COLONIAL MENTALITY OF PINOYS

Annalynn V.

"Ang pagtanaw sa mga bagay na mula sa mga mata ng dayuhan at madalas na pagbatikos sa mga gawang sariling Pilipino." - Luis Marasigan ( Balik Tanaw Sa Kasaysayan )

We have been enslaved, and we've been released. Yet, we do not realize it. Blindly we have engulfed ourselves by the occidental fashion. And, thus, we believe to be higher than the others. Am I right? Is being a descendant of the Malay Nation not worthy that we prefer what comes elsewhere?

To me Colonial Mentality is when a colonized territory sees themselves in the eyes of the colonizer. The colonizer obviously doesn't like the colonized, therefore, the colonized will also hate themselves. European colonized countries have shown self- destructive traits. Sad to say that we Pinoys have one of the worst cases. I truly believe that colonization is no longer the problem. The problem is the White Supremacy that we Pilipinos have continued to perpetrate. We seem to have long forgotten that we are no longer under the Spanish regime nor under the American control. Basically we are still living under the Slave Mentality. Due to slavery (rape, physical, mental and emotional) we are now unequally divided. You had the natives (Negritos, Igorots, Balugas and other tribes), you have the Mestizos. Now a days, we have the whiter Pilipinos, and the darker indigenous people in the lower end of the social and economic ladder.

How did we get this awful mentality? As many already know, our forefathers were brutally forced to convert into Christianity by the Spaniards. According to a Chapter in my History Class in Centro Escolar University entitled "Cruz at Espada" We were forced to believe that our own native way of life was sinful. The Contquistadores wanted to civilized us, as to what they refer to as Savages. We were forced to believe that white is good and black is bad. So, the darker your skin color was the more susceptible you are to Evil and Sin (which in those days we were very dark). The closer you were to being white the better. They taught us that being white made you closer to God because of their fraudulent portrayal of Jesus as a White Man. We started to believe that we were sinners because of what we were taught.

We've carried this mentality for centuries. Not a lot of us notice it because we've gotten used to it. It has become the Norm. This certain mentality works subconsciously and subliminally. It's been implemented in our brains on the day we were born. It has affected our lives economically, spiritually, mentally, morally, physically and emotionally. We recent discrimination here in America because of the unpleasant situations it puts us, yet, we are more prejudice against our own kind or should I say against the reality in us. We tend to neglect or sometimes be ashamed of our Negritos, Indios, Igorots ancestry. We say we have Spanish in us, but in reality, only our names were changed, not necessarily our looks and origin.

As far as Pilipinos in Amreica. I feel that most of us struggle to be white. Parents stressed the English language and neglect to teach their children their native language or dialects. Living here for 14 years made me notice that many second generation Pilipinos are ignorant about our folklores, dance, clothings, songs and history. It seems like in order for Pilipinos to be successful they sacrifice sharing their culture to their children. Our society is becoming color blind, Pilipinos left in identity crisis: Not fully Pilipino/Not fully American. I am only hoping that the obsession of being white will stop within us, adult population for we will all remain w/ nothing but inferiority complex that is eventually passed down to our children. Being brown skinned "Kayumangi", w/ shiny dark hair and dark brown eyes is equally as beautiful as fair skin, blue eyes and blond hair. I can only hope that we could be strong enough to be proud of who we are, Pango or Matangos ang ilong. Although there's a lot of us tend to relive the biased ways from our slavery era, there are many Pinoys who live their lives free from it.

Have you ever noticed?

• Most celebrities are mestizos and mestizas
• Dark actors and actresses are used only in comical situations. They are always made fun of because they still show the reality in our heritage that we seem to have thrown into oblivion.
• So many Pilipinos especially women used skin lightning products just to be white. It's been an obsession of many, rather than being beautiful kayumanggi.
• Rich Pinoys are mestizas and mestizos.
• All pictures and altars of Jesus Christ are white even have blue eyes. Most of us have hanging on our walls.
• Most Pinoys are scared to get dark.
• Most maids and low income laborers are dark.
• You never see pictures of Asian or African angels. Are there no Pilipinos, Japanese, Indians, Indonesians, Chinese or African people in Heaven?

Isn't it about time for us to wake up and teach our children about our real history and where we really came from instead of filling them the same lies we've been fed for centuries?