Hill Roberts: My own quotable (?) quotes

[hill roberts]

It's not what you hear, it's what you imagine. - Hill Roberts (posted in Strictly Filipina: The embodiment of who we are)

[hill roberts]

People may be altruistic, generally speaking, but when they have to fight their corner, selfishness becomes a natural prerogative.

[hill roberts]

Dignity comes in many forms. I believe that there is dignity in keeping silent when a person is suffering from chronic poverty. Why flaunt it just because you're poor? Filipinos just love to make a big deal how impoverished they are. Frankly, I am sick and tired of that boring attitude. This is another enlightenment of infinite self-pity. Time to talk about being well-off. It is nice to be well-off, too. What's there to stop people from saying it? Time to shift things around. ;)Who wants to romanticise poverty anyway?

[hill roberts]

The measure of a man is what he does with his power. - Plato

What does he do with his power? He abuses it.

With power, he is enslaved by it.

...and without power, he becomes vile and violent, prepared to do and protect, well, his power.

(From, Democracy is a sham in the 21st century--true or false?)

[hill roberts]

Years teach us more than books. - Berthold Auerbach

While Filipinos in general gravitate towards the activity on terciary education, and losing cash in the process, learning how to make money becomes a difficult task. ;)Spare  cash or the lack of it adds to the economic poverty of a student, but of course, his/her mind isn't impoverished by lack of learning. But, is it time to shut the books that educate us, and sacrifice reading for practical reasons, like earning a proper living, rather than just going through the motions of studying and learning, minus the skills required and so necessary in the 21st century?

[hill roberts]

On sex, Philippine setting: why we still hesitate to talk about sex

In my time, my parents never talked about this issue, nor were we daring enough to talk about it, in front of them , until we were much older. They didn't mind us being liberal and open with our observation and views, but they always felt rather embarrassed.

[hill roberts]

On locking up a 20-year old Arab girl in Bahrain for reading a poem

It's the overall disrespect for human dignity towards women in the Arab World that makes it sadder. In retrospect, what is even more baffling is when we begin to get "shocked" at the enormity of this kind of totalitarian behaviour when we know for a fact they do it without trepidation anyway.

[hill roberts]

Why are Filipinos a self-defeating people?

It could be because they still live in the 19th century, where age-old values, many of which are outdated, backward, phoney, lack the basic yearning to catch up with other forward-looking, forward-thinking races.
Filipinos love to be stuck in the rut they created for themselves---and they are happy to stay there and that way. One cannot even present simple proposals without quick resistance from others who think and judge right away that it would be impossible to do such a thing. This is the reason why the Philippines is not known for its good, exemplary points, rather for being a harbinger of more sad, pathetic self-pitying home-grown telenovela stories. The tear-jerking day-to-day activities of these people while being interviewed by silly, shallow, ignorant reporters adds to the growing misery of miserly attitude towards themselves. The fear of being afraid, the fear of fearing fear itself, and the fear that they create for themselves, as well as imagined fear makes me tremble with unnecessary fear. ::)Shouldn't we now ask ourselves, "Why were we born Filipinos?" Get me out of here!

[hill roberts]

Part 2--Why are Filipinos a self-defeating people?

It's rather tempting to say, "I'm ashamed to be a Filipino/a."  If Filipinos keep asking themselves and banging their heads on the wall each breathing moment of their lives by asking, "Who am I? Why was I born a Filipino? Why am I ashamed to be a Filipino?" By gum, we Filipinos are truly hopeless! In short, while Filipinos keep asking the same darn, boring stupid question, doesn't it make you think how egoistic Filipinos are, after all? ::)It is a mouldy assessment of what we have become, too, right? Isn't it time to look forward instead of harping on the so-called "glorious past" that the world doesn't really know about, or worse, even aware of? That we keep self-flaggelating that ancient "inferiority complex" problem as if it was biologically attached to the dirtiest and biggest toenail in the world?

[hill roberts]

The meaning of life is not to be discovered only after death in some hidden mysterious realm. - Paul Kurtz

The truth is, the meaning of life is not correctly dissected untill we are at the mercy of nearing death itself--then we all start to philosophise. After philosophising, regrets come. Too late because we have squandered what was supposedly the most important thing  to us: how to live.

[hill roberts]

A question from a facebook friend: Is China a Socialist country?

My answer: I'd say China is the biggest capitalist country in the world pretending to be the biggest communist country mankind has ever known. (From new group page, opened three days ago) "Buy Chinese Last"

Everybody is welcome to join. This new group page is about telling Filipinos to buy Chinese goods/products only as a last resort/alternative. It would be impossible to stop buying Chinese goods altogether since China is a world factory and where practically everything is manufactured there. This new group page was originally created by me in response to the growing aggression of mainland China to bully its neighbouring countries as well as their encroachment into Philippine Waters and territories. China's bullying tactics must be controled.

[hill roberts]

Do you easily break into tears? My post, Strictly Filipina: the embodiment of who we are

I care a lot about others but caring is different from showing too much emotion.

[hill roberts]

The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. - Pierre de Courbertin

Indeed, the challenge is fighting well , despite losing in the process. But losing is neither here nor there: one can think of having "lost" but the other would also claim defeat. :)To conquer is not about winning rather an attempt to impose his will for being unable to fight fairly.

[hill roberts]

Hello to dear Joe and forum members here,

My husband and I will be in the UK soon so I wouldn't be able to post anything here for the time being. I hope to be back in August. See you all when I get back. All the best!

[hill roberts]

Hello everybody!

Just got back from a long journey to England and Scotland. Drove 3,450 miles and now feeling physical tiredness. Hope to be back as soon as I can. Take care and see  you all soon.