Filipinos Denigrated on ABC's Desperate Housewives

[niky]

i was watching a travel documentary on Nepal last week . it was aired on GMA7 with a pair of comedians as hosts.

they were also making fun of Nepali food and people.

and how often do we hear a "Bumbay" joke on our local TV Sitcoms and Lunchtime shows ???

+1.

Being half-foreigner, I have a unique perspective on this.

I've often been the butt of jokes here, and my Mom has been offended, at times, by the local sense of humor.

Long after it's become passe to make racist jokes, we still have comedy shows in the Philippines that poke fun at black people, ugly people and midgets. We still make jokes about the Chinese corner-store owner.

Isn't this sort of like the pot calling the kettle black? I saw that Maverick and Ariel skit, too.

[Stoner]

Nobody seems to want to say something about what I said before...

What about the possibility of setting a precedent for our medical professionals? You cannot underestimate the gullibility of some people watching TV... What if they start to think that there's actually something wrong with Filipino nurses/doctors/etc because Desperate Housewives aired something about it? There's always that possibility....

With regards to the cheating, one incident of cheating should not permanently mar the reputation of our medical workers. Anyway, the same Filipinos take the same medical licensing tests as Americans do. So the people who cheated will not be able to get into the US to work anyway...

I, for one, think that we, as Filipinos, are somewhat a bit too proud and oversensitive. One little thing like some Filipino artist got into Hollywood or had mediocre success abroad, and immediately we shout out praises and put him/her on a pedestal for the world to see. One little joke lang about our Filipino culture or something our contrymen did, and we raise our pitchforks howling discrimination/intolerance/prejudice...

However, in this case, I actually think that there may be some legitimate grounds for us to take action to rectify some erroneous notion other people may have that will actually be damaging to us (specifically, our medical graduates)...

[Negus]

+1.

Being half-foreigner, I have a unique perspective on this.

I've often been the butt of jokes here, and my Mom has been offended, at times, by the local sense of humor.

Long after it's become passe to make racist jokes, we still have comedy shows in the Philippines that poke fun at black people, ugly people and midgets. We still make jokes about the Chinese corner-store owner.

Isn't this sort of like the pot calling the kettle black? I saw that Maverick and Ariel skit, too.

+1.

There's an episode in Probe (tv program) wherein they interviewed a leaving ambassador of an african nation in the philippines. When asked if he enjoyed his stay in the Phils, he said he will never be back. He get stares everywhere and people make faces behind his back. little kids dance around him while people laugh at the scene...

I am half-japanese and you must know how most Filipinos view the Japanese.... The funniest sh!t they call me is "champoradong hapon" even I myself laugh due to its sillyness. Even here in japan, we are specifically called "Hafu" which in subtlety, means "half the ability, intelligence". I've been called so many names. sanay na ako....

pero through it all I am still proud to be Filipino. . Sa pinas ko natutunan paano maging tao.

[Bogeyman]

What about the possibility of setting a precedent for our medical professionals? You cannot underestimate the gullibility of some people watching TV... What if they start to think that there's actually something wrong with Filipino nurses/doctors/etc because Desperate Housewives aired something about it? There's always that possibility....

A possibility, yes, but not an absolute certainty.

And a remote possibility at that. Did Hatcher's character even elaborate what was exactly wrong with having a medical diploma from the Philippines?

NO.

Why?

Because she couldn't back up such an off-handed comment, and I doubt that other people would be able to justify their discrimination against Filipino health workers in turn, when the same TV show that "gave" them the idea couldn't. Not unless certain Filipino health workers give them good reason to, anyway. The Philippines has been sending medical workers to the US long before Desperate Housewives even existed as a TV show; Americans can attest to the professional and exemplary care that they provide (I wish Filipinos back here can avail of that same world-class treatment, but that's a different story).

And if, in their ignorance, they do eventually discriminate against our hard-working countrymen, it's their loss, not ours. When they find that their prejudice is largely unfounded, they'll be crawling back to our doorsteps soon enough.

A lot of Filipinos are afraid of their own ghosts.

[Stoner]

Whether the possibility is remote or not depends on the each person's view... so I guess that's pretty much debateable...

But the possibility is there. Whether or not a reason was given, a seed was planted... and that seed has (or may have) the capability to grow and take on a form by itself.

It's kinda like gossip. While it may be harmless now, we may never know what it will develop into as it passes from one mouth to the other. Alam mo naman some people. Given enough blanks, they will fill in their own assumptions...

Also, I don't think it's fair to say that it's only their loss. It will also be ours because a lot of Filipinos have already established themselves (through hard work) in the US as good medical practitioners. Sila ang maapektuhan if ever na maging serious ang notion na ito...

On a side note, maybe mga iba sa atin naiinis din sa mga pag-cclamor against the show because of earlier cases similar to this have... I dunno, sobrang babaw na reason for action...?

[GasJunkie]

^^^^^^^^^

THIS




:drool:


PS *bogeyman not that magically appearing post

[Bogeyman]

Also, I don't think it's fair to say that it's only their loss. It will also be ours because a lot of Filipinos have already established themselves (through hard work) in the US as good medical practitioners. Sila ang maapektuhan if ever na maging serious ang notion na ito...

In the same way that it is not fair to say that Filipino medical practitioners in the US will suddenly find themselves objects of prejudice; that's just not giving due credit to their hard work and diligence. It will take more than some random line from a fictional story to destroy their image, unless, as I've said, they give enough reason for Americans to think that way of them.

Now, I don't mean to denigrate my countrymen, but there's a cultural reason why this sort of thing happens in the US all the time, and not here. Americans can actually see past the humor. Filipinos, fond of beating around the bush, often use humor to get to the truth, which often results in paranoia.

[theveed]

Stoner: Is the Phil med practice that weak that bonafide professionals can't stand up on their own and can be "permanently" damaged by a 1.5 second line???

[b1rken5tock]

wala na bang puwang ang mga balat sibuyas at pusong mamon sa tsikot?

[b1rken5tock]

IMHO, if you are a medical practitioner in the US of A, and your patients happened to watch that DH episode, maybe you should take this as an opportunity to educated them and explain to them why you are practicing medicine in their Land of Honey and Opportunity...

explain to them that you took evening classes and that you underwent rigorous exams and stateboards to qualify to practice medicine. if they still question your qualifications, tell them to contact the gov't department who gave you the license to practice...

i'm sure that pinoy medical professionals are so good with their jobs that their patients will never bother about the 1.5 sec DH scene.

yung lang po...