The Filipino Psyche

Here's an interesting article by Conrado De Quiros of The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

He write about watching an interview of Manny Pacquiao and how confident Manny is even though he is being interviewed in English and Manny is not really that fluent in English.

He talks about how some may see this as being arrogrant, but it's actually self confidence.

Pacquiao has sometimes been seen, at least locally, as being too self-assured to the point of cockiness, but I don’t know that that is necessarily bad. Certainly, I don’t know that he doesn’t need it. You can’t get far without those levels of self-assurance, or cockiness, particularly when facing foes in the ring who look like executioners. Wrestling of course has driven the idea to satirical or self-parodying levels. But you need to feel bigger, better, larger-than-life to not be intimidated.

He also talks about how some Filipinos boxers lose when fighting abroad because their sense of inferiority made them lose.

I’ve often wondered if that is not Pacquiao’s biggest strength. Of course he is vastly talented; self-assurance alone will get you nowhere. But I’ve also seen deeply talented athletes fall by the wayside. Many Filipino boxers lose while fighting abroad because they are not just fighting one enemy but several enemies. Quite apart from their foes, they are fighting a hostile crowd, an alien culture (including an alien language), themselves. Or their shyness, their sense of inferiority, the reflex of “knowing their place” that has been drummed into them their whole lives.

It's interesting how he writes "knowing their place". Because that is exactly how Filipinos are sometimes treated. Especially by those who are in power.

So the question is, why doesn't anyone stand up to this? Has the Filipino been dragged down so much for so long that they don't know any better? That they have no idea that they can do better in the future? Are they just content to live out the rest of their lives based on their current status?

Which raises an interesting point: Success does build confidence, as you can see from Pacquiao today—he is more confident than ever. But isn’t the opposite true as well? Doesn’t confidence also produce success?

You have to wonder on a broader plane if that is not the thing that has held us back from making the kind of giant steps Pacquiao has. The culture can be very cruel. Elsewhere in the world, kids are taught to be assertive, to speak their mind, to not take abuse. Here, we are taught to be obedient, to hold our tongue, to grin and bear it. Elsewhere, people who try to learn another language, or attempt to speak it in conversation, however haltingly, are thought of as doing a valiant thing. Here people who do the same thing—particularly in the province—are thought of as making fools of themselves. Parochial schools are not called that for nothing.

I have a friend who was thought of being aggressive and boastful by his classmates. Not surprisingly, he made it big in America.

Nobody is relegated to their current status in life. Everybody has an equal opportunity to better their lot in life. We are all given the same 24 hours in a day. Some may have more money than others, but money is not always the answer to success in life. Your attitude and outlook is the main driving force to your success.

Of course there’s a level at which frankness becomes bluntness, assertion becomes abrasiveness, outspokenness becomes loudness. You get a lot of that in US airports, a stunning contrast with Narita where the personnel are awesomely polite but just as awesomely efficient. But just as well there is a level where obedience becomes submissiveness, respect for authority becomes mindlessness, and patience is no longer a virtue. Certainly they can stand in the way of the dogged pursuit of greater goals, or giant dreams. Call Pacquiao presumptuous, call Pacquiao outrageous, call Pacquiao cocky, but you kind of thank heaven too that he is.

You can be assertive without being arrogant, you can be frank without being abrasive. You can be a success without stepping on someone else is shoes. If Manny Pacquiao can teach us something, it is to be confident but humble, be disciplined but have fun, be serious when needed, hard work pays.