Imperyalismo

Although it has been less than a week since we submitted our last blogs a lot has happened since then. Let us recap, mostly for my own sake to have a quick overview. On Saturday we spent about 9 hours (some of us 12) taking in an educational discussion from the group Anakbayan which consisted of a general history as well as come vital facts on the condition of the Philippines and some potential action to curb problems with said condition. I would like to later link what we heard from them with other things from this week. On Saturday we made our way to Subic navy base and to spend time with some of our group leader's family in Olongapo. The following day, Monday, we made our way out of campus to observe those opposed to current Philippine president, Aquino, as he gave his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA). Then came Tuesday and our crew made our way to our last encounter with our professor over these last four weeks, Dr. Jose, as he participated in a symposium on the state of the Philippine military. Now it is Wednesday and I am (obviously) beginning my blog.

Every week our readings manage to be relevant and connected to things we do and encounter here, but I felt that there were some particularly strong connections that I witnessed within the last week or so. One of my long time friends back home is a Filipino American and now that I am here and learning things I am retrospectively thinking of him and perhaps his potential colonial mentality. Until this trip I had not dove very often into any very deep thinking about the experience of different minority groups. All my time hanging out with my friend I always knew that he was Filipino but never really pried into it too much, while he did not particularly open up about it either. In hindsight I wonder if he would fall under the category of "assimilation" according to David and Okazaki's article. They state that assimilation is, "high identification with the dominant culture and low identification with the heritage culture". Thinking about my experiences with him now I wonder if this was the case for him. I remember that he was very much on the down low about speaking Tagalog. I knew that he knew it but whenever I asked him about it he was always very shy about it and whenever he would speak it on the phone to his family I remember him being fairly quiet about it. He is a modest guy so I am not sure how much of it is that but I would guess that now looking back it may have had something to do with colonial mentality. I was very naive to any of these types of thoughts at the time but coming here and thinking about it now really makes me want to talk to him more about how he feels and what he thinks about the things we are learning about. For such a good friend I realize now that I may have been missing out on a big part of him. Although I believe this reading pertains mostly to Filipinos in the states, there is of course a lot to observe here in the Philippines regarding colonial mentality as well. One thing that really comes to mind is this guy Santy that we met when we visited Ateneo college. He was a smart kid that spoke great English but with, naturally, a Filipino accent. My classmates and I were a bit blown away when we learned that he did not know Tagalog. Even here in the Philippines I guess that would still qualify, according to David and Okazaki, as a sad case of assimilation. I was seriously bummed to hear that from him. He seemed like he wished that he had learned it. Unfortunately, I suppose it would be at a school like Ateneo, which is definitely "upper class" so to speak, that you would find a case like this. This school seems to be where the money is and for the most part it appears that in this country having money requires being part of the "elite" and unfortunately that is equated with being as Americanized. I feel that it would be much more difficult to find a case like that here at U.P. which is more of a school for the people, I feel.

This last weekend started with our group taking a class from the students from Anakbayan, a youth movement looking to reform the Philippines' policies. We had met with them once before while here at U.P. and gotten a basic rundown on the social situation here, which is not really a good one. They told us then that almost all of the wealth here is in the hands of 1% of the population and explained the terrible ways workers are treated in this country. Having gone to this meeting we figured we knew more or less what to expect from our class this past weekend. And from the start through most of it, it was essentially a deeper look at what we had heard before as well as a bit of a history lesson pertaining to the Philippines. The end of the session though was the part where they proposed their ideas for a solution to all of the problems that we had just learned about over the previous few hours. What I think we were all surprised to hear was that their solution was more or less communism. It was extremely interesting to hear what they had to say and also to gauge my classmates reactions. Americans have been indoctrinated to cringe at the word communism so it was kind of step out of the norm to hear their ideas. I kept an open mind and I honestly think that based on what I have heard from them a communal style of government may be a legitimate solution to the way this country is currently running, although I do not know nearly enough to make an informed decision on the matter. Reiterating what we had heard from Anakbayan I noticed in Viola's article from this weeks readings, Hip Hop and Critical Revolutionary Pedagogy that the idea of the ruling 1% was a common fact. Viola mentioned that the "overseas Filipino workers keep the Phillipines economy afloat and support the luxury and privilege of less than 1%". This concept of the ruling minority is a constant and very real theme. Although it is not all that different in the states it is way more urgent and real over here. The corruption is much more obvious and oppressive in the Philippines and a revolutionary uprising, which is what Anakbayan proposes, may be the only way to make a change out here. Part of the problem, as we have been learning from different sources, is the educational system. I had not really thought about how obviously essential the educational system is for the powers that be to keep everyone in their place. And it is no conspiracy theory as Viola notes. He quotes the former World Bank president as saying, "effective elementary education…helps make the labor force more easily trainable and mobile". Although this was said in reference to the U.S., it is just as real in the Philippines, especially considering America has their hand in education here as well. Hearing things like this makes it easy to see why a group like Anakbayan is willing to go to such extreme measures to ensure better lives for the Filipino people. This idea of the colonial mentality also comes up in the article Pappy's House by Diaz. The author tells us how he and his family had moved to Guam as an escape of sorts from the Philippines. It is sad to hear that although they were not in the U.S. per se, he and his family, "would learn to quickly control, if not disguise, [their] Pinoy accents" which is a perfect example of David and Okazaki's idea of assimilation. Our entire trip has been filled with examples of America's direct and indirect oppression of Filipinos. Although this could be just another example to add to the heap, each one is it's own uniquely depressing example of the effects of U.S. imperialism.

On Monday as I said we observed a SONA protest in Quezon City. I found it interesting, although I suppose not surprising, that first of all the rallies were separated into pro and anti groups, and also that the anti gathering was forced to convene much further from where the president actually was than the pro people. In the end I do not think it mattered because there were plenty of people at the opposing rally and I am sure that their voices were noticed. This is the first time I have ever attended any sort of political rally so it was really intense taking it all in. Although I have not attended anything like this back home I feel like this one was a bit more intense than it would have been in the states. One thing that I am sure stood out to all of us that attended was that the people burned a ten to fifteen foot effigy of president Aquino. The burning was met with lots of cheers and people with flags started running circles around the fire in an intense, ritualistic manner. I do not know too much about the details of Aquino's administration so I was not involved in protesting but it was really overwhelming seeing how many people were so strongly and openly opposed to him. Anakbayan was of course there as well. As snuffing out U.S. imperialism is a huge part of their campaign it should have been no surprise that it was a recurring theme at the event. Even when folks were shouting in Tagalog, "imperyalismo" still rang loud and clear. Just like Diaz's "Pappy", this word seems to transcend nationality. Being an American, albeit not the proudest one, it was kind of powerful to see that so many Filipinos see our country as the root of their problems and sadly, I think they might be right.