If we were to draw a line to separate the bloggers in this corner of the Philippine mainstream journals, the division would be made based on what content the author offer to their readers. On one hand, you see writers who like to share their thoughts about the developing local and global stories that affect that the environment that we live in. These writers are passionate in fighting for their advocacies. Case in point, let’s look at Ederic Eder’s blog. Though he blogs a lot about his network’s new shows and some aspects of his personal life, he still makes it a point to share his two cents when an issue that catches his attention comes about. There are also other blogs that cater to certain advocacies. These pages are exclusive mouthpieces of the author on a particular issue or niche. This sector is generally loud, somehow militant and very passionate with the issues that they try to push into the forefront of people’s consciousness.
The other side are those who choose to stay away from the hard issues. These people make their blogs their refuge from the perils of the real world. Instead of blogging about the events of the status quo, they devote their time to writing personal posts that is saturated with the creative musings of the author. Most of the time, their works entertain us and make us feel like we learned a little something about the person who wrote the article. I don’t think I need to name people who go for this brand of blogging. We all have our favorites.
Both types of bloggers have the right to express themselves and make their voices heard. The internet has allowed people like us – outsiders to the world of old media – to be published in a medium wherein one’s work could be accessible to virtually everyone across the world. It has empowered a lot of people into having the ability to dish out content that is free from censorship and the trappings and temporal limitations of print media.
Unfortunately, we’re seeing a growing trend in the Philippine Blogging Community. For some reason, a growing number of people seem to be having crusade fatigue with all the issues that has rocked the community. We’ve weathered the now legendary Malu Fernandez issue along with the unfortunate death of UP Diliman student Cris Mendez. Both issues generated a very high level of support from bloggers and readers alike and an issue like the Desperate Housewives‘ five-second ’slur’ may not be a blog-worthy topic for most.
This is where people start to NOT get it.
My initial reaction to the show was not as sharp as most of my classmates and friends in med school would’ve wanted. Quite frankly, a lot of them agree with calls for a public apology and some also agree that a class action suit was in order. Interestingly, some of them were expecting me to write in favor of those things. Maybe I just don’t see myself as a doctor yet and I don’t want to jump the gun and start acting like a US-bound graduate of some med school in the Philippines even before I graduate and earn my license.
Here’s the deal. Whether the show is a comedy, a satire or a musical, the fact is that it reaches up to quarter of a million people every time that it’s shown on TV. Joke or no joke, the line that implies the incompetence of Philippine-trained doctors was transmitted to millions of homes. Whether you call it racism or not, it was something that could directly or indirectly affect the practice of Filipinos in the US.
I’m sure I’m not generalizing when I make the assertion that a lot of people take their professional careers very seriously. Being falsely accused of incompetence is something that a lot of doctors will not take sitting down. It doesn’t really matter if it was a joke or not. A jab against one’s competence – an unsubstantiated one at that — is something that shouldn’t go unchecked.
Let them be offended.
Let them press charges.
Let them say it’s racism.
Let them defend themselves.
Here are my responses to the really bad arguments launched by a lot of people against those who think this is a big deal. It’s quite disappointing because a lot of these were made by people who have a reputation that would suggest that they are intelligent.
1. Filipinos are too onion-skinned/ over-sensitive. I really don’t know how people can see this as an over reaction. Philippine-trained doctors were maligned for millions of people to see. This could have very real and palpable effects on the practice of Pinoy doctors who work in the US. People will fight when they are being aggrieved and that is what some doctors are doing. And assuming without conceding that we are OVERLY SENSITIVE, so what? I’d rather be in a group of people who would defend their pride as opposed to a group who would simply act like pushovers when they’re being ridiculed in a grand stage. It’s not about being good sports – the people being dissed didn’t sign up to be the targets of unsubstantiated comments regarding their competence.
2. Filipinos are racists too. Isn’t this a gross generalization as well? Assuming without conceding that we are racist, does this mean that we give up our right to fight back whenever we are subjected to what we consider as racial profiling? This issue has nothing to do with the entire discussion because it doesn’t prove or disprove anything. Calling the entire Filipino community is a stretch in itself, but even if it were true, it doesn’t remove our right to feel offended and ask for legal reparations .
3. There are more important issues. It is the issue NOW. Deal with it. Try pushing your other advocacies on other blogs that push for it. Profiling and discrimination are just as important as any issue. Also, not the state and society’s inability to police whatever problem you forward does not remove the right of people to be passionate in other things.
4. The Philippine Education System SUCKS. Assuming without conceding that it is true, the products of the Philippine Education System will still be subject to the regulations and requirements set by the regulatory boards in the US. They will take the same licensure examinations as the US-educated medical graduates. In short, they’ll be assessed using the same standards. Ergo, even if the school system is bad, there are existing checks in the system that could weed out those who are mediocre.
There is value in asking for more. Is restitution reached with a mere apology that was designed to appease the Filipino community? How about the millions of people who saw the show? The apology is not even commensurate to the potential damage that all Filipino health professionals in the US stand to absorb due to ABC’s lack of discretion and poor judgment.
I’ll take this opportunity to tell all those who continue to brave the brutal (yet illogical) onslaught against those who continue fight in behalf of those aggrieved by this issue. Be strong and continue for what you believe in. Some people just don’t get it.
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I like how you listed down the various points which I have also questioned myself. You clarified these issues a lot better than those “intelligent” people without being too emotional and know-it-all.
Which makes (off topic) me think that you should also be a lawyer.
I wouldn’t dream of watching Desperate Housewives, it is poor t.v., but can I suggest that by harbouring a grudge about anything that was said, will do you more harm than the viewers. Anger at anyone or anything is like wishing harm to another and drinking poison yourself. There will always be people who make uninformed comments, they are really frightened individuals, who deserve pity.
Find it in your heart to send out love to them, not emotional love, but the love from your heart chakra, only in this way will they be silenced.
This is not meant to flatter but God, I’m so glad we have Filipino bloggers like you. There are equally popular “entertaining” blogs of supposedly “intellectual” writers who think they can get away with anything but when push comes to shove, it’s really all fluff and can’t even maintain consistency. People have the right to be arrogant with their own views but to point the finger to “emotional” people and mock and mark them as stupid, whether SAFELY hidden in humor or not, is the most stupid thing, and in the end, it always shows.
Thing is I don’t even agree with everything you blog about in this site but your intelligence as a writer and person and the way you don’t blog for people to salivate over your wit keeps me coming back.
“I wouldn’t dream of watching Desperate Housewives, it is poor t.v., but can I suggest that by harbouring a grudge about anything that was said, will do you more harm than the viewers. Anger at anyone or anything is like wishing harm to another and drinking poison yourself. There will always be people who make uninformed comments, they are really frightened individuals, who deserve pity.
Find it in your heart to send out love to them, not emotional love, but the love from your heart chakra, only in this way will they be silenced.”
Hahaha! Funney!! You got me rolling there.
But I dont think its about Benj harboring angst or his need of loving straight from his heart chakra. I think, correct me if im wrong Benj, that he’s just speaking out his mind, like other people can speak their minds, and supporting people who react accordng to how they feel and do not think twice of expressng just because some emotionally-incapable people (or so they claim) may label them ignorant or, the new term of the year, ONION-SKINNED.
Wow I like this post, it somehow hits me.
This is what I love from your blog, I learn something.
Wow, I like this post very much. This is a real showstopper for me.
I’ve also read some comments or justifications that are unabatedly illogical in it’s very essence. They just wouldn’t listen just ‘cuz they think their’s was rational. I say that’s just plain stubborn.
It shouldn’t be a question of who’s the better racist here. Like what I’ve been saying before, everyone’s entitled to say that they’re offended and that’s not being ‘onion-skinned’. Don’t tell me those ‘witty’ guys haven’t experienced being insulted (EVER) out of a supposed joke hurled towards them before? Sometimes, even the most simple comment can be construed as an insult and that’s a fact.
It’s respect people, if you’d allow them to easily getaway with it then you just increased the opportunity of them doing the same thing over and over again moreso, doing it to you.
Benj, ang puso mo. I agree with you that concerned people should be allowed to do what they see fit doing in response to the ’slur.’ It’s their life anyway. In the same way, those who are opposed to these actions must likewise be allowed to voice their opinions/rantings (yes, even if “they don’t get it” and no matter how baseless the opinions are… else, we’d be discriminating against the stupid, diba?). It’s also inevitable during discussions like these that in supporting a particular stand, one is drawn to comment negatively on alternative views (ie, for one to conclude that everything is a zero-sum game, even if the two are actually not mutually exclusive)… so these things (”unsubstantiated” comments, and negative criticism), they’re understandable. That’s the price we pay for having free speech and a free society. (Galing ng post mo, but you do know that we have opposing views in the ORIGINAL issue)
Hmm, I don’t know but, I did had the impression that the camp of “the aggrieved” were the ones who were hurling volleys against (or at least, flooding the posts of) the camp of “those who don’t get it”.
I believe that it is both a case of pride and insensitivity(ahah, irony!). Pride in the sense that they feel American TV shows are below them and any insults hurled by American pop culture are non-issue. Insensitivity in the sense that they believe that most people are or should be like them — thinking people who do not care about such TV shows, at the expense (and to the chagrin) of those who feel offended.
I don’t think, it’s being sensitive or not. I think, it’s just a matter of “there are things that are better left unsaid.”
Naghanap ba raw ng kakampi? *lol*
Wow Benj, you couldn’t have addressed it better. Frankly, this is the best blog post I’ve read concerning the issues surfacing the blogosphere nowadays. Firstly, you weren’t biased, you’re reasoning was exact and you hit the spot.
I’m Blogger paragraph #2 of your post. I just feel if I post about issues it won’t do me any good, unless it really affects me in some sort of way.
Btw, on point no 4: Hospitals in the States DO have higher grade requirements (in the USMLE) for IMGs than the standard set for natives… This only means that even if all these doctors took and passed the same exam, there is still an assumption that indeed an IMG is a less competent doctor than one who was educated in US Univs. This is the inherent discrimination against IMGs in US society that was merely vocalized by Teri Hatcher’s character (hence, it’s realistic, as I mentioned in my blog).
Plus, we all know that one exam (or a set of exams as in the USMLE) cannot ever completely summarize the competence of a certain MD, especially when compared to the effect that the education (or the diploma) of the doctor has on his capacity. I can say that UP/PGH grads (like you and me, haha) in general are better than grads from other med schools even if we all passed the same Board Exams (and this analogy works even for the more rigorous USMLEs).
Aloy: Again, even if it is a bad gauge of competence (and that’s a big if), it is still the standard where ALL doctors from the US are measured against. Ergo, it’s not a function of the supposedly substandard Philippine schools – it’s a failure of the mechanism.
I’m in the camp that says people are being too sensitive, and I stand by my opinion. (Yes, I’m invoking that defense.) Individually, no one’s is really overreacting, it’s just that the collective reaction seems far too disproportionate to the wrongdoing especially when some people become angry that others don’t share their aggrieved opinions and when given an arm, they also ask for the leg.
Okay, I’m guilty of #’s 1 and 2 (I did not blog about it though, I just kept it to myself). But it’s all good, I mean.. you presented solid and valid points and it made me think twice whether to continue believing in what I believe in. (Waah! Redundant.)
But in the end, everyone is entitled with their own opinion.
Hey, man. Getting your panties in a bunch? Filipinos, especially the internet citizens, apparently, seem to be such women.
I understand that you’re a medical student, and you probably got pissed off. You have that right, I’m not taking it away from you. If you signed some petition, that’s your thing. And maybe I should say “Good for you. I’m sure the time in between the time you split between your studies, your band and your blogging should be used for such grand purposes.”
But yeah, we make racist comments, too. And I find it funny. Sort of. I think doctors here are good enough. That’s why a lot of them are turning into nurses in the US. And that show might have stabbed their chances at being a credible medical professional, because god knows a quarter of a million people are very susceptible to suggestion. Everyone knows one should believe everything one sees on a whorish TV show like Desperate Housewives.
But, heh, it doesn’t bother me and I think I’d laugh at that clip again when I see it again. I’m no doctor, so yeah, it doesn’t bother me. Family Guy and/or MadTV or 30 Rock insults to Filipinos don’t bother me either.
Just my 2 cents. Maybe I’m a genius or a non-thinking money, but then again, who are you to say otherwise? You understand everything.
Not all people are as smart as you Bim.
And I didn’t sign any petition. I’m just supporting the class action suit.
I suppose the position of “not taking sides” or “not taking up a position” is a position in itself. The mere act of setting up a blog is to take a stand already. Thus, some aspects of the dichotomy as explained in the first few paragraphs may be problematic.
Anyway, what complicates the protests over the bigoted joke in Desperate Housewives is the colonial mentality that afflicts many or most Pinoys. We have been taught to regard ourselves to be so pathetic compared with other races, especially Americans. It is sad that some Filipinos do not feel for fellow Filipinos and not cast a stone on racism because it involves their long time idols.
[...] is unconvinced of the arguments of those who claim that the continuing protests are “going overboard”. [...]
I think its a real issue that Filipinos aren’t expressing the same outrage whenever other nationalities are at at the receiving end of Filipinos racist remarks. Where do we go off telling how others should act when we ourselves can’t do the right things? Imagine if China suddenly started criticizing other countries for violating human rights of its citizens. That would be very weird.
Take Michael V’s “5-6″ music video that parodied Indians engaged in money-lending for example. That particular offensive piece was broadcasted by GMA-7 last year. The mistake was even repeated when GMA-7 released a compilation of Michael V’s music video parodies including that particular music video. Where was the outrage then? If Filipinos are indeed not racist, why didn’t anyone raise a peep when that came out? Oh wait, I am generalizing already. Let me correct that. Where were the valiant Filipino bloggers who are against racism?
It may be hard to admit but Filipinos too are guilty of this crime and before we cast an accusing finger at anyone, maybe we should check if we’re not tainted too. Before we try launching any crusade against anything, why don’t we try fixing our own problems. Yes, people have the right to be offended when they are at the cross hairs of unsupported assertions against their race. But don’t they also have the responsibility to defend others who are also subject to the same attacks? Yes, that American network should apologize to those who were offended by what Teri Hatcher said in that particular episode. But isn’t it about time that somebody also start a petition against what GMA-7 did?
Racism is racism is racism. And if we really believe that, we should start telling off our kababayans when they laugh at the denigrating portrayals of Chinese, Indians, and whatever nationality own media see fit to ridicule. That much at least I get.
It’s an easy rebuttal, really.
Here, we’re not out to get ALL Americans. We’re up in arms because of what one American did and that’s the person we want to be tried in court – along with the hierarchy of ABC and the show.
I don’t let that idiot Michael V speak for me. Why don’t you start the petition, I’m sure it will be easy once you get the ball rolling.
If your logic were true, Filipinos will have no ascendancy in any issue. We will no longer have the right to contest and help our OFWs who could be jailed and put in death row abroad in the future because our judicial system sucks and we’ll have no right to question theirs.
It’s bad logic and it doesn’t hold water.
I’m not saying that we should not take a stand against anything just because we are guilty of the same thing. It’s just that we would be in better position to criticize if we actually have a good track record on the subject. Let’s take the point you raised about our faulty judicial system. I think part of the reason our foreign affairs department have lots of failures in securing the liberty of wrongfully accused OFWS is precisely because our judicial system sucks. Why should other countries listen to us when we can’t even get our own system in order. Yes, we can complain all we want but will they listen? Another example, just recently our beloved president criticized Myanmar’s generals at the UN Assembly and said the Philippines respects human rights. This is just a guess but I’m pretty sure only other world leaders who don’t know where our country is applauded that speech.
On this racism thing, were just not credible critics. During that Michael V. episode the fact that Filipinos did not indignantly react shows that there’s something wrong with the way we think. During that particular episode we basically showed that it’s ok when we’re doing it.
Yes, you may not agree with what Michael V did but as someone claiming to be anti-racism, may I ask, where were you then? I haven’t checked all your entries but I am again guessing that there’s nothing condemning that episode. Just as many American politicians had to answer why they were silent during the earlier part of the civil rights movement, the Filipino blogging community also has to answer this question: Why were they not speaking up when it was fellow Pinoys making racist comments?
What you’re basically saying is that this is the issue now and it’s the only thing we have to concern ourselves with. So what if we do it too? We’re angry now. We’ll think about it some other time. I just don’t know when. That’s the problem with your argument. There’s basically no accountability on our part.
Since we still have unresolved racist issues of our own, wouldn’t it be better to cut them slack for the meantime and let’s try to fix our own problems first? ABC already issued an apology and has promised to delete those scenes. Isn’t it overkill already to take them to court? If they repeat it again then we go for the kill. I promise you, I’ll help gather signatures.
[...] Again, I’m all for the right to protest and all but don’t forget about the real/root issues. Who says entertainment has to be nice anyway? If you can sue a network for making a remark of what many perceive, then why not sue the news stations for showing the “bad news” of the Philippines that shapes the minds of the American public. I’m sick of all this politically correct crap. You cannot do anything without offending someone or something. Don’t talk shit about whales since they have feelings too. For another interesting/good view, check this out. [...]
[...] is unconvinced of the arguments of those who claim that the continuing protests are “going overboard”. [...]
Your points are open to debate for the following reasons:
1. Regarding pride, focus on developing your economy so that fewer people will find the need to find work abroad. Take note of various Asian countries whose people and even products were maligned and yet have reversed the situation through high social trust and appropriate economic policies.
2. Where is this outrage everytime an OFW or even Filipino traveler is insulted abroad, physically abused, imprisoned, or even executed? And why do several comment and web log writers refer to death threats and name-calling?
3. Following No. 2, it together with many other things are issues everyday, and yet you do not see a lot of writers talk about them everyday, do you?
4. Are you implying that just as long as the U.S. maintains its standards, then Filipinos will do fine? The point is that citizens talk about pride and yet still have difficulties dealing with their country’s major problems.
Think about other aspects of this issue. You are referring to Filipino health professionals in the U.S., and they come from a country where there are now major shortages in doctors and nurses. This issue concerning a television show will be very minor compared to the possibility of a major health crisis in the Philippines in the next few years.