Many cultural beliefs in the country make many people say that “it’s more fun in the Philippines”.
But despite the Filipino values, Filipinos have adopted numerous kinds of practices that follow the word ‘shaming’, one of which is smart-shaming.
Smart-shaming is an act by people who literally shame or sarcastically respond to people who carry more knowledge about a particular topic.
People who smart-shame share multiple remarks that might be too familiar for some, such as “Edi, ikaw na ang magaling!” (Sure, you are now the great one!)
Many Filipinos have been deprived of education, especially in our history, but now that there are a lot of means to learn and many utilize them— people can’t seem to wrap their heads around it.
When someone is sharing their knowledge, may it be on social media or in person, some people feel threatened by them, as they kind of break the status quo, and people might strike them as elitist.
It’s a shame that people smart-shame because of anti-intellectualism or are opposed to someone’s growth, especially in terms of knowledge, as if consuming knowledge is not one of our main goals in life.
Many famous personalities or leaders use their humor and character instead of showing their intelligence because the mass seems to like it.
Instead of knowledge, other people show more support for ignorance; and they might be doing it because it is convenient and doesn't challenge anything.
But there will never be a reason to make smart-shaming valid, so it has to stop; it needs to end for us to attain a progressive environment that does not foster toxicity.
In households, some younger generation children might find intelligent conversation an impossible thing to have as their parents might shut them off about it or even see their sharing of knowledge as disrespectful— when it shouldn’t be that way.
It’s time to aim for better things; we should not hope for the next generation to be passive about things and accept things how they are; we want people who will apply and pass their knowledge to others to make a single change and make something right.
For so long, Filipinos have been striving for available education, and now that many of us have access, we should celebrate it.
However, people can only celebrate education if people in our society don’t make them so afraid to exhibit and disseminate it.
So, if you ever feel intimidated about the knowledge of others, always try not to make it about you and think that they are doing it on purpose.
For the betterment, try to adopt a new perspective and be inspired, as everyone has ways to consume new learnings and a chance to be proud of it.
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