PARENTHESES

I read a post from Alan’s Ay Ambot! blog “Put___ Ina Mo, Bisaya Ka Ba?”, and I thought of putting my opinion about it in my blog. I don’t want to jump into hasty generalization nor do I intend to offend the sensitivities of many well-meaning individuals. As the tagalog saying goes – bato bato sa langit, ang tamaan huwag magalit.

I find it revolting when someone uses racial identities with derogatory connotations.

Most common in the Tagalog world is the use of the word “Bisaya” to emphasize anything that is stupid, foolish or simply low class. i.e., para ka namang bisaya kung manamit, or ang tanga mo naman para kang bisaya!

Another is the use of the term “Muslims” to depict terrorists or anything illegal, barbaric or uncivilized. The word Muslim is commonly used as an adjective that is attributed to dreaded characters like terrorists, kidnappers, VCD/DVD pirates, trouble-makers, war-freaks, etc.

This mentality and outlook is simply bad taste, politically incorrect and nauseatingly racist. It reflects a strong regionalist attitude engendered by historical prejudices and biases. An overriding mentality rooted in a majority-nationality ideology: that by being majority—vis-Ã -vis the various minority nationalities—is to be superior. Our present Manila-centric eco-politico-cultural set-up is its main manifestation.

But then again, it’s like poetic justice. Most of those who are successful in Philippine commerce and trade — from the hacienderos, jewelers to shipping magnates are Bisaya. In the field of entertainment and sports, a lot of celebrities and sports icons adored by a legion of fans are Bisaya.

And to think that Manila and other parts of Luzon were once kingdoms of Muslim aristocrats who first fought the Spanish colonizers long before the tagalog consciousness came into being. And that the Muslim Moro Sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao were already recognized as sovereign states by European countries long before the Republic of the Philippines came into existence.

Somehow I couldn’t help but think that these prejudices and biases against the Bisaya and the Moros are perpetuated to offset and justify a very obvious deficiency- a superiority complex coupled with low self-esteem born out of ignorance.

I am a Mindanawan and I’m proud to belong to the Bisaya and the Bangsamoro people. I speak Bisaya proudly to any Bisayan in a tagalog crowd. And when some dimwit asks me by sarcastically aping an exaggerated stupid accent “Bisaya ka man pala Dong?” my reply is “Oo Bisdak ko bay, way kurat no?!”.