All right, let’s take a trip to Wisteria Lane. I have watched Desperate Housewives quite a few times when I was still in the Philippines. Wasn’t bad, wasn’t good either. A recent episode, however, has left thousands of enraged Filipinos up in arms, demanding an apology from ABC. The network did issue a written apology, saying there was no intent to malign Filipino health professionals, but even that was not enough to appease those who have signed a petition for the Sept. 30 episode to be removed or edited. The protesters’ demands include a “broadcast public apology, cultural sensitivity training for network staff, more shows depicting Filipinos and other minority groups as ‘prominent, positive role models,’ and support for Filipino-American projects that will strengthen diversity awareness.” Are we taking the issue way too far? Are we making a big fuss over a bad joke? Are we simply thin-skinned when the joke’s about us? The dialogue goes:
Gynecologist: Listen, Susan, I know for a lot of women the word menopause has negative connotations. You hear aging, brittle bones, loss of sexual desire…
Susan: OK, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? Just to make sure they aren’t, like, from some med school in the Philippines?
Sure, the joke easily comes off as a put-down. Sure, the punchline does not put us in a good light and if I were in the medical profession, I’d be insulted as well. Would I picket ABC Studios to express my disgust? Probably not. Do I think it was a racial slur? No. I think most Americans are aware that Filipino nurses and doctors are coming to the US in droves to the point that they are slowly but surely leaving our own health system bankrupt. If hospitals and other medical institutions had no faith in their skills, training and experience, why bother petitioning them? We have already proven that we are as equally skilled if not better than US-trained health professionals so our pride should be intact.
In the Philippines, we laugh about how anyone can easily buy fake diplomas and public documents along Recto. You can be an engineering graduate from a top-notch university in a matter of minutes. Need a fake passport? No problem. Apparently the writers of Desperate Housewives got wind of this counterfeiting business and incorporated it in the show for a dose of humor. Now that “foreigners” are telling the story, we are not laughing. It was insulting because there was a hint of truth in it. It was insulting because it brought to light some of the bad practices our country has failed to get rid of. It was insulting because it hit home.
My question is, if the joke were about Nigerians and online get-rich-quick scams, or how almost every Mexican is perceived to have jumped off the border, do we see ourselves condemning such bigotry? Or do we see ourselves as laughing and then getting on with our lives? It's easier to be emotional than rational. I say let's learn to pick our battles wisely and keep our chin up.
Posted by fleur at October 10, 2007 04:54 AM