I guess we could be Asia’s Italians, or that Italians are Europe’s Filipinos, because many Filipinos also appreciate foreigners trying to learn our languages, customs and country. We go crazy when visitors try to say “Magandang umaga” o “mahal kita.” Italians also find it cute when non-Italians try their best to speak Italian.

Now, multiply this by a thousand or a million in this age of social media and you get an explosion of videos of foreigners — foreign spouses or friends of Filipinos, permanent residents or tourists — flexing their love for all things Filipino. We now have perhaps hundreds of non-Filipino content creators focused on the Philippines and various things Filipino.

Quite expectedly, a vocal few are surprisingly offended and they accuse the foreigners and non-Filipinos of “Pinoy-baiting,” or a deliberate effort to gather social media clout from Filipinos. I don’t buy it. It could be simply a result of the Philippines being the world’s social media capital and Filipinos being on top of social media usage and mastery for more than a decade. Then, we also have at least 15 million Filipinos living or working abroad. Surely, they affect or influence people there.

What these foreigners and all sorts of nationalities with Filipino ancestry (many of them have rarely or never visited the Philippines since their grandparents left the country) do is something these offended Filipinos cannot or would never do: Unapologetically explain, showcase and champion our country and people online. I guess they are the worst among Filipinos afflicted with colonial mentality and low IQ and EQ regarding our national identity and many things Filipino.

That these Filipinos appear to be irked that foreigners give attention to and highlight our languages is unsurprising. They most probably are the same Filipinos who look down on Philippine languages whether as lingua franca, medium of instruction, or language for business and governance. But our overseas Filipinos cannot be stopped from speaking Philippine languages, and they cannot help to express themselves everywhere. They are bound to be heard by Southeast Asians who are our regional neighbors and with many of whom belong to the same language family. We also cannot stop our visitors, including tourists, from hearing us speak.

Then, there’s our food and cuisine. Then, our natural wonders, town festivals, traditions, and customs. Foreigners look at them with fresh eyes. True, some may be boring or perhaps too simple. But I don’t think most foreigners leave the country unimpressed. In fact, the Spaniards went here and did not leave for three centuries. The Americans never left. Now, the Chinese are the latest to see the worth and wealth of our islands and seas, and everything else included.

All these do not mean we don’t have problems. We have a lot, especially in the social, political, economic and cultural system that governs our beautiful country and which colors how we view ourselves and the world. The most ordinary “common tao” would ultimately concede this to visitors, given enough time. We tend to be apologetic about the situation. Some take this to absurd lengths to make it seem that the rotten status quo negates everything, including the objectively beautiful and the objectively interesting.

I just wish to add here, something timely for this weekend: Nearly 40 years ago, the Philippines and Filipinos themselves became the world’s darlings when after more than a decade of struggle, our parents and grandparents showed to the world a thrilling way to topple a dictatorship. In that age before the internet, the faces of Filipinos could be found on TV news and newspapers worldwide, as freedom fighters of the first order. It inspired people elsewhere. Many may have become cynical about what happened after or since, but that feeling does not invalidate that world-historic achievement.

The next time you see a foreigner content creator focusing on the Philippines, and doing it really good, say thank you. Better yet, join them. Make our language, food, culture, arts, sports, traditions and history the star of our own content. Reach out to Filipinos abroad. Flex our country and people. Inspire others. For everything else like social problems, there are the revolutions and heroes to remember and learn from.