“Desperate Housewives” Piss off Filipinos worldwide!
Posted on October 4, 2007
Filed Under Commentary |
The “Desperate Housewives” staff probably got a good laugh when they first wrote this line in Sundays last show.
““can I check those diplomas because I want to make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.”
I can imagine they were proud of themselves for coming up with such a smug insult. But who laughs last laughs longest. Right?
Can you imagine if they found themselves in the emergency room surrounded by Filipina nurses and doctors?
If I were a mind reader their self talk might sound something like:
- Do they know I write for Desperate Housewives?
- Do they know I’m actually the person that thought up that line?
- I don’t think I should ask for their diplomas at this point in my life it’s not important.
- I think I’m being drawn to the light now…I sure these Filipino medical professionals will save me.
- Damn that light is getting closer!
Let’s remember that Terry Hatcher is just and actress working for “Desperate Housewives”. She is paid to deliver the lines given to her.
With that being said…I’m sure if she felt it morally wrong or politically incorrect she would have raised hell until they changed the script. Every day the “Hollywood Bunch” takes a stand against the war, homelessness, orphaned children and yes, even BIGOTRY.
What happened here?
Some of the other blogs that I read raise some good points also
My friend Noemi of About my Recovery asked.
I wonder if the writer meant it to be funny or what. Considering there are a large number of US-based doctors and nurses who are graduates of Philippine Medical Schools, then I think not. These Philippine Medical School graduates took up further training in the States. Before they can even practice in the US, our Filipino doctors called Foreign Medical Graduates have to take a USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exams) which consist of 3 parts to get into residency…
Grace @ Filipina Soul wants to know
…would the writers have been more careful if the slur was against Muslims, Blacks or Hispanics?
Rico of BBN: The Bayanihanblogs ask….So What!
We don’t have to get so worked up over Desperate Housewives, or over people who think everything’s so black and white. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not tolerating Teri Hatcher’s line, and I applaud those who’ve so eloquently expressed their disdain. But getting affected by people who simply don’t (can’t? won’t?) know any better is sometimes a waste of time.
The fact is that some people think that the Philippines has nothing good to offer the world. And that’s their loss.
But instead of assimilating into the victim culture, it might be more effective for Filipinos to take a pass on the Jesse Jackson playbook and respond in a novel way.
Say, with humor:
Filipino doctors and nurses could stage a mock “Day Without a Filipino Medical School Graduate.”
Or charge patients who watch “Desperate Housewives” extra.
Or hound Eva Longoria at public appearances, picketing in their hospital gowns, shouting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Desperate Housewives have got to go” while running a booth administering free anti-Hollywood vaccine shots.
Or do a Jericho-style protest and inundate the producers with copies of your med school diplomas, awards, and commendations.
Two: Can you imagine the uproar if the Desperate Housewives ever dared to make derogatory comments about illegal aliens? Imagine if they incorporated a criminal illegal alien into the plot line. Imagine the demands from MALDEF and LULAC for sensitivity training and open-borders rehab. Imagine.
Michelle I shutter to Imagine….
I can here the replies coming out of Hollywood in the next few days.
- I’m not prejudice…some of my best friends are Filipino!
- How can I be prejudice I have a Filipina nanny and housekeeper?
I’m sure someone can fill in the rest…
Good night
Don
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12 Responses to ““Desperate Housewives” Piss off Filipinos worldwide!”
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Yes in an emergency room, there is no choice but to accept whoever is the resident doctor. I mean, that light is getting too near. hehe. Well, ABC apologized but it seems it is not enough. Editing needs to be done before the DVDs are distributed.
Noemi,
I think their next show should have Terry Hatcher falling in love with a Filipino doctor!
I bet the ratings would go through the roof then right?
Don
[…] filam forum report: Let’s remember that Terry Hatcher is just and actress working for “Desperate Housewives”. She is paid to deliver the lines given to her. […]
I have to agree the remark was in poor taste, and added
nothing to the show. I am surprised it got past the scrutiny
(if there is any), and that Teri Hatcher did not raise
objections against her character having to say it.
It reminds me of the remark Claire Danes said about Manila
while filming the movie “Brokedown Palace” in the Philippines.
“Manila was a “ghastly and weird city” that “smelled
of cockroaches, with rats all over, and there is no
sewerage system, and the people do not have anything
– no arms, no legs, no eyes.”
Could there be some truth to these statements? Are the
Filipinos “outraged” because a problem is being noticed
by an outsider?
Are they embarrassed by what they want hidden is now exposed?
We know any document can be had for a few pesos on the
streets of Manila. Schools churn out graduates as long as
the tuition is paid.
We know about “saving face”, and the strong influence that
it has on the Filipino. Even if you say the truth, and it’s
perceived as somehow attacking the individual, you will be
forever hated, and in some instances, dead! The Filipinos
hold a grudge forever.
Putting myself in their position, and if something bad is said
about the USA, would I get upset? Not really.
I am not that sensitive.
I live in the Philippines, almost daily I hear negative remarks
said about me. Most other foreigners will also tell you that
Filipinos think foreigners are fair game to insult and at times
make fun of. I guess turn about isn’t fair play in their world.
I wonder how outraged would the Filipinos be if another
Filipino had said those words? Humor is funny when it has
some thruth to it. We all can relate to jokes about Southerners.
Jeff Foxworthy became well known for his redneck jokes.
I never heard any outrage from rednecks.
In closing, I really don’t think these remarks did anything to
harm the image of the Filipinos. I really doubt that anyone
took some line from a TV show and formed an opinion of
all Filipinos in the medical profession. In fact I doubt most
Americans could even point out the Philippines on a world map.
Oops, did I just insult the intelligence of all Americans?
I guess I better apologize now, or it will be the
subject matter for all the bloggers tomorrow.
Llyod,
If one Afro-American quips a line with the clause, “Hey niggah…” that would be just fine.
If you white-assed with filthy mouth use that same clause to your statement to an Afro-American… You know what would happen to you!
Remember, there are a lot of Filipino Doctors who are Muslims also. Maybe ABC should act fast enough to have an “ON AIR” public APOLOGY PRIOR to their next episode.
Or somebody will really act FAST and soon they’ll regret it…
Lest we forget, remember the roles the Filipino-American medical professionals have done at the height of the 9/11 attack. Now, Imagine the U.S. without them….
…if it happens again???!!!%$#@#@$%^
I would like the issue at hand here,not incorporate evrything else,if they said Philippines is dirty and had some roaches,or we are dog eaters I can accept that because it is true,some parts of the Philippines are really substandard dirty,roaches and rats everywhere,in some areas people eat dogs as a delicacy,I can laugh at it ,if someone makes fun of us.But to say that an actress should not be held responsible for what she delivers ,is an insult even to her.Any job requires responsiblity morally and ethically.SHe said I want osee your diploma and make sure that you did not get it from some med school inb the Philippines is insulting ,first nof all in order to practice here in the U.S. took the same examination that a U.S. graduate take ,not from some school that passes students just to make some money.Foreign medical graduates from any country whether India,Pakistan,Russia or China earned that title FAIR AND SQUARE.So with that they earn the respect of their their fellow physicians,our nurses or any professional for that matter,take a board exam before they can practice here.They work ,make a lot of sacrifices to make it here.To be maligned like that can cause a lot of damage in one’s practice .And when they made their apology,they said that they don’t mean to insult our medical community ,is another insult.It was very clear what they have said about us some med school in the Philippines.Regardless what med school,the U. S. government passed him,he is kosher,be it from the boondocks of tralala in P.I. he passed it fair and square.If they have said they are sorry and that it was done because of lack of knowledge with regards to the medical requirements to practice here,or sorry it was in bad taste and we will be more careful next time ,I can accept that,but to paint it another way when it was so obvious is an insult to our intelligence as a group,meaning as Filipinos.If you have been insulte d ther e and it was inappropriate I am sorry,but let’s call it what it is.YOU MUST LIKE MY COUNTRY ENOUGH TO LIVE THERE,OTHERWISE YOU WOULDN’T BE THERE.
teri hatcher is just another painted doll, who if at all had a good educational background would have refused to deliver that discriminatory line on that episode even if she gets paid for it, lest she forgets she also has fans in the philippines….but i guess she is just as ignorant and mal-educated as the researchers and scritpwriters of that flesh peddling, boring, second rate copy cat of “sex and the city” , (hatcher can never be sarah jessica parker)…..please you guys at the production whatever, do not use the well educated, cultured and hardworking doctors of an ethnic group and insult a country just to DESPERATELY improve the rating of your dying TV show full of mediocre actors.
That’s basically what comedy is making fun of something it’s not to be taken seriously. Comedy makes fun of everything it may not be funny to me but it is to some people and I don’t take it seriously. There is nothing sacred anymore as far as comedy goes, people laugh when politicians are mocked comedy is always an insult to somebody or something. Also I am not a fan of Desperate Housewives I think it’s a stupid show but a lot of people like it.
Having had the opportunity to be admitted to a hospital in the province, I am convinced that they used a Ouija Board to make a diagnosis and then finally settled on the standard cause of “amoebas”. Is this because of substandard training or lack of equipment? Maybe a little of both.
Having said that, would we all be in an uproar over the same line if it were changed to:
“can I check those diplomas because I want to make sure that they’re not from some med school in India.”??
We all like to make fun of APU and his Quickie Mart from the television show “The Simpsons”, but cry foul when they poke fun at Filipinos? Isn’t that a double standard?
Face it! since there is a shortage of qualified and willing nurses in the US, Filipinos are common in hospitals, just as Indians are common in convenience stores. Filipino medical professionals are becoming an American Institution and subjected to be poked a little bit here and there.
There are so many more important things to worry about than the bullshit in Hollywood.
Cesar,
Thanks for reading the Fil-Am forum Report.
It seems we think alike on this subject. And come to think of it “desperate housewives” is a copy cat of “sex in the city”
Another show, I might add, that I didn’t care for.
Like “Desperate Housewives” I watched a few episodes because I like Sarah Jessica Parker and think, at times, she’s hot.
But that gets old after a while also.
Chris,
I understand you’re point about the hospitals in the province. I’ve seen them my self. I can’t comment on their diagnosis techniques but I do feel they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.
When your resources are limited you learn to work with what’s at your disposal. Right?
As for the double standard…well… we’ve seen so many people make fun of “APU” in the Mini mart that maybe we are just desensitized to it now.
This doesn’t make it right. I’m just suggesting this may be what’s going on.
I think the shortage of nurses here in the States comes from “willingness” to do the work more so than the qualifications.
Yes, there are more important things to worry about than this “BS” in “Hollywierd”.
But it did need to be addressed didn’t it?
James,
Thanks for stopping by the Fil-Am Forum report.
I love comedy as much as anyone else but there does seem to be some sort of sacred list of “do not touch” subjects.
In my post “Is this national insult filipino month?” I suggested a few of the “untouchables”
Grace at “Filipina Soul” also suggested that the writers would have shown more sensitivity if the slur was against Muslims, African Americans, or Hispanics.