Aaron Kiefer Sia

3AR-7

As a nation who has been colonized for over 300-years, we hold that same sentiment or culture
of being resilient. Resilience that brings us together due to shared experiences brought by
external and internal dilemmas. Though resilience might sometimes be viewed as something
tragic, since it is rooted in a strong tolerance to bad situations, it is a trait that generally helps us
get by without feeling as oppressed. With resilience, I think there are two-types of people that
carry this trait, which are those who take resilience and turn it to fuel in order to make a
difference; and those who settle with hardship just because it is already something they are
used to. With this, I think that it already creates a division between people, and moreso, various
demographics are also fighting for rights that only a few people care about. For me, it says a lot
about how people are only their for each other when it’s convenient, creating an individualistic
society that creates more division between people.

Upon watching the video, I have observed that western culture is still heavily engrained in the
Filipinos’ way of life. Western influence is very prominent through the beauty standards here in
the Philippines. As seen in the video, the aetas are described as “dirty” by everyone else, which
shows how prevalent colorism is in the Philippines. It shows how the standard of beauty is by
having fair skin and euro-centric features. Catholicism which is introduced by the Spaniards,
also plays a role in Homophobia that is also still prevalent here in the Philippines. A lot of people
still use religion as a reasoning to deem queerness as a something wrong. I also think the
western patriarchal society also contributes to toxic masculinity which also negatively affects
people from the LGBTQIA+ community. As the older generation consists a huge chunk of the
population, living through this “traditional” way of thinking, I think it somewhat makes it hard for
the younger generation to distance themselves from a thinking that is coming to age as
“problematic”. Since in Filipino culture, it is deemed wrong to express your own thoughts
towards authority figures.

In conclusion, I think that as a nation we should open up more conversations to topics that are
deemed taboo, in order to create a society that is collective, empathetic, and progressive. As
people, I think that we are unknowingly selfish, and we are only fixated on the things we benefit
from and are comfortable with. There are a lot of unspoken topics that aren’t touched for the
sake of not wanting to destroy a system that majority of people already benefit from, and yet the
minority suffer from.

Coming to age, I think the youth have recently been more expressive with their thoughts, which
makes it ideal in opening up more conversations. By learning to understand each other, we
engage in a healthier fellowship with others. The current movement of today’s political climate, I
feel makes it encouraging to stand up for what is right, but it is still pretty evident that much work
needs to accomplished to reach in a point of a better society.