Filipino-American President

I do not know what to make out of this forwarded e-mail from a Filipino-American friend. The email is regarding the “Top 10 Reasons Why There Couldn't Be a Filipino-American US President”. It came from a popular talk show in the US. I am not yet at liberty to mention the name of the show. Here are the top ten reasons:

10. The White House is not big enough for in-laws and extended relatives.

9. There are not enough parking spaces at the White House for 2 Honda Civics, 2 Toyota Land Cruisers, 3 Toyota Corollas, a Mercedes Benz, a BMW , and an MPV (My Pinoy Van).

8. Dignitaries generally are intimidated by eating with their fingers at State dinners.

7. There are too many dining rooms in the White House - where will they put the picture of the Last Supper?

6. The White House walls are not big enough to hold a pair of giant wooden spoon and fork

5. Secret Service staff won't respond to 'psst... psst' or hoy..hoyhoy

4. Secret Service staff will not be comfortable driving the presidential car with a Holy Rosary hanging on the rear view mirror, or the statue of the Santo Nino on the dashboard.

3. No budget allocation to purchase a Karaoke music-machine for every room in the White House.

2. State dinners do not allow 'Take Home'.

AND THE NUMBER 1 REASON WHY THERE COULDN'T BE A FILIPINO-AMERICAN U.S. PRESIDENT IS...

1. Air Force One does not allow overweight Balikbayan boxes!

Does it intend to humor the audience, which is predominantly non-Filipino? Is that a harmless humor? Did the audience laugh and if they did, did they understand why it could be laughable?

I do believe that humor is cultural. Filipinos could laugh at the “top ten” because they can relate at the cultural relevance and could mentally process the significance of each trait. However, when a foreigner tells it to a fellow foreigner, their ignorance could turn into a misconception of the particular trait that could not even be a generalization of the entire culture.

People laugh at a humor. It serves its purpose. However, what follows next? Is that all there is to a humor? Humor is not just humor that intends to make people laugh. Humor could deliver a statement. It could be political, social, cultural, or all of it, regarding the subject, and although we could laugh at it, it sends a message to both the conscious and subconscious mind. Whether it is a positive or negative, it depends on the state of mind of the receiver.

I do not know what prompted the producers to come up with this “top ten”. What I do know is that somehow it could create stereotypes that are inconclusive to the general population of a Filipino-American.

On the other hand, I am not Filipino-American, but my sister and her family is and soon my parents. I am not sure if the top-ten particularly numbers 7, 6, 4, and 3 is true. Nevertheless, my sensibilities tell me that we need to be sensitive in every word we utter especially when we are talking about other cultures.

Humor is sometimes ugly, but we could laugh at it without others feeling disgusted.

Dissonance

Thoughts filled with ideas,
of bits and bits of images
trying to form even a simulation
of a single and yet of a precise reality
never to be comprehended
by the unjust and the self righteous.

Fingers eager to hold a pen
ready to scribble and enliven
the thoughts supposedly be spoke
of the mouth stricken by timidity or
simply by eloquence gone mad.

Ink flows, of color immaterial
leaking out of the silver sphere
trying not to blot nor to skip
sliding smoothly and definitively
forming the unrestricted words
coming from the restless mind.

Persist on fearless heart,
persevere the opinionated rhetoric
of unsuspected quibblers
vexing the spontaneity of the free thinkers
testing the assiduousness of a
declaration untainted with insincerity.

The Sun

I do not believe in astrology or in tarots or in fortune tellers. I do not even believe in pop Psychology but here I am, trying to indulge on the curiosity of a buffoon. Why not? For amusement, someone should make a respite and engage on some triviality... and behold! Look what I have found out.

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?

Take the Test to Find Out.

Perhaps this is true because I thought that between the sun and the moon, I prefer the former. I like clarity over obscurity. I like being active than being passive. I like reason over emotion. However, I could not speak of absolute because in one way or the other, there is a possibility of crossing the line.

I am The Sun. That is nice to hear. :)

Not for Sale

Intelligence is not for sale. There is no monetary value attach to it. It is a resource available in every human being. Everyone has it. If one thinks he has more of it than others, then that is some part coming from someone. What is lessened is added. That is how nature works to maintain equilibrium. This makes intelligence a sacrificial gift, and being a gift we do not have sole ownership of it. We do not have the right to sell it or make a benefit out of it in expense of others. Let us respect what intelligence really is.

Ethnophobia

There is no such word as ethnophobia in my e-dictionary, so I Yahooed it. The results seem to point that it is some kind of disdain for other people. It could also stem from or lead to racism. I kind of question this definition because it somehow contradicts the etymology of another term, that is ethnocentrism or the belief of superiority of one’s own ethnicity.

I come to think of this word when I came to chat with a friend who is recently working abroad. He would usually relate some experiences and observations about the culture of the country and people he worked with. Last time I asked him if he is already a Roman now in Rome. He told me that he is not. He said that there are other Filipinos in the gym and he is not comfortable behaving like a Roman because he might be an object to rumors.

“So what if they put you in hot seat?” That is my reply to him. I was trying to dare him but I know he would not do anything that is not consistent with his conservative upbringing. That is not my point of interest here however. I have interacted with other Filipinos abroad and there are really some who pointed out that they were not comfortable with their countrymen. Could we call this fear? Is this rational?

I blurted out to my friend that he is ethnophobic, that he is afraid of his own kind or ethnic group. He told me that it is just a discomfort and not really a fear. I said “Ok. I am just over reacting.” I assure him that he can do anything he wants according to his beliefs and philosophies.

Right now, I still keep on thinking if one can be uncomfortable with his own people. If one can be ethnocentric, can’t you be ethnophobic?