Philippines Named as One of the Most Racist Countries in the World
Recent data from the World Value Survey shows that the Philippines is one of the most racist countries in the world.
This survey basically asked people what kinds of people they wouldn’t want to live near and then counted the amount of people who chose ‘people of a different race’ for each country. Apparently, societies, in which people wouldn’t want to live near other races are considered to be more racially intolerant.
Philippines Named as One of the Most Racist Countries in the World
The global social attitudes study claims that the most racially intolerant populations are all in the developing world, with Jordan and India in the top five.
While the country with the most racially intolerant people is Jordan, with 51.4% not wanting to live near another race, India is close behind with 43.5%. The Philippines lies in the 20 to 29.9% bracket along with other countries like Thailand, France, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Hong Kong; only below counties such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea in the 30-39.% bracket.
The most racially tolerant countries are mostly Western countries, such as Britain, Canada, Australia and the U.S. In fact, only 3.8% of U.S. residents are reluctant to live near another race.
What are your thoughts on this? Are we Filipinos really that racist?
in some ways i guess..but i would disagree on some..
Clearly, the interpretation of the graphic is wrong or the author is color blind. Based on the map, Philippines is in the 20 – 29.9% bracket. In South East Asia, the countries that fall under the 30-39.9% (more racist) are Indonesia and Vietnam.
Filipinos originally are hospitable, generous, and merciful. We kind of discriminate because we are being discriminated by almost all countries. It’s kind of our way of defense.
I began my post here saying that – if the survey followed widely accepted statistical methods and tools – the conclusions would be credible. Then I decided to look up World Value Survey, the source of the study, and found that it has been around since 1981 and that the U.N. and World Bank use its services. That said, I think its conclusions have merit.
I will say though that the study’s “racially intolerant” conclusion can have a different shade of meaning versus the more widely interpreted meaning of “racist.”
A few personal thoughts…
1) As a 60 year-old born and raised Filipino with an estimated family, social, and professional circle of 1,500 Filipinos (my “sample size”), I can very roughly guess that a good 30-40% are overt racists. They express generalized and disparaging opinions of other nationalities.
2) In the World Value Survey, it’s interesting that with the exception of France, the most “racially intolerant” nations have been colonized at one time or the other, while the “most racially tolerant” countries, like Britain and the U.S., were colonizers. Canada and Australia have their own dynamic that I’m unable to comment on at this time.
My own conclusion? There’s something to be said about the views of a people who’ve been subjugated by another nation. It appears that an environment has been created for them that somehow abets racial discrimination or – at the least – a critical attitude towards people who are “different.”
What we need to do if we aim to be a leader or member of a truly global community is to know how our history and cultural environment affect our thinking and to shed their undesirable effects, racial intolerance or outright racism being one of them.
I have heard they have the most corrupt government in the planet.