Dying was not the problem

Edited: in March 2014

Frank Stagner talks about his imprisonment in Fort Santiago during World War II

Filipinos tend to make their calamities seem like nothing. They always seem to water down their personal tragedies, almost as if it is par for the course. Almost every Filipino I've heard speak or have interviewed regarding WW II, speaks of their traumatic experiences with the same light-hearted, dispassionate tone they use to tell what they ate for breakfast. It's almost as if they strive to under-represent their suffering - to tone down the gravity of their trials, and minimize their own anguish. Why? Why do they do that?

"Dying was not the problem with us."

What does he mean, It wasn't a problem? Dying is a problem. In fact, everything is a problem especially when you're a 9 year-old boy buried behind the five foot thick stone walls of Fort Santiago in a vermin-filled dungeon where you drink water from the same bucket in which you defecate; and where you are privy to the blood-curdling screams of prisoners being tortured day and night.

"My brother told us don't worry about it, there's nothing you can do about it...so I finally fell asleep."

Say whaaaa? I have never fully comprehended the incredibly long-suffering Filipino resilience. Their deadpan delivery of horrific tales is admirably heroic, yet wholly unfulfilling for someone who is trying to write a story about the gruesome suffering of Filipinos during World War II. The world should know what the Filipinos endured for their loyalty to America, but it is difficult to ascertain the breadth of Filipino experiences because Filipinos speak so blithely about it. In any measure, Filipinos find it impolite to impose their suffering on others. They should take lessons from America.

How do we Americans share details of personal suffering? With relish, of course. Victimization has never been more popular. American sensibilities are to complain with the severest superlatives, so that the whole world can know of our pain. We Americans are expected to rage against the mildest inconvenience or threats against our health, prosperity and mental well-being. Social media is replete with trigger warnings of any potentially upsetting image or concept. Americans war vociferously against second-hand smoke, high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, hurricanes, tornados and long lines at grocery stores. We demand our rights. And when our rights are trampled, we make noise. Lots of noise. We sue. We call the media, or we post on facebook and hope for viral coverage. Those who complain loudest get the most news coverage. They also get the greatest compensations, war reparations, and the biggest piece of any pie.

Filipinos don't complain, even when they have a right to do so. They should, for their own sakes, for if they had complained louder, the Philippines would surely have been extensively rebuilt like Japan after the war.