No to smart-shaming and anti-intellectualism. Smart shaming is the pinnacle of passive aggressive arrogance.
Education is viewed as an avenue out of poverty. This was how parents would inculcate into the minds of the children. Looks like it’s still a long haul for the whole nation.
We value education as part of our culture. This explains why a big crowd is drawn during UPCAT. Recently though, as the state of education declines and access to good education became even more dismal, smart shaming has become the norm.
But why do we smart shame, and put idiocy on a pedestal?
It's our story of the monkey and the turtle and proverbs like "matalino man ang matsing..." some of the earliest references of smart shaming? Smart people are always the contra-bida?
Do we value education because it imparts knowledge and skills to people, or more because it's a useful signal that people can use for their careers/jobs.
Karamihan sa atin ayaw kinokorek. Ang laki ng ego, ayaw tanggapin ang pagkakamali, kahit scientific information na ibininibigay mo. Kaya yung tama, sila pang minamasama.
It became the norm when Pres Duterte became president. We had similar sentiments back in the day. Remember the Ramos-Erap-GMA transition?
There was an interview either during campaign or election season, and the respondent was asked by the reporter why they voted or would vote for Erap. The answer was along the lines of: "Nasubukan na natin yung matalino, subukan naman natin yung iba."
Then another episode during GMA's admin (post Garci), another on-the-street interview asked for sentiment, and it went along the lines of: "yan ang mahirap pag masyadong matalino ang nasa pwesto."
Everyone seems to support critical thinking, not realizing that it also means willing to be criticized yourself. Give some, get some. That's how it works.
Stories of corruption don't consistently enrage people, less so these days.
I think it's because our culture encourages conformity/collectivism. And in a country with 90% learning poverty, intelligence makes one stand out, and this tends to irk many people.
But note that in some other collectivist societies, intelligence is highly valued and celebrated.
Maybe this needs a proper study: define smart-shaming first, try to quantify it across countries/cultures, then identify its correlates/determinants.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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