Corruption, garbage and pollution problems, lack of discipline and crab mentality are just some of the many complaints I have heard from fellow-Filipinos about the Filipinos & the Philippines. These problems exist. And it is normal to feel frustrated and angry about all these.

But I find it irritating when kababayans start identifying these bad traits as being typical PINOY. As if we are the only society on this earth who suffers from these.  

Excuse me, but these problems are not exclusive to us.  Filipinos are not the only ones who have turned corrupt (although, we have successfully displaced Indonesia as the most corrupt country in SE Asia).  Manila is not the only polluted place in the world. Nor are the Filipinos the only ones who feels inggit and turn against each other.  We are also not the only who seem to need spanking from our parents for not doing as we are supposed to do.

I have seen how life is in several countries. I have worked with people from different cultures. And believe me when I say that YOU should stop putting a gate around all those bad qualities because you think WE are the only ones who have these problems.

If you notice that something is done wrong or someone is not behaving right, do not say that it’s a Filipino Thing. It’s just (plain and simple) a bad trait or a bad situation which also ails other societies.

Stop saying, “ang pinoy nga naman…”!  and stop generalizing.