Internet Ethics

I'm an avid forum reader and blog surfer. I can spend hours just browsing around forums and replying to topics. But if there's one thing that I hate the most, it's Filipinos posting in Filipino on English-based [web]forums and/or blogs. Even in an international server of RO [Ragnarok Online], Filipinos really will not speak English. Which part of English-based don't they understand, anyway? No wonder our English proficiency has been on a steady decline. It's because the majority would not even try to be "correct". A lot of things really concern me about the Filipino-style English but the use of shortcuts really is quite disturbing.

With the advancement and increased popularity of SMS [Short Message Service] in the early 21st century, Filipinos once again applied their creativity by creating a jargon through the elimination and/or substitution of various parts of a word, leaving behind something that would phonetically sound like the original word but in a significantly shorter form and through removing different components of a sentence such as articles in order to maximize the character limit in sending a single message. This succeeded but with a deep price to pay. A lot of Filipinos, especially the youth, have had their spelling and grammar greatly impaired not only in English, but also in Filipino. I usually watch my brother play on an international RO server and observe how he "speaks" in English with fellow non-Filipino players. Simply put, it's horrible but compared to a majority of the Filipino players that we see, he's a cut above them. I pity non-Filipino players who struggle in understanding what the f*** these people are talking about.

No, I'm not advocating the English language and saying that our own language should not be taken seriously. On the contrary, I'm not advocating any. What I'm trying to convey is that if one should use a language, use it in its proper form and only with words that came from its own set of words. There are no half-measures.
As my Kasaysayan professor said, it's either use straight English or straight Filipino (or Tagalog to be more politically correct) because you won't be proficient in any if you use combinations.

Inspiring words from a girl.

While I was browsing the internet for information about our topic in Comm3 (tomorrow's our midterms), I stumbled upon a blog of a former UP Diliman student (as I gathered). Here, I read about the speech of the Batch 2007 Summa Cum Laude's Graduation Speech. Here's the post.

Girl

As I read through the speech, I have to agree that I felt the same way as the blog owner and his friend did. The speech reflected my thoughts about how I would spend my life after I graduate [5 years from now]. During my stay as an exchange student, I made a conviction that I would spend my entire career rendering service to the Philippines directly. Despite having the advantage of speaking a 3rd language, I still would stay in the Philippines. I would like to provide jobs for those who have none. I would like to teach people how to make bread instead of giving them bread. Even as a freshman, I still hold these convictions and she just fortified them.

I am proud of being a student of the University of the Philippines and of being a member of the Diliman community. Most of all, I am proud of being a Filipino.

Seeing as she is just of my age, with those words, she gained my respect, as with all the other people who were at the amphitheater. I would give her a standing ovation myself.

I look forward to my physics class next year. If I could, I'd get her as a prof if she's teaching the Physics I'm supposed to get.

Sometimes, the so-called adults of the community needs to learn from the young.

Love life?

One thing that's characteristic among Filipinos is their, for lack of a better term, addiction to love, particularly intimate ones. With our social norms; holding hands, kissing on the cheeks or what we call as "beso-beso", and even mere frequent rendezvouses are almost automatically associated with couples. The first time I told my male circle of friends about different girls I met or talked with, they instantly assumed that I'm courting them (the girls).

What's up with the Filipinos' addiction towards intimate love? Is it because of the feelings involved? or is it plainly and shamelessly about sex?

Well.. the latter could not possibly explain the nature of our kinsmen to easily hate someone even with the most immature reasons. The later, however, could very much explain the steady growth of our population rate. =P

We ought to be called the Land of Love; where its' people make a lot of loving.

Let's make love, not war;
Literally.

Land of Smiles [not!]

Whenever I walk around in school, I look at peoples' faces. The majority looks the same. Looking down with a frown on their faces, walking slowly and absent-mindedly. It really is hard to imagine that we, Filipinos, are considered as a race with the happiest face. With the appearance of frown wrinkles on an increasing number of people, soon enough, we'd lose that position.

With the toils of everyday living, it's not hard to think of what people are thinking about. *I wonder what s/he's doing..* Probably, with the combination of the heat, political turmoil, ironical increase of cost of living, stacking problems - generally about life here in the Philippine Islands - life really makes people frown. *Don't s/he love me anymore?* To be honest, it's hard to generalize. *Why won't s/he pay me attention?* Because not everyone of us think alike. *I'm hungry.* Some think of trivial things. *Why is s/he looking at me like that?* Some think of intricate things. *What's life for?* But nonetheless, our tendency is to think of problems. *How much do I owe him/her again?* If not of problems, then of questions.

But why can't we condition our mind to think of good things? Is it because it makes us feel guilty of leaving our problems behind? Is it because these things just give us false hope?

Or is it because you just don't want to?

Think about it.

more, More, MORE!!

What are mobile phones for? SMS'ing and calling.
What are cars for? Transportation.
What are televisions for? Watching movies or your favorite TV program.
What are computers for? Doing office work and a bit of entertainment.

Why would you need an iPhone when you can have a 2k phone that does the job? ... tell me.
Why would you need a Ferrari or BMW when you can have a Volkswagen that brings you where you go? ... tell me.
Why would you need a Wide-screen, super thin LCD TV when you can watch it all the same in a CRT TV? ... tell me.
Why would you need all that extra computing power and that savy graphics card when all it does is make entertainment seem like work to you? ... tell me.

You don't need a mobile phone that does everything.. because if you lose that, would you have nothing then?
You don't need a very good car just to go somewhere else.. because if you lose that, what good is it for you?
You don't need a very big TV just to watch a show.. because if someone breaks into your house, would you lay your life on the line for it?
You don't need that good PC.. because if you did, what would happen to those you don't need anymore?

Everyone of us loses sight of what's important. Education, physical fitness, companions and other immaterial things. We never become content. We just want more.. More.. and MORE!! and we want it now. We're all spoiled brats. There are just some more spoiled than the others.

The Family

In the Filipino society, the family is the center of social structure as opposed to a vast area of the western world wherein the individual is given more attention than the family. Much like most of our asian counterparts, the family is a collective wherein the shame of one is considered the shame of all and the success of one is thought to be the success of all. As everything else, this idea (or culture) has its positives and negatives.

For one, the family serves as a Filipino's strongest foundation in all situations whether it's financially, employment, emotionally, security, etc. Your family (assuming you're a Filipino) expects you to help them in their time of need as you are almost assured of reinforcements if you yourself is put under a difficult situation. However, this develops in the strong dependency of children to their parents as the parents will provide anything (and everything) just for the sakes of their children in spite the fact that they themselves already suffer. (see my post: Money and Pride) I've discussed this condition with someone in the AFS office and he said that parents love their children wrongly and end up ruining their lives for them and I say that I completely agree. The sense of responsibility in children are lost and when they start living on their own, they find it real hard to stand on their own two feet.