I’m not Nationalistic but...

I often meet people who have this prejudice against Filipinos. I don’t know why because I know that there are more nice Filipinos roaming the planet than the "not so nice" ones, although I couldnt blame them if they had a bad experience with some of our fellow Filipinos before. And I also don’t know why I always end up defending my countrymen. I’m not nationalistic but sometimes I find it just too offending and I just couldn’t sit tight and keep quiet.

Here are some of those scenarios:

1. I was once in Guilin sitting down and watching people as they pass by with my Spanish buddy when I overheard two guys talking about Filipinas.

Guy 1: “You should go to the Philippines man. It’s so easy to pick up women. “

Guy 2: “Oh wow, yeah I’ll try to.”

Me (talking to my bud): “Push the taller guy and I’ll take care of the shorter one.” (Our conscience told us not to pick a fight though).

2. I was enjoying the scenery of Halong Bay onboard the small junkboat when another tourist approached me.

Tourist: “Where you from? “

Me: “Philippines. And you?”

Tourist: “Hong Kong. So you’re a Filipino, Tsk tsk tsk, do you know some stuff about Filipinos in Hongkong... there’s a lot working as household help and they...“

Me: (Cut him off coz I got pissed with the “tsk tsk tsk” gesture.) “Do you know that a couple of years back, a Filipina working as a nanny died because she saved two kids from getting hit by a bus in Hongkong.”

Tourist: “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

Me: “She died and now her own kids don’t have a Mom. She died saving those Hongkongese kids she treated as her own.” (I just remember it from an old news story I read somewhere.)

Note: (Although now I dont know what to say after the hostage tragedy that happened a couple of weeks back.)

3. My friend went to Bangkok and she was chatting with other tourists over some beer. The tourists were chatting over how easy it is to pick up girls in Manila. She got back after the two week trip and told me about it.

Me: “How’s the trip?”

Friend: “It was fine. I have a funny story to tell. I was chatting with some other travellers in Khao San and they were talking about how easy Filipinas are.”

Me: “What did you say?”

Friend: “Nothing.”

Me: “Huh!??!?”

Friend: “What would I say... another Filipina was sitting on the lap of the old white guy we were with.”

Do you have a similar experience?