandizing yet pathetically self-deprecating media whore.
You are plain and simple S.T.U.P.I.D. Your rant speaks for yourself and you only. And your uninformed commentary is not supported by any credible references.
This reaction is so pathetic coming from another Filipino who hates everything about his country. You bring up so many other issues that is not relevant to the article about the 2 countries forgiving each other. You put foreigners first before your very own people?
You are the biggest Hypocrite and just remember, You and your family will always belong to the same group you hated the most