Here in the US, I notice Asians have that respect. Asians are mainstream. You’ll always find Indians and Chinese in the TV show Jeopardy and you’ll find them as CEOs and business owners and everybody knows that Asians excel in schools. I don’t have the statistics but I know it by observation. Asians are labeled ‘smart’ because of this.
Filipinos are definitely Asians. Our country lies in Southeast Asia but Filipinos have always been reluctantly called Asians.
The reason I think is that because in our region, we are the poorest. We don’t have that kind of respect that the Japanese and the Chinese have. We’ve been conquered by everybody and I can’t deny that we have one of the most corrupt and incompetent governments.
Filipinos are like the black sheep of Asia. I’ve also heard about the label ‘niggers of Asia.’ We are dis-owned because of the reasons stated above.
Enter Manny Pacquiao – the ‘greatest ASIAN boxer of all time.’
Suddenly there’s no reluctance in Manny Pacquiao being called ‘Asian.’ Suddenly, we are one of them.
Is Manny Pacquiao our vindication? In a way I guess but personally, I don’t care because good and bad, I’m proud to be Pinoy even without Manny. There’s a lot more to being Filipino than meets the eye but it’s a long story.
It’s just funny how suddenly Manny Pacquiao is their property.
Suddenly I became Asian.
14 comments:
hongkong is not a country u idiot!
i didn't say that. '3 states' not 'country.' read it again kevin. thanks.
Hi Mel,
Thanks for your posting; it forces me to work harder at articulating my own view on this complicated subject. I come from an American-born Asian's perspective, and I do not claim to speak for all those in my demographic..
Due to a historical & geographical disconnect, I do not feel pride in being "Asian" for the reasons you list. I'm a 5th / 2nd generation Chinese American that has been socialized in a completely different context [re: the U.S.] from immigrant Asians. For example, I am much more comfortable embracing many social identities, including "Asian American" (a label that many immigrants from Asia do not identify with for many reasons, including a fear that embracing a pan-Asian identity means a shedding or diluting of one's ethnic specific identity over time).
As an American-born Asian, I argue that embracing "Asian American" identity (as it has occurred in my own life) has helped me to reverse the process of Anglo-conformist assimilation that most American-born Asians have to contend with in the U.S. Becoming "Asian American" has enabled me to learn more about both Chinese & Chinese American history and culture. Yet, it has also offered me the opportunity to discover the similarities between the Chinese and other Asian ethnic groups in American history. As a result, I know (among other things) that my constitutional rights were strengthened because of Japanese Americans who protested their WWII internment. I also know that my rights as a worker have been improved because of the many struggles undertaken by Filipino laborers in America. And sadly, I also know that the lives of hate crime victims like Vincent Chin, Joseph Ileto, and Thinh Minh Ly were interchangable from the perspectives of their racist murderers who didn't care about the ethnic identities of their victims--i.e. the murderers only cared about race.
As an "Asian American" and a "Chinese American," I am proud to "claim" Filipino Americans like Philip Vera Cruz, Carlos Bulosan, Al Robles, Enrique Dela Cruz, Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough, Fred Cordova, Ish Ileto, John Delloro, Rick Bonus, Jessica Hagedorn, and DJ Kuttin Kandi as a few of my many "heroes." [These people are noteworthy artists, activists, and educators.] Without question, Filipino America has been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of all Asians in America, while also producing a body of intellectual discourse and artistic works marked by cutting edge innovation.
In conclusion, please forgive me if you feel that I may be unfairly appropriating these Filipinos in the same manner that some other non-Filipino Asians may claim Manny Pacquiao. Given my socialization in U.S. society, I have been able to see Filipinos in a different light than many non-Filipino Asians, whether in Asia or the United States. Filipinos in America have fought to enrich the quality of life for all, especially Asian Americans. It is a social injustice that such a history is difficult for most people to access, but this only proves that Asian American history--including the experiences of Filipino Americans--is NOT mainstream. [In my opinion, the "model minority" image of Asians you cite as "mainstream" is popular precisely because it serves the function of maintaining white supremacy--i.e. the status quo--in America. Any body of information that challenges or questions the status quo--like Filipino American history--will be ignored by the mainstream (re: white America).]
There are some moments in my life where I DO feel more "Asian" (re: "Asian American") than "Chinese," but I never feel that I should have to pick and choose between one identity over the other--in this case, I'm definitely a "both/and" rather than an "either/or" person. Perhaps, one can draw a parallel 100 years ago when recent immigrants from Cebuano-speaking provinces looked at their Ilocano-speaking co-workers in California and then proclaimed, "suddenly, we are Filipinos."
Sincerely,
Richard
thanks for enlightening me richard. i appreciate and learned from your comments. -mel
Right or wrong, the article really represents the way many Filipinos perceive their heritage.
Hey Mel,
Pinoys were also called the "Irish" of Asia... If anything, since the islands sits off the South China Sea, we should be Southeast Asians; as our Malasian brothers and sisters.
Actually there was a recent study done on Chinese-Americans and their place in corporate America. The well researched data concluded that Chinese-Americans like other Asian-Americans in general are heavily underrepresented in corporate senior level positions(much less CEOs).
vietnamese and camnbodians are the niggers of asia. Philippines stands in the middle ground of development much like Thailand. Thailand and Philippines have huge urban areas with tons of skyscrapers; Vietnam and Cambodia are still jungles. In any case most Asia countries fail horribly in regards to development and technology when compared to Japan.
Also the Philippine language much like Malaysian sounds better than most SE tonal ugly languages like Thai and Vietnamese.
Yes, Japan is clearly the most developed but the Philippines is actually poorer than Thailand in GDP standard of living and this is clearly evident when visiting the two countries.
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