Knowing that Christmas is just around the corner, I felt like writing this entry to get their attention. There's always the feeling of excitement for Christmas and New Year but there's also that feeling of anxiety. In a country where impunity is the norm, Christmas and New Year are also occasions where many Filipinos tend to invoke their "right to impunity" in more than one level. In the midst of a nation where a lot of people just loves to break guidelines then you should really expect more people to to say, "Come on, it's Christmas. Can't you let it slide?". The statement is also used whenever people want to supposedly reconcile with somebody on Christmas but mistreat the person for the rest of the year.
Sure, it's time for gifts and celebration, it's time for Christmas sales, it's time for year end bonuses, time for office Christmas parties but there's also anxiety for many people. The anxiety can take place of the thought of the palibre crowd who want a blowout while they contribute to nothing, children will be acting like whiny brats because they want this and and they want that, there will be lots of people who will cheat, steal and/and rob others because of the year end bonuses to support their extravagant lifestyle, an OFW may be experiencing the pain of them working abroad while their relatives waste all their money, people with their reckless use of firecrackers, or you can also think of people who party loudly all night. When they say it's more fun in in the Philippines, I would say, "Well for them anyway but not for every law abiding Pinoy."
When it comes to the use of one's Pinoy identity to justify one's blunder, it can also be applied to Christmas and New Year celebrations. Many Filipinos have that fiesta mentality stuck in their heads. I have nothing against celebrations but against how some people do their celebrations. The worst time to sleep or to be sick that you need lots of sleep might be on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Many Filipinos have no sense of respect when it comes to them having parties during those evenings. A dinner party is not enough for many of them because they still want to have all that loud music. Instead of just having the music loud enough for the guests and low enough not to disturb the neighbor - they choose to turn it up and up. When you tell them, "Will you please turn down the music?" they are most likely to tell you on more than one occasion they're not turning the volume down even when it's driving you crazy. What's worse is that they can party for hours and hours with all that loud music driving their neighbors crazy. The might even use their Pinoy identity to justify their noisy celebrations.
Christmas Day is over but there's still New Year to worry about. When it's New Year, one may think of all firecracker injuries which happen because of people who don't follow guidelines. How many people just throw their firecrackers just anywhere which in turn either injures them or others. What's worse is that they can laugh at others' misfortunes but cry when they're hit. When it's New Year, you'll get more than their noisy parties but also you'll get a lot of reckless use of firecrackers that can lead to personal injury, loss of property or even lives. In-between because of their extravagance which may have consumed all their year end bonuses and loans, they may start forcing other people to loan them money all in the name of their Pinoy identity. They might even call their fellow Pinoys who'll refuse to loan them any cash for their foolishness as selfish when in fact, they are the ones being selfish because they refuse to consider others before themselves.
There will soon be the post-Christmas and post-New Year woes that DUN DUN DUN we're broke again after the celebration. When I mentioned the reckless use of firecrackers, they may not even have enough money to pay the hospitals for their injuries. They may have not enough money to spend for their necessities because they wasted all of it. They may soon end up having to work overtime because they are out of money or to loan money from another source. So really, are Christmas and New Year really more fun in the Philippines?
Christmas Day is over but there's still New Year to worry about. When it's New Year, one may think of all firecracker injuries which happen because of people who don't follow guidelines. How many people just throw their firecrackers just anywhere which in turn either injures them or others. What's worse is that they can laugh at others' misfortunes but cry when they're hit. When it's New Year, you'll get more than their noisy parties but also you'll get a lot of reckless use of firecrackers that can lead to personal injury, loss of property or even lives. In-between because of their extravagance which may have consumed all their year end bonuses and loans, they may start forcing other people to loan them money all in the name of their Pinoy identity. They might even call their fellow Pinoys who'll refuse to loan them any cash for their foolishness as selfish when in fact, they are the ones being selfish because they refuse to consider others before themselves.
There will soon be the post-Christmas and post-New Year woes that DUN DUN DUN we're broke again after the celebration. When I mentioned the reckless use of firecrackers, they may not even have enough money to pay the hospitals for their injuries. They may have not enough money to spend for their necessities because they wasted all of it. They may soon end up having to work overtime because they are out of money or to loan money from another source. So really, are Christmas and New Year really more fun in the Philippines?
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