Recalling a Toxic View About Menial Workers During My Elementary to High School Days

I remembered writing about the importance of low-level work (read here). This reminds me of my elementary to high school days. The time came when my grades started to get low because of addiction to video games and television. It was a non-stop battle with my parents because of my grades. It could also be a non-stop battle with the teachers. Again, you know how the Philippine education system has been so outdated (read here) that it's almost similar to what the late Lee Kuan Yew found in China. Lee's findings was that Deng Xiaoping inherited a China with an outdated education system. I could remember how the Filipino textbook (Tagalog actually) tried to talk about the importance of education. One of the lessons taught was about being a carpenter who has to climb up tall places or be an office worker in an air-conditioned office. Yet, being an office worker is no walk in the park either.

I think the way menial work is looked down on is disturbing. When Odette struck--I realized even more I had no idea or the skill to climb up those difficult places. What happens is that these menial workers who are looked down up end up doing the work the "elites" can't do. An engineer sure is a glamorous job or title. However, an engineer's blueprints are useless without construction workers. If nobody mixes cement, if nobody does the carpentry, if nobody does this and that--an engineer is but useless. Engineers may have been laying out the plans for the hotel. However, can a hotel truly survive without waiters, maids, and janitors? Again, the answer is really a big no. I can't imagine having a hotel and you don't have waiters, maids, and janitors. If they weren't there then who will prepare the hotel for guests? If there were no chefs and receptionists then who will cook and make reservations?

This made me think about how people want to study hard to avoid becoming janitors and carpenters. I always felt I was stupid because my grades in high school weren't good. I barely passed fourth year under the K+10 curriculum. I was told though that taking Hotel & Restaurant Management (HRM) isn't the end of the world, that if it was "so easy" then the course should be non-existent. Instead, it was really a problem so many teachers were misinformed that the HRM course required an English Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 80%. I dreaded getting into HRM back in my fourth-year of high school then I ended up regretting not taking it later in life. Driving around and food-tripping made me wish I took HRM instead of business administration. Now, HRM is part of the School of Business and Economics in the University of San Carlos (USC).

This is a big reality. Would you be proud of your father was a janitor (or any "dirty" job) or a drug dealer to pay for your tuition? Sure, there's big money in drug dealing but like cryptocurrency--it's easy come and easy go. Instead, think of the father who works as a janitor to send his children to school. What never crossed my mind though (until later) was that Lucio Tan Sr. was a janitor while studying for college. Instead, Tan Sr. decided to do his work as a janitor until he graduated from B.S. Chemical Engineering at the Fareastern University. Some of the richest people started out as "low-level" menial workers. Besides, what's wrong with doing menial work? We need to all learn to do some form of menial work because one day--you might need to do it to earn a living!

Davide vs. Mahathir: Which Lolo Should Filipinos Take Economic Advice From?

The real issue isn't that something is old or new. Instead, if something old or new still works, or doesn't work! Many modern laws are built on some ancient principles, while adjusting to the current times! The Constitution of Japan is actually older than the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. However, it's more effective for the reasons that (1) their constitution is silent when it comes to regulating economic activities (ex., protectionist measures), and (2) it's a parliamentary system. Honestly, it's a pretty straightforward constitution compared to ours! As Mahatir Mohamad turned 100 today, I would like to raise up Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. once again. The problem isn't Davide's age but his unwillingness to embrace change when needed (read here ). This time, it's time to bring up a contrast between wise old people and unwise old people. A young person can be right where the old person is wrong. A young person can be wiser because he or she lea...

Filipino Manufacturing's Golden Age ENDED Because of the Filipino First Policy

Here's a picture from the Dose of Disbelief Page on Facebook. Here's something that it wrote: Filipinos once trusted locally made products more than imports. Before World War II, the label "Made in the Philippines" carried prestige, not stigma, reflecting a strong sense of national confidence in domestic production. Local products such as shoes, cigars, textiles, furniture, and food were often preferred over imports. This preference was rooted in the belief that local goods were better adapted to local conditions, tastes, and were often of comparable, if not superior, quality. This period showcases a strong historical era of consumer nationalism and thriving local industries. We need to look into the context of Filipino history If we look at the Philippine history timeline , we must account for 1935-1940, during which the Philippines was under the Commonwealth government. Independence was declared from Spain on June 12, 1898. However, there was a transition period w...

Confusing Foreign Direct Investment for Foreign Imperialism for the Bajillionth Time

I guess those fools of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (and many of its deluded supporters) either refuse to get it or are blatantly lying. Almost every rally held by what many believe are CPP-NPA legal fronts also confuses foreign investors for foreign invasion or even foreign imperialism . Once again, do I need to say that 100% FDI ownership is all about the shares and not land ownership ? What makes it even more hypocritical is that they are actually recording these things on imported media . They're sharing their anti-FDI rants using imported devices, imported platforms, and imported social media (read here ). When I do ask them on Facebook, they say how can they take them seriously and that they're "simply forced to participate in capitalism". Did anybody (especially those they call "evil capitalists") force them to buy the expensive Apple equipment when they could've settled for Xiaomi or Huawei? A simple research on the dictionary will tell us...

Filipino First Policy Linked with Crab Mentality

Having sea crab yesterday or just eating crab, I always think of that old commercial in the 1990s. It was called, "Iwasan ang crab mentality." or "Avoid crab mentality." This makes me recall a scene when I was a child. I saw a pail full of mud crabs (called alimango in Filipino) and if one crab got out, the others pulled it down. The TV commercial showed how if the crabs got together, they could all escape their grizzly fate of becoming eaten for human consumption. Chefs are just lucky crabs pull each other down. However, it also shows that the crabs would rather all be cooked together than let that crab escape. Unfortunately, crab mentality is one of the biggest problems in the Philippines. It's not all that unique among Filipinos. However, it doesn't Filipinos should ever take comfort in engaging in a crab mentality, just because other people do it . Here's an interesting excerpt from Inquirer by Jerry Peres de Tagle PhD: Studies in human behavior ...

"First Bitter, Later Sweet" Beats "If It's Bitter, Just Add Sugar" Mindset ANY DAY

Back then, I wrote an article where I discussed the stupidity of the "If it's bitter, just add sugar." mindset . In Cebuano, it's, "Kung pait, butangi lang ug asukal". The mentality itself has kept many people poor. It would go with how people just want to have a good time. It can be observed in how people deal with their salary hence explaining their financial situation (read here ). With Christmas just around the corner (read here ), it's very easy to land into the dreaded Holiday Debt Trap (read here ). What's next? Would those members of the labor union blame the government and entrepreneurs for the bad decisions they made themselves? What's with the typical Filipino mindset about money (and sugar)? Please note that I'm not attacking every single Filipino there are Filipinos who are mindful of their money. Instead, I'm tackling the predominant mindset brought about by the "Kung pait, butangi lang ug asukal" mindset. It se...

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