“Desperate” Need of Apology

We Filipinos had enough of the racist remarks from other people and races. Truly, racism is still an ongoing social issue. There is a discrimination against the “third world” countries and their people. I heard some issues and read some newsstories before. The word “Filipina” was once defined as “domestic helper”. Philippines was tagged to be the “home of terrorists”. Even a contestant in a reality show was discriminated for his brown-colored skin when he went to a European country. Racism and discrimination exist. That’s a fact.

I don’t understand. Why do people keep on oppressing other people? Why do we hate each other or if not, say something offensive? Yes, we have cultural and social differences. Individual differences is adding up too. Is that the reason why discrimation and racism do not end? I need to ask these questions. I am not a sociologist and I don’t know much about sociology. These are questions that even sociology professionals can’t explain in details.

Lately, Filipinos had another share of racist remarks once again. This time it came from a television show and not just from an individual. “Can I check those diplomas becase I want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines”. According to some reliable sources, that was the line aired during the fourth season premiere of “Desperate Housewives”. I myself was not able to watch the scene yet but I am looking forward to seeing how it goes. Yes, I watch the show. I watched some episodes and I must admit I enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a humorous and sexy show, this is a must-see. However, we may ask, “How did Philippines come into the picture?”.  

Television has always been my source of news, that is for both hard and soft news. I was able to get the news on the television two days ago. The report was halfway done when I turned on the television set. I had to verify the news and get the whole content in the internet the next day. I found out that one of the characters in the TV show, Susan Mayer (played by Teri Hatcher), was examined by a gynecologist. The result then showed that she is approaching menopause. That is when she asked for the credentials of the gynecologist to make sure that she did not come from “some med school in the Philippines”.

The line provoked angry reactions from Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, mostly from those who work in United States. Television and radio stations spent a lenghty airtime to discuss the issue. It was on the headlines of the broadsheet newspapers. Internet also contained detailed news about it. A great number of Filipinos wanted to comment on the remarks. We perceive it as an insult and an obvious criticism of our medical practitioners. Who would think it’s not? It is a fact that there are several Filipino physicians and nurses in United States. That means, we are a great contribution to the American health care industry. I am saddened to hear the news. I know that Filipino medical practitioners have been working hard. They, or should I say we, do not deserve this.   

I have a little background in communication and I always believed that television is a powerful medium of communication.Television offers information, entertainment, and many other functions. Television can reach millions of viewers and spread an information in a short time. The media, as a part of our society, is expected to carry out informative programs and factual information to viewers because the viewing public would believe everything that is spoken or depicted on the television and any other media outlets. That is what we call social responsibility, a responsibility that is neglected and seldom observed.

Now, millions of people have watched that “Desperate Housewives” episode. We just don’t know how it affected some Americans. Would they still patronize the service of our doctors? The damage has been done. Words were spoken. A statement was meant to be said. How do we move on from here?

We are in “desperate” need of apology. The damage has been done. Our doctors’ names were stained. Whether it is not the intention of the network, the show in particular, to offend our doctors, the statement itself is offensive and insulting. It strongly expresses that our medical practitioners are “substandard” and incompetent compared to others. 

Words were spoken offensively. A television production is not a one-day process. But yet, nobody was sensitive enough to edit the script and revise the offensive content. Perhaps, they wanted it that way.

The statement was meant to be said. That line was not meant as a joke. That could have been deleted if they did not want to mean something. Surely, there is a serious reason for the inclusion of that line.

A sincere apology is needed by Filipinos from the network and the production team. The Philippine government is asking the production team to revise the content before its international release. Some even proposed to ban the TV series and called for local networks not to air the show. However, the damage cannot be undone. It would take a lot of damage control. The image of the Filipino doctors is now tainted in the international community. So much damage was caused. Thousands of names were ruined. Millions of lives would change drastically. The entire nation was hurt.

I have nothing against the show ”Desperate Housewives”. I would not even tell my friends to boycott it. I just want to express my thoughts regarding this issue because it involves Filipinos. There is no point to generalize the quality of Filipino doctors and put everything at risk. People behind TV shows should be more sensitive in conceptualizing each episodes that they produce. Television shows should be more responsible and discern social responsibility that is of great public interest.