June 12, 2001
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Are We Still Little Brown Americans?
Today marks the 103rd year of independence of the Philippines.
A tabloid editorial on the subject said that our independence is "sa salita lamang" (a lip service) because we are still not free from poverty, not free from multinationals which control a majority of our businesses, and not free from our colonial mentality which makes us the "little brown Americans" that we are.
I agree with the point that we are still, as a nation, bondaged to economic poverty, and globalization has made it easier for foreign corporations to put up their businesses here. That is an issue which is faced by Third World countries, as a whole, not just by us.
But are we still "little brown Americans"?
That phrase has been part of my social science curriculums in both grade-school and high-school, which, I can tell you, has been a long, long time ago.
During the years that have passed I have seen how Tagalog has grown in acceptance as the language of choice in mass media, in TV shows, in advertisements, and even in speeches during social functions. It used to be that we scorn people who cannot make a speech in English, but now that scorn is reserved for people who persist to make speeches in English when speaking in Tagalog is certainly called for. It used to be that major brands had foreign-looking models because they were perceived to sell the product better, but now, foreign brands with foreign models in their ads are perceived to be short on the budget hence their inability to transform their ads for the local market. We admire showbiz and media personalities who can articulate in English, but those who can do the same in Tagalog -- without a foreign-sounding twang -- are admired more.
And 'colonial mentality'? Globalization has made that phrase passe.
We are, after all, in the era of global brands and what may be labeled as 'colonial mentality' is simply brand-consciousness, an attitude that appearance-conscious Filipinos easily fall into. And brand-consciousness is a matter of perception, which in turn, is a product of marketing. And guess who has the power to make huge marketing machineries roll?
Globalization is the name of the game. And in the global arena the ability to speak English and have a 'colonial' polish (thanks, in part, to global brands) are the skills and the tools you need to compete.
I may speak English with an American accent but I certainly don't wish to be American and don't want to be called one. I simply accept that as part of my heritage in much the same way that being Catholic, or having a Spanish-sounding surname, does not make me a Spaniard but is simply a piece of my culture which makes me the modern Filipino that I am.
I have friends who are in the States not because they want to embrace being American but because they are forced by economics. By being in the States, they can work with the same effort that we do here in the Philippines and yet be more economically well-off and are better able to provide a brighter future for their children. But they still think of themselves as Filipinos. The only difference is that they are in a foreign land. If they had the same economic options here, they would come home.
Little brown Americans? I don't think so.
I maybe wrong. This may just be a closeted, reactionary view from my tiny corner of the world. If someone thinks otherwise, please let me know.
Comments (9)
a fine blog!
the preservation of local / national languages (like tagalog) and dialects is an important thing. the corporate machine wants to make us all identical, speaking american english and buying nike. the boiling frog says: wear generic clothes! don't wear anything with a visible label!
(sorry, i'm in ranting mood today)
isn't it strange that we were under the colonial rule of Spain for 300 years yet only a handful speak Spanish? but we are under the colonial rule of the Americans for only 50 years yet almost anyone in the country speak English.
you hit the right button in saying that most of us who came here in the US of A have economic reasons to do so. but we also took into consideration other factors as cheap quality education, peace and order conditions, air and water quality, four-season climate, etc. but the main reason is still economic. if we have to have a chart, i would say 75% is economic, the rest shares the 25%.
superbly written. i agree with palos about the reasons for staying here in the US. and the economic benefits extend to our families back home as well. i also noticed this 'filipinization' when i came home, revival of OPM, the language, food, etc. hope this globalization fulfills the promise of bridging the gap bet. the phil and the world.
what can i say. those three comments said it all.
when did you start becoming a cat?
how do we ever understand the social implications of cultural assimilation? here in new zealand we have resounding conflicts regarding the europeans coming to a country already inhabited by the Maori people. English is the state language but efforts are made to continue the use of the maori language. it is still difficult to this day because the maori feel they were cheated by British Commonwealth over land issues. it is a similar situation between the American Indians in the US; the Aborigines in Australia.. ok I've wandered off the subject a bit, but what I wanted to say is that it is important that a culture still maintains it's heritage.
little brown americans. is that even politically correct? sounds more like a racial slur to me.
It never ceases to amaze me when I see the Philippine president give speaches in English. It was explained to me that this is the unifying language of the country. If the president were to give speaches in Tagalog only, there are many people in the provinces that couldn't understand them. The fact most people do speak English, and there are so many educated hardworking people in the Philippines, it is an economic success story just waiting to happne. English could be a great strength for the country in the global economy, but it is potential that will never be realized as long as the corruption in politics continues. As for people being criticized if they could not give a speach in English, it seems that is still true. It wasn't long ago that Erap was heavily criticized for his poor English and English is still very common in the media. I hardly know maybe 10 words in Tagalog, but I can still watch TV shows on ABS-CBN because there is so much English I can understand what is going on.
To truly thrive the Phillipines needs an infusion of money from foreign lands to get their economy rolling. They also need politicians who won't line their pockets with all of it. It is a country with incredible potential, but that potential has been there for decades and never realized. As for the Filipino's here in the states. I can't think of any that I know that want to go back permanently. Not after they have been here awhile. The first five years they do maybe, but after that, and especially after a couple of return trips home, they wouldn't want to. Even if the economics improved, I suspect most would stay here. Now if the political system stabilized and the infrastructure of roads and highways were improved, and the poor people in the slums and shanty's could also get into good housing, and you didn't have to worry about Marshall law and stuff like that, maybe more would consider it. Most that I know here are pretty happy, and although they still love the Philippines, this is their home now. Even though they are here though the culture remains strong.
So are people there still little brown Americans? Certainly not the way they used to be, and certainly not in the eyes of the US anymore, the way they used to be. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing for them though. If they can get their own feet under them than it is a good thing, but if they continue on as they have been, maybe its not.
to vame: wow...!
I just wanted to point out that people cannot not be bunched into one group. By that I mean, there are Filipinos who immigrated to America and then there are Americans of Filipino descent who are originally from the United States. It's kind of like there are British, and then there are Americans of British descent. Instead of asking what a person is, maybe the question has to be more specific. Like, what country do you represent? Here in my country (The United States), we have people who say they are Irish or Italian or French. But they are really giving you their ethnicity. Truth be known, they will tell you that the United States is their country. Home is the United States. And like it or not, if someone is originally from the United States and was raised here, they are not the same as the people from where their ancestors came from. Language, mannerisms, etc.
BTW, Americans come in different colors.
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