Juan is a popular name in the Philippines, but I have my doubts if more moms have been naming their children Juan nowadays. Aside from it doesn't sound sophisticated, the name has had a bad reputation because of Juan Tamad.
Juan Tamad or Lazy John was a term popularized in the 1900's and still famous today because he waited for the guava to fall into his mouth rather than getting it. For some reason he became the representative of Filipinos and every foreigner looks at every Juan to be Juan Tamad.
We can't blame them, but we can't be blamed either! After being colonized for hundreds of years, where do you think our practices came from?
Juan Tamad is actually an insult to us. Many see us stupid and guillible. Well, guillible, true, but stupid?!? The fact here is, we Filipinos are very nice and trust easily. We believe in the benefit of the doubt, yet...we get fooled. What's worse is...we get fooled again. Stupid? No, we're just easy to convince.
The best example of that? Look around you. You will not see Juan Tamad. Most Filipinos work so hard even if the returns are small. Is that Tamad? Absolutely not. Most really just lack the motivation. With such bad opportunities here in the country for everyone, I myself might take the "guava option" instead of wasting my time and energy. Maybe Juan Tamad is not the right term for us.
You do agree that Juan Tamad is just a myth, right?
You do agree that Juan Tamad is just a myth, right?
