During the September 30, 2007 episode of ABC's show, "Desperate Housewives," there was a scene where the character played by Teri Hatcher was talking to her doctor who told her that she might be hitting menopause. Skeptical of the diagnosis, she replied: “OK, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Because I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines.”
Many viewers probably did not think too much about it. Some probably just laughed. But some probably found the remark confirmatory of their own stereotypical view of the "typical doctor from the Philippines."
For us, that segment of the show was insulting. In fact, it was more than insulting -- it was scary.
Scary because of the bigotry hidden between those lines -- bigotry which feeds more distrust, condescension towards our people, and possibly even hate.
Scary because of the sinister, subliminal message to millions of viewers who were watching the show then, and who will watch the show in the future, about the qualifications of our most esteemed, most educated countrymen. If they can easily propagate that stereotype about our doctors, how much more easily can they do it with the rest of us?
Scary because that statement chips into our kids' sense of self-worth and self-respect.
Scary because our professional reputations and livelihoods are at stake.
Our community leaders asked for an apology from the producers of the show, and a couple of days later, we got it. But it was a meaningless gesture: the damage has been done to our people at no discernible cost to the issuers of the apology.
We demand more than that meaningless apology because we deserve more!
Are we over-reacting? Are we being overly sensitive? Are we blowing this thing out of proportion?
We don't think so! In fact, we believe this happened because we've been too passive for far too long!
We believe it's now high time to start asserting our rights politically, economically and, yes, even legally!
Why? Because that segment of the show is defamatory in the legal sense of the word.
It is violative of our rights to be protected from discrimination.
It is unjust!
Let this be known: our coalition is determined to explore all avenues, legal or otherwise, to stop this type of bigotry against our people. And if ABC & Disney will not make true amends, we are determined to make them pay.
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About PADCo
We are a concerned group of Filipinos and friends of Filipinos committed to putting a stop to all defamatory attacks against the Philippines and its people. If you or your group wants to get involved, write staff.padco@gmail.com.
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3 comments:
The reason why this issue is getting on my nerves is that the show was
not making fun of a stereotype (which we are all guilty of). Kailan pa
nag ka stereotype and mga doctor at nurses natin? If any, it's that we
are the most maalaga ones in the healthcare industry. The remark was
simply thoughtless and ignorant - a true blue racist comment. I, for
one, am not keen on just letting it go. The blog is
right on the money. The remark sends the subliminal message that a
Pinoy healthcare worker is lousy and that they should not be trusted.
Where in the world did that come from?? Dati walang stereotype,
nagayon meron na.
And please, it's not "just a television show". There are a LOT of
people who subscribe to TV as if anything said there is the gospel
truth. And while we may argue that the opinion of these ignorant
people don't matter, coming from a nation which counts entertainment
as one of their biggest exports, people will listen to whatever they
put out there.
Remember Fatima and the nursing board exam leak?
An apology is good but it does nothing to repair the damage done against Filipino professionals in the medical and other fields. Neither does an apology punish the perpetrators of the offense. From this perspective, an apology seems to be the cheap way out.
Are there any lawyers, Filipino or otherwise who would be interested in initiating a class action suit against all the offending parties? I hope there will be some punitive damages involved. For compensatory damages, I think justice would be served if:
1. For the next three episodes in a row, different figures of authority in the show will rectify Susan’s ignorance, informing her that among the best professionals in the U.S. and in the world, are those from Philippine universities and she would be fortunate to have Philippine trained medical professionals attending to her or her family when they get sick
2. Multiple medical related scholarships (for medicine, nursing, med tech, physical therapy, etc.) will be provided by the offending parties in each of those “med schools from the Philippines” for the next 20 years.
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