Brand X

"Personality" as a psychological concept, as theorists of Filipino psychology would explain, is different from the local concept of "pagkatao". Personality is derived from "persona", Latin for "mask". It is a face. Something that one presents to others, and in effect, it is what people see.

Pagkatao, on the other hand, is more like an essence. Person-ness (albeit "person" is also derived from persona). It is something that exists despite what is manifested or seen.

I suppose you can deduce that the concept of pagkatao may also explain why Filipinos tend to forgive easily. A plunderer, a dictator, or a child rapist might have done something wrong, but if he is perceived to be good deep inside--his pagkatao is good--then it might be reason enough so he might be pardoned, or as what has been proven in recent Philippine history, to be even worth electing to public office or considered being buried in a heroes' graveyard.

*****

Guitar history lesson: The factory that makes guitars for Fender Japan was the same factory that made lower-priced imitations in the 70s to early 80s for Japan's domestic market. The factory made such good copies that people considered them to have better craftsmanship than the original Fenders made in the US. Their output was so good that it gave the original US-made Fender such a bad reputation; and to battle it, Fender bought it in the early 80s. It now produces guitars for Fender's domestic market in Japan.

You might hold your 70s Jap imitation with high regard now, but you realize that there will be some prestige that should be coming from the Fender brand (or at least by referring to it), and no matter how much better the craftsmanship your Jap copy has, you will find yourself explaining to others the greater value of craftsmanship over brand, but through time you will probably find yourself ignoring your guitar's intrinsic value, and maybe even find yourself considering replacing the decal on the headstock.

You force yourself to pretend. Brands do that to you.

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What would you feel if the person you loved told you that she wasn't being herself when you were together? That the person you loved--on whom you spent a lot of emotional currency; from whom you tried to base your entire identity; for whom you halved your life--wasn't her, but a mere personality of her, the one that shut her mouth up and made up stories, feelings and (gasp) realities so that she'd feel good about you feeling good about yourself?

I mean, it's like you got what you wanted, but you didn't get what you paid for. All of a sudden you realize that you were together for the feeling that the stigma of being together gave it--its brand--and not its intrinsic value.

And, you realize that all this happened in the span of a full 10% of your life expectancy. All that time. Wasted. Like withholding taxes in Philippine government, hoping that you'd get your taxpayer's money worth, but you know better that it will just go to modding some brat's Honda Civic. Like tithes going to the church, with full confidence that they will go to a noble cause, but you know better that it'll just go to cosmetic renovations. Like all that money spent on romantic dates just to get laid when you know better that you could've spent less on a whore.

But, like how Chris Cole found out that Bobby Beers was queer, it's bound to get funny soon enough.