When to take offense

Sometimes I cannot understand what Filipinos consider important. When China blasted Filipino fishermen with water cannons in Philippine waters, most official reactions came naturally from the Philippine government and from mainstream media opinion makers.

But when two Polish bloggers posted unsavory comments about Filipino food, after finding them to be too salty, sweet and oily, they kicked up such a firestorm of protest in social media that it seemed as if the entire Filipino nation was about to go to war against Poland.

Interestingly, this is the same Filipino nation that was ready to go into civil war in defense of what it saw was its irrespressible right to say anything in cyberspace and never mind if their comments trample upon the rights of others to be secure in their persons.

The perspective it gives me is clear -- Filipinos want to have the right to say what they want to say in cyberspace but are not prepared to respect the same right in others. Simply put, we want to be able to dish it but are not amenable to taking it.

It is immaterial to me whether the two Polish bloggers were only being honest with their preferences in taste or were deliberately being provocative in order to attract attention to their blog, as some theorized. To me they are expressing an opinion, and if that opinion stung, so what? It is just two Poles talking.

On the other hand, why should the comment about Filipino food being salty, sweet and oily be insulting? The truth of the matter is, Filipino food is indeed salty, sweet and oily and if two Poles do not like it that way, Filipino food is not about to cut back on the aforementioned characteristics just to please the duo.

I myself agree with at least one of the "offending" food characteristics mentioned -- sweetness -- and have written at least once about my disagreement with it. I wrote then how I hate my "humba" being sweetened, or my beef steak, and even my siopao. Either nobody read that piece or took me for granted as a crazy Filipino.

Be that as it may, I am getting sick of the Filipino being overly sensitive whenever something is said in public about Filipinos by foreigners. We always take offense even when none is intended and refuse to be like other peoples who take such things in stride after recognizing the context in which the comments are made.

Look at the Israelis. Israel is a very strong nation and is not afraid to take on anybody that dares to offend it in more physical and realistic ways. Yet Israel never takes offense at being the butt of all the Jew jokes and comments made at its people's expense. It derives strength from its self-confidence.

In contrast, take a look at us. Two Polish bloggers do not like Filipino food for being too salty, sweet and oily to their taste and we take that as an act of war, filling up cyberspace with responses that can raise up the dead.

Yet, when it comes to real acts of bullying and land-grabbing by China, the written reactions that ensue are too tame and too few that one wonders if the acts of bullying and land-grabbing are no longer worth reacting to at all.

Even our planned purchase of 12 South Korean fighter jets is coated with the tamest of guises, such as their being intended for training and disaster response, with one Palace official describing the acquisition as "not aimed at a particular country."

Okay, so we do not have to say it is intended to deter further Chinese aggression, as indeed it cannot even if we wanted to. But couldn't we at least say it is intended to shore up our defense capabilities instead of stressing on the training part.

Much as I do not like Noynoy Aquino, I really loved it when he likened China to Hitler. If we cannot lift a finger against China, at least we can rile it silly. These are what should whip up our national fervor, not some comment by two bloggers who do not even look as if they eat well in their native Poland.