Pasubo

     "If God allowed Adam and Eve the choice for themselves, why would someone shove their ideals down someone else's throat?"

     For some reason this issue have been rolling all over the whole day. It's not that I care much but if a lot of stuff that happened today gets to relate to that question above, it does make me think of writing it down.

     It started when my mobile browser suddenly got localized. Every app that asks me to log-in from another internet page, leads me to a Korean version of that page (kr.yahoo instead of www.yahoo), which should be understandable since I am in Korea. The problem is I'm a brownie who happens to be more proficient in English than Hangul. This upset me more when I checked out my browsers and all of my searches lead me to Korean results. 

     So I started suspecting that this has something to do with Google. I know it's stupid to just point the finger at anyone, but I happen to be watching some ads that mentioned Google's new privacy rules. Stupid excuse? Might be. Valid? Yes. Related?  ...

     I'm honestly not bothered by whatever Google is doing. Reading further on their new implementations, it doesn't sound so much about invading someone's private information. I think it's more about people's guilt. And that's okay. What I don't find okay is how people react over this. A lot of them probably have not read past half the first paragraph from Google and they're out there on a rampage. Some might have just heard from someone who heard from someone about this. What gets my nerve most is when they start screaming what Google should do. Google is free when one uses it, and it's free from bondage if one doesn't want to use it anymore. Simple as that. But no, people keep wailing and gnashing their teeth, campaigning, and lead to mobbing, in the hopes Google will listen.

     I just thought, "they could check the porn sites I visited if they want to. They could help me get a better experience with it if they do please."

     Come Facebook and my friend posting some pictures of his hands getting damaged from work-hazards. Now, I've been doing the same thing for some time and some of them are logged here on my blog. So to me, it's just normal. It's got nothing to do with fishing for sympathy, cause outrage, or asking for help. Just simply showing friends around that working abroad is no walk-in-the-park. So when my friend did the same, I felt sorry for him but that's it. But of course he also received other comments such as, "dapat umangal" (should complain), or "know your rights!" Which made me think otherwise. And in Filipino language we call these people "pasubo." It simply means, people who coax you to do something you'll regret later. 

     This made me remember one of my brownie rants.  I was still half-year old here in Korea but there was also someone a bit more fresh than me. Being once the new guy, I often look after him in hopes he won't go through what I have.

     I was telling him some of the lessons I've learned, when he suddenly almost shouted, "hindi pwede iyan, idedemanda ko agad sila!" I tried to calm him down until I have to ultimately tell him he's just an illegal immigrant and that we only have limited rights. In fact, even if he's legal, here in Korea, foreigners have a very small chance to win any case against the locals. It's not right but it's just the way it is. 

     Outside the company, Filipinos from different companies meet for whatever occasion. People just can't avoid telling their stories, especially three bad ones. To me it's just a form of venting out.  We all have our own sorry to tell. What ruins the moment most of the time, is when some cocky new arrival blurts out, "Hindi pwede sa akin iyan! Mag kaka problema tayo niyan!" (That won't work for me! We're gonna have some problem with that!"

     Yep! I said cocky.  And although he may be in the right place, we all know that's nothing but talk. We usually just give him the "newbie" excuse.  We all know that at the end of the day, all we-all could do, is tuck our tails between our legs and keep our head low.  That's just how it works if you want to keep your job here.

     One of the worst a fellow Pinoy could do (which has happened too often) is to coax someone to do something with all passion. Convincing someone to speak up, complain, or form a rally.  And when the poor fellow goes through with it, he gets no supporter; not even the person(s) who talked him into it.  Or worse, they take the opposite side.  And even worse, laugh at the poor guy after falling.  That's just as bad as saying, "Kawawa ka naman." (You poor thing) but leaves it at that.  I've seen this happen many times and in fact, has been done to me a lot, even before coming to Korea.

     I understand people's passion and concerns, especially to other people.  But really, sometimes I wish they'd follow through with what they say.  Practice what they preach.  Or just shut up.