Onion-skinned Crybabies

Onion-skinned crybabies. That's what we are.

1. The Teri Hatcher-Desperate Housewives episode was my very first recollection on how balat-sibuyas we can really be. I remember being dumbfounded how the country was insulted from a SCRIPT of a fictional comedy show. It is humour. And as far as I know, Recto Street is filled with small businesses ready and willing to falsify documents for a price. It's not like it does not exist at all.

2. The Alec Baldwin-David Letterman episode came a close second. Again, I don't know how to say this, but it's humour. It's pop culture. Enjoy it. Be fascinated and just laugh about it. Like Recto, it exists in our world today. A quick Google search proved just that. What's worse is that politicians demanded a public apology. Holy shit was that embarrassing.

3. The Dan Brown-Inferno novel was the icing on this pathetic cake. Again, fiction. An alternate version of a city is not unusual to be seen in media today. This is how the author wanted his world to be. A creation out of his imagination. People take it WAY too seriously.

I am confident there are more, but the examples above best describe what I am trying to say here.

Just think about it, most of the content created for books, movies and television shows are products of reality. Stereotypes are there for a reason. Think about how many films have been made regarding Middle Eastern "terrorists". Then think about how many public apologies have been requested from Hollywood producers. On a similar note, think about how many times Asians have been portrayed as bad drivers, rice lovers and math experts. DID THE ENTIRE ASIAN CONTINENT ASKED FOR PUBLIC APOLOGIES? I'll give you some time to think about this.

Michael V's DJ Bumbay video was weirdly appreciated by the Filipino community. I don't know how the East Indian community thought about it, but I never heard any violent reactions from them. Had they made one, Filipinos would have most likely made the lame excuse of them being onion-skinned. Funny how things work. Notice that we do to others what we do not want others to do to us? We find that it is perfectly okay to make fun of others, yet we make a fool of ourselves with all these senseless apologies.

We are the most sensitive bunch of people in the most irrational way. Really, they are funny. They are nothing to get worked up about. Just enjoy them as part of the work.

OMG White Guy Speaks Tagalog

When a non-Filipino blurts out Tagalog words or phrases, we suddenly go into this fangirl version of ourselves. I do not understand the reasoning behind this.

A British guy cursing in Tagalog, "Putang ina." is just another British guy cursing in Tagalog. It does not mean Philippines is the "best country in the world" or that we are famous just because another person picked up the local language. He could have lived in the country for decades, maybe even grew up there, but that's about it. There is nothing to talk about here. 

When I, for example, have lived in Japan for 20 years, I think it is only natural and fitting to be immersed into the Japanese culture (which includes the language spoken) like any other person there. There is no need to record it on video then upload it to Youtube with the title, "Filipino guy speaks Nihongo!" That is just a load of crap.

Youtube has so many videos of white guys speaking Tagalog and every single one of Filipinos make a big deal out of it. 

It's not a testament of a country's "awesomeness" or reputation. It is not an evidence that the Filipino culture is everywhere. It is not proof that "we are so bad ass that non-Filipinos want to learn the language."

No. It's just another guy speaking another language. So let us please calm our tits, especially when we ourselves can't even speak fluent Tagalog.