Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Filipina Mail Order Brides and Alec Baldwin

Just watched Alec Baldwin's Youtube video and personally, I'm not offended. It was said in jest (he even mentioned Russians too) -but I don't see it as insulting. Tasteless and crude yes, but not that bad to merit the brouhaha it has generated. Baldwin even made fun of more Americans, including his brothers and President Obama in the latter part.

It's quite strange that we pat each other in the back whenever Filipinos are mentioned positively in international media. It's as if we are all part of the achievement. But mention something negative, and all blame is cast on the unfortunate soul who dared said it. We don't blame the government - which at the very least should be doing something about the problem - or ourselves, as we perhaps are contributing to it. I guess it's a culture thing, wherein we prefer to sweep dirt under the rug rather than address it properly. Methinks this is one reason why we're not progressing culturally, as the more we avoid taking concrete actions, the more we become stained.

In Baldwin's case, he certainly didn't invent the idea of Pinay mail order brides - they are a reality that even Philippine laws can't curb. So why shoot the messenger? Isn't it more appropriate to look inwards and see what makes Filipino women grab at any chance to get out of what they believe is a wretched situation in this country. Why not address widespread poverty and offer more opportunities here, so that try as Baldwin might, he wouldn't find a Pinay who would willingly become his mail order bride.

The other interesting point that need to be said is that by making noise over those 'slights' - imagined or otherwise, we're dealing ourselves a double jeopardy. In the case of Baldwin - he is virtually unknown to Filipinos a few days back but has become well-known even to ordinary people just because he joked about an overly-sensitive race. I'll bet that with this incident, Google and Youtube searches for his name here and abroad will increase, along with a slew of Filipinos who bash him publicly. Interest in his work, movies and shows would certainly spike up, and that is good for him. It was good for Chip Tsao a few months back too - he was an unknown catapulted to instant celebrity just because Filipinos reacted adversely to his moronic article.

Yet hapless Filipinas still leave the country as mail order brides or domestic slaves in droves. Nothing came out of the brouhahas, except that the 'offenders' and some opportunists gained media mileage. Enough said.

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