TrootsLang
Honorary Poster
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- Dec 19, 2020
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Hey everyone! I've been lurking in this sub for some time no and i just have to get something off my chest and sorry in advance if I end up offending some of the Filipinos here pero i just wanted to share what me and my friends experienced.
As someone who spent over 16 years living in the Philippines, I have to say, the Filipinos I met were some of the most horrifying and disrespectful people I've ever encountered. It's disheartening to admit, but I think it's important to be honest about my experiences.
First of all, I had the privilege of studying at some good schools like PWC and Ateneo, for my higher education. However, despite the fact na they were pretty huge colleges, it seemed like most people looked at me as if I were someone dirty. While naglalakad ako sa hallways ng school or college, some people would call me names like "bumbay" and "five six," just because my parents were Indian and that's what they did for a living. Some of my classmates that were "gangsters" or were in "fraternities" would bully guys like me that liked to stay lowkey by punching us, calling us names and even disrespecing our beliefs or religion. Some gave us tasks to do and believe me, I had to buy water bottles for some dudes and their girlfriends kasi they were like the "sikat group" in our school. I tried reporting it to our teachers (I was in HS when this happened) and as usual, walang action because i was a foreigner and most of us were treated like shit in our school despite paying double the tuition fee. I wasn't the only one that was being treated like this. Most of the Koreans and other minority foreigners that were in our school were legit being used for money. Always talaga nagpapa libre mga tao sakanila and in return, di sila ibubully.
Now, here's something that truly baffles me up to this day. I'm a vegetarian by choice, and I've been one since birth. But for some reason, people that I was around most of the time had a problem with it. They would constantly tell me that I was missing out on good food and even try to force me to eat meat. I mean, why couldn't they just respect my dietary and religious choices? Again, i was not the only person that was experiencing this. My fellow Indians (young mga barkada ko) experienced the same thing and they were studying in different schools. There was this one incident when a classmate of mine placed chicken inside my rice tas pag open ko it had a weird smell and i didn't eat it. Pag dig in ko ayun, chicken inside my rice. Again, no action against him.
Another frustrating thing was the lack of hygiene among most of my classmates in high school and university. It's not like I had any control over how they maintained themselves, but they would always put it on other people and mostly kasi i was indian they would say its me and stank like a "bumbay," even when I didn't. They never talked about themselves pero out of the blue ako yung binubully ng todo. And to make matters worse, they would call me out for having a beard. But it's part of my Indian heritage, and yes, we do grow hair!
Next yung challenges of commuting alone. It's no joke, let me tell you. One time, I was nearly kidnapped by a guy who openly said that Muslims could make money off me because I was good-looking and my parents would pay a huge ransom. It's ridiculous to think that such prejudices still exist in our society. Mga friends ko na foreigners we would end up taking taxis and avoid jeeps kasi it was legit super dangerous for us.
Speaking of taxis. Jusko when my aunt visited us from Canada taxis straight up refused to let us in kasi we were Indian and said "mabaho lahi nyo". Not us, but yung lahi. Btw we never got in the taxi every time we heard that line from the drivers.
Now, I hate to say this, but the medical care in the Philippines is hella expensive, and some doctors don't seem to know what they're doing and would make money out of us foreigners. My mother suffered for over six months, being mistreated for appendicitis and a stomach infection. Turns out, she had colon cancer, but it was misdiagnosed because the symptoms were similar to appendicitis. By the time they figured it out, it was too late. It's frustrating when clear symptoms are overlooked. Same thing happened with my cousin who had a broken arm pero they operated on it after so long and it caused further complications that left his arm hella weak. The list goes on kaya we Indians prefer going back home to get medical treatment tas uwi lng sa pinas after we are okay because first, its hella cheap here sa India, and second the doctors here listen and try to find the real cause.
Isa pa yung how yung customers nila mom ko would offer their children to my sick womanizer father because he had money. My mother openly heard so many things from her clients that would say date my daughter no one has to know.
Lastly, I was surprised to find that many Filipinos still believe in magic and superstitions. I lived in Davao nung nas a Pilipinas ako, it's pretty modern i would say pero some people were just living in the dark ages haha. A lot of the Filipino friends of my mother claimed that my her illness was due to dark magic. Seriously? We should be focusing on science and critical thinking, not attributing illnesses to supernatural forces na walang basis.
Ay is a pa pala haha. Yung being circum.cised in the Philippines. i saw a post here last week ata and it was hella true. See most of the Asian, Europeans and Americans i hanged out with in the PH were uncircum.cised and a lot of the people we knew openly talked about how disgusted they were about us. Ano meron sa pagiging Tuli because its such a big deal? i barely see any strong studies that suggest it would be lifechanging to be circu.mcised cause tbh its more of a religious and cultural thing.
Look, I know there are positive aspects of Filipino culture and society, and I don't want to generalize my experiences to everyone. But I think it's important to address these issues and strive for a society that respects diversity.
Note: My BFF is Filipina. She's the kindest person I've met in my life and i have nothing but respect for her. Same thing goes to the good Filipinos that I have met. but my experiences were with the majority filipinos and it was bad, kaya i had to share them here. Sorry again hope i don't get banned.
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