Escaping From Our “Bucket”

by A.M. Bernal

Perhaps you have seen or heard about the plot of The Hunger Games, a movie released early in 2012 where in an annual game, twenty-four youths from different districts have to kill all the others to win. Only one can survive. Players use different strategies and set traps to kill their opponents. 

This situation isn’t far from the real life version. Sociologist Gerald Abergos, in an interview on a local television show¹ in 2008, said Filipinos are very competitive. We want to be the best. We want to be ahead of the others. 

But do we have to be like the competitors in the movie in order to be declared the ultimate winner? Isn’t there an “everybody wins” option instead of a “winner-takes-all” picture? 

Inside the bucket

Some people are like crabs in a bucket clamoring to get out ahead of the rest while stepping on other crabs. They resort to harmful ways of getting what they want; they ridicule, backstab, slander and cheat. We label this as “crab mentality,” a trait associated with Filipinos. 

Abergos said crab mentality is driven by need or the unfulfillment of a desire. This started during the American invasion. He said because Filipinos needed to survive the “great transition,” Filipinos needed to be competitive. This could probably be linked to the “makapili” or the Filipino spies during the time. 

Carefully crawling out

We might all have “buckets” we want to get out of, situations that we want to improve so to speak, but we can do it without having to use “claws” and hurt anyone. Abergos noted that this trait is not ingrained in our culture. “Crab mentality happened to us because of a pressing need.” We can choose to carefully make our way out. How do we reverse the culture and get to a “win-win” situation?

Be sincerely happy and build others up. 

Because all the crabs are trying to get out at the same time, none of them can. This is why fishermen do not need to cover the container: the crabs are not going anywhere. 

There is one major difference between The Hunger Games battle and real life. In the movie, no one wins. In real life if we help each other, we can start a culture of cooperation and humility, and re-build the bayanihan spirit. 

Turn it into a healthy competition. 

Sometimes, just the right amount of jealousy can give the needed inspiration for a situation to improve. There is, in fact, something positive in crab mentality and competitiveness. Filipino anthropologist Felipe Landa Jocano said, “There are no negative Filipino values…there are only wrong uses of the values…” Since crab mentality is triggered by valuing what we do not have, why not use it to work harder and maximize our potential so we can get what we want?

Let go and find real joy and satisfaction. 

As the cliché goes, would we rather love things and use people? When we win at the expense of others, we feel a sense of victory, but does it give fulfillment and peace of mind, knowing that we made others suffer? Because we have different personalities and lifestyles, God blesses us in different ways. Know that we will have our own time to shine, and what we covet may not be as beneficial for us as we think. After all, our desires stem from our emotions, and emotions may not give us a balanced viewpoint. But when we consciously shift our values from the temporary and self-centered to the eternal and other-centered, the desire to lift up one another will come naturally. Our Lord Jesus said, “Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12:15, NLT)  

In fairness to crabs, Filipino columnist Larry Pelayo mentioned an experiment done by Filipino scientists in the 60s. At first, the crabs were pulling each other down as expected. When the crab with the largest claw was pushed to the top, it pulled the others up, aiding their great escape. 

The way out of the bucket involves not just yourself but a collective and united drive to help each other. If crabs in the experiment actually escaped altogether, why can’t we?

“Ang kapit-alimango ay sigaw ng damdaming Pilipino na nagsasabing ‘Dalhin mo naman kami dyan. Huwag mo kaming iiwan.’” – Felipe Landa Jocano 

¹ 100% Pinoy. Interview by Joaquin Valdes. GMA Network. Aired 13 March 2008.