(This is an older article from 2010 in Antipinoy.com that later disappeared after the site was revamped. I reprint it here.)
Lately I happened upon a page with the title Imperalismo ng Pilipinas. The idea struck me as funny. The Philippine Empire? Now many might ask what’s wrong with that? I would ask, I thought Filipinos hated imperialism? You have American, Spanish and corporate imperialism, but then you want Filipino Imperialism? That would constitute a great deal of hypocrisy.
There are other ways Filipino Imperialism rears its ugly head.
The “I Love You” virus was talked about on this video. And yet in the comments thread, we’ll see Filipinos praising the maker of the virus and saying they’re even proud that he is a Filipino! This is one of the most shameful things our countrymen can do – praising a Filipino who has brought harm to the world.
Now here’s something else quoted by commenter Homer from some emo Fil-Am posts:
AYON SA PANUNURI NG MGA BANYAGANG AMERIKANO, KAPAG NAHAHALUAN NG DUGONG PINOY ANUMANG LAHI, ITO AY NAGIGING “SUPER”… TAYO AY MAGSAYA KASI ANG DUGONG PINOY ANG DAHILAN KUNG BAKIT MAYROONG LINCECUM NA PINAKAMAGALING SA LARONG BASEBALL NA INEMBENTO NG ISANG PINOY!!!!!
MABUHAY ANG DUGONG PINOY!!! NAIINGIT NANAMAN ANG MGA IBANG LAHI NA HINDI MAPANTAYAN ANG “GALING NG PINOY”… TAYO AY IPINAGPALA NG TALINO, AT LAKAS NA WALANG KAPANTAY… MERON TAYONG MANNY, TIMMY, AT KOBE NA MAY LAHI RING PINOY!!! MABUHAY!!!!
Probably a troll, but it is still utterly disturbing. Filipino blood is superior to other races? And I thought Nazism was dead.
Glory Days
Another the aspect of this issue is that some “Filipino Imperialists” see the pre-Marcos era as a “glorious era” that should be revived. While it’s true that the country was doing better during this time compared to their Asian neighbors, I would rather not dwell on this “glorious era.” I am not denying that things got worse after this time. Perhaps some people use this nostalgia in fantasizing taking over other countries or “colonizing” them, or perhaps going to those countries and saying “we're the tops in Asia! Show us some respect!” (as if Filipinos aren't doing that already).
But my question is: why are Filipinos so fascinated with grandeur and glory? Isn’t it enough to just have a country wherein the system and culture work properly?
This probably fits with how Benign0 described dominant Filipino culture, wherein Filipinos “strive to assert class dominance over the other.” Filipinos want superiority over others – even among themselves. While this is common in any culture, Filipinos tend to exhibit this attitude in the most inappropriate circumstances, such as when Pacquiao goes on a fight or when going defensive after the Bus Hostage Crisis. Of course, there's the nonsense I quoted above.
But the problem is there: Filipinos are trying to find reasons to be arrogant. It could related to the country's being “the sick man of Asia.” After all, the poorer one is, the more likely that person will join gangs or bandwagons that try to effect being a “siga” or bully. Bring that up to the national scale – you know what I mean.
To quote fellow blogger Bong V: "we are too hooked on looking for a glorious past to cover a miserable present - when we ought to be looking how to create a better future out of this hellish present."
Where Imperialism Comes From
As I explained in several articles, our style of “Pinoy Pride” is the result of a propaganda-ridden educational system and manipulative mass media. As I stated in my article on colonial mentality, it along with many other concoctions of media to keep the Filipinos in artificial euphoria and arrest any moves for systemic change. Thus, our corrupt elite (elite triad article), with control over media, education and other factors, puff up the heads of our countrymen to distract them with prideful pursuits as part of this roadblock. Filipinos have long been held prisoner with emocratic nonsense.
Do we really need to be the greatest in the world, even if that concept of “greatest in the world” has proven to be a bad pursuit and mere media fluff? Again, it seems to reflect the desire of dominance over others.
This is the kind of attitude I believe our oligarchs have. They seem obsessed with having power over others and controlling them, in order to feel like “the greatest.” And many poor Filipinos see them and wish, “I want to be like that.” But it is clearly a corrupt pursuit. This is an attitude we need to correct in our country’s culture.
I believe that the bad traits of Filipino certainly seem to be more dominant than the good ones. Given this, should Filipinos be trusted to control others? Thus, we don't deserve to have an empire and control others if we cannot control ourselves.
This fascination with Philippine imperialism is yet another symptom of our economic as well as cultural poverty. It's time to solve this poverty so that people will truly feel good about their lives instead of resorting to delusions for artificial euphoria.
Food for Thought
People should realize is we are not in a superiority or popularity contest against other countries and cultures. That is so B.C. in attitude. The world is one global village. There is no race, only one race, the human race. Superiority contests are the ideas of Nazis and idiots like Pol Pot. We should resist media efforts to puff up our heads, insinuate us with outdated ideas and distract us from issues. Let us instead move on with systemic and cultural change.
This fascination with imperialism is another sign, aside from our domination by one church and feudal system of agricultural land control, that puts our country in the Medieval ages. The idea of imperialism, or taking over other countries in some way, is an outdated idea that these deluded “imperialists” still hold onto. Imperialism is a fad of the 19th century. This is the 21st century, a time of global cooperation and unity.
Here's more food for thought for “pride” fanatics: does one need to be proud to be happy?
For those who want to relive the “glory days:” The past is the past. No matter how beautiful the past is, we can never go back to it. The one thing we can try is to make something better in the future.
Another thought: Probably having an empire is thought of as evil by many today. So why are these Filipino Imperialists wishing for it? So they are basically wishing for something that is now seen as unethical in today's world?
To wish for an empire is the wrong goal. Screw the Empire of the Philippines. Let’s just fix our broken country and just make it one truly worth living in.
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