Yet another difference I've noticed in The Philippines:
I was watching coverage of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino's wake on television. One thing that really surprised me was the fact that many of the people who were passing by the catafalque were wearing T-shirts. Even the Vice President of The Philippines stepped up to the casket to pay his respects wearing a short-sleeved golf shirt (admittedly yellow... Corazon's "official" color). I saw only one barong (the formal men's shirt of The Philippines) in all the crowd, worn by former President Estrada.
It's the same when you go to church here: Most folks wear T-shirts and jeans. Formal dress seems to be limited to old ladies now.
I suppose that one can claim that most Filipinos are too poor to afford even a single formal outfit for special occasions. That seems a bit weak an excuse, especially for a Vice President. I imagine that it is more just a relaxing of attitudes about appearances in this country, and nothing more. But then why would the cashiers at Robinson's Supermarket be better-dressed than those people attending a State Funeral?
Because it wasn't a state funeral. The family refused the offer.
ReplyDeleteI nominate that comment for the lamest, air-headed, and vacuous excuse ever.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? That's your thinking? Because it wasn't an "official" state funeral, it was okay to wear a T-shirt to pay ones' last respects to one of The Philippines' more popular politicians of the last 50 years?
If, somehow, this had been a state funeral, only then Filipinos would have shown the proper respect and decorum by dressing up a little bit to honor Corazon?
I hope you are not a Filipino, because if you are, your comment honestly says more about the Filipino sense of circumstance and propriety than I would have cared or dared to venture on my own.
For me to say that some people could have dressed nicer to show respect to a beloved elder stateswoman at her funeral is one thing. For you to say that such respect is only due to that person if the circumstances are right (and I am assuming that otherwise, you think it is okay) is highly derogatory.
Patawaran po, but you're a judgmental bugger aren't you. BTW, I enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteYa, sorry for that, it came out looking awfully lame:) I typed before I thought. It just popped out in reaction to your post that seemed really ignorant to me. Actually it looked bigoted, you coming across like Filipinos didn't meet the standards of propriety YOU think you should have seen.
Instead of looking at their dress and wondering why they showed no respect (in your eyes), why don't you look at from the other side. Tita Cory was THE most beloved and respected person in the country and the people didn't wear barong tagalogs, they wore yellow and flashed the "laban" sign to show it. Looks like to Filipinos, that was the ultimate sign of respect for her. You were fooled by appearances. It looks like it WAS ok to wear a t-shirt. It looks like YOU don't know what showed proper respect and decorum for this occasion.
In my country we dress formally to show our respect. If I was there I probably would have worn a barong because that would be MY way of showing proper respect.
We're both yankees, we should be the LAST people to tell Filipinos how to show respect to their heros.
Maybe you should take your blinders off and sit in on a couple of GMRC classes in your local elementary school to learn about repect Filipino style.
I saw Tita Cory's address the US congress in 1986, it made a big impact on me. I'm glad someone posted it to Youtube. Why don't you pass these along to any young friends who were too young to see it. Her last SONA address is there too and worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX9ysynaIq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4gWe6KkFX4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn0ZbsEUUrg
Show this to your wife, I'm sure we both have a lot to learn.
Paalam po.
Actually it looked bigoted, you coming across like Filipinos didn't meet the standards of propriety YOU think you should have seen.
ReplyDeleteEvery place on earth has its own style formal wear, and no place on earth includes wearing only T-shirt in that garb. (In fact, T-shirts worldwide are pretty much considered the exact opposite of formal wear.) Every country honors its revered dead by wearing formal wear... except in this instance. This is not a New York sensibility here: Imagine Thais, or Saudis, or Greeks, or Japanese people standing in front of a King's or President's or Emperor's casket in a T-shirt.
Instead of looking at their dress and wondering why they showed no respect (in your eyes), why don't you look at from the other side. Tita Cory was THE most beloved and respected person in the country and the people didn't wear barong tagalogs, they wore yellow and flashed the "laban" sign to show it. Looks like to Filipinos, that was the ultimate sign of respect for her. You were fooled by appearances.
See? You're making exactly the point I'm trying to make. Filipinos apparently consider appearances (even at such a weighty event) to be unimportant... or at least of secondary importance. Instead of dressing up well, they make "L" gestures. I don't "wonder why they showed no respect." I wonder why they blemished their show of respect by not dressing respectfully.
It looks like it WAS ok to wear a t-shirt. It looks like YOU don't know what showed proper respect and decorum for this occasion.
You seem to pretend that one can't make an "L" gesture while being dressed up in a barong. Like I said, every country on earth has formal wear for special occasions, and there is no place (yet) on the planet where a T-shirt qualifies as formal wear. Therefore, there is no place (yet) on the planet where a T-shirt is the most respectful dress one can assume.
Now don't get me wrong: I am not saying that the Filipinos showed zero respect for Cory: They showed up, shed some tears, remembered her life. However, I do feel that not dressing ones best for this occasion was a sign of disrespect; it "subtracted from the effort" as it were.
Since no Filipino would obviously intend to show disrespect to Cory (whether in my eyes they did or did not) by wearing a T-shirt to her funeral, then obviously it can be assumed that dress and respect are no longer tied to each other in The Philippines, which is, of course, the original point of this point.
Like I said: When the girl at Robinson's Supermarket is dressed in a business suit, heels, makeup, and coiffed hair... and the guy standing in front of the casket of one of this countries greatest leaders making an "L" sign is wearing a T-shirt and jeans, you can be pretty sure that what you wear in The Philippines no longer has any bearing on how much respect you are considered to be showing.
p.s. Anon,
ReplyDeleteI apologize for being shirty with my "lamest, air-headed, and vacuous excuse ever" comment. I obviously still disagree with what you said, but I didn't have to be that harsh about it.
I thought my comment didn't post because of some glitch, I guess not.
ReplyDeleteI understand not posting things that might be insulting or in bad taste but censoring that harmless little comment? That was lame sir.
I have checked my records, and for this particular thread, no comment was rejected or mistakenly overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI do reject comments occasionally, and they are always and only comments that are only insulting with no other pertinent contribution to the discussion. If you submitted such a comment in another thread (I've received 2 such comments in the past 30 days that were rejected) then that is the reason. Otherwise, your comment never made it through to me.
Other reasons I might reject a comment:
(1) It is not in English.
(2) It is spam not related to the subject discussed.
(3) Somebody accidentally submits an identical comment twice (in which case I always reject the first comment).
(4) It contains personal information that should not be published.
(5) It is accidentally and obviously put under the wrong post, in which case I will reject it, copy it, and place it in the correct post.
(6) If the person who posted it requests that it be deleted.
(7) If the comment could lead to legal action against me.
Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I may delete my own comments: If in the course of my writing a comment, a person leaves a comment which my comment fails to address, I may delete my own comment and replace the deleted comment with a new comment to respond to any comments that may have arrived in the interim.