On Chameleoning

Our college publication adviser asked us to write on a 1/8 sheet of paper the word 'hunyango'. I did not know the word, even if it was a Filipino word. We were instructed to give that paper to someone in the group whom we thought to have some characteristics with that of hunyango. It was one of our group dynamics activities during our annual staff development seminar.

His description of a 'hunyango' has remained in my mind since then -- "it has the ability to change color."  In English, it is chameleon. It can change its color to green when it is near green leaves, or brown when it is near the soil.

We have an idiomatic phrase for a person like that -- 'sa pula, sa puti' -- meaning, a person turns red with a red-colored person, and white, with a white-colored one.  If there are two opposing issues or beliefs, a hunyango or chameleon can be A or B, depending on who is in front of him/her. We sometimes call it AC/DC personality, obviously for some reasons.

There is nothing wrong to blend with other people, be a 'hunyango' in some ways. There is a saying, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do."  Michael Bassey Johnson wrote, "When you are in the company of lunatics, behave like a lunatic. When you are in the company of intelligentsias, speak with brilliance... That is how a chameleon behaves, the territory changes it, and it adapts to changes." You fit wherever you go. You change according to the surrounding.

But we must also guard ourselves when doing so. When one chameleons his/her ways to please everyone all the times, he/she lacks the confidence to stand for a particular something which he/she believes is right or true, if the situation calls for him/her to do so. He/She just agrees with whoever is in front of him/her even if a thing is against his/her principle, according to how he/she senses the other person, so he/she could please the other subject to what he/she wants in return -- normally to be accepted and admired, or for certain benefits.

What is bad is when a human chameleon creates some issues that cause conflicts, say, between two people or more, then when he/she talks to them separately, he/she supports whoever he/she talks to at the moment, and provokes anger with the other/s. The sad thing on people with chameleon personality? You do not know when they are real.

John Green on 'Abundance of Katherines' says,

The problem with chameleoning your way through life is that it gets to the point where nothing is real.

That point where nothing is real is alarming. If someone is known for chameleoning, who will believe in the sincerity of what he/she says or does? The chameleon-type person will do anything out of fear of rejection. That person forgets that responsibility to stand for truth and principle when needed because he/she has a huge appetite for acceptance. A person who stands for truth and principle, will say white if white, black if black, because he is confident that he says the right thing, whether he talks to a pro-white, or a pro-black one. He/She is confident that people will respect and accept him/her for whatever he/she says, whether it is aligned to other's viewpoint or not.

People with a chameleon soul has no distinct personality. When it comes to loyalty, a dog is better than that them who have no fixed personality.

As for me, I passionately maintain my principle to confidently stand for something, without fear of rejection.

Recalling that college publication staff development seminar, I am happy that no one gave me that paper with the word 'hunyango'.

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Photo credits:  Pixabay