Why You Gotta Be So Rude Filipinos?

A curious thing about life in the Philippines is how the people can be so friendly, and yet so rude all at the same time.

are-filipinos-rude

If you are having a conversation with someone they are likely to be very happy to talk to you and very kind.  But out in the day to day world when you are running errands you will see people doing rude things all the time.  Some of it is a lack of awareness of their surroundings, other stuff is just plain rudeness.

The lack of awareness is simple things like getting on an elevator before people have had a chance to exit, or stopping in front of an escalator in a busy mall to talk with friends or answer a text.  Don’t get me wrong these things happen all over the world….. they just seem to happen a bit more often here.

Life in the Philippines – ‘Lines’

Once you have lived here or done enough tourism in the Philippines you realize that lines mean nothing.  If there even is a line people are going to cut and that is just the fact of the matter.  Say you are waiting at the meat department at a grocery store and are the next person to be served.  You have waited your turn and have been standing at the glass for a few minutes and the guy working is just finishing up with the other customer.

If a 40 year old woman walks up to the meat counter at that time you can bet that she will start saying her order before the guy has a chance to walk over to you.  It is almost a certainty.  Does she not notice you? Or does she just not care?

Another place this happens all the time is at the package counter at the malls.  Say you want to go into a store and already have a bag with you and aren’t allowed to bring it inside so you leave it with them.  There are clear places for lines but half the people just walk up and start trying to get the guy to either take their bag or their number so he can get their bag.  It doesn’t matter if it is just 1 person or 10 people waiting some people just pretend that there is no one else around.

In situations like this the worker usually just ignores them but not always.  I am a very non confrontational person and sometimes let it slide, or sometimes say something to the worker like “excuse me I was next” in a polite way.

However there are times (usually if I am in a bad mood or have a headache) where I want to make the other person ‘lose face’ and will make a bit of a scene so people stare at them.  I don’t do that often because I hate confrontation, but from time to time I will.  The thing is I doubt it really bothers them that much because they clearly don’t care about anyone else.

I used a 40 year old woman as my example because I have found they are by far the worst perpetrators of this.  They certainly aren’t the only ones, but they definitely do it the most often.  I also could have listed 20 different type of line examples but I think you get the picture.  I am sure it sounds petty, and it is, but time after time after time seeing it can wear on you.

On the Roads

This is another place  you will notice that people just really do not care about anyone but themselves.  They will cut you off, drive in your lane, pull halfway out and stop traffic…… they don’t care they just do what they want to do. That’s just how it is living in the Philippines.

It can make for some very dangerous situations and is one of the main reasons I won’t get a motorbike.  You really need to have your head on a swivel at all times because some drivers here have no awareness at all.

One time I am walking on a sidewalk and have to cross this small street.  There is a jeepney waiting to turn on the main road but the main road is very crowded.  I am approaching from his right and can see right into his window at his head.  He is looking left the entire time and right as I am 2 feet from walking in front of him he pulls out.

He never looked right once in 20 seconds.  He had zero clue that I and other people were about to walk in front of him.  If it had happened 2 seconds later he would have hit us.  The old “look left, look right, look left again” thing is not something that gets taught over here apparently. Maybe he thought the next typhoon was about to hit.

Riding in jeepneys is another place where you will see frequent rudeness.  Many of the jeep stops don’t have lines and during rush hours there will be lots of people waiting for the next jeep.  When one shows up the most aggressive people just crowd the exit making it hard for the people on it to get off, and then there is a fight for any open seat.

If you are timid you may wait for an hour or more while someone who just walked up takes your seat.  I kind of will feel like an a-hole at times when I get on one after just arriving, but I’m also not gonna sit there and wait while others take my spot.

Don’t get me wrong life in the Philippines is great, overall Filipinos are very friendly.  You can walk up to one and start a conversation about anything.  But it is also a dog eat dog world here in some ways and you really have to stand up for yourself because no one else will.

18 Responses

  1. jspill says:

    same thing in Thailand

  2. Skins says:

    Haha same shit in Vietnam too. I swear people here don’t give a single fuck about your comfort or personal space. Some guy will stand right next to me while I’m eating at a food stall and start hacking and spitting on the ground. Then blow his snots out, light up a smoke and start screaming into his $2 nokia phone. The locals don’t even flinch! This is considered normal behavior.

  3. John Pierre says:

    They eat dog food because they are small pussies.

  4. Jay says:

    Its the culture. Parents say rude things to their kids like “you are ugly and will never marry” and this passes along generation to generation.
    They don’t know any different. In their eyes its not rude but just everyday conversation.
    Pathetic? Absolutely.
    Having children is a status for them. And most want male babies for whatever screwed up reason.
    My advice…..stay away from this place.

    • thibault says:

      err.. we aint saying we want to perfectly mingle with filipino at all cost; there are good reasons to go there; and , well, they are detailed enough in this blog.
      i mean, people are less rude in the west? hum. comunitys are dissolving quickly, due to liberal economics and politics. compare this with duterte, that tries to keep order at all cost.
      and it works. proof that our weak societie are doomd, you cant be non rude and not require from others to do so. it can only happen when people are very pressured by law.
      europe is devastated by immigration, and you wantthem to be weak ? they are not stupid like us. they wont accept anything.

    • kick2dante says:

      the funny thing is the type of rudeness you just described (telling people they are ugly) is not the type of rudeness i am talking about at all

  5. MadPat says:

    I am a foreigner living in Manila and thought that i was the only one who noticed the rudness like being stared at like i am from another planet. Just going to the mall is a challenge for me. I am at the counter buying something and a filipino will just cut in front of me like i am invisible.

    • chris says:

      i am also foreigner living in manilla. and you are soo right! sometimes i feel really akward when they are staring for ages without blinking. i also have a miserable neighbour who is always telling me what to do like shes my mother or something.

  6. Mikey Johnson says:

    The fucking staring even after you’ve lived at a place for a bit and they STILL KEEP LOOKING AT YOU. The ugly laughing. Cutting in line. The two-faced personalities where they talk smack about you and your girl but then they wanna pretend to be ur friend. Fuck off.

    Or how abt when ur chilling with ur buddy and u guys are enjoying yourself and laughing and having a good time and they’re staring bc they think ur being obnoxious. But then they’ll make ugly guttural laughing sounds bc some fat kid in their group made an unfunny joke.

    With the way they act they can’t complain about being treated like shit in the Middle East or HK.

  7. Jen says:

    I hate the staring, and the controlling behavior. I also hate the rude questions from strangers like are you single? And if so, they ask why. Like, why don’t you mind your own business? Then, the most butt ugly ones have the nerve to make fun of other people’s looks. It’s really annoying AF. But if you make fun of them, or call them out on their behavior, they can’t handle it and go buck wild on you with profanities and maybe even getting physical.

  8. jellybean says:

    Not that you guys are doing anything wrong or they still aren’t being rude. But as far as the line cutting goes, their attitude towards personal space is different from ours. When in line now I’ve learned to stand directly behind the person in front of me, like I can almost breathe down their neck…lol People don’t cut in front of me anymore. I know that goes against what we deem to be considerate as far as giving people their personal space, but that’s the norm here.

  9. ronald says:

    Thibault I am from europe….
    we accept everything from all the foreighners where we drown in here
    cause it is not allowed to discriminate foreighners,
    but they (the minorities) are allowed to discriminate us (the white, the hetero)..

    there are so much bad words about phil locals.
    just think of them like they are selfish curious kids
    who only think on snacking and partying with their friends
    who have no anny (self)respect so they ask each moment for (more) money without being thankfull about the things you already gave them. so better give nothing.
    also no anny respect for their kids
    and all money flows to their mama cause she is so good.
    and their lazy papa cause he made her haha…

    i just keep surviving my pinay to say to myself that i want to fuck a teen so i have to accept such teen brain..
    but i am 62 year old! she looks 12 year old but is 24. So how you survive? LOL
    my dutch ex sais my girlfriend has a mental disorder and would go to closed treatment hospital here.
    but i saw much worser pinay (the jolibee fat) and much worser pinoy, like groups of monkeys..

    just see them as a group of monkeys who take care of eachother and we are only there to give…
    they even treath us also like monkeys (showing us arround in the family – look i have a white monkey)

    ronald

  10. Zygote says:

    @Ronald You get what you give I guess. I have a pinay too. Family has never asked for money.

    Even my gf, who comes from a slum is ashamed to ask.

    But I’m not a racist sexist old man who clearly has no respect for the people who’s country he is in.

  11. John cooper says:

    I don’t why I’m the way I am but I been this way ever since I was a young boy when it come down to a lady or ladys I never had the feeling of fucking any of them and I always like the one who was nice to me I stayed a virgin man until I was twenty five years ago and the reason i did is because I was looking for a lady who felt like I did so we could have experience the art of making love together it’s along story how I lost my virginity but I was helping two lady that worked at this beer bar I hàd all ready went home for night i would go there to shoot pool these two lady were making bet who was going to be the first one some how they new they were twenty years older so at closing time it was a very cold night the wind was blowing ice was on the grass in my front yard they both had car at the bar one went out and let the air out of one of her tires then since I live right around the corner and they hàd my phone # at the bar just for this reason so I went there and change her tire the other one took off and went home the other said to me she had to much to drink and did not want to get a drunk driving then she asked if she could stay on my sofa for the night so I told her ok when we got there she needed to use the bath room while she was doing that I went and got her a blanket and a pillow she was sure taking a long time so when and checked on her and she was naked in my bed so I turn around to go sleep on the sofa where I lived you could put your arm out the window and touch the house next door so when she seen me she started yelling so loud. Calling me a chicken shit and then it got louder I new next door could here her yelling so I said ok bitch and I put it in her mouth to shut her up she is the only bitch that I will say I have ever fucked all the other I made love to them aǹd when I got off her and went to use the bath room she did not even put her clothes on. She grabbed her clothes left her shoes. My front door wide open she ran across my ices grass I only could here her car speeding off so I drove by the bar that day and she was working and I gave her the shoes she though it was funny that is when she told me about the bet I got so mad at her as she told me when śhe got off work she was coming bye I said I don’t think so your done in my book for good all I need is one good faithful lady in my life to make me happy and this 8s how I really am love can go a long ways of you let it happen I no I was married for twenty three years and never cheated on her ever not one time even to this day I have not she was overdosed and died on my mom’s birthday the doctors at the hospital murdered her right in front I told them what they were doing twice and they did not care one bit l wanted to file a lawsuit against them but I had no money for lawyer so they got away with murder that is my story and I am sticking to it until the day I die and it’s the Gods honest truth every word I am so down and hurting but life will go on every day .

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