A few weeks ago the show berated the quality of education of our Philippine educated doctors. As a result of that 20-second clip pinoys around the world banded together to condemn the remark and demanded for swift justice to be served. An apology from ABC was offered but pinoys wanted that the offensive clip be removed and an on-screen apology be made in an episode. I took interest in the matter for a while and since then just took a passive stance.
It’s great that pinoys were upset about the incident. It’s good that they were able to make ABC realize their mistake. It’s good that they were able to get an apology. But after that, what’s next?
I thought that the issue, although global, was not making the rounds in Bakersfield. Until I found that a local station affiliated with ABC did an article about the reaction of pinoys in the city. Read the article here.
What’s interesting to me is Filipinos in Bakersfield are active in the community. I haven’t been seeing them a whole lot but it’s nice to note that every so often Juan dela Cruz shows up in the radar.
My next project is to find out what he’s been up to lately.
I live in California and so far I like where we are. But there are a lot of things going on that makes me ask if we are in the right place.
Politicians and special interest groups are pushing for issues that makes me want to cry. I think it’s a waste of time and not worth the attention but it’s bothering a lot of people and it’s starting to annoy me.
Here are some of the strange things that are happening:
1. The governor of California (The Terminator) signed a new “anti-discriminatory” law effectively making the terms “dad” and “mom” obsolete. The law called SB 777 or The California Students Rights Act also calls for, among other things, the following:
“Mom” and “dad” and “husband” and “wife” would have to be edited from all texts.
Cheerleading and sports teams would have to be gender-neutral.
Prom kings and queens would be banned, or if featured, would have to be gender neutral so that the king could be female and the queen male.
Gender-neutral bathrooms could be required for those confused about their gender identity.
A male who believes he really is female would be allowed into the women’s restroom, and a woman believing herself a male would be allowed into a men’s room.
Even scientific information, such has statistics showing AIDS rates in the homosexual community, could be banned.
2. A group wants to remove the US national motto, “In God We Trust” from US currencies. Arguing that the motto forces upon the people a religion, thus violating the separation of the church and state. It even has a term - religionizing the national currency.
Last February a number of George Washington dollar coins were circulated without the motto. According to the US Mint it was an error in the process and these were not inspected. The article here. But according to conspiracy theorists, it was a deliberate act.
3. Here in Bakersfield, CA a group wants the national motto posted in all public schools but is meeting stiff opposition from a group. The proponents want to post the motto in classrooms to instill patriotism while the opponents does not see it that way. Here’s an article from the Californian.
I don’t know what to make out of these. I think culture shock is starting to set in!
I remember a phrase from a TV ad in the Philippines - “Walang ganyan sa states.”
Naming a child can be one of the more exciting experiences of being parents. I remember how we struggled to give our children the best names that would suit who they are. We were careful not to give a name that would be a problem when they grow up. I heard somewhere that a child was named Hitler or Judas. I wouldn’t want my children or other children , for that matter, to be the laughing stock. So we gave our children a two-name tag (Paulo Joshua and Thea Beatrix).
Back in the Philippines these names, along with two-word names, are common. Here in the US they still stick to the one-word name. My daughter who goes to a public school relates that her classmates and some teachers thought her second name was her middle name. She had to explain that she has four names (first, second, middle and last name).
Then I came across an article written by Baguio journalist Lisa Agoot-Galao who wrote that the Department of Education is asking the parents to “give short, simple names”. You can read the article here.
So, I went online to find out who has the longest name; the shortest; the most bizarre, etc. Here’s what I found out:
1. The longest first name is from a German immigrant to the USA:
Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvim John Kenneth Loyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor Willian Xerxes Yancy Zeus
2. The shortest : I have not found any entry but I guess no name can be shorter than a one letter identification like - J or K.
3. The most unusual is: Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 Halli. According to the mother it is pronounced as “Albin“
The oddest names I personally came across were from a village in Tarlac, Philippines. He was named after a brand of beer - Red Horse. He had a playmate named Transmitter - after the radio transmitters put up nearby.
According to an ABS-CBN report, the show’s producer has issued an apology for the comment made.
“The producers of “Desperate Housewives” and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines. As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs.”
However, this was not enough. Many are still demanding a public apology. As to the manner of apology needed to placate the anger of Filipinos?
The Association of Philippine Physicians in America (APPA) has a solution - offer the apology in an episode just like the one shown. Here’s an excerpt of the letter sent by Dr. Virgilio R. Pilapil, president of APPA:
“An apology to them publicized in the same manner that the ‘one sentence episode’ was received by the American public would be the only way to repair the damage that has been done. We hope that you would strongly consider this and we hope that there should be more thoughts in future shows of your company of not using disparaging words against well educated, respectable and hard working physicians in this country no matter what their ethnicities maybe. Thank you for your consideration and it is my wish that you would become a leader in setting a good example in our TV and movie industry.”
As they say back home - Abangan ang susunod na kabanata!
A few days ago I received an email stating that a popular TV show made a racial comment against Filipino doctors. Here is an excerpt of the email:
“I heard through the grapevine about a remark made on an episode of Desperate Housewives” last night. The scene entailed Teri Hatcher’s character (Susan) at a hospital, being told by her gynecologist that he might be hitting menopause. Susan replied, “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines. ”
If you go to abc.com, you can watch the full episode and witness the scene at about 18:50 minutes into the episode.
Here’s the video clip.
A petition was launched to condemn the show and is demanding an apology from the producers of the show. You can sign the petition here.
A protest letter was also sent by the Philippine government through Ambassador Willy Gaa. Here’s a copy of the letter : gaa-letter-to-abc.pdf
The comment was uncalled for and the writers and the producers should be more sensitive. Now we wait for the firestorm from the Filipino community not only here in the US but also back home and around the world.
I’m a heavy user of PowerPoint. It’s simply an effective presentation tool. The pointers given here are absolutely hilarious! Of course, if you use other presentation tools, this applies, too.
