Survivor: Asian Team with Two Pinoys Win Again

This new season of Survivor on CBS is quite provocative. It has been termed as a social experiment on television that has never been done before. It is controversial, yet innovative.

So here's a brief analysis on this so called social experiment.

Asians win again:

These challenges are full of puzzles, and of course, the Asians will dominate the because Asians are known for being intelligent. Great stereotyping here. Can we call this postive stereotype? Is there such a thing? The Asian team is comprised of two Korean lawyers, one mixed Filipino fashion director, one Filipina real estate agent and a Vietnamese. I don't know what he does. He's the odd ball in that group.

Can you say Asians, the model minority? Another stereotype.

Latinos throw the game:

The Latinos purposely threw the game because they felt that they had a lazy person on their team who will only bring the team down. The team was willing to lose a game, instead of preserving their team and helping out one person to perform their job well.

What does this say about that team? Is it willing to sacrifice a member of the group to lose a weak link? Is it not interested in cooperation? Unity? How about helping fellow members out? Are they just so quick to just vote off their weakest link, when they could have had the chance to win and help change this weak link along the process?

Overall analysis:

Are these events reflective of culture? Are they reflective of the Blacks? the Asians? the Whites? the Latinos? Or are these events reflective of the American culture altogether? For now, I see a combination of both. There are certainly cultural factors that come into play. But overall, I see the competitive American. The only deviation for now is the Latinos, who were willing to throw the game; but then again, this is also a very American strategy.

I'm still rooting for the Asians. They are the team to beat. They are intelligent and athletic. And better yet, there are two Pinoys in there.

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Filipino Time, the Best Timing in the World, Almost

I have had the hardest time waking up this week. Yet, I managed to be on time to my meetings. Monday morning, it took me about an hour till i finally decided to shower. Tuesday morning, I had to take a manager marketing to show him the ropes. 8 am sharp. On time. Wednesday, another marketing event with another manager. 8 am. On time. This afternoon, 2 pm marketing with city manager. On time. Well, I lied. That last one, 5 minutes late. It wasn't for the traffic on the freeway, I would have been on time. Damn it. It screwed my timeliness streak.

I get to make it up tomorrow. I have another 8 am marketing event with the fourth manager. He's Filipino. Should I go on Filipino time, and make him wait for me? I'm sure he'll understand if I am there 10 t0 20 minutes later. Maybe even 30 mins to an hour. I just have to let him know that I was stuck in traffic and there was an accident and I had to run errands right before and I was going to call but I got another phone call and I was on my way anyway and he knows I should have been late because just like him I am Filipino.

Yes, I've come to expect this from Pinoys. Late, late, late. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I must admit, I have been guilty of this several times in the past; but I have been much better. I continue to work on it. Is this a cultural phenomenon? I think so. Every Filipino party that I go to, there are always late Filipinos. The caucasian guests arrive on time, and all the Pinoys, trust me, alsmot all Pinoys I know, are late. It's quite annoying. But hey, Pinoys will be Pinoys. And they love to make that grand entrance, so they say.

I think, if you think about it, Filipinos are so bad with timing because they could care less if they are on time or not. They think, the party will be there regardless. And the party will be there regardless of whether I am there on time or not. And the party will not start me without me. I don't care about the host that much. Because if I had a party myself, I'm sure they'll come late too. I'm sure they will take their time and will arrive whenever they want. So why not make it just a vicious cycle, right?

I say stop the madness. My time is important. In the Philippines, people were shocked that I was very annoyed when I waited too long. Friends, relatives, and business associates there would ask me to meet at 8 am. I am at the meeting place by 7:55am. They arrive to meet me at 8:26 pm. Yes, call that anal. But that's 26 minutes past. I could have done other things in that 26 minutes. I placed enough importance on the meeting that I show up on time. I demand the same. To show up minutes, and yes, even hours late, is complete disrespect to me.

What makes it even worse is that people don't call and let you know they are running late. At least have the decency and courtesy to call, or text, that you are running late. When I'm running late, I always make it a point to let the other party know. See, I'm late sometimes, I admit. But I recognize it as a fault, and I'm working to make it better. Oh yeah, and when I'm running late, I call way in advance to let others know. Courtesy. Respect.

So to all the early and on time Pinoys out there, more power to you. And to the better-late-than-never and the i'm-making-a-grand-entrance and the I-don't-really-care-I'm-disrespecting-you Filipinos out there, let's work on this one. Let's not make it a vicious cycle.

filipino time late filipino+time arrival party concept

Church and Politics, the Filipino Excuse

Today is Sunday, my lazy Sunday. Time to rest, time to relax. No church for me today. I haven't been to church since two weeks ago, when I went to Phoenix to visit my friend, and he invited me to go to church with him. In fact, I have gone to church only five times in the last three years. Twice in an an actual service, twice sitting outside the church at Greenbelt three. I don't even know if you can consider that attending church. And once to take pictures of the church that my grandparents and relatives are funding in our province.

In the last fifteen years of my life, I have been so turned off by churches. Note, I'm not necessarily turned of by religion per se, but churches and congregations in general. I grew up literally right next door to a church that my family built, but I never felt good attending. It was a chore. And it was a bore. Then when we moved to Hawaii, my grandparents took us to the church, and it was the longer services I've ever attended. Two hours. Sometimes three. Sometimes four. What the heck? Who has the attention span for that long?

Then there were more rules. Men must wear long jeans, no shorts. Women must wear skirts, to the knees and not any higher. Men should have short hair. Women should have long hair. It's bad to lust. It's bad to masturbate. It's bad to do this. It's bad to do that. Almost everything is bad. I became filled with more questions than answers.

Then there's the topic of hypocrisy. Those that preached the word became the sinners themselves later. Boy, what an example.

I'm not turned off by religion and spirituality. In fact, I embrace it. I am just so turned off by its ambassadors, those who are supposedly chosen to represent the word, to deliver his message.

Though I still have many questions, I am beginning to reconcile myself and Christianity. My relationship with Him is a personal one. That is between God and me. He knows my heart, and only he will be able to judge me.

I will not go around preaching to people about God and Christianity and how everyone must repent and come to church and do this and do that or else you will suffer His wrath and burn in hell and blah blah blah as some people do. Instead, I will live in goodness. I will stand for love. I will stand for justice. And I will live my life in that manner, so that others may see me as an example. Along the way, I will stumble and fall. Blame it on human nature. Blame it on the devil. Blame in on me, for being weak.

Sooner or later, we have to come to speaking about my beloved Pinoys and their love of religion. We've all heard it before, The Philippines is the biggest Christian/Catholic nation in the East, with at least 80% of the population being Christian/Catholic. So the Philippines is such a religious and spiritual country, and one would think that with a collective prayer by the millions, the country would be blessed.

Not so. The country is full of corruption, dirty politics, extreme poverty, rampant discrimination, and blatant disregard of humanity. How is one country that is so reliant and so "churched" on the good teachings of religion and the Christian faith be so backward? How can a deeply spiritual people who learned the tenets of love and care from their religion be so unloving and uncaring towards each other?

I do not have the answer. I only have the views of a Filipino American. But since I also majored in Political Science, and from a religious private school, a Jesuit one, I believe I have a little bit of understanding about the Philippine situation. So here's my theory on the relationship between spirituality and politics in the Philippines.

I do not believe that the Filipino people are as deeply rooted in religion and Christianity as they believe they are. Otherwise, they would be making wiser decisions when it comes to politics and electing their leaders. Instead, they are bought. I go to church on Sunday. Then you can buy my vote tomorrow, OK?

Next, we have politicians who claim to be spiritual, religious, and God-fearing. I think they are spiritually crooked, religiously corrupt, and fear only losing power. Granted some of them are really trying their best to do well for their constituency, but there are just so many of them, I probably shall call them the "Filipino Legion of Doom" from now on. How often do these politicians hold forums for their constituencies to discuss issues that affect them?

In the US, I have shaken hands with Governors, mayors, councilmembers, and other politicians. They serve me. I do not serve them. I am their voice. For they know, that even a Filipino immigrant like me, have a large voice, large enough to call on the masses if they failed to serve me. Thanks to the power of organization and the media.

In the Philippines, conversely, people are expected to kiss the asses of their politicians. Accordingly, politicians think the people serve them, and not the other way around. If I accidentally stepped on the shoes of a politician, I might get shot right then and there. OK, fine. I might be beaten up. But If I stepped on the shoe of an American politician by accident, all I need is a simple "Sorry."

This post is getting hella long. I hope that when Filipinos go to church, they will ask themselves, what is my reason for coming to church?

I go to church today. Will my vote be bought tomorrow? Will I sell my soul to the devil come election time?

Filipino Pinoy Church Religion Catholic Christian Politics Politicians Election Vote Sunday