A Kagay-anon in Texas, USA writes ‘On Subtle Racism’
ON SUBTLE RACISM! By Thelma Macas
I had a clash with a colleague in our English Department when one of them made a lesson writing about Asia being not only POOR AND VIOLENT; but he made up a character of which he implied that the only way out of this poor lady was to marry an American.
Maybe he has not heard and knew how many world-class workers we have in the medical, business and other fields of endeavor all over the world. I talked to him about how offended I was and he in turn had to ask an apology.
But that was not the end of the story, the next day, I found my Holocaust Mini Gallery in the hallway was mutilated! Guess what, he came to me and told me he was the one who did it. He said one of the pictures we posted was not so good to post. It is one great example of ignorance as teachers, we are suppose to show the truth! There was even this big brouhaha about some group of people who wants to deny that the Holocaust was a big hoax! Again he apologized for acting irresponsibly by taking it off the wall, without even asking permission from me. We’ll I was just stunned at how he retaliated, I only expressed my opinion of which by law I am entitled, he sent me a scud missile instead.
It is tough! Tough indeed to stand for your right as an Asian and Filipino! One thing is also clear to me though, my American co- teachers know how to say sorry and apologize! And to say that I am a forgiving person, is an understatement. Indeed there are always two sides of the coin and these will teach us a lot in terms of developing our character.
These are but one of the gazillion things I want to share with fellow educators who dreamt of serving/paying back the American people by teaching. By payback I mean to dedicate my services here to the Thomasites who were the First American teachers who came to the Philippines about a hundred years ago. And payback the Americans who taught my grandfather the Golden Rule and some maxims in English. (I always remember my grand father the late ,Pantaleon Dagus Villegas who served in the First American Hospital there in Cagayan de Oro as a “dietician”. He shared with me his unfulfilled American dream it was aborted only because he was too afraid to fly!
Ok , Thanks for your time reading this I hope I did not bore you to death! Hahahahahaha!
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The author, Thelma is currently teaching in Texas. She has plans of writing a book (and contribute articles to CDOKay!!!) on her experiences on the so-called ‘American Dream’.
She taught at MOGCHS for about 15 years. She wrote to CDOkay saying “(you) make a lot of difference in our lives abroad…when I feel bored and miss our city I just google it out! Bisaya man guihapon mi deri ,we eat the Ligo nga tinapa,bulad , kamunggay naa na deri…”
CDOkay is reconneting Thelma to other Kagay-anons based in Houston, Texas — where on weekends she serves in the Couples for Christ.
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February 22nd, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Hello to Maam Macas, I salute you maam… regards lang ko ni Maam Elvira Nangcas if ever you teach in the same school…
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:22 am
Hi ma’am hows your life their in abroad i hope your ok. By the way upon reading the article you wrote na touch ko og ayo. there’s one thing i can say to you im so proud and salute you ma’am. pakita-a ang mga kano na dili pud ta basta mga Filipino na world class pud ta. Dili lang ta nila ga e appreciate 2ngod kay gi understimate lang ta nila. Will these time naulaw cla og ayo sa ila gibuhat saimo na pag pakaminos. Show theme ma’am what we Filipinos are coz we are unique to them…
Ma’am goodluck godspeed and goodhealth saimo diha. Keep up the good work.. and thanks for supporting CDOKAY. hope you can visit CDOKAY if you have time once you’ve return home..
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:44 am
Hi ma’am! great to know that you visit CDOkay website regularly, i don’t think you still remember me =). I’m one of your students before in MOGCHS, batch 2000…Good luck and more power! God Bless!
February 23rd, 2007 at 6:21 am
Way to go for MOGCHS! How’s life there ma’am Macas? (batch 2004 pud ko ma’am!). It’s a good thing to know that Kagay-anons are already serving the global community in different countries. Even with the social dilemmas you have to face, you still showed our integrity as a Filipino and a true Kagay-anon.
Discrimination is inevitable given the usual “minyo-Amerkano-para-modato” scheme of Filipina chatters and our historical past stained with the obvious dependency to United States, specially in education as you’ve just mentioned. But these circumstances must not be given basis for unjust discrimination. Racial differences is a thing of the past as we’re now moving on towards globalization.
Widening our horizons can help promote a better understanding of what differences the world has. Let’s be fair and be CDOKAY. okay wherever Kagay-anons go.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:56 am
hi mam…I love your story and no you don’t bore me out…You speak from the heart..I am also a teacher so I understand what you’ve been through…Although I teach here in CDO, I know some people could be so judgemental sometimes..I’m very proud of you..I may not know you personally but I can see you’re a person with dignity and contributes good name to our country…Soon I believe those who thinks we are 3rd class citizens will realize how good and talented Filipino’s are…Keep up the good work! I salute You! in cdokay, you feel like you’re close to home.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
igsoon ko,
I salute the three of you (mercy, bebot and you) belib jud ko mga tak an gyod mo.morag dili nako makaya inyo mga experiences sa kinabuhi. i am very weak wen 8 comes to emotion. prayer ra jud ako ma share. you are always inluded in our prayers, naa ra ni LORD ang tanan.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:32 am
To Maam Macas,
Your efforts are laudable but then again I must stress out that your Holocaust section in your blog is controversial on these 2 points albeit,
a.) Jews have done hate crimes totalling almost to 100 million dead gentiles (this refers to you, me and us as non-Jewish people) and one of them is our Lord and Savior; Jesus Christ -It wasn’t Pontius Pilate; he was being forced by the Sanhedrin to come up with the decision even the Romans would not want Jesus crucified during those times-. During the “Communist or Bolshevik Revolution” in Russia during 1917 C.E. (refers to Common Era); Jewish Communists established the first state concentration camps which became the deathbeds of Ukranian and other countries approximately near the Russian state particularly peasant Greek Catholics of the Eastern Orthodox Church(We are Roman Catholics but still their highest Church Elder is appointed by the Holy Pope from the Vatican.) They slaughtered around 12-15 Millions of them while carrying the banner of Socialism and using Lenin and Stalin as scapegoats. So compare 6 million dead Jews (by the way, only 3 million were Jews as The Holocaust Museum in Israel officially listed; others were Anarchists, Hardline Communists and just plain dissidents to the Nazi regime.) to 12-15 million dead Christians? This may be merely statistics but think about that as well. You may not believe it but this is actual historical proof yet due to factual research that Jews tend to “own everything” in the Western sphere of the world from Autos to Media Companies then I may suggest you should take precautions as to avoid Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists and be wary to double-faced Jews ergo be on guard even if they are not White People.
b.)Some hardcore Jews or Zionists to be exact…murder Palestinians and of late; Lebanese for their goal to expand Israel. They are looking for ways recently to provide Land to overseas Jews who want to return back to Israel. Ohhh; you might even think that they are Moslems; I don’t think so. Majority might be Moslems but there are also Palestinian and Lebanese Christians also. What’s worst is that American Tax Dollars are spent and phony Christian evangelists call on US residents to donate their hard-earned money to Zionist goals?
So if an American destroyed the Holocaust gallery then its time to reflect on my researched data about the Jews/Zionists. How would you feel if you defended Filipinos but in some way “allied” yourself to an ethnic group which caused crimes to humanity be it from Religious persecutions ( You did not even know that some Jews participated in Roman emperor Nero Anti-Christian campaigns by tipping Roman Soldiers to arrest Christians; heck, they even burn some early Christian scriptures though this may be known as the first “Low Intensity Conflict” scenario in history) to definitely become the Global Usurer which resulted in “third world countries”? Remember who owns the world’s largest financial centres? Some Jews. Who created and heads the Worldbank which we are “indebted” thus our government pays lipservice by reducing our social services which the revenues could be of help to uplift our country? Some Jews. Sometimes; I shudder to think that some Christian schools in Israel are forced by the Israeli government to make the Cross look like a “T” and some Christians in Israel who openly brings Bibles and related materials can be imprisoned by the Israeli police. So much for the holocaust. Whew.
May I also comment that some Filipinas go for Caucasians maybe because of their troubled histories, eugenics or the thought of having greatlooking kids can make them stand out and to see something outside the country but then again WHY ARE WE SO FOCUSED ON THE ISSUE OF POVERTY IF THESE WOMAN SEE IT AS THEIR ONLY MEANS TO IMPROVEMENT? Remember they did not have a choice or the chance to improve their lives. Who am I to judge them? Precisely.
To Raffy:
The term “globalization” does not ERODE RACISM nor the era itself. It will only make it worse. Globalization was invented by the westerners during the Bretton Woods Institute conference after World War 2.Think. Globalization is just pure economics. Simple. Global corporations look out to see what can be bought and sold in the International Market.
Remember that the more prerogatives an ethnic group has; the more swollen their heads could get. This is just my basic view but I will show the formula to you…
ECONOMIC CLASS+ETHNICITY=RACISM.
The more economic power certain ethnic groups have….the more they will root for themselves and sometimes directly; they would even espouse the idea that their skin or ethnicity is better than others. Subtle racism can also mean some ethnic group will flaunt their culture as superior to others but its not really implied as Social science facts.
So my question for you Raffy is that; In the heat of economic competition, can it be avoided? Rarely. One ethnic group has to defend their culture or way of life as self-preservation if it means eliminating the other.
Your view on globalization is kind of short-sighted and I on the otherhand…has the hindsight all figured out.
Don’t take it so hard. Learn.
I am a 100% Kagay-anon yet you question me why I think that way? Suit yourself. I am not affected…I am fine the way I think of myself and how I relate.
June 4th, 2007 at 5:52 am
To Rob,
Mrs. Nangcas is already there too.
June 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Tim,
I am very sorry for not being able to stress that we were reading a non-fiction novel by Ellie Wiessel entitled “Night” and the truths I was referring to were solely on the account of the veracity of Ellie’s experience at the concentration camps.
Our focus was on the Coming of Age theme and some figurative language that Mr. Wiessel used to make it as one of the best literary pieces ever written about the Holocaust. Please be assured that whatever my leanings are on the issues you’ve presented were somehow presented in the process of our cross curricular alignment ( e.g. social studies )
Thank you very much for your very informative input . Frankly I really learned from it. I hope to hear more of your other global issues inputs.
Sincerely,
Thelma
June 28th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Theory is one thing; practice is another. Let’s be more modern and forget “ethnic and epic” stories. Outsourcing is one of the best examples of globalization. Some US-based companies have offshore operations in Asian countries.
So if Americans “espouse the idea that their skin or ethnicity is better than others” because they have “more economic power”, why do they have Filipinos as call center agents and Indians as programmers serving US-based clients?
Economic competition only brings out the best in every nation. It’s not about ethnicity but it’s about capability. It’s not about cultural boundaries but global competence. Not facts but reality…
July 20th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Globalization is a term made by the Bretton Woods institute composed of Intellectuals hired by 1st world or developed countries’ TNCs.
July 21st, 2007 at 12:43 am
Rapirap,
Yoru view on reality is subtle product of their own propaganda. Programmers and what’s that Call center agents?Nah. Economic competition does not literally spell out cooperation.One is forced to be a call center agent due to economic reasons as to survive. Consider that Americans tend to hire Pinoys/Pinays to be call center agents on “cost-cutting schemes” of a “business operation” to ensure maximization of profits. Would Americans hire fellow US Citizens to be call center agents when it costs them a lot of money compared to hiring third world nationals who can just do the job.Besides its too “menial” to their standards. excusez moi? Pardonne moi Francaise.
Economic power+Ethnicity=Racism. Its a by-product of unbridled Capitalism bent. Outsourcing is nothing but a euphemistic term for exploitation. of course, First World nations get more than they give in “aid”. Don’t be too apathetic.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 am
I’m grateful for the responses in this article as it shows support for cdokay.com. However, I would appreciate it if we stop debating on topics that doesn’t conform or lead to the development of this site as personal opinions are roughly expressed. Instead of citing the differences of our views, let’s be sensitive on our expressions and uphold constructive criticism. This site is a venue to communicate our ideas and not to point out mistakes.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:17 pm
So much for the debate. We are closing this topic but not to discourage you from sending your comments. In fact, we value all your insights and we love to hear your voices, loud and clear — but we have our limitations grounded on ethics and a bit of common sense. “Walang personalan” is more like it.
Thank you very much. Moving on, please read our Rejoinder entitled “Seize Fire” which should find its way calming our souls. Again, CDOKAY BLOG is all about your VOICES and all there is to it that can inspire us all, and make this world a better place.
Bong
Brand Manager, cdokay.com