Bad Asian!

I've got a myspace profile because I'm such a fifteen year old high school student, and I was reading one of the bulletins that someone posted. It was a letter from Kevin Nadal, a Filipino Performance Artist/Activist, recounting the horrible and inexcusable attack on Filipinos everywhere and demanding an apology from ABC and the creators of Desperate Housewives.

Here is a link to the post: racist on desperate housewives

In a hospital scene, Teri Hatcher's character asks: "Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines."

Kevin was outraged by this derogatory remark and claims that it's hateful and all Filipinos should band together to make sure that no one ever talks shit about Filipinos on mainstream television ever again. I told all of this to one of my friends who is a gay Filipino and that I thought that what Teri Hatcher's character said was actually kind of funny to me. He immediately told me that I should be ashamed of myself for hating my heritage and that he couldn't believe that I was such a "bad Asian."

A bad Asian? I laughed at a line from Desperate Housewives, for fuck's sake. All she said was that she wanted to make sure that the doctor's didn't graduate from a medical school in the Philippines. It's not like she said that Filipinos are dirty, baby-blood-drinking, Ann Coulter supporting, mouth-breathing, dog eating, fresh off the boat wastes of skin.

Sure, medical schools in the Philippines are okay (my cousin is attending one at the moment), but they're not the best. Wouldn't you want THE BEST when it came to your medical treatment? The economy in the Philippine Islands (which I will now be referring to as the PI) is really shitty and a lot of the schools are not getting the financial support they need to raise the quality of the programs there.

On a totally unrelated note that I'm probably going to get a lot of negative e-mails about but I still feel is important to add to this entry because I'm a tad bit superficial, the medical student uniforms are ugly. My aunt showed me a picture of my cousin in his uniform and he looked like he was a member of Nurse Ratched's goon squad getting ready to pounce on Jack Nicholson. Google it.

Kevin Nadal also mentioned that this remark should be held in the same regard as the ones made by Michael Richards, Isaiah Washington, and Rosie O'Donnell. I'm not black, but I am gay and Asian so I can only respond to Isaiah's and Rosie's comments. I really didn't care. I didn't stand up and march on Washington just because someone called someone else a fag or made the "ching chong" language mock. Frankly, I feel that there are more important things to get riled up about and that people need to chill the fuck out.

Let's not forget that these are actors and television presenters making these comments, not important people like teachers or employers. Why should I be so concerned when someone who I've never met and who has no influence on my life calls someone a bad name?

I was watching Alec Mapa's comedy special on Logo last night and he is a gay Filipino actor/comedian (some of you know him as Suzuki from Ugly Betty) and 90% of his stand up act was stereotypical jokes about Filipinos. If people are so up in arms about someone making a stereotypical comment about Filipinos on Desperate Housewives, then where is the online petition against Alec Mapa? There is no such petition at this time because people think that if a Filipino is making fun of Filipinos, then it's okay. If you get all preachy to me about laughing at Desperate Housewives but turn around and laugh when Alec Mapa jokes about Filipinos believing in vampires (in a heavy Filipino accent), then you need to seriously re-examine your position. Most people call it a double standard. I call it bullshit. I personally think that Alec Mapa is hilarious and only mentioned him in this manner to prove a point.

I'm not a bad Asian. I like rice. I drove a Honda. I take my shoes off when I go inside someone else's home. All kidding aside, people need to take a step back and calm down. Getting your fellow Filipinos all riled up about some stupid joke about your race is not the way to strengthen the image of Filipinos in America. Establishing yourself as a talented actor/comedian like Alec Mapa is the way. Being the first Filipino Eponine on Broadway like Lea Salonga is the way. Having the courage to blog out and speak your mind against thousands of Filipinos who read someone's myspace bulletin at the risk of never being invited to a Filipino party where they serve really good lumpia is the way.