This brouhaha about "Desperate Housewives" and discrimination of Pinoy healthcare professionals in the USA has reached rather ridiculous proportions. The unflattering references to the quality of medical education in the Philippines of course deserves comment and condemnation but so far the Pinoy op ed columnists have largely missed the point. Some Americans (especially those in Hollywood) are rather discriminating on whom to discriminate and cast racial slurs. True that these TV series and the parodies on the networks have a field day hitting at Dubya Bush, Hillary, Barack, Dick and all sorts of characters and viewers are inured to these. Besides this parodying is actually protected by the First Amendment. Barack,Hillary, Dick and Dubya aren't discriminated in the parody.
Hollywood may at times hit at blacks and sometimes this raises some comment. But Hollywood won't even dare cast slurs on gays and lesbians. That would kill the networks. So we won't see any Terri Hatcher character questioning the qualifications of her hairdresser by demanding to know if he were a third rate gay with a diploma from Ricky Reyes' hairdressing school! I am not casting any slur on Mr Reyes's school but I know that world class hairdressers have graduated from his school and a barber alumni I know who isn't gay, is now a hit in London. Rather that I am trying to show that Hollywood can easily cast slurs on minorities but not on the politically correct. To hell if the Reyes' school produces world class hairstylists but the fact that the school is in the Philippines.
Discrimination is unacceptable. Unfortunately the Fil-Am community doesn't have enough clout to kill the networks.
Hollywood may at times hit at blacks and sometimes this raises some comment. But Hollywood won't even dare cast slurs on gays and lesbians. That would kill the networks. So we won't see any Terri Hatcher character questioning the qualifications of her hairdresser by demanding to know if he were a third rate gay with a diploma from Ricky Reyes' hairdressing school! I am not casting any slur on Mr Reyes's school but I know that world class hairdressers have graduated from his school and a barber alumni I know who isn't gay, is now a hit in London. Rather that I am trying to show that Hollywood can easily cast slurs on minorities but not on the politically correct. To hell if the Reyes' school produces world class hairstylists but the fact that the school is in the Philippines.
Discrimination is unacceptable. Unfortunately the Fil-Am community doesn't have enough clout to kill the networks.
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