Barth Suretsky was wrong!
Posted on August 21, 2007
Filed Under Commentary |
Just a few days ago I recieved a comment from Loreto Santiago on The love for the Philippines post . I was moved so much by, both, the passion and conviction of these words I felt they deserved a post of it’s own.It’s posted here with their permission.
As you read on you will realize these comments deserved a post of their own…what more can I say?
Barth Suretsky says Filipinos have inferiority complex and no national pride?
A respected global research paper based on international surveys says a BIG, RESOUNDING NO! BARTH WAS WRONG!
Before and after Barth wrote his essay, the PHILIPPINES consistently ranked HIGH, even among the HIGHEST, in the world for NATIONAL PRIDE and NATIONAL SUPERIORITY.
The International Journal of Public Opinion Research (Spring 2006) published a global research paper: “National Pride in Cross-National and Temporal Perspective,” based on surveys in 1995-96 and 2003-04, both conducted by the International Social Survey Program, a consortium of survey researchers throughout the world.
The international surveys for National Pride were conducted on two scales:
a. General National Pride (DNP) based on peoples=’s sense of patriotism, nationalism, allegiance and NATIONAL SUPERIORITY, and
b. Domain-Specific National Pride (DSNP) about national pride in the country in 10 specific areas: its democratic system; political influence in the world; economic system; social security; science and technological achievements; sports; arts and literature; military; history; and fair treatment of all groups in society.
National Pride survey results:
1) 1995-96 survey: PHILIPPINES ranked # 6 in GNP and 12 in DSNP for an overall rank of # 9, outranking New Zealand, Spain, Irelan, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Russia and many other countries. USA was # 1 and Austria # 2.
2) 2003-04 survey: PHILIPPINES ranked # 8 in GNP and #7 in DSNP, outranking Israel, Denmark, Ireland, Hungary, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Finland, South Korea, Taiwan and many other countries. USA was # 1 and Venezuela, surprisingly second.
3) On June 26, 2006, the National Opinion Research Center at University of Chicago, Illinois, USA, released a research paper: “National Pride in Specific DOmains.” In the “Overall Rank of Countries on Domain-Specific National Pride,” the PHILIPPINES ranked # 7, ahead of Austria, New Zealand, Great Britain, Spain, France, Sweden, Russia, Japan and many other countries.
Indeed, a big and resounding HURRAH forever for the Filipinos and the PHILIPPINES!
This revelation should definitely and infinitely put an end to the masochistic stupor of some Filipinos who have been submissive and haplessly resigned to Barth’s sadly wrong opinion about brimming Filipino pride and superiority complex now internationally established and recognized.
And here at last is the Wake-Up Call to foreigners and other readers long mesmerized by Barth due to their failure or inability to research the whole truth about the National Pride wonder of Asia!
Sources:
1) Google on “National Pride” and click on “National Pride in Cross- National and Temporal Perspective” or http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/06/060301.nationalpride.pdf,
2) Google on “National Pride” and click on “National Pride in Specific Domains” or http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/060627.pride.pdf
3) International Journal of Public Opinion Research (Spring 2006), pp.127-136
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14 Responses to “Barth Suretsky was wrong!”
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Not mentioned in the post is that the research shows that the Philippines is the only Asian country in the top 9. That means the Philippines and the Filipinos are tops in Asia in National Pride.
The research journal puts the record straight. It only shows that those who put and continue seeking to put the FIlipinos in a bad light in the media, local and international, have a personal agenda the Philippines - a big ax to grind - expectedly the spin-off of a personal experience that did not meet with their personal comfort and expectations.
It is understandable that if a foreigner writes ill of another country, it is simply and naturally because a foreigner is always foreigner wherever he is, and can never see another country objectively, but only subjectively through the prism of his personal values, idiosyncracies and bias. I think that explains Barth Suretsky’s predicament when he set out to write a seeming obituary about other people. With the International Journal research, Barth’s essay turned out to be an obituary of his credibility and bias, yes, also an obituary of the subservient mentality of some Filipinos who saw the Philippines and the Filipinos through Barth’s prism, were unexplainably enthralled, and then did little or nothing to refute Barth’s opinion, much less, to defend their home country’s pride and honor in the eyes of the world via the Internet. After all is said and then, these Filipinos should be back on their feet and smiling again and again. As MLK said, it the truth has set them free at at last.
This looks like another liberation, like Gen. Mac Arthur’s liberation of the Philippines in World War 11. V for victory.
Not mentioned is the International Journal shows that the Philippines is tops in all of Asia for National Pride!
The Journal research sets the record straight. It only shows that there have been some foreigners who have had a personal agenda against the Philippines and/or the Filipinos - a big ax to grind, a spin-off of a sad personal experience perhaps.
Another way to understand Barth Suretsky in writing his opinion (hopelessly without benefit of authoritative research to back up his concepts and conclusions) is that a foreigner is always a foreigner, wherever he may be, with his own hand-carried personal values, idiosyncrasies and biases at war with those of a certain people or country different in many ways from his own country. Through that narrow prism, he views and writes what he views about other people or another country. The tragedy is the undeserved attention it gets from readers, especially those who do not bother to think critically of what they read. The aggravation is that it is all over the media - until somebody comes along to set the record straight for all to see.
Now, after all is said and done, the Journal research turns Barth’s essay about lack of Filipino Pride and inferiority complex into a two-fold obituary: it is the obituary for his credibility about the matter, and also, the obituary for the subservient mentality of some Filipinos and readers who had agreed with him or done nothing by way of comment in defense of their home country. They had fallen into a trap of despair and a feeling of haplessness over the death sentence pronounced by Barth’s essay on their national pride. They have been rescued by the Journal Research. And now, they’re back on their feet, smiling again and again, because as MLK said it, the truth has set them FREE AT LAST!
I think there is a big difference between a poll and real life evidence.
All the evidence that Barth Suretsky put forth cannot be brushed aside.
Having lived in the Philippines part time for the past 6 years, I too have noticed
what Barth Suretsky writes about. Also knowing Filipinos, I would not put much
faith into getting “unbiased” answers to the poll questions.
Many facts are hard to explain away. Of course it’s easy now to say Barth is all
wrong in his views because some poll contradicts the real life facts that are there
for any one willing to look. Look at some older pictures of Manila, you will see
a very clean vibrant city, once called the Pearl of the Orient.
Look now, and you will see a drab dirty city, over-flowing with people and a failing infrastructure. Streets that are grid-locked for hours, sidewalks blocked by vendors and squatters.
It seems that people want facts to back up observations. Its not hard to find many
facts that put the Philippines in a bad light.
Fact: Philippines ranked 143rd (out of 168) in Press Freedom Index.
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639
Fact: The Philippines ranks 126th out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s
Corruption Perceptions Index for 2006.
http://www.transparency.org/content/download/10825/92857/version/1/file/CPI_2006_presskit_eng.pdf
Fact: In 2003, almost 23.8 million people lived below the Philippines’ poverty threshold.
This represents 24 per cent of Philippine families and 30 per cent of the population.
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/country.cfm?CountryID=31
Although Barth did not present any hard facts to back up his observations, I feel
none are needed for such glaring problems that are plaguing the Philippines. To turn
a blind eye can only accelerate the growing problems that most Filipinos can see but
feel almost helpless to tackle and solve.
I do not mean to attack or present a negative view of the Philippines, but the facts
speak a lot louder than any poll can. It is time that all Filipinos recognize that their
country is REALLY in dire straits, and join together and do something positive to
fix the problems that seem to grow worse each day.
Sitting back and ignoring the real life problems because some poll says that all is
fine in paradise does not show a true love for one’s country.
Mabuhay to Filipino national pride!
It’s been hours (it might take days) for me struggling to shun and shrug off the spectacle of above commentator’s appearing so envious of the Philippines’ high ranking in the world (highest in Asia!) in terms of National Pride and Superiority Complex that he took over from where Barth left off.
His comments about press freedom, etc. are miserably off-tangent because they do not address the very issue raised by Barth about national pride and inferiority complex and addressed by the International Research Journal and other researchers. Apples is the issue and he is talking Oranges. Quite frankly, he is confusing the issues. One can be pretty sure that he would be changing his mind about his faster- than- light- rush to the same conclusions as Barth’s - if he can only study simple logic. For example, his focus is Manila which is not the entire Philippines. Are the fallacies of overgeneralization and non siquitur, familiar to him? Apparently not. Thus, his credibility suffers and limps. Perhaps he could confess what country is he from and maybe we could cite one city or two, if not more, which look worse than the “drab dirty city” of Manila. (We are still saddened by the unending tragic accounts of New Orleans.) What about the “grid-locked streets” of Rome, or the grid-locked (altho potholeless) freeways” in Southern California like 91 and 405, to mention a few? How about the street islands and street intersections in some American cities pockmarked with beggars, some Vietnam veterans (a shame!), with cardboard placards mutely begging for money? The homeless in the parks in those cities? The carton or cardboard makeshift tent of squatters under bridges in those cities? There are other cities in the world even worse than Manila. Why is he singling out Manila? And snubbing Makati City, for instance? Considering his transparent anti-Filpino bias and animosity, one would not wonder if you he’s been declared persona-non-grata and barred from the showindow of Makati City, (among other showindows in the Philippines) which you and Barth inexplicably brushed aside. The commentator in question unwittingly invites worse, if not the worst, comparisons by citing one “drab dirty city” which is only minimal when compared to other more unfortunate cities. It flashes the Imax of his negative view.
He does ” mean to attack …or present a negative view of the Philippines”? Then he does not mean what he says! Or is he talking with tongue- in- cheek or as some Sioux or Apaches victimized by treaty violations in yesteryears, said: with “forked tongue”? Ugh!
Nobody is turning a blind eye or deaf eye on Filipino problems just as one should not turn a blind eye on problems in other countries. That is a given fact. So sophomoric to discuss, nay much too elementary. But to say with a blind eye that Filpinos have inferiority complex or no national pride when a wealth of facts and research worldwide says otherwise is another matter . His comment is trying in vain to make a big splash in readers’ minds to change the issue 180 degrees away from it and divert attention from it to another issue about corruption and press freedom (USA ranked 53 and 118, Singapore lower at 146 and Barth’s favorite - Vietnam at 155). Repeat, that’s another issue.
The common sense art of discussion says: Argue the issue and not matters extraneous to it. One can’t be playing the unimpeachable International Journal research findings over and over again like a broken record every time a guy the commentator in question repeats Barth’s opinion or Barth’s grounds for it. Readers have had enough already. They want fresh air, and not the gloom or blight or the negative side of other people which he doesn’t seem to be able to disabuse his mind of - the well-researched facts and eventual truth notwithstanding.
It would be nice if the commentator makes a full-blown discussion of his cryptic remarks accompanied by website references. That way the issues of press freedom (also based on “polls”) and corruption can shed light on whether he is worthy of credence.
Pride is the name of an emotion which refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, nation or object that one identifies with.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride Notice the word “accomplishments”?
Yes one can say they have pride in being a filipino, but I believe that actions speak louder. Pride is not a passive emotion, it is displayed through actions. If I have pride in my house, I would keep it in top notch repair, keep the area clean and presentable, and be proud to say “this is my house”
If I have “national pride”, then the same logic would apply. I would want my country to do it’s best in anything that it undertook, and be the envy of the rest of the world.The aftermath mess of Katrina is a black eye on the USA, because it showed the world that the USA can not even take care of it’s own. In this instance, I would have to say, I am not proud of the actions taken or not taken.
I agree with Candida, that I may have confused the issues.She says back up your statements with facts, I say the same.
A poll is far from “facts”. It is just what people feel, it is not always a true indicator.
So the question becomes, what tangible items would show pride in one’s self or country? I agree again, that my examples were poor and off target.I do apologize and stand corrected.
So to put this to rest, please show me the facts that prove the Philippines has the highest National Pride and Superiority Complex in asia.
To answer Lloyd’s last concern re facts that prove the Philippines has the highest National Pride and Superiority Complex in Asia, I am doing it NOT from the subjective recesses of my mind NOT from the cocoon of foreigners especially those with negative outlook all if not most, of the time, NOT from the hip in the manner of cowboys Draw! BUT from authoritative research findings which Lloyd appears helpless to understand why they’re all over the world from prestigious institutions at that.
The Philippines’ preeminence in Asia can be shown by the rankings published in the aforesaid International Journal and the University of Chicago NORC, to wit:
1995-96 survey - 2003-04 2006[DSNP]
1. Austria (GNP) 1. USA tied w/ 1. USA
Ireland (DSNP) Venezuela
2. USA 2. Venezuela
3. Australia[GNP] 3. Australia 3. Ireland
Austria[DSNP]
4. Hungary[GNP] 4. Austria 4. South Africa
NZealand[DSNP]
5. Canada 5. South Africa 5. Australia
6. PHILIPPINES[GNP] 6. Canada 6. Canada
Bulgaria [DSNP]
7. NZealand[GNP] 7. Chile 7. PHILIPPINES
8. Japan[GNP] 8. New Zealand 8. Austria
Gr. Britain[DSNP]
9. Ireland[GNP] 9. PHILIPPINES 9. N Zealand
Japan[DSNP]
10. Norway[GNP] 10. Israel 10. Chile
Japan[DSNP]
11. Slovenia[GNP] 11. Denmark 11. Gr. Britain
Russia[DSNP] & so on down and so forth..
the line…. (Japan in 18th
12. PHILIPPINES (Japan in 18th S. Korea 31st)
[DSNP] S. Korea 22nd)
Norway[GNP]
and so on down the line….
So, the Philippines was tops in Asia from 2003 - 2006
for NP and SC, with Japan and S. Korea and other Asian countries lagging behind. Again, this is not my opinion, but the unimpeached research verdict of prestigious research organizations in the world. If Lloyd and his kind disagrees from the bosom of their personal values and conspicuous bias against the Philippines, my eternal regrets to them. Honest.
Candida,
I have been corresponding with Lloyd off and on for a couple of years now, and I am not trying to speak for him. However, I want to say something on his behalf.
Lloyd is probably the most intelligent and articulate person I have ever had the opportunity to exchange ideas with when it comes to the subject of The Philippines from a foreigner’s perspective. He spends more time in The Philippines than most balikbayans could or would. He has an ongoing project to improve the lives of his family in The Philippines and deeply cares for the country and it’s people. Just because he doesn’t ignore the facts, doesn’t mean that he is jaded.
I have not met Lloyd in person. I missed him by 24 hours last time we were both going through Manila, however my wife has had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife.
Don,
Great subject matter and content lately!
Chris,
I have to agree with you about Sir Lloyd…
He does have a good heart for the Filipino people…just as much as I think the other commenters on the Barth Suretsky subject.
We all have one thing In common…we love the Philippines…and as Expats…we love our filipina wives and filipina girlfriends.
The interesting thing about this whole thread is a good Filipino friend forwarded the original article to me and he agreed with Barth Suretsky to a great degree.
Unfortunately, some of us always listen to foreigners to tell our story. But here’s one story that might provide some perspective on the writer from Virtual Asia news:
“Last August 29, security personnel of the Grand View Hotel in Ermita, Manila found the body of Barth Suretsky, a 65-year-old American-Canadian, in his room. Suretsky, a retired teacher from New Jersey, had been staying in the country since he retired from his teaching job in 1998. The victim was found lying on the floor with a nylon cord looped around his neck. His body bore stabwounds. Suretsky was among those who had reportedly invited young boys to his room.”
So much for this foreigner who loves Filipinos… in another way. Barth Suretsky is an unusual name. This writer might be the same one that was found dead in the news report. His reported year of retirement coincides with his staying in the Philippines permanently. Or another twist on this is, “Barth Suretsky” can be a pseudonym for a writer getting a kick about writing on what’s wrong with the Filipinos. If you love the article, just remember it could have been written by a pedophile, who with his twisted mind concocted generalizations about a people he also exploited.
but filipinos must admit that there is some (if not all) truth to what he (suretsky) wrote.
the article above focuses a bit much on what “pride” means. sure, one can argue about semantics but the fact is that the problems about filipino people that suretsky had objectively pointed out REALLY DO EXIST. and to pick on semantics is just putting attention away from the bigger message of his article.
Barth was right in saying that Filipinos have an inferiority complex and very little national pride. The problem was that he wasn’t able to dig deep enough into how the society worked.
Filipinos only show these traits when among fellow Filipinos, and usually only when they’re at home in the Philippines. In any other scenario, they would probably fight anyone who questions their nationalistic values to the death.
The truth is that Filipinos take too many things (including their own country and their fellows) for granted.
A parallel discussion exists in how the hospitality of Filipinos (known the world-over) works. Filipinos have been known to be very gracious to foreigners, but not fellow Filipinos. Life-and-death and similar situations aside, normally, a Filipino would just usually ignore a fellow Filipino.
@BERDUGO
Apparently, that is the same Barth Suretsky. I does not matter, however, if he was a pedophile or not. His personal life may be questionable, but the logic he has put forth isn’t. It’s just flawed.
As a side note a curious side effect to this particular Filipino trait though is that when separated from their homeland and their fellows a Filipino will usually end up in a journey of self-discovery.