Utok Kasag

One of the worst conceivable flaws in Filipino culture is our crab mentality. We can't help it. We seldom are proud of people around us who succeed. If any, we are downright jealous and bitter when someone else succeeds. And, of course, as our society dictates, we are immorally obliged to backbite, backstab, and tell stories of ill-content, contrived or not, just so to pull that person back down. Ah, the Filipino in us all! :) What's more: we tend to dwell in the past when people get ahead of us. Something like: so what if he's rich and successful now? he used to be a wallflower way back in high school. Or something like: So what if she's doing great in the U.S. now? she lost to me in that beauty pageant. It's either this is a jock's, queen bee's, or the "in-crowd"'s mentality or maybe, just maybe, we are bitter at not being considered successful in the manner that society defines.
They say that success is subjective. But for us Pinoys, that is not the case. Success, to us, equates with money, cars, and a nice big house or two. Which is why we cringe at the thought of us working as salesladies, waiters or janitors. For by doing these errrrr lowly, albeit noble jobs(errr i really had to put this in ^.^), we are afraid that we wil be branded as a failure.
Let me go back to that crab mentality thing. This is something that affects not only those who want to pull people up there back down where they think they should be. Pinoys who succeed also have their noses up to the sky. They don't even want to remember where they came from. For example, Pinoy A and Pinoy B are really good friends. Both of them grew up in the same neighborhood, eating in the same small-town restaurant and went to the same school. Pinoy A got rich and famous; Pinoy B remained a so-so factory worker. Tell me, what are the chances that Pinoy A will invite Pinoy B to eat in that same old small-town diner they used to dine in? What are the chances that Pinoy A will want to sit in their old tambayan and talk about the old days? I can't answer that for you. What I know is we have a culture deeply ingrained in each of us that probably won't be fixed in a loooong time. So allow me to rant about people I know who are now very successful: Hoy Janyn!!!!!!!!! Hoy Elna!!!!!!! Hoy Bes!!!!!! (pati wla pa na c zaw naging successful nahisa lng ko ya ke gatampisaw xa sa snow!).... :)