Jesus certainly had his share of haters and bashers. They had already judged Jesus to be “an evil-doer,” as they informed Pilate early on, and they had absolutely no intention of changing their mind.
They had already decided that it was for their nation’s good–as well as their own–if Jesus were crucified, and nothing was going to get in their way–not even Pilate.
And when they needed to, they had no qualms about making whatever pronouncement was needed to achieve their goal of crucifying Jesus–even if it meant saying something absolutely unacceptable to their people–like “having no king but Caesar.”
Some soul-searching is called for here. Do we sometimes treat others the way the Jewish leaders treated our Lord? Are we judgmental of others, our minds closed to revising our opinions of them or dropping the convenient labels that we use?
Perhaps it will help if we once again think about the modern-day versions of Jesus’ enemies. Note that they very much resemble today’s online bashers and haters, those people online who are constantly negative, and who engage in bullying and shaming others.
Do we have such tendencies–whether online or off?
The 2017 McCann study asked its respondents whether or not they had ever posted a negative comment about someone they know. Again the findings are very interesting.
Here are the results: Globally, 12% of the respondents have posted a negative comment about someone they know at least once. Note how the number drops as the respondents get older.
Note while the same pattern is seen in Asia Pacific, the numbers are slightly higher: 16% of the respondents have posted a negative comment about someone they know.
The findings for specific countries in Asia Pacific–including the Philippines–are very telling.
What do you think of these findings? Do you agree with them–particularly the Philippines surpassing the numbers of other countries?
Post your comment below and read what others say before moving to the NEXT section.
57 replies on “JESUS’ HATERS AND BASHERS”
Sad, but not surprising. I am also guilty of this. One really unpleasant trait we have Filipinos is gossiping and crab mentality. Sometimes we succumb into talking badly about other people and feeling righteous, not thinking and acknowledging that we ourselves are far more imperfect and sinful.
Sad and True..
Surprised and sad that PH is ahead in these numbers. I thought this was a global phenomenon. It looks like it is more prevalent with the pinoys.
Social media have paved the way to Filipinos’ judgemental character. We are! We have been brought up that way, unfortunately! Why?
Perhaps we should always be mindful of other people’s context before passing judgments on them. Ang dali talaga minsan humusga na lang kaysa umunawa.
I guess its because one doesnt truly know the other person. Only the mistake or how you understood what happened or how you saw what happened and how other sees it, is what makes you judge another. For me I am really angry at people for making me feel pain. I have cursed them and made them feel my anger and hatred.
Guilty here. In the bigger context/as a people, mahilig mamuna tayong mga Pilipino.
Yes. Especially during this election time!
We should cultivate interiority so that we will be less judgmental.
I agree. In more than 14 countries I’ve been to, I observed that many Filipinos abroad are the very first people to judge, discriminate and stare sharply at their fellow Filipino with an older spouse.
It is really sad and disappointing to know that this is happening in the Philippines, most especially to the youth. The youth should use technology not only to satistfy themselves but to help improve their lives, their families and the country. And as of this case, the youth should use this technology, social media and other technological advancements in evangelizing, and to be a good example and inspiration to other youth.
Most likely, it is envy that pushes people to make negative comments. It is sad that the crab mentality of Filipinos is still alive today.
I hope that we will eventually be better morally as a nation
Is the Philippines the troll capital of the world as shown by these statistics? How sad …. how we have descended morally as a nation. Don’t we have the highest number of Christians and Catholics in Asia? Where are our Christian values? Lord please heal our land of this malaise gripping us …. Help us to see the Christ in us and in our brothers.
Let kindness & compassion rule. Be clear on the rules of correction to avoid public shaming. To all bullies..face your fears!
Just sad to see that rating. I guess we are all guilty of being uncharitable to other people, one way or another.
Our words are very powerful. They can make or break others. This calls us to be responsible netizens and citizens, to use our influence for building our nation rather than bashing & spreading hate.
Factual criticism of what needs to be corrected is part of democracy. But if trolling for pain, for pleasure, or for gain (professional/paid trolling) is included in the reasons behind the PH’s top list, we need a serious soul searching personally and communally. I wonder when we will overcome the fear vs the Pilates of today or those who act like Caesar… Oh, how long O Lord before we realize what we are doing to ourselves, to our country… Where we are in social media and politics reminds me of Jesus’ words to the women of Jerusalem: “Weep for yourselves….” May the Holy Spirit guide us and wake us all up to what promotes life for all, dignity for all…Lord, have mercy on us. Kyrie, eleison! Christi eleison! Kyrie, eleison!
Could it be that we in the PHilippines have so much time in our hands that we always have to “say” something about anything?
It’s sad that as a country in Asia that is predominantly Catholic, we have the highest rating in bashing through social media. I don’t know if this perception is correct, but I feel that the presidential election in 2016 may have heightened the bashing and bullying incidence. The strategy of dividing the electorate along the lines of Yellow and otherwise, the promotion of identity politics have worsened the situation.
Many times I look for what’s wrong rather than what’s right. But actually, it’s what I think is wrong. I refuse to acknowledge that others are right because I only think that I’m better than others.
Speech has its power. What was said by someone is irreversible. It’s sad to know that Filipinos have used speech in a wrong way. It’s sad that the gift of words has been taken for granted. May we build up others and encourage them to be better people, rather than destroy, spread hate and cause division.
Most of the times if my comments or idea is negative I will not post something on the Social Media. For I know it will just implicate how I am as a person. Like what I think if something a friend or co-workers commented negative about a person, more than his comment it showed what kind of person he is to me.
Let’s counter it by doing random acts of kindness.
Filipinos are known to have a crab mentality and online fanatics…This is no surprise…
I think the results reflect the time Filipinos spend on social media. As a culture, I think we are very sociable compared to other cultures, which is why we interact often on social media. As to bashing and trolling, I think it’s partly due to Western cultural influence. The young see all these comments and think it is acceptable or even “in” because so many people engage in it. There is also lack of accountability. If identities could be determined online, I doubt people would be so negative and horrible on social media. But it could also be a magnification of what happens in real life. The ones with the unpopular opinions get bashed and punished.
May not be an online troll but i am guilty of gossiping, okray, and bring judgemental. Not proud of it. I am glad I have a couple of friends I “think out loud” to and they help me realize what I have just said by compassionately clarifying my thoughts and intentions. I do wish to change this hurtful trait.
I once was but no longer. It’s absolutely worthwhile and a wonderful feeling of compassion and kindness fills you. I still have to check myself tho and have to remind myself to follow self-constraint. Peace.
Social Media has cultivated and strengthened the crab mentality of Philippine society. It has given way to a system of non accountability for our politicians and the greater publc.
It is a sad truth, but this is modern day ‘crab mentality’. We try to pull down other people thru negative comments thinking that this would help us get the advantage.
We are not united as a nation.
Filipinos tend to be very good at finding flaws in other people. When someone does something good, they will say something bad about that person.
I pray that Filipinos will start highlighting the good points instead of just focusing on the negative things. There should be a balance between the two. And hopefully we will learn to have genuine concern for each other.
It has been observed that the Filipino is a divided people. Divided geographically being an archipelago and drawing divisions among the different language groups such as the Tagalogs, Visayans, Ilongos, Ilocanos, Cebuanos etc. Abroad, you will come across many Filipino organizations unable to become one because of the differences mentioned above.
I do not know when the Filipino will ever act as a nation.
There is a fine line between abusing what’s called freedom of speech or truth-telling and bashing/ad hominem, how easy it is to shame and critique rather than reflect about consequences of calling out someone. I’m 50/50 about this because we have to keep calling out errors in governance, etc., but I guess it depends on the situation. When it comes to non-politicians, we should REALLY discern if this is proper on social media. Sometimes people deserve it, sometimes people don’t. Again, depends on each and every situation.
It is a Filipino culture that is very distasteful … anything you give them for free ,they will destroy and will take it for granted and use it negatively… this social media is good if use it because it connect you to everybody in the world for less money.. no big fees for long distance anymore. Filipinos have too much time in their hands, gambling, drinking, drugs, smoking, laziness, corruption.. it will stay the same third world country forever, they need to change and thrieve to be better. They are falling behind other Asian countries bec all they want to do is to become what they are not … they are very Boustful and the have to post all their travels/ personal belongings when 95% of their people are starving and in the poverty level .. I hope GOD will intercede in their lives … By nature they are good people but because of too much poverty they are drawn to do bad things to survive .. PLEASE, LET US PRAY FOR THE PHILIPINES and their people , LORD WE PRAY FOR THEM .. AMEM
Ever since the 2010 elections, the culture of hatred and Bashing seems to become the accepted norm. People provoke others with fake news etc.
I envy countries like Japan and South Korea since their people are very nationalistic whereas the Filipino people are not. We can’t even accept a national language!
Anyway back to Pontius Pilate. I can see in him our modern day politician. He wanted to do the right thing but since he wanted to protect his own interest, he eventually relented and had Jesus crucified.
People today seem to be fine electing criminals to the senate than electing honest people.
How nice would it be if we have leaders who will not be afraid to stand for what they believe in is true and just.
Hating and bashing never helped solve anything. Let us avoid doing such. Our country needs to heal.
As with many other technologies, social media bring both good and bad. It connects us to people in so many ways but can disconnect us from our good selves. The anonymity or absence of face to face interaction makes some people forget their manners and kindness. Fake news abound because of this.
When have bashing and hating done any good?
A book I wrote got published by a major publisher. I was so proud and thankful. A couple of weeks after an acquaintance posted a scathing review without even bothering to read the whole thing. It was good to get humbling feedback but I would have preferred to get it without the negative publicity. Gladly my mom never got to read that review.
I don’t know when it started, when being kind and gentle became a bad thing in the Philippines.
When counting to ten or 100 to stop anger and bitterness from spilling over became a sign of weakness.
When social media probably just reflects the meanness of our society today .
Yes, bashers and haters abound in this age of social media. I may have put out a negative post once or twice but I stopped. Why spread negativity when you can do the opposite?
Oh it’s sad to know that the Philippines ranks the highest percentage of bashers in the Asia Pacific. ?
I don’t agree or disagree because I am not really exposed to social media in other countries. I don’t want to judge my country bases on that data. But if it’s true then it’s sad.
Am I glad that not as teckie as some other people are.. Don’t love reading comments both positive or negative???
It is ingrained in our culture that we have a lot about to say about others, and it’s totally acceptable when it should be discouraged. Gossip is a way to escape from the humdrum of life. This call out/witch hunt culture online OVER THE LITTLEST THINGS gives people the satisfaction that they are doing the “right thing” when they are just being noisy and disruptive. People are more quick to condemn/criticize but are rarely constructive.
Yes, I agree. i have succumb into this
Yes, I do agree with the findings. Sad to say, but we, Filipinos, are quick to judge other people. We succumb to the temptation to talk behind other people’s back to redirect the attention away from us. Instead of dealing with our own battles, how to effectively become better people, better version of ourselves, we make other people look bad. And for what? To make us look better and on top.
It’s a slippery slope between criticizing government policies, action or inaction and holding our leaders accountable for their actions — which is the right of every citizen — vs bashing. Oftentimes i cannot tell the difference.
There are various reasons for engaging in social media, and unfortunately one of them is indulging in vanity. Online bashing and hate is a form of vanity. Life is so short, so why spend the rest of one’s life in matters and things that fall short from promoting God’s love to others?
yup.unfortunately.we all have that in us.we are so good and quick to judge others,but never ourselves. its really sad.
Many of us live a double life. We appear good and kind to others in front. Once at the back or anonymous, we unleash our negative self. We learn to be more discerning and circumspect as we grow older bec we know the consequences. I went through this and I’m learning to become a better person.
It’s ironic that the only Catholic country in Asia-Pac, should have the highest incidence of bashing among the A-Pac countries. Somehow, we forget all our Catholic teachings once we are out of the church.
The temptation to post a negative comment about something or someone is so tempting given the anonymity of social media. I myself have felt that temptation many times & have succumbed to it. I try to control it but sometimes fail.
It is sessions like today which makes me realize that I have to put more effort. To pray to God for help if such a temptation is there.
We sometimes feel so self-entitled with our opinions even when nothing good may come out of it. We use hurting words just to stress a point. I’m reminded by a quote I read previously, “if you have no good things to say, it would be better to say nothing.”
We, as a nation, were either apathetic or reactive to bad comments and negative reactions particularly in social media. We are not a confrontative people by culture, I think. We are generally patient with people and we tend to overlook negative things about people especially if they have good qualities we value as well. Social media provided that space to be “tempted by pleasure” and have simultaneous release for negative things that irked us somehow with the anonymity which removes us from immediate repercussions of whatever “bad” things we say.
I totally agree with McCanns’ findings. I’ve seen many of these online bashers especially on groups that discuss politics. I also try to comment on certain topics especially if it relates to the economy but other than that I only try to defend issues that affect me personally like mental health. I really get triggered by insensitive comments from people who do not understand how clinically depressed people deal with their health problems on a daily basis. They are not aware that the suggestions they make are sometimes hurtful. If they really want to help, they should be more compassionate and understanding.
The crab mentality of the Filipino people is very apparent in the data presented by the study. What probably encourages us is the anonymity that social media can provide — we cannot fully assume responsibility for our actions because it will be very difficult to get caught. Which brings me to the second characteristic dominant among Filipinos — the glee we derive from scoring one over authority… of committing a crime and getting away with it!
Social media has been abused in the Philippines as a tool to malign other people as users have the benefit of anonymity.
In the Philippines, we post negative comments sometimes because we think this is a joke. The jokes are half meant so that when the person who is the subject of the joke reacts (always not a good reaction), the joker can always “redeem” himself by saying, “Ikaw naman hindi na mabiro.”
Why this culture continues, I do not know. And why can’t we comment constructively instead of negatively, I also do not know.
My daughter told me about a student in her university who posted her comment which was unpopular among activist students and she got bashed and bullied. I felt very bad because she was young and her opinion should be respected. The young should be taught about the perils of using social media. Bashers should be taught discipline in the face of opposition to what they have been comfortably doing.
Social media is like a snake pit. It brings out the worst in you especially when you have to deal with bashers and bullies. What starts as a harmless post to inform friends becomes a target for bashers and bullies.
There must be way to change this.
Yes, I have done that before out of exasperation. I have also been the victim of negative posts. It is not a Good feeling and a thing to so as well and so I have stopped it. And the only way for me to lessen the urge to do it again is to use Social media selectively.