Why the Istambay?

We see them everywhere: under the shade of trees, at some public benches, in every idle space available. From their own neigborhoods, they soon expanded to public parks and, of late, the shopping malls. We call them the istambays.

Istambay is a Visayan transliteration of the English word “stand by” meaning to hang around. The word has eventually come to refer to a certain subculture of idle people, usually males, most common in depressed communities, habitually gathering and spending idle time together.

The istambays are known for certain characteristics. They seem to live for the moment, without any perceptible care for the future. And they are a very territorial lot, regarding their own neighborhoods as their designated hallowed places. They regard every unknown visitor or stranger to their community as an intruder.

You’d think they are some vanguards of peace and order in their claimed areas, if not for the fact that they themselves are notorious for disorderly conduct there. Extremely proprietary of their territory, istambays are known for bullying strangers that stray into their home turf.

Their boisterous conversations and foul language are efforts to project a tough image. Their talk usually centers on conquests of women, incredible adventures, or some luck that regularly come their way. They are, in their own tales, either Casanovas, daredevils, geniuses, luck’s favorites, or all of these combined, the exact opposites of the reality obtaining in their real lives.

In truth, however, the outward toughness is only a cover. The istambays are weaklings inside. They draw their strength in their number; hence, the need to be together always.

Misery loves company. Some people find an escape from their miserable individual circumstances in the company of friends who, like them, are also running away from their own life difficulties. Then, together, they create a world of their own – in their minds, in their lies. They feed each other’s needs, especially their need for acceptance.

stambays know that each other’s stories are mostly all imagination, but no one would dare contest another’s bluff. They know it’s their only escape. Fantasizing is their devised alternative to living, because real life is just too hard to get by. With meaningless talk, often fuelled by drinks extorted from passers-by and neighbors, they forget the scarcities at home as they bathe in each other’s faked praises. That momentarily fills their inner emptiness.

The istambay behavior is rooted in some kind of deprivation, in one way or the other. Most of them come from a background of lack, from poor homes that can hardly afford to provide them with material provisions or nurturing attention, or prospects for a better future. This condition they try to cope with by training their sight elsewhere. And they need not look far – right around them they find good company. There are many others like them who feel helpless in the face of need.

Spending time together is their escape; just being together is enough, doing nothing aside from petty gambling and drinking. You’d wonder how people with no dependable income could afford such vices. Well, every once in a while, they earn an income from running contrabands or peddling some hot merchandise.

Some of them lack opportunities for productive undertaking, others lack the drive to do anything. Overall, the istambays suffer from a profound loss – the loss of initiative to achieve something creditable, to become something worthwhile. They all share a common lack of willpower to embark on the crucial undertaking of improving oneself.

In general, indolence seems to be a distinct trait among istambays – learned indolence. As soon as they realize that they can get by through the day just bumming around, a new mindset begins to operate in them. They cease to look for decent, productive undertakings.

Occasionally, the istambays serve certain needs. They provide readily available extra hands when some help is needed. They will do anything – for a fee, of course. They are convenient hauls for anti-government rallies. Or, they play sidekicks to the powers-that-be in their communities, especially those whose egos also need constant massaging.

Istambays love to take shed in some big names. It is common to hear them brag about their associations with powerful people. They, then, carry themselves like they’re biggies, too!

Many istambays, the younger ones especially, are particularly conscious about their looks or outward appearance. They try to follow whatever is in vogue and flaunt every trendy piece they have. You see them dressed up like they’re some fashion icons on their way to perform in a show.

From a meticulously styled hair to the imitation designer jeans, shirt and pair of shoes, they got it all. Sometimes you won’t even need to guess what color of underwear they have – they show it all off! You’d think they’re really some big shots, until they’re rounded up by the police for stealing a neighbor’s belongings.

In the absence of any chic garb, they flaunt their heavily tattooed bodies.

Being an istambay often breeds criminal behavior. Boredom and peer pressure goad one into doing things without calculating the possible consequences, without first thinking of the risks involved. Moreover, boredom and peer pressure are a lethal combination for one’s tenuous sense of propriety and uprightness. Boredom can make one think up of many different things, good or bad. And friends with questionable characters can make one do questionable things.

It’s easy to find solace within the circle of one’s own kind. So idle people gather together often; eventually, it becomes their life. In time, they will forget what these habitual get-togethers are really about in the first place. Their feelings of personal inadequacy get buried, deeper and deeper, in other things: petty crimes to sustain their binges, and other wild activities to overcome the harrowing boredom and lack of direction in life. And, by these, their fates are sealed.

Istambays are not unique to our culture. The other cultures of the world have their own istambays too, although they call them by other names. Everywhere there are people who don’t have real work to do, and people who don’t want to do real work.

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