An Open Letter to Alec Baldwin
Dear Mr. Baldwin,
I am not angry at you at all. Your statement made on television might be true, depending on whose point of view it is. But before you probably blurt out another degrading remark about Filipinos in the future, consider the following facts:
• In 1898, Spain ceded all of its colonies in the amount of $ 20,000,000 to the U.S. Government. Historically speaking, those countries bought by the U.S., including the Philippines, were treated like mail-order-brides at the turn of the century. You see, Mr. Baldwin, your government made us what we are right now. It is entirely not our fault.
• Since 1898, the American government has been raping our natural resources, some of our women, and some of our children. The American government’s treatment of our country as a political prostitute is well known through the decades.
• The Philippines remains a poor country because a lot of American companies has profited doing business in this country while its workforce, the Filipino people, benefited less and sometimes not at all. Your government, Mr. Baldwin, beguiled us with the promise of progress but instead buried us with millions of debts disguised as foreign economic aid.
• Since the American government taught us English, they had also encouraged us to live and pursue the American Dream in the United States, and yet thousands of my countrymen has been offered demeaning work opportunities and are discriminated while pursuing those dreams.
• Since majority of the Filipino people has been continually neglected by its very own government because of greed and corruption that we have learned and copied from American friends, advisers, and capitalists for decades, the poorest of the poor have no choice but to PROSTITUTE ourselves in the hopes of improving our lives so that our families would have something to eat by dinner time.
So you see, Mr. Baldwin, what you - even Ms. Teri Hatcher and hundreds other American that have perceived our race and our country in a negative manner - it is actually the fault of your American government. People like you, who have never set foot in our country, talk of us as low-esteemed citizens of this world for the very simple reason that your government has been treating us like pigs even here in our own country ever since the Americans fooled us with their mock battle with the Spaniards more than a hundred years ago.
And yes, we admit, we are sensitive. Whatever negative comments we will hear from other people who do not know us, we will all take it personally as a proud race. We never dreamed of becoming domestic helpers, prostitutes, beggars, and mail-order brides in the first place. WHATEVER WE ARE RIGHT NOW HAS REFLECTED ON HOW OUR MASTER COLONIZERS HAVE TREATED US OVER THE DECADES. As I have stated at the start, Mr. Baldwin, I am not angry at you. Maybe next time when you answer Mr. Letterman or any pertinent questions asked to you, you can state a very precise answer like this:
“I’m thinking about getting a Filipina mail-order bride, after all, our American government taught the Filipinos how to sell themselves…”
ang galing mo kuya! nosebleed ako!!!!!!
seriously, i have to see what are the comments on this by the people who thought that we should not take his joke seriously.
ang sakin lang naman, karapatan ng BAWAT PILIPINO na ipagtanggol ang kanyang bansa sa lahat ng pang-aapi... pabiro man o seryoso...
siguro may tama sila na wag na lang seryosohin ang isyu, pero dyan nahihiwalay talaga kung sino ung mapagpanggap at kung sino yung talagang may malasakit sa bayan... parehas lang yan ng Martin Nievera isyu... ang mahal mo hindi mo binababoy... hindi mo rin hahayaang babuyin ng kung sino man...
saludo ako sayo kuya, you can express your thoughts in english without sounding pa-slang. alam mo yun, yung tipong trying hard.
pa coño lang alam ko hehehe...
i do not entirely hate the US... what i hate is the way they are making us Americanized... patay na ang kulturang Filipino dahil sa mga katulad nila...
Self evaluation needs a thorough self evaluation like the term suggests. Yes, we have been influenced greatly by the Americans, the whole world have been influenced by other nations, those who reached "superpower" before others, one can take their pick.
Malaysia, Singapore...India are some that have been influenced and colonialized by the British. The Americans has their own share, Puerto Rico, Philippines and then some...Spanish's influence throughout Latin America remains up to now.
But, its unfair to blame these "coloniolizers" of what we've became, last i checked the Americans (albeit the economic downturn) has remain a "superpower", and in fact has more conviction with regards to morality (sa kanila big deal if Clinton smoked marijuana during college or if Nixon committed a cover-up, wherein here okay lng kung gago or kawatan ).
In my own view, it was the Spanish to whom we inherit all these bad traits, the "matapobre" mentality, the "palakasan" traits, the bribery, the abuse of the poor, the class system...It was in fact the Americans who tried to and succeeded in buying us although yes like a "whore"...but beggars cant be choosers, that time we are in fact "sukang suka na sa mga kastila"...
Americans tried to bring us up as a nation...but as Manuel Quezon says he'd rather prefer a "gov't run like hell by Filipinos" on the other side it sounds patriotic...but in the end, what we've become only proved that indeed, we became too proud too early...
These jokes are nevermore until reality suggests otherwise...its painful to hear an American who might not have any idea about our history to be making such jokes, but bottomline, he or she reads it in the newspaper (present day), its happening, we all know how many Filipinas out there who'd do everything just to escape living here...
(haba na syado na akong pa slang haha)
to make it short, we cannot blame outside interference or those who influenced on what we've become, because doing so will just lessen our resolve to change for the better.
That's why i treat it as such, harmless comment that strikes hard because it has pigment of truth to it...because in reality if someone say to your face "kamukha mo si mahom" di ka magagalit kasi sino ba si Mahoma?....pg sinabihan ka na kamukha mo si Ai-ai, medyo magagalit ka kasi mapapa isip ka hmmm totoo naman ata (labo ata example ko hehe)
I'm more aghasted with Candy Pangilinan's joke about the Igorots if you ask me...
yes, there's a lot to hate about the Americans...but what we've become hassomething more to do with us than them...
But the fact that we were bought and passed on to other colonizers like a commodity, it does apply the notion that the Americans and even the Spanish made us categorically prostitutes for political favors.
Consider also my point, I haven't heard of any Spanish celebrity making a mockery of Filipinos on TV, I just don't know if it is because Enrique Iglesias has a mother who is beautiful, intelligent, and a Filipina.
Yes, for 3 centuries, the Spanish did a lot more damage to us rather than the Americans, we could have had our glorious country reclaimed by our revolutionary heroes back then until the day we were sold for measly 5 million dollars (20 million for 4 countries - Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, and Philippines). Yes it could have been our fault since we let them influence us by their lifestyle since we chose not to challenge the control of the American take-over. Perhaps in your point we cannot blame them, but isn’t it always the master who has the key to their slaves’ destiny?
You mentioned India, Malaysia, and Singapore, all former British Colony. Let us also throw in Hongkong. All of them are economically and politically faring better than us. Was it their political will? I think it was because the Brits administered better than what a Superpower can do. And why was there double standard in some American colonies? So do you think they should only make fun of us and not the people of Saipan, Guam and its other colonies? Why only pick us? It is because we are helpless. Politically, we are still their prostitute. They are still influencing every political decision this country has made. Is it really our fault that we were overly influenced by them that we are not allowed to blame the decision makers for our misery?
I remember the parable of the sower and the seed… You reap what you sow…
America had the chance to make the Philippines an example of how they would fare in terms of international diplomacy and political influence… instead they SCREWED us up…
There is no one else to blame but us… this is usually the desperate cry of the hopeless…
At the end of the day, I know that part of their greatness still comes from a lot of migrants (Filipinos included) all over the world who chose to live there and contribute their skills. Take away all these migrants....what would be left? Lazy Americans who rely heavily on their government to bail them out.
To any American who reads this: Sorry, some of your kind generalize about us so here's an eye for an eye.
never naging independent ang pinas dapat lage may naka-akay. i wonder why. the leaders din kase are dependent. there are smaller countries than pinas pero d sila kulelat.
i think it was not just about the british colonizing those countries. they were just "strict" about their laws, process and system and hindi uso kurakot. as simple as that i think. like the chinese people now, wala sila pake basta ang sistema nila ang masusunod,
AND americans only know america. i mean its always about themselves. everywhere in the world may news about america pero sila wala alam sa mga nangyayare sa ibang mga bansa (except sa iraq maybe).
a person from another country told me that americans were stupid.
an american told me naman, "how can u love others if u dont love yourself first?".
parang ang layo na ng sinasabi ko. binahagi ko lang ang nilalaman ng aking isipan.
ayan pwede na ba akong makigulo hehehe :)
if its a celebrity or a public official, they do public crucifixion
pero pag personal morals na ang paguusapan, i doubt kung
kaya pa nilang ispell out ang morality nila...
if its a celebrity or a public official, they do public crucifixion
pero pag personal morals na ang paguusapan, i doubt kung
kaya pa nilang ispell out ang morality nila...
at oo naman, they had remained superpowers,
wala naman kasing lugi sa negosyong nagpalakas ng ekonomiya nila :)
ang negosyo ng terror, ang negosyo ng giyera at digmaan,
look up at what they did to the 'nams (vietnam war)...
sila nagbenta ng armas pero sila din ang nakikipagdigma...
nun natalo ng amerika ang bansang hapon...
kubkub na din naman ang mga hapones,
eh baket kelangan pang bombahin ang manila?
premise para kailanganin nating mangutang
reconstruction nga naman...
yung mga humanitarian aids kuno?
pasalamatan daw natin kasi binigyan tayo...
binigyan nga ba o pinautang ng mataas ang interes?
dahil nagkataong nakopo nila ang kapangyarihan
at naging piping saksi na lamang tayo sa mga kaganapan
pero i dont think that it is entirely ok for all of us
sa akin for one, am very much against trapos...
di ko lam paano ipagtatagni tagni ang nasasaloob ko hane hehe...
pero ganito kasi yun, hindi nga tayo nakatakeoff kasi lagi tayong inaagawan ng moment... moment na natin to take off eh lagi namang nasusungkit...
una, nananalo nuon ang mga rebolusyonaryong katipunero
laban sa mga espanyol, pero para huwag mapahiya sa mundo
kesa sa indio sila sumuko e sa mga puting kano sila sumuko
kaya peke yung paglanding at kunyari lang ang pagsagip na
ginawa ni uncle sam... idagdag mo pang, naging kasabwat si
aguinaldo sa pakana na ito. america ang nagpabalik sa kanya
sa pinas para maging pekeng tagapagtaguyod ng bansa sa
pekeng kalayaan... may x deal na kasi sila ni uncle sam.
pangalawa, o e di ittrain daw nila tayo, di daw tayo sinasakop ng amerika
ginagabayan lang, sabi mo nga 'to bring us up as a nation" thanks!!! :)
pero what kind of nation would that be, with values so closely tied up
to suit their needs?? kung malinis intention nila, eh kamusta ang
madaming batas, na ipinasa nun mga panahong yun? check up your
history books. para kanino yun? sa atin o sa kanila? they needed that
period of training to ensure and cement their hold on us. the biggest
contribution of america? education. eh edukasyon nga ba?
o inimbento ang mga unibersidad para tugunan ang pangangailangan
ng industriya at hindi para linangin at hubugin ang karunungan?
pangatlo, dumating ang mga hapon, ang mga kano naglast stand
sa bataan at ano nangyari nakubkob sila duon, the fall of bataan,
pero ang mga hukbalahap (hukbong bayan laban sa hapon)
eh nananalo sa ibat ibang pulo (tinawag itong packet revolution ata)
at matatalo na ang hapon nang ayun nga, may x deal na naman
ang amerika kaya kahit dapat atin na ang tunay na kalayaan e
nagbalatkayo na naman silang super saver :D
pangapat, binomba nila ang manila, part ng digmaan? no. unnecessary.
sumuko na ang hapon nun e. check again the books. lately ko lang
nga din to nabalikan, nakakaantok naman kasi ang kahit anong
kasaysayan topic nun studyante pa ko... so no nga hindi yun parte
ng digmaan, sadya yun, para for purposes of reconstruction eh uutang
tayo sa kanila, na napakalaki ng tubo! at syemps nagkaboses sila
sa mga polisiya natin dahil nakapiit tayo sa utang sa kanila...
hmmm madami dami pa, pero did we really became too proud too early?
konyo ba ako taglish ang iba eh hahaha...
on the other hand, we all have to be blamed too. ikaw ako at tayo. hindi pwedeng outward lang, dapat may inward blame din, at sabay ang pagpapanibagong hubog na prosesong papasukan mo. hindi one way. balanse :D
hindi po sila ang nagligtas sa pinas sa kamay ng espanya,
kakayanin nating palayain ang ating mga sarili sana nuon,
kung di lang sana nangibabaw sa mga kababayan
ang kanilang makauring interes nuon eh di sana di naudlot
ang tunay na kalayaan ng bayan...
hindi nila tayo niligtas dahil gaya ng nauna
nilapa din nila tayo pagkatapos pagsasaan tsk...
magalit tayo sa bansang Amerika
at sa rehimen nito
pero hindi sa lahat ng mamamayang Amerikano
kasi pag nagalit na tayo sa lahat ng american
wala na din tayong pinagiba sa kanila,
rasista ang tawag sa ganun...
sabay hugas kamay... apir :)
at the end of it all... nakalaya tayo dahil sa tulong nila.
anu beh.