Why is crab mentality prevalent to Pilipino’s?

It is very disappointing and nauseating to know that there are people who invent situations to make other people look bad. Instead of being happy with someone's good fortune, they like to bring them down. Envy perhaps.

It seems that it is very prevalent among Filipinos and reveals the short-sighted thinking of people who pull other people down, denigrating them rather than helping them achieve their goals.

Crab mentality is very active nowadays given the global crisis. The success of individuals would be disappointing to others and would often draw questions such as: why him and not me? Even our own neighbors would talk behind our backs and spy on our daily activities. I find this so pathetic but that is the trend nowadays. It is very hard to know who our real friends are anymore.

Have you ever seen a bucket full of crabs? They all know that they will all end up eventually at the dinner table, and if a crab attempts to escape at the point of just jumping out the bucket, the other crabs will pull its leg back to the bucket. This metaphor symbolizes the Filipino mindset "if we can't have it, neither can you". Others can’t simply accept that someone is better that them.

But I am a Filipino who still believes that there are still many who embody a positive attitude and are actually concerned about other people rather than dragging them down. Sadly, negative images stay in mind.

I hope that this practice would end in this generation because how can we move forward and succeed as a nation when the so called sovereign Filipino people, not controlled by outside forces, are dragging one another and hoping for one to fail.

Even divine intervention could not stop this silent but deadly rage of the majority. Only time will tell how far will this wicked mentality go. Envy, as far as I’m concerned, is an incurable thing.