Desperation Of Sorts: Sensitivity & Respect, Please…

These messages came through my email for the past day. Yes, we do have a sense of humor. Though another’s (like the writers of Desperate Housewives, perhaps?) insecurities should not be on another’s (like the Filipinos, for one?) expense. Anyhow, I thought I should just post it for all the reactions, non-reactions and overreactions out there.

What follows is a segment of Desperate Housewives Season Premiere:

What the network thought was funny for the show is not at all funny for the subject of their humor line:

desppetition.jpg

If you are interested to sign the petition, you may click on the photo-document above or here.

Update: 10-04-2007, 8:07 am Central

Apologies soon followed. The network is “considering” to edit the perceived derogatory remark.

Related post by Dr. Emer detailing some reasons why Filipinos (the Filipino medical community in particular) expressed offense at the said remark.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

~ by timelessboulevard on 3 October 2007.

Posted in 2007, ABC, Advice, Alexandra Cunningham, Comedy Show, Cultural Sensitivity, Culture, Derogatory, Desperate Housewives, Discrimination, Doctors, Filipino Doctors, Filipino Health Care Workers, Filipino Nurses, Filipinos, Foreign Medical Graduates, Health, Humor, International Medical Graduates, Jenna Bans, Joey Murphy, John Pardee, Kevin Murphy, Mark Cherry, Medical, Medical Graduates, Medicine, OB-GYN, Petition to ABC, Philippine Medical Schools, Philippine-American Relations, Racial, Racial Sensitivity, Racist, Season Premiere, Teri Hatcher, Terri Hatcher

2 Responses to “Desperation Of Sorts: Sensitivity & Respect, Please…”

  1. In general, I’m a strong advocate of free speech and a common-sense approach to discourse that avoids the stifling and counter-productive effects of rigid political correctness. So in cases like this, I try to step back and look at the statements in question with some dispassion (this, despite my own ethnic background as a Filipino-American).

    In this example, the test was simple. Take the original statement from the show:

    “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines.”

    and make it a fill-in-the-blank:

    “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not _________________.”

    Now, substitute a group of your choice:

    “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some all-women’s college.”

    “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from a traditionally African-American college.”

    Do those statements make you cringe? Should they make most of us cringe? If so, then they went over the line on this one.

    Gerry Manacsa said this on 3 October 2007 at 2:02 pm

  2. GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

    daisy said this on 3 October 2007 at 6:38 pm

Leave a Reply