Thursday, October 4

Another Day, Another Kick in the Face



"... diplomas, just to make sure they're not from some med school in the Philippines."

And the craziness begins. As usual, they're shooting the messenger, and I'm seeing "kill Teri," "die, Teri," "kapal ng mukha mo Teri" all over the place. Get the blame straight already. It was a script not an adlib, and the woman is working her bony ass off for the money so she will obviously say what the script tells her to say. Why would she care if she relegates the level of perception for Philippine medical education to the trash bin?

Maybe they could've just thought up any old country? Maybe they thought of the Philippines first rather than say, Timbuktu or Bangladesh or I don't know, any old country in the United Nations. Maybe they were poking at a map with their eyes closed to decide which country to make famous. *Point* Oh okay! Let's do Philippines!

Here's a thought. Maybe the bigwigs wrote the DH scriptwriters to make Teri spout this because they needed something to get the attention off the sordid happenings and shady deals that're crawling out of the woodwork lately. *cough* Senate Hearing! *cough* Broadband Deal! *cough*

Note to the great witch doctors of Siquijor: if you're going to do the whole voodoo black magic thing, hex/curse/pincushion the writers of the show.

Apparently, ABC has already issued the required mea culpa. Yeah, they tore their clothes, put ashes in their hair, fasted for a week and offered free copies of Season One to every Filipino in the land. Anyway, I watched the clip and didn't find it funny at all. I don't watch Desperate Housewives, and if this is any indication of what they find funny, I don't think I ever will. You know what I do find funny? This.

"... [Filipinos should be depicted as] prominent, positive role models."
- Kevin Nadal, Fil-American college lecturer, founder of online petition against DH

Positive? Oh, please. We all know our uplifting legacy also includes slave labor, mail order brides and illegal immigration, no matter how much you want to forget it.

See, this is the thing about Filipinos. We disparage ourselves left and right, and laugh out loud at our own ridiculousness. But it's kinda like our mothers. We can disparage our own mother, but if someone else does... talk about the mother(land) that way and boom! It's your ass, buddy.

This may actually be our defining moment because the moment you actually get Filipinos all around the globe mobilized, the world will come to a standstill. That's because we are (arguably) the hidden parts that makes the watch tick, keeps it going strong. Yes, we do the dirty jobs, the ones you want to forget need to be done. We wipe your dirty behinds, we sing you to sleep while you wait to die. We mop up your messes and fix your computers over the phone. We answer every idiotic question you have, listen to your tantrums and marvel at the sheer craziness of a nation that currently calls itself the top first world country.

Thing is, I don't think it's going to happen. I believe we're pretty numb to the whole thing. We've already been defined as "maids" and not much has been done about it. Besides, this is all about clout. It's not like we own nuclear warheads, or have a vast unfathomable vat of oil somewhere in the islands of Palawan. All we can do is place our hands on our hips and wag our finger at America. Make that two fingers. Oh yeah, you're gonna get it now! Bad America! Bad, bad America! So... yeah. It's not gonna do any good. Unless we get together and go on a timed national strike at the exact same time so they'll realize what they're really up against. Not really holding my breath on this one.

2 comments:

illicracker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
illicracker said...

Leave it to Filipinos who cannot get a joke that has some sort of truth in it. They demand an apology? Oh My goodness! Filipinos are pathetic to even feel offended by it. Remember when Claire Danes pointed out how stinky Manila was? And she got banned from coming back or something close to that kind of reaction. Well, how hugaw is Manila anyways? Very much so. Mga lamok, mga ipis. Everywhere. And then someone points it out and they get offended by it? What is it with Filipinos and wanting to find someone to blame?