CRAB MENTALITY OF FILIPINO'S
Culture: Crab Mentality
" The Cancer of the World Society"
What do Charice Pempengco, Manny Pacquiao, Lea Salonga, Manny Villar, Arnel Pineda, and Efren Penaflorida all have in common? They are all dynamic, talented, and successful Filipinos who, at certain times in their careers, have tasted the bitter nauseating bile of Filipino Crab Mentality.
You have heard this term bandied about in the media, opinion columns and online forums and chat rooms. It is so frequently used, but a lot of the times the exact definition is left to the imagination. More often than not, it is used to just shut down somebody whose opinion does not comport with or agree with your opinion. What exactly is Filipino crab mentality? Where did it come from? What does it apply to? What does it say about Filipinos as a people, as a culture and where does it point us in terms of future direction? Common usage of the term crab mentality is really to deal with seemingly and perceived negative opinions, assessments or criticisms. It is almost as used as frequently as “inggit” or “inggit ka lang,” which is a phrase meaning you are just envious. Basically it turns the argument from the focus of the criticism and assessment back to the person who was supposedly criticized or gave a negative opinion. It is really an ad hominem because it puts the critic’s motives into a bad light. More common than not, it is used to just silence otherwise valid critics
"THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL ROOTS OF CRAB MENTALITY"
What are the roots of crab mentality in the Philippines? First of all, the notion of crab mentality is not unique to us as a people. Mexicans and Black-Americans also use the term and it also impacts and draws from their history, however different those histories are from ours. It is not a uniquely Filipino concept or trait. In the Filipino context, the roots of crab mentality stem from fragmented national identity. Like it or not, the Philippines is only a country because the Spaniards collected a series of violence under their sovereignty, spread Catholicism and put us under the administrative rule. Prior to that, there was no such thing as a Philippines, not by a long shot. The parts of the South were under the influence of the different Indonesian sultanates and Malayan sultanates. Parts of Luzon had contacts with China. Any concept of a Filipino national identity really just began with the Spaniards. However, the concept of crab mentality does not draw from that specific fact.
BESIDES OF CRAB MENTALITY THERE IS ALSO,
"GAPI MENTALITY "
1.WHAT IS THE ROLE IN OUR POVERTY!!
The Gapi mentality. This is the final myth regarding wealth in the Philippines. Gapi mentality is defined as the following: You have to explain the change in material wealth of another person in order to excuse your own personal failings and not achieving the same results. It then goes even deeper. You have to separate yourself from the people that moved up in the world because it would impact your ego. There are a lot of traditions and customs and mental constructs surrounding this concept. It takes many different forms. It can be as simple as somebody getting a job at a call center that pays 30,000 to 40,000 pesos a month, and the peers of that person working for less, like 20,000 or 15,000 pesos a month. Another common situation is somebody was sent by their company to work overseas in England while they are “stuck in the Philippines.” In whatever variation this takes, the arrangement of the players, the arrangement of the emotions involved is fairly straightforward. People get left behind by some sort of measure, whether it is economics, fiscal distance or social status. Instead of viewing it as an opportunity to be pushed to the next level to produce more, to achieve more, the mental incentive is to distance one’s self, to recast one’s self usually in a victim model. This means “because I’m a moral person I can’t get rich” or “because I’m Filipino I can’t get rich” or “because they are Chinese” or “because I was unlucky.”
The key here is to define away the problem by creating new differentiations that separate you from the harsh reality that maybe, just maybe, you and that person are really pretty much the same except that they chose a different path. They chose to sacrifice, they chose to work hard, they chose to take risks and everything gelled together and they made it happen through perseverance. But that may be too much to take. That’s maybe too much of a blow to the ego and too much hit to the pride. It is much easier to redefine yourself out of the equation maybe because you are poor, or you just came from a bad family, or because you are not Chinese.
These things are deeper than merely giving one’s self excuses for failure though. If it was just that, then it would be a purely individual affair. However, there is a cultural pattern to this. If you turn on the media, when you read lots of articles or opinion columns, there are many glimmers of this mentality. It has to stop. All these myths and all this mentalities have to stop because it creates a vicious cycle. It does not benefit anybody. Whatever benefits it may have is temporary and does not really lead to anything concrete or substantial. Definitely it does not lead to sustainable future. Unless we find a way to stop this thinking and these myths in general, we will never ascend from poverty – not now, not in the future.
The Lord continues to raise up those who understand the causes of poverty in the philippines – and the resources to respond the situation is improving with each passing decade.
Filipinos are a people of hope, work ethic, and resourcefulness, and the onslaught of poverty will slowly begin to be repelled and the victory won,and i'm proud to be a filipino.
Together we can all work to break the cycle of poverty in the Philippines and give these children a chance to live productive and happy lives.
Blogger Websites and links:
http//.www.Gmail.com
harold-nesmith.blogspot.com
www.poverty-in the philippines.com
In the time of era has done. We filipino's give importance for those weird action that is not good into it. Crab Mentality actually describe a kind of selfish, short-sighted thinking which runs along the lines of “if I can't have it, neither can you.” This term is especially widely used among Filipinos, who use it specifically to refer to people who pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or pursue their dreams. As a general rule, an accusation of having a crab mentality is a poor reflection on someone's personality.
This concept references an interesting phenomenon which occurs in buckets of crabs. If one crab attempts to escape from a bucket of live crabs, the other crabs will pull it back down, rather than allowing it to get free. Sometimes, the crabs seem almost malicious, waiting until the crab has almost escaped before yanking it back into the pot. All of the crabs are undoubtedly aware of the fact that their fate is probably not going to be very pleasurable, so people are led to wonder why they pull each other back into the bucket, instead of congratulating the clever escape artist.
The crab mentality is a reflection of the famous saying “we all like to see our friends get ahead, but not too far ahead.” Learning to recognize the crab mentality in yourself is a very good idea, especially if you work or live in a highly competitive environment.
Blogger: Harold Brown Nesmith
www.harold-nesmith.blogspot.comCulture: Crab Mentality
" The Cancer of the World Society"
What do Charice Pempengco, Manny Pacquiao, Lea Salonga, Manny Villar, Arnel Pineda, and Efren Penaflorida all have in common? They are all dynamic, talented, and successful Filipinos who, at certain times in their careers, have tasted the bitter nauseating bile of Filipino Crab Mentality.
You have heard this term bandied about in the media, opinion columns and online forums and chat rooms. It is so frequently used, but a lot of the times the exact definition is left to the imagination. More often than not, it is used to just shut down somebody whose opinion does not comport with or agree with your opinion. What exactly is Filipino crab mentality? Where did it come from? What does it apply to? What does it say about Filipinos as a people, as a culture and where does it point us in terms of future direction? Common usage of the term crab mentality is really to deal with seemingly and perceived negative opinions, assessments or criticisms. It is almost as used as frequently as “inggit” or “inggit ka lang,” which is a phrase meaning you are just envious. Basically it turns the argument from the focus of the criticism and assessment back to the person who was supposedly criticized or gave a negative opinion. It is really an ad hominem because it puts the critic’s motives into a bad light. More common than not, it is used to just silence otherwise valid critics
"THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL ROOTS OF CRAB MENTALITY"
What are the roots of crab mentality in the Philippines? First of all, the notion of crab mentality is not unique to us as a people. Mexicans and Black-Americans also use the term and it also impacts and draws from their history, however different those histories are from ours. It is not a uniquely Filipino concept or trait. In the Filipino context, the roots of crab mentality stem from fragmented national identity. Like it or not, the Philippines is only a country because the Spaniards collected a series of violence under their sovereignty, spread Catholicism and put us under the administrative rule. Prior to that, there was no such thing as a Philippines, not by a long shot. The parts of the South were under the influence of the different Indonesian sultanates and Malayan sultanates. Parts of Luzon had contacts with China. Any concept of a Filipino national identity really just began with the Spaniards. However, the concept of crab mentality does not draw from that specific fact.
BESIDES OF CRAB MENTALITY THERE IS ALSO,
"GAPI MENTALITY "
The Gapi mentality. This is the final myth regarding wealth in the Philippines. Gapi mentality is defined as the following: You have to explain the change in material wealth of another person in order to excuse your own personal failings and not achieving the same results. It then goes even deeper. You have to separate yourself from the people that moved up in the world because it would impact your ego. There are a lot of traditions and customs and mental constructs surrounding this concept. It takes many different forms. It can be as simple as somebody getting a job at a call center that pays 30,000 to 40,000 pesos a month, and the peers of that person working for less, like 20,000 or 15,000 pesos a month. Another common situation is somebody was sent by their company to work overseas in England while they are “stuck in the Philippines.” In whatever variation this takes, the arrangement of the players, the arrangement of the emotions involved is fairly straightforward. People get left behind by some sort of measure, whether it is economics, fiscal distance or social status. Instead of viewing it as an opportunity to be pushed to the next level to produce more, to achieve more, the mental incentive is to distance one’s self, to recast one’s self usually in a victim model. This means “because I’m a moral person I can’t get rich” or “because I’m Filipino I can’t get rich” or “because they are Chinese” or “because I was unlucky.”
The key here is to define away the problem by creating new differentiations that separate you from the harsh reality that maybe, just maybe, you and that person are really pretty much the same except that they chose a different path. They chose to sacrifice, they chose to work hard, they chose to take risks and everything gelled together and they made it happen through perseverance. But that may be too much to take. That’s maybe too much of a blow to the ego and too much hit to the pride. It is much easier to redefine yourself out of the equation maybe because you are poor, or you just came from a bad family, or because you are not Chinese.
These things are deeper than merely giving one’s self excuses for failure though. If it was just that, then it would be a purely individual affair. However, there is a cultural pattern to this. If you turn on the media, when you read lots of articles or opinion columns, there are many glimmers of this mentality. It has to stop. All these myths and all this mentalities have to stop because it creates a vicious cycle. It does not benefit anybody. Whatever benefits it may have is temporary and does not really lead to anything concrete or substantial. Definitely it does not lead to sustainable future. Unless we find a way to stop this thinking and these myths in general, we will never ascend from poverty – not now, not in the future.
The Lord continues to raise up those who understand the causes of poverty in the philippines – and the resources to respond the situation is improving with each passing decade.
Filipinos are a people of hope, work ethic, and resourcefulness, and the onslaught of poverty will slowly begin to be repelled and the victory won,and i'm proud to be a filipino.
Together we can all work to break the cycle of poverty in the Philippines and give these children a chance to live productive and happy lives.
Blogger Websites and links:
http//.www.Gmail.com
harold-nesmith.blogspot.com
www.poverty-in the philippines.com
