The revolution is my boyfriend.

The Philippine dream(?)

So, my cousin and her husband are arriving here in Canada this coming Tuesday. And they’re planning to stay here for good. They have been wanting to get here ever since her brother, my other cousin obviously, got here and probably told her how great it is here. I dunno about you, but I never found out what’s so great about living in a country alien to you, having been born in another foreign country myself. Great, another big caplitalist city. Great, another overcrowded, fool-infested mall.

Trust me, living in another country isn’t as great as you think it is. It’s all a myth, probably due to our people’s inexplicable fascination with foreigners especially Americans and created by people who migrated elsewhere trying to convince their peers and relatives to do the same, with the usual exaggerations and none of the forewarnings.

What you might have studied in the Philippines whether it is in a university or a community college may not be up to their standards. And this must mean that you might have to do some extra courses or go back to university/college. Or else, you’ll just fall to the option of working in a factory, a fast-food restaurant or whatever. And I’ve been acquainted with some people who do two part-time jobs just to make ends meet, and even this is not enough for them.

And even though other people may not say or do it right in front of you, some of them can be condescending or patronizing, especially if you just immigrated and are new to the foreign nation. They do, after all, have a name for us new immigrants, what they call F.O.B.s (fresh off the boat), which they usually use to call people with broken English and any other kind of stereotypically foreign behaviour. And please don’t tell me that Filipinos are innocent of making any kind of racist, misogynistic or homophobic remark because even my parents and my friends are guilty of such things. They’d usually say something like, oh, this kind of people is prone to crimes and ill behaviour, oh, thank god you’re not like the other gays (What? Are we divided into two factions!?), and, oh, I wouldn’t be caught dead dating a person of such race (Please, you’re not that hot yourself.). If that’s not offensive, then I don’t know what is.

We’re a bunch of sheep, I tell you, just going with the flow, never going against it.

And what’s up with a lot of Filipinos aspiring to be nurses? Herd mentality, much? If not that, they’d want to be accountants (I’ve been guilty myself), and older ones would just settle for less and become caregivers instead. Caregiver, a euphemism, a fancy term, for yaya, maid, domestic servant, babysitter, nanny. Oh no, the blacks are now thinking for themselves, let’s go oppress the Filipinos and Hispanics instead. I can’t help but roll my eyes whenever I see Filipino women taking care of a bunch of white kids. Folks, this is how much we adore the foreigners, that we’re willing enough to live in their homes and clean their toilets or kids’ butts ourselves. Do we take joy at serving other people, scrubbing other people’s backs and butts? Are we already contented at having less? Why can’t we aspire to be something greater instead? They already reached the stars, and what have we done, other than assisting other people who think less of us, taking care of others who are of no relation to us? Is this more or less the Philippine dream, if there is one? Either to serve others or to follow the American dream?

Some of us try to pass off as of a different race, ashamed of our “inferior” identities. Some take advantage of the fact that they have grown up abroad and know the ABCs of English to go back to the Philippines and pursue a career there, usually an acting career. If they’ve gone to America, can speak a bit of Tagalog, can switch back and forth from Tagalog to English with ease, and look “presentable” enough for the spotlight, they’re already overqualified. Any acting experience or capability must be beside the point. If that isn’t bad enough, even the foreigners know that we just can’t get enough of them that they even decide to live in our country. It’s not that the living conditions are terrible in their homeland and that there’s a promise of better living in the Philippines. No, it’s that living in the Philippines is relatively less costly than it is in their home country. They know they’re better off there; they narcissistically like to be adored and worshipped. They don’t plan to liberate us, to get us off our third-world situation. They just want to take advantage of the situation. Cheap wages, higher profits. Globalization galore. Call centres, sweatshops, you name it.

So, this must be our version of the American dream, since we do tend to dearly imitate everything American, the ultimate Philippine dream: to be subjected or to freely choose to serve the ones who in the past have invaded our country and have oppressed our ancestors and who in the present still have a subtle imperialistic control on our government. Now, reveal those whips, leather, ropes and handcuffs you have hiding in your closet, you masochistic perverts, and I myself will do the whipping for you.