Culture Schmack

This is an evil post. Do not read this if you dont want to ruin your day. If you do, try to understand that the author is writing the way he had felt during that time. Right now, he has no qualms or harbored feelings towards what happened.

Still want to read this crap? I warned you.

About a lifetime ago, i thought Bacolod would be just like Iloilo, full of heart warming and honest people.

From the moment we landed on the port, til we ate at a Barbecue Resto, i didnt see anyone smiling at all. Everyone who passed us by were all wearing a mask of utter apatheia and seriousness in whatever their tasks may be. A word of advice, do not expect any sorry from the bacolod people if ever they bumped you or stepped on your toes accidentally. Nor expect them to be understanding either when you accidentally bump or stepped on them either, they’ll just stare at you like you’re a disgusting worm or something. It might be a generalization of them all, but hey, five out of five people who bumped or stepped on me never said sorry.

Do not meet their eyes, else you have important business with them. They take it as an insult being looked straight in their eyes, it seems to me as if they do not want you to pry into their nasty personal businesses.

I might be a bit oversensitive with all of that. Perhaps it was just a mistake I made, considering that Bacolod was the so-called “City of Smiles”. Hmm… now I know why they have that “Maskara” festival, simply maybe because of the masks they wear.

Please forgive the ranting, bacolodians or negrense people. But you must understand, some of your people had just fallen quite too short of my expectations. You see, on our first day,  I already noticed the apparent lack of respect some of you harbor against each other, like shouting at each other, cat-calling, spitting near other people or on them, and my most hated observation, cheating people with their money.

Some inconsiderate drivers would look at their passengers with scorn and contempt, neither offering help and a bit of a kindness when needed, which I’m sure they would’ve loved to set a price on if even allowed.

Yeah. In every form of business conceivable, the only smile I may have noticed is that greedy smile on the shopkeeper or driver’s face as they received the money they either duped or forced out of an unwitting customer.

The themes in bacolod summed up are simply these:
1. It’s a tough world. It’s a dog-eat-dog’s world.
2. It’s a world where the wearing of emotions like smiling is a hint of weakness.
3. It’s all about the money.
4. To each his own. Be selfish. Mind your own business.
5. Business is always dirty. Bet on it.
6. People dont give a shit about you.
7. To make people give a shit about you, brag and show-off how much you are “worth”.

My dear Reader,
If this piss you off, or make you curse me, or make you shake your head in absolute denial, well, please do consider the experience i’ve had during the past four days. This is not an exaggeration but simply what actually transpired.

We arrived in the Weesam terminal. Walking along the sidewalk, every person we see wore a terribly serious look. The ones we passed met our stares with cold mean glares, seething with contempt and malice. While walking along the sidewalk, vehicles wouldnt even consider the safety of pedestrians like us, seldom slowing down or giving a chance for them to cross safely. All they care about are themselves. It seems like they have every right to sideswipe you into the gutter or turn you into roadkill. Yes, some are that inconsiderate. The store I bought a softdrink from, gave me the wrong change. I didnt complain about that, seeing that my change’s only missing one peso, but still, the smirk upon the shopkeeper’s face is unmistakeable, she intentionally gave me the the wrong change. I stayed away from that shop. Going back to the center from SM city, we got a bit confused about where we should be stopping. Instead of being helped, as was what most of the drivers in Iloilo would usually do, the driver of the jeep in bacolod instead harassed us to get off his jeep. I can still hear him cursing as his jeep sped away. We walked for half a kilometer. Finding trisikad drivers was a moment of relief for us, until they named their price. Good thing though, some good people still exist in that evil place and managed to give us some useful info. We got back safely but traumatized for life with what that jeep driver did to us. We were confused and helpless, but he threw us out. The lack of moral fabric in that place is something worth noting. This is especially evident in the number of “couples” in malls. I assume this must not be mainly because of love, but because that relationships fluorished as a means of survival in their harsh, impersonal, rude and brutish society. Everyone there needs someone who can ease their guilt about being too self-centered. or perhaps maybe those relationships are also self-centered, for sensual/emotional/prideful gratification only.

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I learned a lot of things about the world through these experiences. I even managed to meet some people’s cold glares with a sadistic and an even more cold glare, making them look away, haha cowards. Life in Bacolod is miserable. Everyone looks down at each other. Everyone drags each other down, and what’s more sick? they do it as a measure of justice. Their confidence is structured.

I’m not going back to that place for a long long time.