Desperate Housewives’ Rather Insulting Remark about Medical Schools in the Philippines
I got an email from Rob Klaproth this morning that points to a scene in a recent episode of well-known TV show Desperate Housewives, which he and his Filipino boyfriend found offensive and racist.
In this particular scene, Susan Mayer Delfino, played by actress Teri Hatcher, is talking with her doctor, which, I presume, is her OB-Gyne. She then tells him this line which marked the spot:
Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines.
You can listen to the 56-second MP3 of the dialogue that Rob sent me, which I uploaded on my Multiply.
Filipinos are talented and smart (but kinda stupid, yeah), and I can’t understand why a show like Desperate Housewives would stoop so low as to offhandedly throw an insult just like that. I know a couple of medical professionals who graduated in reputable medical schools in the Philippines. I know some medical students studying in “some med school in the Philippines.” They are all passionate and good doctors (but, mind you, I still disagree with the planned hospital holiday in private hospitals), so it escapes the mind why such a remark has been made, and what they think of the Filipino medical professionals in other countries.
I’ve never watched a single episode of Desperate Housewives, and right now, I’m glad that’s the case. I have quite a different taste when it comes to TV shows.
Addendum: What bothers Rob most about this is that he didn’t find anything on the internet about this issue. He thinks that it’s either Filipinos don’t watch Desperate Housewives, or they weren’t offended by that remark. I’ve just realized that we have a delayed telecast of almost every foreign shows in the Philippines. But anyway, has anyone watched the episode? It aired on September 30, 2007.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:04
we can’t be too onion skinned. I thought it was funny, and besides, it’s not as if it doesn’t have some truth to it.
it’s good that people are paying us attention from filipino ladyboys in ‘family guy’, karen walker’s filipino fetish in ‘will and grace’ and of course howard stern.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:18
I found this interesting line in a Time article, how “umbrage… [is] the new language of American politics”. Maybe it works for some minorities to get their panties all in a twist over a throwaway line in a sitcom; my opinion is, we really should pick what things we get mad at, if we want people to take our offense seriously. Filipinos getting beaten up for their race, now there’s something we should all get steamed about.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:13
nash said,
It is funny. It’s witty as hell. But “funny” stops when people (few, some, certain, whatever) get offended. But that’s just me, of course.
Add: Pero I admit I tend to blow off some issues that offend some people I know…Like The Da Vinci Code and my stand on legalizing divorce in the country. There are some thing I feel strongly about; there are some things I feel so-so about.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:25
micketymoc said,
They pick those that concern them or directly offend them. Can’t blame ‘em for that. It’s like the Tuition Fee Increase in UP. Some people don’t care only because they’re not directly affected since they’re pretty well-off anyway.
micketymoc said,
I agree. But some people let things like this pass because honestly, they don’t care.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:43
I’ve never watched a full episode of that show, but wow… Yeah, I know that Filipinos are smart. I have Filipino friends.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:53
I have never seen an episode of Desperate Housewives. Maybe they were referring to the those sleazebags who fake diplomas in Recto? How on earth they’d know about something like that, I’ve no clue. But yeah, it’s slightly offensive.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:38
@Gutter Girl: I highly doubt the scriptwriter knew about Recto and diplomas. Even if he did, if it were me writing the script, I would think not a lot of people would understand the cultural joke even if I explain what Recto is
That said, this blunder just proves how much more stupid Americans can be. We’re probably just as stupid a race. Although I seriously doubt that.
oh noez Teri Hatcher’s going to get a whole lotta fire for this
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:44
I think some blogs are starting to pick up the issue now.
You can actually view a clip of that scene from this blog: http://mindy-tv.blogspot.com/2.....izens.html
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:58
I happen to enjoy Desperate Housewives, the show is very witty. But I haven’t seen (downloaded, really) the episode that you’re referring to. The episode that aired on September 30th was the first episode of the 4th season.
I also think it was an offensive comment, which I’m sure they thought was just a casual joke. Some Americans can be very insensitive — in this case, the writers of Desperate Housewives. I can’t say that it’s a total shocker, though. The movie Problem Child, and that one with Leonardo (I forgot which one it is) also had monologues with racist comments that seem clever to them, but not to us Filipinos. I guess what I’m saying is, this is just how some or most of them see us. It’s sad, really. Pero I’m also thinking, hindi nmn siguro iisipin ng foreigners yun if they hadn’t heard something bad about Filipinos, o baka may experience din sila with some Pinoys abroad. Kaso yun lang, they shouldn’t be generalizing (and they shouldn’t be joking about our country like that in movies or TV shows). It’s just sad how the foul action of other Pinoys ruins it for the whole country. Tayo tuloy ang naaapektuhan.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:20
Gutter Girl said,
That’s what I thought at first too. I was thinking…maybe some of the writers are Filipinos? You know Pinoys, they can dick around even with their own race, and still find it remotely funny. I dunno.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:22
Jeff said,
In all fairness to the people who’ve written about this, so far I haven’t read anything particularly against Teri Hatcher. Lahat ang focus is “Desperate Housewives.”
Maybe we learned from the Malu Fernandez issue? Hehe!
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:29
Maying said,
Yeah, I’ve noticed as well. It’s just as well, people would get to know the issue.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:34
Joni said,
Oo nga eh. Some things have basis, and in that aspect, nash is right; there is indeed a ring of truth to it. We Filipinos joke about this among ourselves, pero diba, once the other race started pointing things out to us, na-o-offend tayo? Yun nga lang, they could’ve been more careful in using such “insults” especially when it involves a race.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:36
nash said,
funny? I don’t find any sense in that comment at all! And being racist is not funny to me.
It’s not being “too onion skinned”. Hello? This show is being aired to many countries other than U.S. and Phils and cracking a “negative” joke (if that’s what you call it) targetting Philippines and Filipinos IS NOT GOOD AT ALL . If we say something against other race in a worldwide television show, I bet they too will get mad at us, and that show might even get the Time Magazine cover or CNN headline.
For me, it’s the writer who’s SO STUPID (I should check his diploma, eh?), with no ethics at all.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:55
I think we should just shrug it off. The best way to combat things like this is to prove them wrong is to produce quality graduates from med schools. Even our Nursing schools and nurses in the US are having negative images. Rather than making issue about racism, let’s just focus on the alarming deteriorating state of education(and values). That’s the very effective way of combating/killing stereotypes. The Indian nationals nga are very tolerant and patient na kahit ganun ang tingin sa kanila ng mga Pilipino(negative) eh do not react like mobs. Dito na lumalabas kaplatican ng maraming Pilipino. kapag tayo ang nangaasa at offensive na at nagreat yung inaasar mo, sasabihin natin balat sibuyas sila, pero kapag tayo na nasa sitwasyon ng inaasar, naiinis tayo, we cry foul. But in fact, we’re just asguuilty as hell and only a few are willing to abandon such practice.
I don’t know but we Filipinos share the same fault. That’s why I stopped watching Bubble Gang and those comedy shows where people who have dark skin(Aeta, Negro, Obese people and the likes) or are indigenous are made fun of and we don’t even react to it. I just watch a local action movie where Whitney Tyson was part of. She was referred to by Dennis Padilla as “Gorilla”. Mas worse yun kesa sa statement sa DH. Aside from very blatant yun, kapwa Pinoy pa ang nanlait. How many Filipinos reacted when Lucy Torres had the line in her script in her old sitcom: “Ang pangit mo naman, Igorot siguro magulang mo”. Almost no one reacted. Same with the movies where Aetas are made fun of. No one made protests against those. I pray that Filipinos will be civil dealing with this issue. Mukhang magiging ala Malu-mob ito. (if ever na sumikat). We’re even more tactless when giving jokes than the Americans. Derechahang panlalait and offensive kasi sa atin(many a times, we are even aware that it is offensive). Diba ang tingin natin sa mga Indian nationals(karamihan sa atin) eh mabaho, mangogoyong five six although hindi naman lahat ganun? I wish with this incident, rather than being defensive, Filipinos should really evaluate themselves.
October 2nd, 2007 at 13:22
Naalala ko tuloy si Claire Danes, nung tinanong siya about sa shooting niya sa Philippines nung 1998, she didn’t give a positive answer. Nagalit tayo, binan yung movie niya, humingi ng statement of apology(I think she made one naman)…etc.
Honestly, I think we’re being balat sibuyas to foreign comments. Pansin ko kasi basta foreigner, dapat ang comment sa atin flattering. Parang ang hirap tanggapin ng mga Pilipino ang bitter truth. Personally, I think there’s truth to what Claire Danes had said about the Philippines. 9 years after that, we’re still the same. Di man lang nag-improve. Naging mas malala pa ata eh. Many of us still have no legs, eyes, hands…
Pero sa totoo lang di rin natin masisisi sila. Tayo rin gumawa ng image natin. The Nursing Board exam leakage, remember. That really tarnished our credibility and Pinay nurses are starting to have the image of ‘being lazy people’ in the US. I read somewhere that most Filipino nurses now, according to some Americans, are not as persevering and dedicated like the Nurses from the Philippines ten years ago.
I read in a blog I stumbled upon weeks ago that in Conrado de Quiros’ article which was written years ago, he called Filipinos as ‘toilet bowl cleaners of the world’ Something like that. Yet parang di naging issue sa mga Pilipino yun. Ewan ko kung hindi sikat yung mga article niya or readers agreed with him.
I’m sure some people here know about Michael Vs “Dj Bumbay”, nasa Youtube siya if you’re curious. Look at our insensitivity. Hindi man lang inalis yung track na yun kasi if you’re an Indian National in the Philippines who understands Tagalog, nakakasakit yun sa damdamin. Buti nalang di sumikat yung song, but it’s in YouTube and the lyrics are…far more insensitive than the script in DH.
October 2nd, 2007 at 13:30
never watched desperate housemates. Dr. House is popular because doctors do make mistakes, they could stand correction, their analysis many times is off-track. but to talk of Philippine schools? with the s, meaning all? Scriptwriter desperate for wit? hope to God that one of these days he/she will need a doctor, a Filipino doctor, who will prove him/her wrong.
October 2nd, 2007 at 13:47
Kris said,
True. Parang ganito eh, parang there’s this joke that is only exclusive for the Filipinos, that once the other races join in and throw the same joke, we get offended.
I remember tuloy this one former friend of mine. We were texting nung nasa Baguio ako, kung anu-anong pinagsasabi niya tungkol sa mga Aetas at Baguio locals, banas na banas ako sa kanya that I called him and told him to shut the fuck up, then deleted his number.
And when I went out with a Muslim (my ex), naku, mga kamag-anak ko parang ang baba ng tingin sa kanya.
Pero ayoko pa rin talaga kay Pacquiao. Haha.
October 2nd, 2007 at 13:58
“And being racist is not funny to me.”
Teka, teka, how is the joke “racist”? The punchline was about the country and not the race. “Philippines” was used as shorthand for a shoddy, shortcut education… which if we were brutally honest, isn’t really far from the truth.
Hey, wasn’t it just last year that we were begging overseas nursing boards not to disqualify our graduates because of this little exam leak scandal?
October 2nd, 2007 at 14:09
Shari, exactly. Ilang beses na nagresurface ang ganitong icindents against Filipinos(altough part of it is true) pero hindi tayo natututo. Naiinis tayo kapag dinidiscriminate tayo pero tayo, malakas din dyan. Kaya di na ako masyadong umaangal sa mga ganyan… we’re just as guilty as them. Kaya ayusin nalang natin ang pamamalakad ng bansa at pamumuhay. At least, kapag nangyari yun at ayos na ang lahat, mapapatunayan na mali ang sinasabi nila. Hindi katulad ngayon na may sabit. Hehe
Regarding Pacman, it’s a different story. He is a person not a race/ethnicity/nationality. Iba na kapag yung pagka-”Bisaya” ni pacman ang issue.
October 2nd, 2007 at 14:51
I watch Desperate Housewives, but I haven’t seen this one. I guess people just saw this as something in passing and not really address the issue? Or maybe they’ve lost all their energy after all the Malu Fernandez hullabaloo.
Things like this don’t really piss me off so much, though it makes my eyebrows cross for a while. There are a few books I read which made bad examples about the Philippines, if I’m not mistaken, there was one which mentioned about you don’t wanna become a Filipino maid in England and stuff like that.
Sometimes it saddens me that these kinds of remarks are being made, especially commercially. But I’ll always be proud to be a Filipino and not let it get to me.
October 2nd, 2007 at 15:31
If you must complain, fill up the form on the ABC website (http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html)
Be heard.
October 2nd, 2007 at 16:00
The leakage from the Nursing board exam may have ruined the reputation of our medical practitioners abroad. It is partly our mistake too why other “powerful” nations joke about our flaws.
I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
but I didn’t see that the joke was on me
October 2nd, 2007 at 16:20
“Filipinos are talented and smart (but kinda stupid, yeah)”
the fact that you said this is a lot more offensive imo.
October 2nd, 2007 at 16:52
Hay naku,
This joke is as old as time (and Recto) and in fact Filipinos like to tell this joke! Paikot-ikot lang. I even heard it from a Filipino diplomat.
We can’t be too racist and suddenly not find it painfully funny just because some non-Filipino said the joke this time. Stereotypes exist for a reason diba?
If we can dish out joke medical diplomas and joke prc exams, we must be able to able to take it in the chin too.
Ang pikon, talo.
cheers,
nash
October 2nd, 2007 at 17:03
If you’re bothered by the recent desperate housewives comment, pls sign the petition.
http://www.petitiononline.com/FilABC
thanks.
October 2nd, 2007 at 17:08
Directed to a country, directed to a person: it doesn’t matter. The statement is racist. And it’s not funny. This is a commonly recycled joke, and has victimized several places already, usually South American countries, and I don’t even know why.
The fact is, people are going to see this episode and might assume that the next Filipino doctor they see is a bad one. You might be thinking, “Oh, people can’t possibly be so quick as to generalize from a retarded TV show.” But they do. Health care is very important, and if you’ve heard something bad about a particular nationality’s medical training, why would you choose that doctor?
You can be brutally honest, but honestly I think that many (not most, sorry) graduates from our medical schools are very competent. We work extremely hard, people. Some of us through tears (sometimes blood) and sleepless nights, just like any other medical school in the world. And it would not be funny to me if I was discriminated against by the people I trained so hard to serve because of some “throwaway” line in a horrible television show.
Kris: brilliant. I’ve long wanted to write something about the blatant “intra”-racism in the Philippines, thanks for putting it out in the open. I HATE it when people make fun of dark-skinned Filipinos on local television, like it’s not supposed to hurt.
October 2nd, 2007 at 17:39
Many have been saying it was part of the humor. Here are my comments:
1. People can say that the French are rude or Ilocanos are kuripot and get away with it. But kuripot and rude are negative traits. The comment touched on credibility. That is totally different. DH maligned credibility.
2. So what if some Americans think lowly of Filipinos? It’s not an excuse for the scriptwriter to include such a racist comment on a popular prime time television series in democratic America.
3. Although there may be some truth to it (no thanks to Recto), they should not have put it in the script. It was not necessary.
4. Besides, it’s difficult for Recto fakes to pass through the detailed screening process for US medical professionals. Because if they do, then it’s the US process which is faulty. In a way, the lines also malign the US screening process. Does that mean sobrang daming nakakalusot and there a lot of fake Filipino doctors in the US, enough for them to generalize?
5. We should not allow people to think lowly of us especially in this instance where Filipino medical professionals are among the best in the world! If we keep quiet and accept it, then it will continue.
October 2nd, 2007 at 18:34
After the nursing exam leakage fiasco, and Recto, I think we’re not in much of a position to cry foul.
There was a “Filipina mail-order bride” throwaway line in Jarhead, too. I don’t remember much furor over that.
“Ethinic jokes might be uncouth,
But you laugh because
They’re based on truth.”
- Avenue Q, Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist
October 2nd, 2007 at 18:36
Susan’s line about Philippine Med Schools was really offensive. I am a big fan of the show, but this line (or rather a racist remark) turned me off, big time. What was the writer thinking? What was his or her basis? I reckon Filipinos deserve an apology from the writer of the show.
There are a lot of outstanding Filipino doctors out there, and for the show to just lambast the crediblity of Filipino doctors is way too below the belt.
October 2nd, 2007 at 18:46
Sad to hear this kind of insult to Filipino People. If without us , There will be lots of problems abroad
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:04
Kris said,
LOL! Sabit, nyahaha!
Kris said,
Regionalism nga raw. But for the record, I never said anything about him in terms of him being a Bisaya. *shrugs* Si PinoyStupid talaga, haha!
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:09
Ivan said,
I agree, it was not necessary.
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:12
sam said,
Because it came from a Filipina, or because it’s quite the truth?
Must be because I was watching Unang Hirit while writing about this and hearing about such adverse stuff happening. I forgot to laugh. Ha ha.
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:22
Me being a hardcore TV junkie and all, I made it a point to finagle and watch the season premiere episode yesterday. And uh-huh, I was also able to catch the scene where panicky Susan wants to make sure that Dr. Adam’s diploma isn’t from “some med school in the Philippines,” only to find out that said doctor is actually a Harvard med school grad. It wasn’t easy to miss on my part because I had my subtitles software loaded the entire fuh-reaking time. GO TORRENT!!!11
Anyway, to tell you honestly, I did get quite startled to the point where I had to pause the scene for a while and scour the Internet for some chit-chat about this nasty reference… but to no avail; I think you’re the first one to have addressed this so far. Another reason for such a reaction is because I’m planning to go to med school in the foreseeable future. *invoke juvenile vocalization* I wanna be a doctor when I grow up!!!11
But then, I just let it go. Probably because I’m a fan of the show? Or I have a sick and twisted sense of humor, maybe? And I don’t think it’s a big deal (well, at least FOR ME), seeing as Teri Hatcher’s character role tends to just yak away and go on and on and stuff. And!!! It’s not like she uttered MED SCHOOLS per se, she said SOME MED SCHOOL (you might wanna change your blog title, hon), meaning to say there’s an unfortunate portion of med schools in the Philippines that does indeed suck (I’m not denying this and I’m also not naming names but believe me, these schools are existent, sad to say), so we have to take that in consideration.
So, um, yeah, let’s take our lynch mob mentality on vacation and do something else instead, like, proving the whole world that we have highly-skilled physicians, who, without bullshitting, surpass those Harvard grads by a mile, and we have competent med schools albeit the lack of nifty facilities and state-of-the-art technology, which, for bollocks sake, the government should pay attention to instead of that goddamn, and I air quote UP experts, “bloated, wasteful, impractical” ZTE deal.
In other related news, Britney mentions the Philippines in her new(?) single! And that, my friends, calls for a massive revolution, dunchathinkseeww? LOLOLOLOLX!!! ;-p
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:22
buti n lng mrming open minded d2 at talgang pinoy d tulad dun sa isang site puro pinoy rw sila inglesan nmn ng inglesan.e ang presidente nga ng pilipins lks mkialam s affairs ng ibang bansa na may problema samntlang srili nya d nya maayos.gnyn siguro tlg mga pnoy,pg pumupuna feeling mgling,pg napuna nggalit,siguro nmn my basis ung writer n un kya nila sinulat un.e dmi nmn tlg anomalya s pinas d b?ung leak ng nursing exam,tpos ung mataas n score na nkuha s med exam some years back na nging controversial din.siguro panggising lang s atin yn n dpt mgbgo n tyong mga pinoy.sobra khirpn dla ng corruption s bnsa ntin, yn nag-aabrod 2loy lht ng workers ntin pti medical practitioners.magbgo n tyo, at simulan ntin sa loob.
October 2nd, 2007 at 19:26
hanep naman mga yan, kung alam lang nila tunay na level ng mga doctor dito, masmagagaling yung mga nandito kasi kahit kulang sa gamit nakakagawa ng paraan..
dun nga sa “the animal” na movie ni rob schneider ang engot ng pinoy dun, yung hindi alam gumamit ng detector yata yun…
tapos dun sa “constantine” ni keannu reaves eh nasapian naman na pinoy…
October 2nd, 2007 at 21:41
medyo na-offend ako, pero no worries di pa naman ako magpapasiklab ng rebolusyon.
ang hirap lang kaya kasi mag-med tapos malalait ka lang. walang karapatan e. magmed muna yung wise-ass writer nun 
October 2nd, 2007 at 21:41
Mistervader said,
Why the hell not? I’m not willing to be discriminated against for the faults of a handful of unethical Filipinos.
“I want to see the color of his skin, I just want to make sure my doctor’s not stupid.”
Is that funnier?
October 2nd, 2007 at 22:17
It’s a joke about the proliferation of fake diplomas in the Philippines. I laugh because I’m Filipino, and I see fake diploma hawkers all over the streets.
October 2nd, 2007 at 22:46
micketymoc said,
No, it’s not. The line as uttered also affects white American doctors who trained in FEU (don’t laugh, my sister met one). The day you can prove “don’t buy China-made Nokia phones” is racist to the Chinese, maybe I’ll buy it. Let’s not cheapen the word “racist” by attaching it to opinions that are anything but racist in nature.
micketymoc said,
De gustibus non est disputandum.
micketymoc said,
Not speaking from my experience, just my sister’s (she’s a doctor in Massachusetts) and it doesn’t bother her one bit.
micketymoc said,
And if many (even not most) Filipinos continue to do what they’re doing, what will a badly written script matter?
micketymoc said,
I suggest you worry about it when that happens. I believe one throwaway line is nothing to worry about in the long run.
October 2nd, 2007 at 22:59
I’ve been a viewer of DH on Studio 23, and from that I’ve seen some things just like this one. They even said something about Chinese people because one of the characters play as a surrogate mother slash maid slash TNT fro Eva.
But where did they get this idea…hayyy
October 2nd, 2007 at 23:57
Mike Abundo said,
Yeah, I laughed because I was Filipino too and understood the joke. But I just don’t like this because to those who aren’t Filipino and/or are ignorant to the extent and skill of Filipino talent in the US medical field, they could misinterpret and label Filipinos as incompetent medical practitioners; which is not the case at all!
October 2nd, 2007 at 23:57
didn’t see the video until this morning when a friend of mine emailed it to me. yeah sure it was funny, but a lot of people were offended, including myself. the script writer or whatever shouldn’t have called out Philippines directly. i know it’s not terri hatcher’s fault, but somehow i look at her now (4 hours after seeing the vid) as a racist biatch. i am sorry, but i never really liked the show anyway, and even if i did, this kind of thing wouldn’t be okay at all.
but like one of the comments said, let’s shrug it off and prove them wrong. besides, it’s not even true, except the fact that you can actually get fake diplomas from Recto. But when I think about it, the way Terri said it… “… they are not from some med school in the Philippines.” …. if she said something about “fake diplomas you can get int he Philippines” that’s okay… that IS funny. Pero “some med school” … WTH?
this is gonna be a long and big issue. can’t wait for more responses.
October 3rd, 2007 at 0:08
Desperate housewives? Who are they?
Low culture entertainment is what it is. Whatever they blabber about on TV, I don’t really care. Not a single antic of theirs deserves my attention or reaction.
Progressive people and intellectuals (like most MD’s) should instead dissuade the populace from watching thrashy pop culture and nonsense TV shows such as desperate housewives.
October 3rd, 2007 at 0:22
am singing the avenue Q song with mistervader on this one.
October 3rd, 2007 at 0:44
I can’t believe that some Filipinos believe that this is OK, I am a Filipino Doctor and I feel so insulted by this remark. I have studied for over 15 years to get to this point.
The comments on desperate housewives sicken me but the reaction of my fellow Filipinos are the depressing ones.
There is nothing funny about racism, and anybody who thinks otherwise is uneducated and Ignorant.
http://www.petitiononline.com/FilABC/
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:17
Thanks for starting this interesting topic. I couldn’t help but blog about it as well.
You’re such a cool firestarter ;-)
Anyway, my comment about this controversy is a bit too long to post here so I posted it in my weblog — http://lestercavestany.com/200.....hool-in-rp
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:28
Here’s an email I sent out to my friends. Feel free to circulate it.
To complain about the show:
http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html
If you enjoyed the recent episode of desperate housewives maligning Filipinos in the Medical field, delete message. If not distribute or send likewise to address above.
I am sending this e-mail to let you know our opinion about this very insensitive episode you aired in your station recently. Please understand that we believe that it is just an episode of outrageous, vain, sex- craved middle aged women beautiful enough to read a script for laughs and insults. If the storyline hinted at insulting Homosexuality and/or Non-asian minorities, there would have been hesitation from the staff for fear of an uproar through e-mails and phone calls. However, the risks of insulting “medical professionals graduating in the Philippines” does not seem to hurt so much, it was not sanctioned by those involved……..I hope that the writers, directors, actors, producers and anyone else associated of that show will not require medical assistance by any of these “FILIPINO” medical professionals when they come to seek medical help. To alleviate your mistrust with “Filipino medical knowledge”, please provide us with the names and pictures of all those associated to the show for distribution to all the supposedly “incompetent FILIPINO” medical professionals around the world in hopes of reducing anomalous medical care for them and their families. Then again, there should be enough info in the web for our limited minds to gather them ourselves. Thank you.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:31
to the writers of DH,
Completely “unprofessional”..maybe you got that job because of your friends and family are working inside the company or you give up your stingkin pussy to the directors and producers just to get the job..biatch!!
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:43
Millions of people around the world are watching Desperate housewives. Im so disappointed that Teri Hatcher did not complain that the script is somewhat offensive to the Filipinos. I love her acting stints pa naman or better yet the script writer should apologize.
Sana gumawa naman gumawa ng statement si Teri Hatcher.. hehe
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:09
hope this is not that late yet: http://www.petitiononline.com/FilABC/petition.html
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:02
I personally watched the segment when it aired and I was shocked with what I heard. I immediately wrote a complaint letter to ABC and various news agencies. I also posted this on some message boards and emailed everyone I know.
What an outrage! Filipinos should NOT shrug off comments like this, or let it pass as insignificant.
I work for one of the biggest hospital systems in the U.S., and my peers mentioned their disapproval for such irresponsible writing from the show’s creators.
Here in the U.S., Filipino doctors, nurses, technologists and other healthcare professionals are
HIGHLY REGARDED. That explains why Filipinos are in abundance in this industry.
We are talking about millions, I repeat millions of Filipino healthcare workers whose reputation has been tarnished by this.
Remember, RACISM DOES NOT HAVE SLIDING SCALE! If you let “minor” degrading generalizations like this pass, then surely it would be a stepping stone for worse comments or actions. Believe me, if the same incident were to happen to another minority group, say to the African-American or Gay community, there would be an unimaginable rage.
I encourage everyone to write petitions for a public apology to be made on-air before the airing of the next show, and send letters of complaints to various news and civic organizations.
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:55
I just want to share something I wrote on another blog site—
This was not a SLIP. This was INTENTIONAL.
Now the question is: IS IT RACIST?
If you consider the whole picture, then YES, IT IS.
I don’t regard it merely as “a slip.” Any writer would tell you that every word and punctuation of a script is intentional, specially in comedies, where timing is of the utmost importance. Now ABC, whose mother company is Disney, has some of the most rigid hiring standards in the industry, so I doubt that they would hire incompetent writers.
Well, Incompetent, No. But Insensitive? To use “insensitive” may be to polite for this incident.
To be used in an another scenario, yes. But for something as premeditated as this, wherein a filtering system of edits, revisions and approvals abound at each stage of production, I would not call it “Insensitive.”
This was INTENTIONAL. And the intended target was the poor Philippine Medical School, and indirectly, the Filipino doctors who are products of those schools.
NOW, WHEN YOUR INTENT IS TO SINGLE OUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE, NEGATIVELY GENERALIZE THEM, AND INSULT THEM WHETHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, REGARDLESS OF CONTEXT, THAT IS RACISM.
So, were the writers Insensitive? No, we are. And we should be!
Even if you’re not a healthcare worker, you should stand for the millions of toiling healthcare workers
who are feeding their families back home.
So ABC, if this slur was important enough to have passed your srutinity, then it is a bigger issue for us.
You the Filipino community an apology. And we will be waiting.
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:08
I understand that bit was put there for a reason — they were reflecting the kind of perception that some people in the US hold about Philippine medical schools, thus Susan reacting in an outburst in that situation. Should things like those not be shown in TV? How would we know that American think that way?
I am not saying that we should just keep mum about it; on the contrary, this is the perfect time to voice out our objections about that remark, and more than that, the attitudes of Americans toward our medical helpers in the US. Ultimately, the issue is not really on propagating an unpopular view of Philippine medial schools or our med people in the States as if they are incompetent and inferior to those who earned their M.D. elsewhere, but that such a notion exists in the first place. That is what we should remedy, first and foremost by looking introspectively and asking if there is any truth in it.
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:42
Jay N said,
Thank you. I prefer to not be a racist at all. None of those jokes are funny. The writers must think we’re docile pieces of sh!t… Easy targets.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:03
I have never seen a single episode of that show and im glad that I didn’t.
I knew about the so-called blasphemy to the Filipino doctors and the medical profession in general because of some news clips I received from the Philippines.
Being a nurse myself, I found the line so insulting being someone who came and graduated from the Philippine Nursing School.
I really agree that Filipinos should not be so passive about these things and the government should act NOW. This is the way “America” sees the Filipino medical profession and to me it has been reflected in that show. The government should act because this is not the first time that somebody from America dropped a cruel and negative remark about the Philippines.
Filipino doctors deserves an apology.
I hope ABC would be responsible enough to acknowledge that.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:23
nash said,
too onion-skinned??? i don’t know what you are thinking but that was downright offensive. you are probably ashamed to be a filipino.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:24
I can think of a couple more movies wherein the Philippines was poked fun at… Chad Michael Murray’s bleeding tattoo in One Tree Hill made someone ask him if he got it from “some back alley in Manila.” In the movie “The Animal”, the fact that this one Filipino guy had been working at the airport as a security guard for many years (with no promotion) was attributed to the fact that he was Filipino and, therefore, dumb. He was even shown sniffing the metal detector things.
It sure was insensitive of the scriptwriter to write that way. Sure, it could come off as funny to Filipinos and people who personally know some Filipinos (and therefore know that we’re not dumb!) After this episode, they will easily forget about that line. But what I am more concerned with is the impression that it would give people who live in places where there are not a lot of Filipinos. BUT THEN AGAIN, why would I let that little comment make me bitter? Those who will jump to the conclusion that Filipinos are all dumb from seeing this episode are not even worth convincing otherwise in the first place…
I totally understand why people are offended… But I was also very offended with the remark (among the comments here) that Americans are dumb/stupid/insensitive in general. WTF?! It’s hypocritical to say that the script is racist/prejudiced/discriminatory and then say, “Americans are stupid!” And I don’t understand why Teri Hatcher is being blamed. I don’t think it was necessarily an attack on the Philippines / Filipinos in general. Some TV shows poke fun at black thugs, Indian tech support people, Chinese mathematician, white people who are clueless of other races, etc. Because we in the US have been more or less desensitized with some racial/cultural jokes, I don’t think Teri knew that that line would incite the kind of reactions that it has from the Filipino community. She was just playing a character and she just read the script.
I am not condoning racial/cultural jokes but I just don’t think that we should worry too much about this one line.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:01
Joke ba yun? Hindi nakakatawa. Na-insulto ako.
October 3rd, 2007 at 13:12
truth hurts. hehe.
but with the on-going “medical tourism” that our government is trying to pull… i think the philippine government should file a case againts ABC. hehe. i want to see DH go down the stream.
October 3rd, 2007 at 14:35
The whole context of the show:
Desperate Housewives, Philippine Medical Schools and How Many of You Got it All Wrong
http://waketrex.com/blog/2007/.....all-wrong/
October 3rd, 2007 at 15:04
I’m insulted but I have to admit that I’m also guilty of such remarks directed toward the bumbays, the intsiks, the arabos etc.
The only difference is that Desperate Housewives has millions of viewers around the TV-viewing world.
I smell a Malu Fernandez here.
October 3rd, 2007 at 15:25
well said Kris, and all others who advise on taking this lightly. balat sibuyas talaga tayo kung tayo binibiro, pero pag tayo nanlalait, ok lang. it’s a sitcom, for crying out loud… learn to watch and laugh na lang… besides, yung unang nakapansin nito e bakla, so no bearing yung observation nya, bwehehehehe (ayan! flame na mga baklesh and bakla supporters!)…
October 3rd, 2007 at 16:08
All i can say is get over yourself. The purpose of that comment is humour, maybe you are not familiar with it. The whole series takes the piss out of stereotypes Bree: the perfect housewife, Gabrielle: materialistic female and Deedee the dumb blond. Yet you don’t hear all the housewives who have their tupperware in perfect order up in arms “demanding a public apology”. Filippinos are extremelly balat sibuyas, yet we feel that it is okay to mock other cultures, races etc on our own sitcoms.
Laughter is the medicine of life, and you can either laugh with the rest of the world or die young and bitter.
October 3rd, 2007 at 16:35
I was able to work in a medical mission with american doctors and filipino doctors. I should say that Filipinos are far better… and nicer.
October 3rd, 2007 at 16:38
hi shari my good friend. i wonder if you also owns this site…
http://community.livejournal.c.....84896.html
yu have a very identical post.. u might as well check it..
October 3rd, 2007 at 17:39
It wasn’t even a racist remark.
It’s time for Filipinos to stop whining when a foreigner says derogatory remark about the Philippines or it inhabitants.
Racist jokes against dark skinned people, gays, bisayans and Batangueno’s accent have been going on and accepted as normal in the Philippines.
When somebody says “Yuck, hindi ako bisaya ha.” I find it offensive, but i received it with grace and self-control.
October 3rd, 2007 at 18:13
Shari:
Wrote on this yesterday, but I don’t really understand what’s the fuss all about.
October 3rd, 2007 at 19:08
Honestly, this whole ‘Teri Hatcher remark’ is just blown way out of proportion. In fact, the comment ‘Filipinos are talented and smart (but kinda stupid, yeah)’ is far more insulting that what a FICTIONAL TELEVISION CHARACTER said. Everyday, there are even worse cracks hurled at other races on television and movies, but you don’t see them throwing a hissy fit and demanding apologies.
Yes, I am a filipino and proud to be one without a shadow of a doubt, but this is just insanely ridiculous.
October 3rd, 2007 at 22:22
che said,
Speak for yourself. I don’t think it’s okay. I think it’s extremely lacking in taste to find this sort of BS funny. I hope for your sake that one day some comment on a TV show doesn’t steamroll over your profession.
Mark said,
So, this excuses everything? News flash: Racist jokes are normal, therefore okay! Yay! Quit your whining and take your punishment, Asian man! Hahahaha!
October 3rd, 2007 at 23:47
che said,
How dare you single-handedly insult everyone who has an opinion different from yours. It really makes your argument more valid. Also, Desperate Housewives is hardly what I’d call a comedy.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:12
This is from from ABS-CBN news: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sto.....ryId=94508
Malacañang to ‘Desperate Housewives’: Apologize for slur
The furor over a slur uttered against Philippine medical schools on the premier episode of the fourth season of the American TV show “Desperate Housewives” has prompted a response from Malacañang Palace.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the TV show belittled the abilities of Filipino doctors and sent a message that Philippine medical schools produced “substandard, inferior” medical practitioners.
The offending remark was made by one of the show’s desperate housewives, Susan Mayer (played by American actress Teri Hatcher). In one scene Mayer asks for the credentials of the gynecologist who examined her and told her that she was approaching menopause.
Mayer said, “Can I check those diplomas ‘coz I just want to make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.” The premiere episode, which has been posted on YouTube.com, drew criticisms from the Filipino community on the Internet.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon meanwhile has proposed a ban on the popular TV series. Biazon, who chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, said he doesn’t watch the show himself but pointed out that a ban on the show or a boycott by Filipino viewers are possible responses.
Earlier, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the slur will tarnish the good image of Filipino doctors in the international community. He added that the slur was both irresponsible and without basis.
The Philippine Consulate in New York has said it will send a letter of protest to ABC Network and ask for an apology for the slur. The move came after the consulate office received complaints from the Filipino community, particularly health workers, in the US about the show.
Angry doctors
“It’s not good for us. They shouldn’t have said those [insulting] words, because we all know that there are good doctors who graduated in the Philippines. That’s uncalled for,” PMA president Dr. Jose Sabili told ABS-CBN’s morning show “Umagang Kay Ganda” on Monday.
Earlier, the president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) said he will urge his counterpart in the US to demand an apology from the people behind the TV series.
Sabili, who was attending the World Medical Associations General Assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark, said he will seek an audience with the president of the American Medical Association to compel the TV producers to issue an apology for the insulting remark.
The doctor said the slur might even create a rift in the relationship of the two medical associations.
“I will meet with the president of the American Medical Association to air our feelings and ask them to tell [the producers of the TV show] that they should not insult doctors in the country,” Sabili said.
Sabili said the PMA will study the possible cause of negative perceptions of medical schools in the Philippines. He said “diploma mills” and negative writeups of medical schools in local newspapers could have contributed to the negative perception.
“I have to verify this. We will definitely act on this because this will destroy the reputation of Filipino doctors,” he said.
Online petition
Filipino Americans have expressed their outrage over the remark and have launched an online petition demanding an apology from ABC Network.
The petition also demands that the episode be edited to remove the “ignorant and racist” remark. As of 4:16 pm (Manila time) some 15,533 people have signed the petition.
The petition also points out the major contribution that Filipinos and Filipino Americans make in healthcare in the United States:
“[A] statement that devalues Filipinos in healthcare is extremely unfounded, considering the overwhelming presence of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the medical field. Filipinos are the second largest immigrant population in the United States, with many entering the U.S. (and successfully passing their U.S. licensing boards!) as doctors, nurses, and medical technicians.
“In fact, the Philippines produces more U.S. nurses than any other country in the world. So, to belittle the education, experience, or value of Filipino Americans in health care is extremely disrespectful and plain and simply ignorant. Many of the hospitals in major metropolitan areas of the U.S. (and the world) would not be able to operate without its Filipino and Filipino American staff members.”
Jay Ngo, a Filipino health professional from Riverside, California in the United States ABS-CBN News that the episode was an outrage, saying, “the healthcare industry, including the best hospitals, is full of Filipino medical professionals.”
October 4th, 2007 at 3:47
Hi Shari.
Nandito ako sa site mo kahapon. Dalawa pa lang ang comments. Ang haba na ngayon ng thread. Gratz, gurl. Another Malu F? The reason for all this uproar is the same shit. Gumamit ng derogatory remarks disguised as “humor” and “funny”. IMHO, kapag ganito na ang style mo ng patawa, aba eh, iligpit mo na ang keyboard mo at magtinda ka na lang balot sa kanto.
Kung hanggang insulto ka na lang at akala mo nakakatawa ‘yon, may problema ka dong! You’re in the wrong business.
The intelligent comedians for me, make fun of themselves, safe and smart. That’s the reason why we laugh at our own regional jokes. “Tayo” pa rin ‘yon eh. Ke Bisaya , ke Ilocano, Pinoy pa rin.
And I notice Pinoys have a weird sense of humor. But “patawang tambay” and “text jokes” are really funny kasi nakaka-relate tayo. Mabenta ang Erap jokes, di ba? Hindi naman napipikon si ex-Prez. Simply because we can laugh at ourselves.
Notice the difference between bushisms and Erap jokes. Nakaka-LOL yung kay Erap, pero ‘yung kay Bush ni hindi ako mangiti. Hindi kasi ako maka-relate. Ika nga, pakialam ko sa kanya.
So, to conclude, PIKON ang Pinoy kapag may nagtangkang gumamit ng materials natin (like the Recto diplomas?). Nobody else will get the joke except us. Ang dating noon sa kanila, paninirang-puri, insulto, derogatory. Hindi nakakatawa. But strangely enough, to some, insults come as across as FUNNY.
Baka may Pinoy na scriptwriter sa DH.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:15
ive watched desperate housewives and i admit, i do like the show.. but that comment that she made is degrading.. i guess we could walk away from it and just ‘laugh’ about it..but no thats not right.. when that guy from greys anatomy said the word ‘fagid’, he almost got fired? and when this guy on the radio said ‘did you watch that wnba game last night it was like a bunch of hookers and skanks’.. he got fired…
that line is clearly offensive, comedy or not comedy.. it targets doctors who are in the US right now but they graduated from ’some med school’ here in the philippines..
the good thing about america though is you have the right to speak..its called freedom of speech but i still think even though thats the case, it was an offensive line.. i kinda hope the show cancels now…hehe
October 4th, 2007 at 5:55
@Mark and Sam, I think what che means is that we’re balat sibuyas towards ‘jokes’ thrown at us but thwn we are the ones making jokes at other people or people who do not belong to the majority of us, we think it’s funny and if they say they’re offended, we say they’re balat sibuyas?
Got the point?
But have we heard them demand for apology? No. They usually would revolutionize via education, print media columns, not some kind of mob like what is happening(again).
What we, the ones who suggests not be balat sibuyas, are suggesting that we take this lightly and articulate it well. Come on guys, don’t tell me we aren’t racists as them? Simply put, we’re taking the issue wrong way. Will a dmeand for an apology reduce discrimination? No. A statement of apology can be hypocritical. You can issue one just for the sake of taming down the angry mob and not really ‘freshen up’ the image of the Filipinos or to reduce the amount of racism because in our daily lives, we will still practice it. Many Filipinos will still look down on the Igorots, Aetas, dark sinned people and will be continued to be the ‘punchline’ of local media. Many of us will still think that Middle Eastern people have bad odor. Tell me, did the Filipino people react to this very racist and BASELESS statement years ago in a sticom of Lucy Torres. Ang sabi niya lang naman sa script niya: “Ang Pangit mo naman, igorots siguro parents mo”. Impacto, that was far more foul and racist than the desperate housewives ‘punchline’. But did this really made the Igorots mob? Only a few Igorots reacted like mobs, most shrugged it off. Why should it affect their identity as a people? The statement did not really make the Igorots look like fools but the non-Igorot Filipinos who ‘believed’ that script. Unlike with most Pinoys, the victim mentality did not permeate among them.
I even read in several blogs that the ‘line’ was taken out of context because at the end the graduate from the “American University” misdiagnosed her.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:46
The people behind DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES are EQUALLY DESPERATE, DESPERATELY RUNNING OUT OF WHAT TO SAY! BLAME THE PRODUCER AND THE SCRIPTWRITER. Teri Hatcher does not know any better. HOWEVER, IGNORANCE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE!
October 4th, 2007 at 9:59
Wow, someone broke out the all-caps! Now I’m convinced!
October 4th, 2007 at 11:41
hindi ba pagiging racist yun? bakit hindi sila mag crack ng joke about themselves, their own graduates. Why mention a third world country such as Philippines?
Some of you folks are really blinded with the issue. Hindi nyo kasi naransan o naririnig ang mga sinasabi ng mga ibang kano or mga ibang bansa na asa 1st world country against us. Kapag kaharap tayo, sure, ang bait nila, pero alam nyo pa ba ang sinasabi nila pag talikuran na?
Some of them (even the professional ones) are even saying that it’s okay to exploit us because according to them BEGGARS CANNOT BE CHOOSERS.
Kung yun simpleng bagay na ganito eh hindi tayo magkakaisa and we will just shrug it off, no wonder wala talagang pagkakaisa at pakialamanan ang mga Pilipino. Anyway ok lang naman na laitin tayo ng mga tiga ibang bansa dahil mga balat sibuyas tayo, ano? So don’t get mad nalang, get even nalang ganun ba? Wow ang hirap naman to get even with them because we do not have any show na televised worldwide. So antayin nalang natin na magkaroon tayo ng ganun break at saka nalang natin laitin din ang mga graduates nila, ano?
Kris,
I don’t remember we said something ON A WORLDWIDE TELEVISION SHOW against graduates of other countries. Paki refresh nga ang utak ko at baka may na mi-miss ako dito.
October 4th, 2007 at 15:24
Does it have to be worldwide to call it ‘discrimination’/offensive’? I agree with Shari on her other post. An offensive remark is an offensive remark.
I saw this link on another comment in a blog.
What do you think of this knowing that there are Indian nationals in the Philippines who CAN understand Tagalog and there are a good number of mixed Filipino-Indian residing in the Philippines? What about our ethnic minorities being the object of ‘punchlines’ in our local TV shows? You will shrug those off while blowing out of proportion the DH incident. Double standard na ata yun.
Let’s not tolerate racism against Filipinos BUT let us not forget to NOT tolerate Filipinos discriminating other people
Worldwide or not, racism is still racism
October 4th, 2007 at 16:14
“Kung yun simpleng bagay na ganito eh hindi tayo magkakaisa and we will just shrug it off, no wonder wala talagang pagkakaisa at pakialamanan ang mga Pilipino. Anyway ok lang naman na laitin tayo ng mga tiga ibang bansa dahil mga balat sibuyas tayo, ano? So don’t get mad nalang, get even nalang ganun ba? Wow ang hirap naman to get even with them because we do not have any show na televised worldwide. So antayin nalang natin na magkaroon tayo ng ganun break at saka nalang natin laitin din ang mga graduates nila, ano?”
Who said anything about getting even? A throwaway joke in a throwaway show in some soon-to-be throwaway TV show doesn’t define what Filipinos are all about. And the impassioned, equally racist reactions decrying racism of all things haven’t been very encouraging at all.
When we say “just because THEY are a first-world country”, aren’t we already stereotyping Americans as racist? Isn’t that equally racist?
Feel free to protest if you are offended, but it’s equally presumptuous and racist to say “ALL Filipinos should be offended”. You can’t be selectively politically correct, after all. You either are or you aren’t. Isn’t that why there’s an outcry of racism against DH, to begin with?
October 4th, 2007 at 17:57
It’s not the first time filipinos were mentioned in these shows. there was a sketch in mad TV about supermarket employees where Bobby Lee played a filipino stock room boy and keeping on speaking chinese saying “Im a slave here” Mike Mcdonald who plays a cashier keeps on saying “He’s Filipino!” but I do think it’s kinda funny but, i’ve expected this to happen, about filipino stereotypes having minimum wage jobs. i cant’ blame our ofw’s though. the only problem with us is that we have always been “Pikon”. just watch mad TV and youll understand. they can make a parody of a commercial, or impersonate other personalities without having to change their name slightly. (e.g philippinnes: Mel tiangco-Bel Tiongco, Tide-Zide etc. on the other hand US: Rosie o donnel-*Same*, Ellen Degeneres-*Same*, Queen Latifah-*Same* ABC-ABC Fox-Fox… you get what i mean) we tend to file libel cases whenever natatamaan tayo ng spoofs.
Americans stereotyped many nationals: Indian, Asian, Belgian do they give outrage? No! that’s all. no questions asked…
October 4th, 2007 at 20:09
Kris said,
Kris, I got the point since I was 5 years old. I was taught from a young age that it’s NEVER okay about a person’s cultural/ racial character– Filipino or otherwise. I hope by “WE are the ones making jokes” and “WE find it funny” you are not including the many culturally sensitive Filipinos, because we wouldn’t appreciate it if you were. We certainly wouldn’t call them “balat sibuyas” either! Not that I care if anyone calls me pikon. It struck a chord in this doctor’s heart and I’m sticking to my guns.
Mark said,
Er, it is extremely presumptuous, but I think you’re stretching the definition of “racist” a bit thin. Though I agree, of course not all Americans are racists.
October 4th, 2007 at 20:53
Kris, I got the point since I was 5 years old. I was taught from a young age that it’s NEVER okay about a person’s cultural/ racial character– Filipino or otherwise. I hope by “WE are the ones making jokes” and “WE find it funny” you are not including the many culturally sensitive Filipinos, because we wouldn’t appreciate it if you were. We certainly wouldn’t call them “balat sibuyas” either! Not that I care if anyone calls me pikon. It struck a chord in this doctor’s heart and I’m sticking to my guns.
Not including culturally sensitive Filipinos?
Why not just say culturally sensitive PEOPLE? You still did not get what I mean. If you are going to read my comments above, I am actually suggesting for people to improve themselves and abandon racism. Not just protest against anti-Filipino discrimination. We should also stop practicing racism. Watch our local shows, racism and discrimination abound yet most of us do not do anything about it. it’s not only via media. It’s also via our test jokes.
Isn’t it an irony that when we make fun of others and they tell us they are insulted, we say ang senti mo naman–this is not uncommon. But when we are the butt of jokes, bakit tayo nagagalit. The solution here is to EVALUATE ourselves. If we don’t want to be insulted, we should therefore not insult others too. I am not saying we should not be offended in case of discriminatory remarks.WAG LANG TAYONG SOUBLE STANDARD. Na sa atin okay lang na magdiscriminate ng ibang tao, kadalasan sarili pa nating kababayan, pero sasabihin natin wala silang karapatan na laitin tayo? Kung wala sila karapatan na laitin tayo; therefore, wala rin tayong karapan na manlait.
Now that the apology has been issued, ano kayang sasabihin kapag nalaman ng mga taga-ibang bansa na dinidiscrimnate natin ang sarili nating ethnic minorities at ibang lahi? Nakakahiya. Double Standard
October 4th, 2007 at 21:10
Mark said,
Because in your original statement, you said “we find it funny…” you were talking about Filipinos. I was just keeping your context, obviously. I get what you mean and in fact we are in agreement. The fact that you think I don’t get what you mean means that you misunderstood my comment directed towards towards che. In fact I wrote this:
Mark said,
Sorry it’s not in my original name.
It’s comments like these:
Mark said,
that I take exception to, because it’s not okay with ME, a Filipino, to discriminate other people. You make it sound like all Filipinos like making fun of other ethnicities, which is not true. I don’t have a double standard and there are many Filipinos out there who don’t.
Anyway, I’m laying off this thread to bring down my blood pressure. The best thing we can do is to be the best person to all others, regardless of their beliefs or the color of their skin. I can only pray that when the time comes, my patients will think I am a good doctor even after they’ve heard my (very) Filipino name.
October 4th, 2007 at 21:27
A lot of Filipinos discriminate. One reason why Bubble Gang has lived for more than ten years.
‘Because in your original statement, you said “we find it funny…” you were talking about Filipinos. “
I was referring to Filipinos finding it funny when they themselves make fun of OTHERS. Isn’t it true. A lot of us, when we make fun of other, we find it funny. But when we are in their shoes. It stops being funny.
Isn’t it true?
Look at the comments on this one. They call it ‘talent’.
video. Personally, the first time I saw it. I found it discriminating towards the Indians. I have a couple of Indian classmates in school who has been living in the Philippines for quite a long time and they are not engaged in that kind of business. Retailing, yes but the business that has been depicted in the music video? No.
One commenter even said:
“the video is only a joke you clueless fucking shit”
Our whining does not do anything. As Shari had mentioned in one of her recent posts, let’s take action. Take a look at Bubble Gang, Wowowee and Eat Bulaga first about maiking fun of other people as well as our own before moving to DH. It’s a more serious matter as we, who should be respecting our own kababayans, are ridiculing them. This shows had long made fun of others and our own, why is it that hardly anyone was outraged despite the obvious discrimination?
This incident should be a challenge to us(people and government). A challenge to change ourselves, a challenge to prove(not in a mob way) that their stereotypes are wrong.
October 4th, 2007 at 22:22
Though I don’t watch TV much, because of the tendency of popular television to ridicule sensible moral values, I felt it necessary to speak out about this particularly arrogant and racist remark. The type of arrogance exhibited, is one of the very reasons why many people outside of the US (in areas such as Europe) have negative attitudes toward America, in general. The very fact that such arrogance makes it to national TV is disgraceful, but only typical of the type of degeneracy which is rampant in the popular American culture today.
October 5th, 2007 at 3:54
One of the presidential canidates for 2008 in the U.S. presidential race is a man named Ron Paul. He believes that America should have trading partners only. And that we should and need to pull up the drawbridge. American foreign policy cost over one trillion dollars per year. The racist remarks towards americans I have read in this blog are far worse than the original offending statement. Gone almost uncorrected by all almost all of you. I hope Ron Paul wins.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:08
Well its just a matter of respect to medical people here in the philippines, being a health worker is not an easy task taking its course is not a joke, even here in the philippines we give high respect to the doctors and nurses because we know how hard they been through just to received their DIPLOMAS and be certified as a health workres, you konw what guys, I am a doctor too and its very insulting for me to see and hear that americans just insulting our field our study, actually when im still in the U.S, they more prefer to consult FILIPINO DOCTORS than american doctors because we have somthing that american dont have, its LOVE FOR PATIENTS, Yes we worked outside of our country but still we longed to work for our mother land(PHILIPPINES),its just a matter of technology that you americans became ahead of us, so guys and for the producers of that show, PLEASE BE CAREFUL ON YOUR SCRIPTS, even though its just a play or a show, the bible teaches us that “DON’T JUDGE,LEST YOU WILL BE JUDGE”
I CONDEMN THAT REMARK!!!!!
October 5th, 2007 at 11:52
There is an tacist under tone to the remark;
When a person speaks of a country, they may be saying “Filipino’s” or whomever. In other words, I dont want my lab work done by an incompetent FILIPINO. What if they said ” can i check those diplomas? I wanna make sure its not done by black/ white man, or its not donr by a woman? Or not done by a gay homosexual? I think there would be an up roar. where does it end? .. Anything can be taken into offense. the Phillippine country is a poorer country and by that a lesser education assumed. This is American sass comedy at play, funny? maybe, offensive? Depends to whom? ..
October 5th, 2007 at 15:30
yeah its just a tv show and there’s nothing serious about it. A more urgent concern perhaps is the tv show’s ignorance, unfounded remarks, and lack of understanding of responsible freedom of expression. (Too bad they’ve broadcasted their own stupidity) Nevertheless we still must show that we don’t agree with such unfair & untrue tv show remarks.
October 5th, 2007 at 21:17
If you are too defensive then don’t read this
another minor comment in a show turned major… that is a comedy show!! what she said is sort of the truth. Let’s not be rude to Terry Hatcher, she just followed the script and the director. And let’s be honest, we also had out racist moments right? It’s hurtful right but the truth hurts sometimes..we have some medical school here in the Phil that is not really capable of producing good medical professionals… Take for example those computer schools who opened a nursing course.. that should not be… and we also have shops in Recto who sell out fake diplomas… Stop slacking, we have to learn something from this experience… Instead of being defensive and doing some stupid petitions to remove the show (impossible), we should just improve our standards and prove those haters wrong… The more we say something, the dumber we turn out. It’s insulting, hurtful and embarrassing but lets not dwell on it… we have to move on…
October 5th, 2007 at 21:24
absolutely true Rakista.. I’m glad someone out there has same point of view like mine….
October 8th, 2007 at 21:15
A lot of the reaction has been mostly emotional than rational. However, I found an interesting perspective on the subject from another Filipino blog here:
http://asbb-foreignexchange.blogspot.com/2007...
Some food for thought to digest, certainly.
October 9th, 2007 at 5:08
Pikon tayong mga Pinoy talaga.”Some” medical School ang sinabi diba? di man lahat. Tignan nyo ang mga Erap jokes nating pinoy, tawa tayo sa kanya kala natin funny ang mga jokes, tanga ba talaga si Erap? be in his shoes.
October 9th, 2007 at 21:49
OMG… can’t we get over with this issue??? Ang tagal na nito. There are more important issues than this one.
Bakit yung mga jokes ni Rex Navarrete and Josol??? Hindi po ba discrimination din yun? The fact na they have Filipino blood and still they make fun of our culture and language.
How come na hindi sila ang gawan ng issue?
October 11th, 2007 at 21:21
Get a grip! It was only a joke. Have you nothing better to spend your time on? I suppose all blondes, Polish people, jewish people, Kentuckians, Germans, Dutch,…etc. (need I go on) should get offended. There are jokes about everyone and everything. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take everything so seriously. Stop obsessing about the ridiculous!
October 15th, 2007 at 5:16
Yes, I think I have to agree with what this