As a general rule, I prefer dealing with Pinoys than with non-Pinoys. I communicate better, make interpersonal connections more quickly and generally just feel more comfortable dealing with Pinoys.
But there are some Pinoys (and I hate to say this, but these ones are usually those who grew up with provincial backgrounds -- sorry, Mom!) who would take the word of a foreigner over that of a fellow Filipino.
And I think that's sad.
I think it has to do with this whole colonial mentality BS. (I think if you think this way you are either old or uneducated). I'll be the first to admit that most Filipinos are strictly from hunger and find virtue in corruption, but I think Filipinos are a kind and sturdy bunch. And we shouldn't feel bad for being who we are and neither should we look up to other races as being superior. Yes, the French are better looking and better educated, but do they bathe regularly? Do they know what a tabo is?
Where am I going with all this (and I know, I've been rambling).... You see I have this client. She's Filipino, born and bred in one of our southern provinces, and she thinks that because she is a lawyer she is smarter than everyone (this is SO provincial) and because she hired foreign counsel, she should talk to a foreigner. I have never experienced this form of "reverse" discrimination before dealing with this woman. And to be honest, I find it bizarre.
She would rather speak to one of my foreign collegues than to me. As if what I just told her was any different. We Pinoys are staffed on deals in the Philippines precisely because we are of "the same kind" and we should, technically, work more efficiently. But sometimes staffing Pinoys on Philippine deals is counter productive.
And that's sad.
1 comment:
That's sad indeed, Jona. I wonder why she deliberately snubbed you -- to think that you're both Pinoys and both lawyers. I guess we can attribute this to crab mentality?
I blogged once about this Filipino classmate of mine in my 2005 French language course here in Switzerland (I deleted the post later on). This former classmate has been living in Switzerland for over 25 years now, and speaks the local languages (Swiss German, High German, and French) without effort. Being Pinoy, I naturally warmed to her right away -- only to be snubbed later on. She preferred talking to my Swiss classmates and teacher -- in Swiss German (she said she had forgotten her Tagalog). And yes, when asked about her nationality (as part of a speaking exercise), she said she's Swiss (well, she does have a Swiss passport, so I guess that was the right answer). But still....
My teacher and classmates wondered why she would avoid me like I have AIDS or something. I guess they couldn't understand it why she preferred hanging out with them than with me during break time.
It's a sad, sad thing.
P.S. I have other not-so-pleasant encounters with Pinoys here.
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