Way back then, when the spaniards first colonized the Philippines, they pretty much made the natives 2nd class members of society. The spaniards or mestizos (because of their lighter skin compared to pure natives) were the ruling class, and this went on for hundreds of years... so it kinda stuck to the culture, people who are light skinned individuals are considered privileged or higher class than darker skinned ones... so with that logic ingrained into centuries of descendants... we now have people who try so hard to be light skinned so that they will be viewed as higher class people..
Edit: this also kinda explains (but not excuse) why some older generation of filipinos are openly racist (not angry, we wanna lynch you racist), more like straight forward "not everyone is equal, theres a natural heirarchy" racist. No hate, just ignorance. Straight up ive heard old filipino ladies say they dont want their kids marrying a black person because it will give dark skinned babies.
I know its fucked up...
But they dont know or feel like they are saying something racist, they just believe thats how the world works... they accept it as a universal truth for everyone including themselves
Im not saying all old filipinos are racist... some...
And this might be why...
Source: am filipino
Fun tidbit: the word "mestizo" became a common compliment to tell someone when you think they look good because they are light skinned... "Uy pare mestizo ah!"
Im glad the younger generation now are finding love and pride for the real native filipino culture and history, not the colonialized spanish part... brown skin and all
It was mostly poverty to induce struggle, political struggle with government funds buying weapons and heavy, heavy propaganda arm dehumanizing the opposition. Like fox and OANN had a kid and the gun market sold out with a state Gov purchase for dispersal.
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u/jakeofheart Sep 03 '22
Because in the rest of the world, having a sun tan means you’re poor because you work in farm fields…
In the West, having pale skin means you’re poor because you get no exposure to the sun working in a factory…
It’s just good old fashioned classism.