Saturday, December 16, 2006

Why do Filipinos in the US Suddenly Become Good Citizens?

I work out at Gold's Gym Glorietta, and every time I am there, some disrespectful, lazy bastard always leaves the weights on the bench and not return them to the racks. Signs everywhere saying to return them to their proper places, but it never works. The bench press always has the weights that the last person used.

I also work out at Gold's Gym, Las Vegas. And yes, there's the occasional weight left on the bench press. Keyword: occasional. Maybe even rarely. Here in the Philippines: Almost Always. Fine, I always remove them and place my own weights according to my strength. OK, where am I going with this? What's my story here?

I'm not trying to make the Philippines become the US. Not at all. We Filipinos have our own identity, which are still trying to figure out, I think. We shouldn't become like any other nation. We should develop our own, if not, find what it is. However, there are certain universal code of conduct that human beings follow. One of them is following rules. Another is, respect. One more, courtesy. Plus, safety. Putting the weights back to the rack, is following rules and is a sign of respect, courtesy, and safety conduct. Obeservation: my Gold's Gym in the US does it better than my Gold's Gym in the Philippines.

Gold's Gym US: There are some Pinoys that work out in this Gold's Gym, though most of them are white. Latino's, and Blacks. Why are Pinoys in the US so different from the Pinoys in the Philippines.

I rarely hear of any hardcore Filipino news in the US. No drugs, no shootings, no political corruption. Well, maybe the occasional crime here and there; and even then, they pale in comparison to the other crimes committed by Latinos, Blacks, and Caucasians. I can't remember a major Filipino criminal in the US. I'm sure there are some; I just haven't heard of any, or remember any. And I'm an avid news and current events television viewer.

So the hypothesis, what happens to the Filipino when they migrate to the US? Some miraculous thing happens over the air. There must be something in the air up there as they cross the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, whichever way the plane took. All of a sudden, our beloved Pinoys are obedient citizens. They abide by the law, listen to instructions, follow rules and regulations, just like good little boys and girls.

What happened to the Pasaway Pinoy? How was he cured? Possible answers: In the US, someone is always looking at your actions, making you accountable for whatever course of actions you take. In a way, there is a bit more discipline. Here in the Philippines, the keyword is PASAWAY. I need not expound.

I write SINS, not TRAGEDIES.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

well, maybe Pinoys in the US are contented and happy so they have to abide by the rules cuz it would mean back to the unhappy situation in Pinas when they do something against the rules.

the stricter penalties in the US probably can be one of the reasons, too. here in our country, imposition of rules and policies are taken for granted because those who must impose are also the wrongdoers.

not sure if i am right but just my 2 cents..

vic said...

same thing with pinoys here in Canada, Toronto in particular. you can hear them telling tales of impunity of doing about anything back in Pinas, but just as they can get away with anything over there, they can't get away with even a speeding over here. enforcement of the laws i thing is one thing that helps one's well-behaved. one time i was in washington d.c. and try hard, i can find a garbage can to get rid of popsicle stick. i decided to throw it in discreetly, but didn't get away with it when a woman "politely informed" i may have dropped something. i learned my less

Anonymous said...

This clearly shows that Pinoys are schizoprenic... :-)

Anonymous said...

Three also seems to be peer pressure in the Philippines to be disrespectful of this concept called "good citizenship". The "local pinoys" have a smirk on their faces -- like "how naive can you get?" -- when you ask where you can throw a piece of trash.

Abner M. Hornedo, M.D. said...

Here in Australia, my observation is that Filipinos too are very law abiding, especially when it comes to driving. Well maybe one reason is that you have to "bleed" first before you can get a driver's license here. Unlike in the Philippines. No more thing is that you cannot BRIBE here. The law is not for sale here.

Happy New Year!

Dennis Clemente said...

i am a filipino who lives in new york, and it's just as crazy as manila; so weights are everywhere, except in the racks; i get tired of filipinos saying that in the united states, things are much better; it's just as bad, if not worse. go to new york and you will see.