“Sino nga ba talaga Ako?”

Understanding

Culture, Society and Politics

By: Villar, Alsaga, Lanuzo

La Closer Look At The Colonial Mentality Of Filipinos

upita Nyong'o, a Kenyan-Mexican actress once said "What colonialism does is cause an identity crisis about one's own culture " Colonialism has its own positive and negative outcomes that take a significant toll on our society today, and one of them is what we call colonial mentality Let us first define what is a colonial mentality Colonial mentality is the tendency of some people in former colonies to stress and prefer the ideas, rules, and practices of their former colonizers over their cultural history It is also known as a sense of ethnic and cultural inferiority and internalized racial oppression Colonial mentality is similar to Xenocentrism, which is a belief that other cultures are superior to one’s own This social phenomenon has emerged in our country as the direct result of the Philippines' lengthy history of colonization. As a result of hundreds of years of Spanish, Japanese, and American colonization, Filipinos have evolved a seemingly universal colonial mindset, with many failing to comprehend the consequences in their daily lives. Being a Pinoy is an identity that we must take pride in, which is why we must be aware of this issue that is currently happening in our country and take action before we lose our cultural heritage and identity as Filipinos

Just like what Lupita Nyong'o said, colonialism puts a “Who Am I ?” question in the minds of Filipinos It affects the economic status and culture of our country and how Filipinos socialize on their own and their Mental health and how Filipinos socialize on their own and their mental health Even though colonialism helped the Philippines produce crops and extract minerals by World War II (1935–45), and helped the Philippines see significant modernization and development, we cannot remove the fact that with the modern and imported goods being brought in by other countries, we have forgotten and disregarded our local products. Colonial mentality tells us the idea that imported goods are superior to those produced domestically and will be the reason why the income of the country and government will slowly plummet.

A common result that colonial mentality has brought upon the Filipinos is the loss of our own culture Culture refers to the traits and personalities of a certain race For example, Filipinos are known for being helpful and hospitable people An article from Rappler tells us that “Even though the Philippines is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with 175 native languages (wrongly called “dialects”) and 3% of the world’s languages, a compendium of world languages called “Ethnologue” states that 28 Philippine languages are in trouble, up from 13 in 2016 Eleven languages are dying, and several are already extinct The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages has identified the Philippines as being one of the top 10 “language hotspots” of the world, which means that the Philippines has a wealth of languages but they are being lost at a rate faster than we can adequately document them”. The article also tells us that the colonial experience of the Philippines when Americans forced the English language into our civilization and dismissed our dialects is one of the causes of the loss of our language heritage. We should dwell on this since language diversity is important to Filipino heritage and benefits both individuals and society.

Inferiority is also an attribute that Filipinos feel because of this social issue. When Filipinos are compared to foreigners they feel inferior and lose confidence. Colonial mentality makes them believe that people from other countries are always superior to them. That is why we can see how most Filipinos today believe that having white skin and a tall nose would improve their appearance. They would use skin-lightening products may it be in a liquid form or pill form even though those medications may harm their kidney and overall physical health Instead of loving their own color and physical attributes, they would seek ways to imitate foreigners like pinching their noses to become taller just like most American noses

Last, but not least, it is rather evident how unfair treatment of Filipinos to their fellow countrymen has appeared in our society It is arguable that Filipinos prefer outsiders rather than their countrymen

Colonial mentality is still prevalent and is influencing more and more people in our society It’s correct that colonial mentality has brought in new and modern influence in our country but that influence made Filipinos disregard their own With this being said, we can see how Miss Nyong'o's words are correct that colonialism causes an identity crisis from our true selves Therefore, we must not overlook this issue and solutions in lessening this influence One of the modern world's solutions is to use social media to promote local items created in the Philippines Social media is widely used in today's society, and the majority of individuals use it to interact, conduct business, or educate themselves The remedy that people may be able to implement now is to show more support for improving Filipinos' cultural pride. Such assistance could include encouraging relatives to buy and embrace local items. Whether they are supporting the Philippines' cultural arts or not, every little bit helps. It will only be achieved if everyone works together to support the various cultural points of pride prevalent in the Philippines. Let us all be reminded that we must be proud of our cultural heritage, the place where we came from, and where our heart leads to and that is being a Filipino.

THE COLONIAL MENTALITY OF FILIPINOS

By: Villar, Alsaga, Lanuzo