Filipino – It’s Not Where You Are But Who You Are
There is nothing wrong in one’s adapting certain practices of other country especially if the situation calls for it. In fact, it’s expected for a Filipino to show respect to a host county for which he/she is a foreigner by doing what is customary to that country. On the other hand as I put it, only to “certain†practices as long as you’re comfortable of doing it. In doing so, one must draw the line between adapting and imitating. The former is appropriate but the latter is disgusting especially if it is unbefitting. The problem begins when one’s adaptation of foreign practices repulses the culture for which he or she was raised and much more; if such adaptation is highly uncalled for. Perhaps, the question should be rephrased by: “When and when not to adapt?â€
Gener,
Welcome to TB, I don't think I've commented on your post yet. You are correct, we are Filipino no matter where we go, it's who we are. And I am still on my journey in discovering what does "Filipino" really mean. Outside the Philippines, we are reminded of our Filipinoness internally---within our family network, or externally---through racial identification, like the US (e.g. oh! you're Filipino? i love your food, your people are so funny...or I have a Filipino wife)
On the subject of Retention vs. Adaptation vs. Imitation, let's look at a specific, practical case. I am the offspring of our Filipino migrants, my mother, who raised me to be highly adaptable to the US. I believed she instilled in me the Filipino trait of cherishing the value of education, the ability to look after my family, and a determined Faith in God. But, she didn't teach me Visaya because she was worried it would conflict with my English studies. Would that make her pathetic? Was that a conscious decision to be indignant to her roots of being a Filipina?
My answer is she followed practicality, and she could have logically assessed, if my children are not going to be speaking Visaya, they don't have to learn because our family can already communicate in English.
Culture and identity if not practiced daily, will one day die out. When we talk about adaptability, I believe it is unproductive to look at culture as extremes, because there is no pure culture (but there is pure ideaology). I do believe, like other Anthropologist, there are a range of practicalities immigrants do when they enter a country, they can either:
1. isolate themselves: they have no contact with host country due to linguistic, cultural barriers
2. acculturate, when they have shared contact with host and immigrant community and mutually exchange cultural practices, or
3. purely assimilate, where they completely cut off immigrant origins and practice host country values
And if I play out your logic, the process of imitating is equal to a process of uncritically assimilating to one's host country. That, I agree.
Is the following example of "imitating"? A Filipino migrant in order to have a voice in the US, registers to vote. There is a ballot initiative to support America's War on Terror, she will be viewed unpatriotic if she does not vote for it. Is she less Filipina if she supports a US-Foreign Terrorism policy that gives more manpower to support GMA's raid on local labor unions in the Philippines?
With love,
-Leo
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=17384.0
Topic: Filipino – It’s Not Where You Are But Who You Are (Read 1822 times)