An Open Commentary To Adam Coralla’s & Teri Hatcher Comedians Who Like to Poke Fun at My Filipino People….

 

I am not much of a fan of boxing. Occassionally, I’ll sit beside my partner Rob at home to support his love for boxing and UFC. But most of the time, I am eagerly waiting for the fights to end so I can change the channel or I am either sitting there cringing at the sight of blood or bickering about the politics of these brutal sports that often pin people of color against each other while waving money and all sorts of other material things at them as though they were animals. I haven’t even begun to mention the loads of gender stereotypes this sport just breeds. But to be quite honest, I really don’t know much about the politics of sports but I see what I see – almost every sport have treated their players as though they can be bought and sold. And yes they are often bought and sold. Whether it’s to matches, traded to different teams or that Arrid Extra Dry commercial – they are bought, traded and sold. Sadly, it is often at the expense of their own lives and well-being.

However, even knowing all this, and as contradicting as this may sound – I still somehow have some sort of respect for boxing and UFC. And it’s not because of the excitement by the techniques of left hooks and uppercuts. To be honest the punches gives me too much awful memories of my own days of experiencing violence growing up. The respect that I give to this sport and the kind of “understanding” that i have when I see people go crazy over the bloody sports is because of what it means to our communities – people of color communities. It becomes more than just a sport, or a match for money or a match for the title when boxers from our communities like Muhammad Ali, Erik Morales and Manny Pacquao fight in the ring.

 

As a Filipina-American growing up in America, long before ABDC and the Jabbowockeez existed, i hardly ever saw any Filipino (a)’s on television. If I did, it was often stereotypes of a Filipina as a maid or a prostitute or a mail order bride. Or you’d often just hear derogatory names, terms all in bad context whenever the Philippines or Filipino’s were ever mentioned. Often times you’d just see Filipino’s acting in other Asian roles as Chinese or Japanese when you knew they were Filipino. Or you would know that Lou Diamond Phillips, Nia Peeples, Nicole Scherzinger were all born of Filipino blood but you hardly heard them ever talk about it on television or interviews, or if at all. My point is, I never really did see my brown skin on television. And if they were on television, it was almost as if they were ashamed to even admit they were Filipino because the industry limited them into characters that were anything else but themselves. Characters that often deem and oppress our Filipino people.

So, when someone like Manny Pacquiao steps out onto the ring – he becomes so much more than just a fighter. He becomes our hero. A hero that represents the thousands upon thousands of Filipino’s in the States and in the Philippines that have been waiting for someone to represent them more than just on TV but to win a championship that proves so much more than “boxing”, but a championship of surviving. While I don’t know what Manny Pacquiao’s political views are, I do know that he is no different than what Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos meant to the black community. Manny Pacquao knows what his celebrity status means for his Filipino people, which is why he makes the efforts that he does to give back to our Filipino people. Unlike what comedian Adam Carolla recently stated about the Philippines being “nothing but “Manny Pacquiao and sex stores”, Pacquiao knows that the Philippines is more than just that… which is why he fights so diligently, swiftly, quickly and passionately. And he does this for us.

I am not trying to romanticize Pacquiao, or place him up on a pedastal because although i respect that many of our people view him as our hero I personally don’t view him as an icon. I view him as another brother from our homeland doing what he needs to do to survive, doing what he can do for as long as he can for his people. Just like the rest of us should be doing. Especially now more than ever, because of racist, sexist, ignorant comedians like Adam Carolla who think it’s funny to poke fun at the expense of third world countries like the Philippines.

Adam Carolla

Someone like Adam Carolla wouldn’t understand why Manny Pacquiao means so much to us, simply because everyday he can look at television and see people with the color of his skin not having to resort to boxing to make a name for themselves. Carolla wouldn’t know that the Philippines is so much more than just sex stores because people with the color of his white skin purchase more than 5,000 Filipina mail order brides yearly into the United States. Adam Carolla wouldn’t know the beautiful islands of our country because it is rare to see when imperialist countries all over the world suck all our resources dry. Of course, Adam Carolla would find this all funny, because he has the luxury to never live this life. He has the luxury to never have to walk down daily the slums of the Philippines looking for food to feed his children. He never has to sell his body and be used as a commodity as does the 150,000 young Filipina women who are trafficked into prostitution in Japan.

But there are so many privileged Adam Carolla’s and Desperate Housewives Teri Hatcher Comedians in the world, aren’t there…? So many comedians who think they can get their ticket into fame with racist and sexist jokes. To me it’s just another way for the white supremacist to tear us down – take one of our known shining heroes like Manny Pacquiao and take one of largest known thing our country struggles with like sex-trafficking and prostitution — and blast it upon the rest of the world by making fun of it….. Yeah, just another way of tearing us down.

But what people like Adam Carolla doesn’t know is that we are all Manny Pacquiao’s as we are all our mothers and our sisters and our daughters trying to survive from sex-trafficking. And my people are strong, we are survivors… and we have fought a million wars for thousands of years. We have fought being invisible, we have fought racism, sexism, homophobia, colonialism, imperialism, and all kind of isms and oppressions….. we have done more than just boxed.. and wrestled. we have nursed, we have doctored, danced, sung, beatboxed, break’d, tagged… and DJ’d our way through —- we have held our fists in the air…. letting you all know that we exist… that we are no longer invisible… and that it’s going to take a lot more than just the petty ignorant jokes to take us down. Because we’re here… we’ve been arrived… and we will survive you. We always have.

Below is a note good friend Kevin Nadal, PhD sent earlier requesting everyone to sign a petition against Adam Carolla. It also includes a link of his derogatory, racist jokes.. – pls take the time to read and sign.

Thank you for your time
DJ Kuttin Kandi

============================================
Dear Kababayan, Friends, and Allies,

Radio host and comedian Adam Carolla has recently made several
disparaging remarks about Manny Pacquiao and Filipinos. He has
insinuated that Filipinos “pray to chicken bones” and that the
Philippines is nothing but “Manny Pacquiao and sex stores.”

Hear more about his hate here:
(Warning: This is vulgar and may not be suitable for children).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOSqFWwdtAE&feature=player_embedded

As a community, we must stand up again and let it be known that we
will not allow such hateful words to be made about our community.
These messages of hate help to promote the negative stereotypes about
Filipinos and Filipino Americans and we must put an end to it.

Please read and sign the petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/FilAmAC/petition.html

And please forward this to your colleagues, family, and friends.

Sincerely,

Kevin Nadal, PhD

I AM RAISING A CALL TO ACTION AGAINST CBS CORPORATION TOMORROW,
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2010 AT EXACTLY 9:00 AM EST (12:00 pm PST)
These are the numbers in which you should call:
CBS Corporation
CBS Headquarters51 W. 52nd StreetNew York, NY 10019-6188
212-975-4321

complaint line: 212- 975-5005
Investor Relations
51 W. 52nd StreetNew York, NY 10019investorrelations@cbs.com1-877-227-0787

ALSO PLEASE FILE A COMPLAINT TO THE FCC AGAINST ADAM CAROLLA’S SHOW on
KACE through IndustryEars.com

————————————————————————————-

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South Africa: Will Killing Of White Supremacist Trigger Racial Violence?

Its hard not to think of the extreme discontent that is being expressed here in the US in the aftermath of President Obama being elected especially along racial lines. There’s in increase in hate groups stepping forth. We see more contentious racially tinged confrontations..We also see an increase in domestic terrorism..Wonder if that sort of anger feared in South Africa will make its way over here…

-Davey D-

As South Africa get ready to host the World Cup, the killing of far-right white supremacist leader, Eugene Terreblanche, could not come at a worse time. Today, President Zuma called for calm after Terreblanche was found hacked to death with machete on his farm in the country’s North West. The 69-year-old leader of the white supremacist group Afrikaans Resistance Movement (AWB) fought to preserve apartheid in the 1990s.

The police found Terreblanche dead with facial and head injuries, a machete on his body, and a heavy knob-headed stick nearby. The police has arrested two men, aged 21 and 15, who were Terreblanche’s farm workers. The two men said they had an argument with Terreblanche over not having been paid for work done on the farm.

While President Zuma urged all South Africans to remain calm, some opposition parties warned that the far-right leader’s killing had created a potentially explosive situation. Terreblanche supporters are organized as a militia, they wear khaki uniforms and the AWB has a swastika-like symbol, which is displayed on their flag (see photo). In the 1990s, the AWB violently opposed South Africa all-race democracy and campaigned for autonomous white states. Their campaign included bomb attacks ahead of the 1994 elections which ended the white minority apartheid state.

Terreblanche founded the AWB in 1972. He wanted to create all-white states within South Africa in which blacks would only be allowed as guest workers. Terreblanche threatened to take the country by force if the white government capitulated to the African National Congress.

Apartheid ended 16 years ago, however, the end of the shameful system did little to address the economic inequality between whites and blacks. Especially in the North West, farms remain overwhelmingly in white hands, and violence on farms is very high. Between 1997 and 2007, 1,248 farmers and farm workers were killed on farms, mainly in racial incidents.

Terreblanche murder comes amid increased race tensions over a popular song with the refrain “Kill the Boers” (Afrikaans for white) which has being adopted by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) youth leader Julius Malema. Members of Terreblanche’s AWB are calling the killing a “declaration of war” by blacks against whites, and Andre Visagie, AWB’s secretary-general said the AWB would “avenge Terreblanche’s death”.

“We will decide upon our actions to avenge Mr. Terreblanche’s death. We will take actions which will be decided upon at our conference,” Visagie told the Agence France Presse.

Members of the AWB are Afrikaners. The Afrikaners are descendants of the Boers, the first white colons who arrived in South Africa 300 years ago. Their short lived republic in Transvaal and Northern Natal was broken-up after the 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer war. The AWB has had a revival since 2008, and there is no doubt that Terreblanche’s death will re-open old wounds and exacerbate racial tensions again in South Africa.

via South Africa: Will Killing Of White Supremacist Trigger Racial Violence?.

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Erykah Badu’s Window Seat Spawns Off a Slew of Parodies

There’s an old saying ‘Imitation is the greatest form of flattery’. I’m not quite sure how flattered Erykah Badu is feeling with all the slew of parody videos that are popping up around her song ‘Window Seat‘. She seemed to take it all in stride while visiting comedian Wanda Sykes who premiered her version of the song shown below..Not sure of the other videos (also included here) which in many ways take away from Badu’s original message to resist ‘group think’.

From a fan perspective I’m glad to see people playing around with the concept. It’s good to see and hear people talking and debating a work of art that has so many rich layers to it. A good song will always do that and in this case it appears that people are having fun and keeping things light hearted… God knows we need that during this recession. We should also keep in mind that in Badu’s video although not a parody was based upon an original from the singers Kim and Matt who undressed in Times Square.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdV80sOdZHg

Here’s one of the more popular video parodys from the group Spoken Reasons..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsReaX83LS8

This one is ok.. its somewhat raunchy in the sense that Mr Grind aka Rico sings his own version of the song and makes references to his love of fat asses…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjPP9yYklH4

Here’s another spoof.. Again song makes raunchy references to body parts.. In this case a woman’s breasts..then it has a ‘fake’ Erykah Badu explaining why she took off her clothes..Its pretty funny.. It’s complimented by a slide show..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbNQNDqD8Mw

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