Happy Pinoy

I am a Filipino. And I'm proud to be one! Our race is known to live in every part of the globe. Let's face facts, Filipinos are known for negative traits such as lack in discipline because of their casual and relaxed attitude towards time, thus coining the term, Filipino time (which is, in short, late). Other notable traits include the Colonial Mentality (which can be the lack of appreciation, awareness and love for our country or preference of foreign things) and Crab Mentality (which refers to pulling each other down instead of lifting and helping each other out - just like crabs in a basket trying to get out).

But then again, Filipinos are also known for lots of positive traits. We have Filipino Hospitality, which makes the Filipino perfect hosts. Even if a family has difficulty making ends meet, when there are visitors, they go out of their way to prepare a meal they don't even take during holidays. There's also the Filipino Flexibility and Adaptability, which refers and serves as proof to the third sentence of this post. Filipinos are also creative and very talented artists, which is seen through numerous local and international stage performers, singers, dancers, designers, and the like. The booming demand for Filipino nurses and caregivers show the Filipino Care and Loving Touch. The list goes on and on but to get to the point of this post, I'd like to point out to one thing that makes the Filipino really special - FILIPINO JOY and HUMOR.

When my brother and I had the chance to go to Rome as volunteers, we spent our time there with people of different nationalities - Mexicans, Spaniards, Nigerians, and a whole lot more. We traveled around the city by bus and since the number of Filipinos were not enough to fill it, we usually shared the ride. In one of our bus trips, I overheard one of our foreign friends ask a fellow Filipino, "Why are Filipinos always smiling (or happy)?" Our fellow Filipino answered, "Because that's all we have! We don't have money, food, shelter... All we have is laughter!" His answer made me smile and at the same time think and tell myself, "Hey, that's right!" Filipinos have that cheerful and fun-loving disposition through the ups and (mostly) downs of life. It serves as our coping mechanisms and is manifested through the Filipino's love for social gatherings and celebrations or fiestas.

As I was preparing for this post, I came across an article which clearly shows that other nationalities, just like our foreign bus friend, have difficulty understanding the fun and joyful Filipino way of life. The article is from BusinessWorld, January 4, 2006.

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Puzzling Filipino Optimism
By Ronald Meinardus

As a liberal, I don’t like stereotypes and try to avoid them as much as I possibly can. But, in certain situations, it is hard to resist generalizations. One such case is the discussion regarding an important collective character trait of the vast majority of Filipinos I interact with on a daily basis: With very few exceptions, these people are friendly, happy and - overtly optimistic.

The stereotype of the happy and confident Pinoy is reflected in uncounted positive experiences on a micro-level. Staying with the sociological jargon, it is substantiated, on the macro level, in the annual survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations. Every year, SWS asks a representative sample of Filipinos how they view their prospects in the coming year. This time, eighty-five percent of adult Filipinos entered the New Year with hope rather than fear, the institute said. Remarkably, the hope levels are higher than last year’s. Over the years, the figures have customarily been at high levels, starting at 87 percent when SWS first polled about it in December 2000.

For more than one reason, I find these results mind-boggling.

For one, Filipinos’ hopefulness stands in stark contrast to the generally perceived realities - politically, socially or economically. While well over four fifths of the people say they have hope for the New Year, many of the same people live along the poverty line and in all but merry social conditions. Also, in other polls, the same individuals claim to believe that their president has cheated in the last elections and nearly two thirds are so unhappy with GMA that they want her out. Actually, these survey results have become the mantra of the oppositionist clamor for GMA to resign.

Particularly remarkable I find the pollsters’ finding that optimism is more pronounced in the less affluent (or poor) groups of society than in the middle and upper classes. In other words: In the Philippines, the better-offs are more worried about their future than the have-nots living in or on the verge of misery.

This leads to the conclusion that, in this particular case, the objective living conditions and prospects don’t seem to determine the mindset of the people. While Marxists wont like this conclusion at all, this observation is substantiated by comparable polls conducted in my own country, Germany.

The economic and social situation of the vast majority of Germans is doubtlessly much better than that of the people in the Philippines. Still, compared to Pinoys, Germans may be called collectively depressed: According to a recent survey conducted by the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach, only 45 percent of Germans entered the New Year with hope. Compared to last year, when the result was 38 percent, this is an improvement which pollsters explain with some positive news regarding the economic recovery in that country.

Still, seen collectively, Filipinos may be called double as happy as Germans!

The discrepancy between the German and Philippine figures is remarkable. Having lived in the Philippines for nearly four years, I have come to the conclusion that more than anything else this country’s “peculiar brand of optimism”, as one local commentator has called it, has to do with its’ people’s spirituality and religious faith.

“The Filipino views what’s coming up with more hope than fear because he finds it easy to forgive and to forget what had gone before,” the commentator opines.

On a personal and subjective level this may be an enviable quality as it may lead to a life void of anxiety and angst. On the other hand, the collective inclination to forget and forgive produces less positive results for society as a whole. If you prefer to forget, you tend to be distracted easily. This may lead to a situation in which words count more than deeds, which according to my Philippine friends is a typical trait of this country’s politicians. This said, forgetting and forgiving is particularly hazardous in the political and legal spheres. There it may lead to impunity, the worst enemy of the rule of law.

“It may well be that Filipino optimism is actually what is holding the country back, rather than pushing it forward,” writes the commentator, and I tend to agree.

Think about it. As you wrench your mind, don’t be surprised if you start philosophizing. Looking at the Germany-Philippines comparison, you might end up believing that the choice is between either poor and happy or rich and unhappy.

I hope you don’t get stuck there. Life is more complex than black and white. At least from a liberal view point, it is always useful to examine also the grey.
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Truly, too much of something is really bad. You can be joyful but not to the point that you slack off and lose your edge. Here lies the danger of the Filipino Joy and Humor. It's not bad to have fun and laugh at our selves from time to time, just as long as you know when and where. It can easily distract you from your goal, set you aside and hold you back. As long as you have everything in your control, go out and have some good, clean fun - Pinoy Style, Pinoy Smile!