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1. Quote of the Day « dre poetic: words by adrien salazar on 10 Dec 2008 at 8:29 pm

   [...] Racialicious) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Immigration BluesAPA Heritage Month Quick [...]

2. Hello Racialicious and Womanist Musings readers « Tanglad on 11 Dec 2008 at 12:21 pm

   [...] “double racialization” of Pinoy first-generation and second-generation immigrants [...]

Comments

1. wendi muse wrote:

   sort of related…
   in a class i took in college, my professor (angel shaw) had us read an excellent book (which she also co-authored) called Vestiges of War, which is a collection of essays, articles, and artwork inspired by wars/colonization attempts between the philippines and the united states. there is a big chunk of work on the philippines and the process of assimilation. here is the link if anyone is interested in checking it out.

   http://www.amazon.com/Vestiges-War-Philippine-American-Aftermath-1899-1999/dp/0814797911

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 12:05 pm ¶

2. alice waters wrote:

   Thank you, truly revealing stuff here. Some right stuff on the white stuff.

   Deeply entrenched in the collective Pinoy psyche is the belief that we have a “special relationship” with America, one wherein Americans really really likes us.

   That seems kinda sad, since it seems to me that most of us other Americans mostly overlook Filipino/as. Unless they pop up in a hospital or something. So why not fight for justice, instead of get by with an illusory sense of acceptance and recognition?

   Does anyone know of novels or short stories or poems or other creative work by Filipino/a Americans or other Asian Americans that deals with and illustrates this issue? I’d love to teach some of it (junior college level) . . .

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 12:35 pm ¶

3. Kat Argonza wrote:

   I’m a filipino that immigrated early in life. We’re actually of the “fairer” complexion, often joking (is it a joke?) that you can tell we’re not from the fields or the mountains. In America, even though my roots in the philippines run very deep, my own Filipino peers assume that I was half white/half Pinoy. I spent my teen years here, so I never understood the fascination with fair skin but I always found it astounding how there could be racism (or at least judgements based on skin color) inside our own community.

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 12:51 pm ¶

4. yorubella wrote:

   This is interesting to me and a little surprising. I’m black, and at my predominately white private univ. in the midwest, all the Filipino kids black kids hang out together, they’re the two tightest groups of minorities I would say.

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 1:07 pm ¶

5. veebot wrote:

   yeah, im a little surprised about that too. im black and in college all the phillipino kids i new hung out with alot of black kids. most of the asians i knew were phillipino and they were pretty cool.

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 1:40 pm ¶

6. KuriusJurge612 wrote:

   @Yorubella
   Thats true for me as well. Many of the people in my extended “crew” were Black/Latino/Filipino

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 1:50 pm ¶

7. Paz wrote:

   Perhaps the attitude re: closeness to Whites varies with generation?

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 2:31 pm ¶

8. L. wrote:

   Paz, I think that’s what the author started off by saying:

   “I am specifically talking about Filipinos like me, who have immigrated here in our adult lives. We’re working to make ends meet. Many of you are raising families, go to church every Sunday, support extended families back in the Philippines.”

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 3:06 pm ¶

9. Bagelsan wrote:

   That reminds me of a post at the Sociological Images blog (http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/12/04/raceethnicity-assimilation-and-asian-american-marriages/) about the rates of interracial marriage broken down by race and 1st/2nd generation American. There are some cool tables (and a trackback to the site the tables are originally from.)

   Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 3:31 pm ¶

10. Adrien wrote:

    RE: how younger Filipinos associate with Black folks

    I am a twenty-two year old Filipino-American immigrant who came to the U.S. when I was three years old and have basically grown up here.

    I’ve come to believe that Filipinos experience a dual racialization.

    I know a lot of young Filipinos associate closely to Black culture–note the strong presence of Filipino breakers, emcees, DJs, etc. in hip hop since the eighties. I know also, from attending University, that a lot of young Filipinos associate strongly with white American ideals, especially of pulling oneself up by ones boot straps, which is probably the inherited colonial legacy from our immigrant parents raised in the Americanized Philippine education system.

    My point is, a lot of South East Asian communities identify more strongly with Black American culture, and young Filipinos are a part of that, especially Filipinos who are first generation immigrants, who grow up in diverse urban and poor communities.

    However because of our “special relationship” to the United States and immigration history, there are also a good deal of young people who are children of professionals, living in suburban predominantly white neighborhoods, and aspiring to whiteness.

    This reflects in the statement of a Filipino teenager I met once, “The thing is with Filipino Americans, there are some of us who are well off, and there are a lot of us who are not well off.” There is a complex interweaving of migration, race, class, and culture when it comes to the way young Filipino Americans experience race.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 3:36 pm ¶

11. ejunco wrote:

    Damn that’s sad alot of Filipinos don’t know that the original Filipinos were basically black, I bet if Spain had not colonized the Islands Filipinos would probably see and say things differently.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 3:59 pm ¶

12. Margari Aziza wrote:

    I grew up in California in an immigrant neighborhood that was predominantly Filipino. I agree with Adrian, there seems to be two approaches Filipinos have taken. Back in the 80s, very few seemed to identify with Black culture and I experienced discrimination on some levels and acceptance by some because I was “acceptable black.” But by the late 80s and 90s Filipino youth appropriated aspects of black culture and hip hop. I was walking down the street one time and two Filipino young men were using the n-word to refer to themselves. I just wonder how does this group identify on the political spectrum. I wonder what happens when they grow up and leave the B-boy life. Do they become conservative? I’m not trying to dog out Filipinos. I think the culture is amazing, even though I forgot all my Tagalog and can’t eat pork, I still love a lot of the dishes. But my suspicion is that my mother’s Filipino co-workers distrust Black leadership because they are afraid of the influence of Black culture on their children. It may be a stretch, but it would be so interesting to see studies done on the relationship between Blacks and Filipinos. But then again, I’m biased.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 5:07 pm ¶

13. tanglad wrote:

    @wendi – Thanks for the link, will check the book out.

    @alice waters – I spent some time through book lists but could not come up with any titles. At least not in the academic book lists. Am wondering if this is because we don’t talk really speak of this issue outside the community of first-generation immigrants. A lot of people in this group are in economic survival mode, no time to reflect and write. And, as numerous other posts here attest, this mindset of exceptionalism does not readily translate to the next generation, so maybe it doesn’t get written about. But if anyone knows of any literary texts on this, please share.

    And yeah, a lot of the comments here about second-generation Pinoys and Blacks affirms the research on how children of immigrants assimilate (I know, loaded word). Immigrants are busy surviving and aspiring to the American Dream. The second generation, however, often grow up in unfavorable circumstances, are more attuned to discriminatory treatment, feel like their parents can’t be role models, and get irritated by their parents’ discriminatory attitude. Hence their identification with poc.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 5:37 pm ¶

14. kiita wrote:

    I’m echoing Adrien here. I was born and raised in the east coast suburbs as a child of Filipino professionals who came right before the 1965-1980s brain drain, and I’ve experienced the class divide in the Pinoy community wherever I’ve lived in the U.S. Now I teach Filipinos in a semi-prestigious university where aspirations are high, pressures are high but there’s real inquiry beneath them. I think the economic fragility of immigrants is a place to see the dual racialization at work, and the children of immigrants further deal with that duality in new ways. As for me, being a class traitor — while advocating for economic sustainability of all Filipinos — has been a useful strategy.

    On another note, it’s great to see Tanglad get a wider audience by crossposting here!

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 6:30 pm ¶

15. theboxman wrote:

    The sad irony here is that during the Philippine-American war — which in many ways is the prototype of later US wars of occupation in Vietnam and Iraq — in which (IIRC) something like a tenth of the Philippine population was massacred, quite a number of black soldiers, understanding the racism at the heart of the colonial policy that led to the war, defected and fought with the Philippine guerrilla fighters in a demonstration of solidarity and alliance.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 8:59 pm ¶

16. GeeLennox wrote:

    Identifying with Black American culture doesn’t equal identifying with Black American people.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 9:37 pm ¶

17. LaurynX wrote:

    I know I’m saying what some others said above, but this piece is interesting b/c in my experience (Texas) Pinoys and Black and Latino folks hung together all the time. I’ve heard it said more times than I can count that Filipinos are the “blackest of all Asians” (whatever that means).

    “Identifying with Black American culture doesn’t equal identifying with Black American people.”

    I definitely agree.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 10:02 pm ¶

18. ViK wrote:

    I’m shocked – but I have a distorted view. Here in WA St, our King County Executive is Black, and his wife is Filipina, so Asians have always supported him.

    BTW, he doesn’t just bring up his wife’s heritage when he’s trying to appeal to Asians; eg, he was once talking to kids who were making masks as a craft project, and talked about masks in the Philippines.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 10:16 pm ¶

19. geo wrote:

    @GeeLennox: i came in here to reply with the same response.

    Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 11:30 pm ¶

20. tanglad wrote:

    kiita! Salamat to you and Adrien and Margari for your insights in Pinoys who immigrated at a younger age. I’m intrigued by the concept of dual racialization among the younger Pinoy immigrants, hope to engage more with you guys on this. (I wonder how to conduct research among the younger Pinoys without feeling like the creepy kid who still hangs out in college years after graduation.)

    @theboxman: I didn’t even learn abt the Phil-Am war until I moved to the US. How sad is that? Thanks for bringing in the role of the black soldiers who defected in solidarity with Pinoys.

    @GeeLennox: Good point. My sense is that some Pinoys identify with Black American culture, but a greater number with both culture and people. But that’s just observation, I’m sure others can weigh in with more authority on this.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 12:15 am ¶

21. Joseph wrote:

    @Tanglad
    Two great posts in a row.

    I could echo a lot of your points from an Arab/American perspective: the dynamic is very similar. Actually I think you could say the same about a lot of immigrant cultures in the US.

    But I do think that Morrison’s quote from Time oversimplifies the immigrant experience though. There are several paths toward cultural power for new Americans that don’t have reflexive hatred of blacks at the center. Christianity, for example. That was the path toward legitimacy for African Americans post-slavery–not to say that the slave and immigrant experiences are the same, they are by definition, opposite–but my point is that “becoming American” in the US has a lot of rules and race is only one dimension.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 12:31 am ¶

22. browne wrote:

    I’m going to have to agree with lots of posters here.

    I got to say in LA Filipinos have always been cool as hell with black people (latinos, white people other asians…I used to joke that Filipinos are the Switzerland of all races, they seem to like everyone) maybe it depends on the Filipinos you meet, maybe Filipinos just because of all of all of the colonizing have the ability to fit in and be cool with people. If you are Filipino and you go to and Ivy League then you would fit in with the republicans in if you lived in Silver Lake maybe you would fit in really good with the hipsters.

    From my experience I have never known Filipinos to be racist surely not more racist than any other group and if I were going to generalize they seem to be one of the coolest groups of people in general.

    I don’t know about the voting or what goes on in the backroom, but from the Filipinos I have known personally in my own life in general I’ve never felt anything weird, not even a little.

    My goddaughter is Filipino.

    Browne

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 12:51 am ¶

23. Restructure! wrote:

    Yeah, we really, really need to make distinctions between first gen and second gen POC.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 1:24 am ¶

24. Jaye wrote:

    I grew up around a lot of Filipinos, and I always felt they were the most into hip hop culture, and some of the most accepting groups out of all Asians/Southeast Asians.

    I think that racist immigrant lens is something you can extend to every culture, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese…most of our parents are pretty racist. They’re racist towards each other…I’m biracial, and my mom (who’s Chinese) always said there’s one type of guy I can’t bring home – Japanese, because of stuff that happened in a war before I was even born.
    So I think Filipino immigrants being racist isn’t something particular to Filipino culture.
    But yeah, the 2nd generation of Filipinos…which is who I knew, I almost never encountered racism from them…unlike a lot of other 2nd generation Asian groups.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 5:43 am ¶

25. Jay wrote:

    Thanks GeeLennox for making a point that so many people don’t seem to realize.

    I’d like to add that, just like there’s no one distinct Asian culture, there’s no one distinct black culture.
    Black people, like Asian(and Latinos and whites) are diverse. Hip Hop might be a part of black culture but not every black person is into hip hop, just as every filipino person is not into hip hop. Every filipino person is not down with nor against all black people. There are hardworking, upscale, educated black people just as there are poor, working class, low educated filipino people. Not all of us voted for Obama either.

    In the late 80s i went to high school and was friends with quite a few filipino people. They largely hung out with each other just as most of us black people hung with each other. This was not seen as racist it was just how it was. People hang with those they share common interests with.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 6:44 am ¶

26. theboxman wrote:

    One key difference with the Filipino experience (as opposed to other Asian groupings) is that it is the only one that was formally colonized (for nearly fifty years) by the United States, leading to such post-colonial artifacts as formal education in English. Combined with the sheer numbers of Filipinos who migrate (whether temporarily as guest workers in a range of places or permanently) and the ramifications of this on the popular imaginary, one might perhaps be able to make the argument that to a point (and obviously, not in a literal real sense, but in an immaterial, imaginary sense), postcolonial Filipino subjectivity is akin to being always-already immigrant (regardless of whether one does or does not migrate permanently).

    So yes, to a certain extent, the problem is extendable to every immigrant group, but there are salient particularities here. For instance, it is only among Filipinos (non-immigrant, and for that matter, English-proficient Filipinos of mostly a certain social class) that I here the term “foreign films” used as a reference for non-Hollywood productions, speaking to an implied (and probably unconscious) identification.

    Also, while Restructure’s reminder to distinguish between 1st and 2nd (and further) generation is crucial, I’d add the caveat that this shouldn’t be taken as 1st-generation = racist/2nd-generation = non-racist, towards which the discourse can sometimes slip.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 8:13 am ¶

27. A.D. Nix wrote:

    @ Browne: I def felt something similar growing up in San Diego. I envied the ways in which ‘Filipino-ness’ did not seem to be as policed as blackness (as an art-freak, metalhead, brainiac, I had many run-ins with ‘The Law’).

    Through nearly life-long relationships with 1st and 2nd generation Filipino friends I’ve heard enough of the “she’s acting (insert racial/ethnic here)” and “she thinks she’s (insert racial/ethnic group here)” to know that there are, of course (of course!), people on the look-out for Filipinos being Filipino the wrong way (somehow). Ridiculous.

    “Whatever the ethnicity or nationality of the immigrant, his nemesis is understood to be African American… It doesn’t matter anymore what shade the newcomer’s skin is. A hostile posture toward resident blacks must be struck at the Americanizing door before it will open.”

    I think this applies to black immigrants to the U.S. as well. I’ve had some truly infuriating conversations with black ‘friends’ from the Caribbean, Europe and Africa about the need to distinguish oneself from Those Awful American Negroes – to shake off that taint.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 12:09 pm ¶

28. Jamerican Muslimah wrote:

    @ A.D. Nix,

    You are so right. I see it am0ngst Caribbean folks all the time. Even down to maintaining their accents for the purpose of distinquishing themselves from African-Americans.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 1:34 pm ¶

29. tanglad wrote:

    @LaurynX: “I’ve heard it said more times than I can count that Filipinos are the “blackest of all Asians” (whatever that means).” Heh, I’ve heard that in Pinoy gatherings too. And it still cracks me up every time how that makes a lot of Pinoys who immigrated as adults grimace.

    @Joseph, AD Nix, Jamerican Muslimah: I’d be really interested to read about your take on an Arab/American, Caribbean/American, and other group experience of this dynamic. I’ve gotten a similar comment over at my blog about Korean American communities. Honestly, part of me feels relief that it’s not just my peeps. But then, the fact that it’s not just us bothers me too.

    @Jenn and theboxman: Thanks for pointing the generational differences out, and how it’s not a simple binary of racist first-gen/non-racist second gen. There’s different experiences of Americanization at work here.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 3:15 pm ¶

30. Eric Daniels wrote:

    Like Chris Rock said in his routine about immirgrants in “Bigger and Blacker” the first words an immirgrant learns coming to the states is “NIGGER” funny but poigant don’t you think.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 3:17 pm ¶

31. octogalore wrote:

    Although I’m not discounting the racism aspect, I wonder if the adoption of capitalism/small government/low taxes principles by various immigrant groups (Cubans are another good example, and frequently vote Repub) is a sufficient explanation for leaning right in and of itself.

    Looking at this site (http://www.asianamericansformccain.org/) for example, it seems like economic factors are a key motivation for this particular Asian American group. A friend of mine who is active in Cuban community voices similar motivations for her politics – basically, being socially liberal and fiscally conservative, registering Independent and weighting the factors each time.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 4:10 pm ¶

32. Joseph wrote:

    @Eric Daniels

    Yeah, but come on, that cuts both ways. If you think African Americans don’t exclude/attack immigrants (arguably behavior learned from the White majority) then you have a very romantic view. You’ve never seen African Americans terrorize their immigrant neighbors?

    I have.

    That doesn’t justify blanket racism by various ethnic groups toward African Americans but I think the dynamic is way more complex than learning to say “nigger” and then you are in the club. It’s a joke when Rock says it, but when you repeat it in this context you perpetuate–and participate in–all sorts of ethnocentric discourses that white people use against new Americans.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 5:54 pm ¶

33. Bohemian Bookworm wrote:

    I took a class this semester where we read a book called Taxi-Dance Hall about these American women in the 1920’s who danced for money (prostitution and other things went on to). Black men weren’t allowed, so it was American men, white male immigrants, Filipinos, and Chinese men patrons mostly. The Filipinos were actually referred to as niggers by a lot of the women. The women liked to dance with Filipinos because they viewed them as college educated with a lot of disposable income, but they were shunned for getting involved with them.

    I just thought it was fascinating that black men weren’t a part of that whole word, but the word nigger was transferred to a whole other group.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 7:09 pm ¶

34. Rchoud wrote:

    I find this article interesting because it’s related somewhat to my own experiences growing up as a South Asian-American. My parents had almost the same views about America and different Americans as the Filipinos cited in this article. They were in awe of America (particularly white America) and had open disdain for other Americans (blacks and Latinos). Some of this thinking could be traced back to the time when South Asia was under colonial rule. They also believed that America provided them with the opportunity to work hard and achieve some level of comfort here.

    By the time my generation of South Asian Americans grew up the views changed. Most South Asians I grew up with identified more with Black and Latino Americans than with whites (unless they were the product of a suburban upbringing). They also admired and tried to emulate Black pop culture (rap, reggae, etc). They did not believe that simple hard work would lead to success in America, especially as they increasingly faced discriminations as members of an immigrant/minority group. Thus I think it’s highly interesting that two diverse Asian american groups would have similar experiences on an inter generational level.

    Posted 11 Dec 2008 at 7:42 pm ¶

35. tanglad wrote:

    For Octo: Economic concerns were indeed part of it, but my gut fees like there’s something else at work, esp among my cohort of adult Pinoy immigrants. Something like Rchoud described, as being “in awe.” An identification and a strong buying-in into dominant cultural values, which include that distorted view of blacks. Benjamin Pimentel (the writer linked) has a book on Pin@y reactions to Obama, where one Pinay disliked of black people because “They’re the ones who make trouble” (”nanggugulo” in Tagalog). To me, that attitude also speaks to adult immigrants’ views on the importance of assimilation and place-taking. And of not making trouble.

    @ Rchoud — I think the phrase “in awe” is a very apt descriptor. Salamat.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 1:38 am ¶

36. Kendra wrote:

    @ Bohemian:

    They used to call Filipinos (men) “little brown monkeys.”

    That reminds me a lot of the terminology used to refer to blacks. Think of phrases such as “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”

    Monkey = black (man)

    Think King Kong.

    Then during WWII it went from “little brown monkey” to “little brown brother.” This represented a strange trend when the government, publications, media started “praising” Asians, minus the Japanese, for their patriotism and war efforts. There was even an article, I believe in the New Yorker, that made a guide for (white) Americans to distinguish the Chinese (friends) from the Japanese (enemies). Asian ethnic groups usually made distinctions between themselves and the Japanese, wearing pins saying “I’m Korean,” “I’m Chinese,” etc. Having signs on the doors, in the windows of their establishments of a similar nature. Didn’t want anyone raiding your store thinking you were the “enemy.”

    Going a little off topic, but this blends well with what I’ve been learning in ASA this quarter.

    Let’s see . . . there was a Civil Code that mandated anti-miscenegation laws for those classified as Mongolians (during the first wave of migration this included everyone minus Asian Indians and Filipinos). Simply, Mongolians couldn’t marry whites. Filipinos could get around this for a short time, even with one example of success in LA court. But later a section or two of the Civil Code were amended and the Filipinos, who were classified as Malay, could no longer marry white women.

    Sex ratios were way off during the first wave of Asian migration, this was especially felt in the nearly all male Filipino communities at the time. This ratio was also encouraged partly b/c companies that desired labor were looking for male laborers who would work cheaply. It would be difficult to support a family on such a low wage in the US, though it could be done.

    Wah, I’ll just come back to this topic at another time.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 3:12 am ¶

37. Eric Daniels wrote:

    Joesph, where did I say that native-born Afro- Americans do/did not attack immirgrants? you are putting words in my mouth. And as for me having a romantic viewpoint about Afro- Americans ask anyone on this board or read my posts. I am a self- described “Racial Athiest” who is cyncial against anyone especially Afro- Americans who think we are the most tolerant because we have suffered the slings of racism. I believe that racism is a part of America’s legacy as a country and most of us as citizens carries it’s trait.

    And for the Rock joke, I do think that most immirgrants come to this country with pre-concieved racial attitudes about Native – Born Blacks either due to the media protrayals, intra racist beliefs and not wanting to be like “those Black failures” and it is all races even Black Immirgrants themselves . I have seen Black Carribbean, European and African Immirgrants totally disrespect native- born Black People calling them stupid, lazy, whiners, and how they “know how to raise their children properly” .

    And I am just getting started Joesph, Black Immirgrants like Asian and other minorities want to be the “Model Minority” that the white majority (particularly conservative) pats on the head for doing what every other citizen else does without wanting to be patted on the head so they can feel special compared to those lazy darkies. Michelle Malkin reminds me of many of those immirgrants who is so racist against Afro- Americans whenever she writes or debates Blacks I think she has “Joygasms” criticizing Blacks who practice racism so she can justify her own sterotypes about native Afro- Americans .

    Now fire away Joesph at my sterotypical statments towards Black Immigrants because I know it’s coming. And maybe, you will be the “brave new voice” that the majority comes to like Orlando Patterson.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 9:32 am ¶

38. Nina wrote:

    Interesting. I grew up military. The non white non black kids all ended up “black:, so the black, latino,pacific island (guam, samoa, hawaii) and filipino kids all hung together and dated etc.

    Perhaps in areas where that isnt an option whitening is more appealing.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 11:30 am ¶

39. gatamala wrote:

    boxman, wendi thanks for the info

    Regarding those who have mentioned anti-black sentiment:

    It goes hand in hand with the hard-working narrative.

    I agree, Joseph, that anti-black sentiment is not the only cheap and quick way to “become American”. It is, however, the most widespread and enduring. It begins overseas due to t.v. and relatives. I wholeheartedly believe [know] that part of my folks’ tendency to Christian hyperreligiousity (my word ) is to “fit in” with the “mainstream”. I damn sure know that some of us are heinous to any newcomer and are resentful as hell. Please understand how painful it is to want to welcome people, yet they already hate you. We are not [wholly] indigenous, but this is our home. We are integral to the real American story (not the myth), yet are being treated as not belonging by those who buy into a myth that doesn’t include them (the “special relationship” is not discussed in American schools; sadly most Americans probably couldn’t find the Phillipines on the map). Imagine someone coming into your home and putting dirty feet on your table.
    ***

    In all fairness, I can get why and how colonialism could force some Filipinos to try to fit in on the cheap. I had an As-Am tell me that Filipinos aren’t “really Asian”. Soooo where does that leave them?

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 11:51 am ¶

40. Restructure! wrote:

    Just to say it more explicitly, “Filipin@s are the blackest of all Asians” also applies to Filipin@ Canadians, at least stereotypically.

    @theboxman:

    Also, while Restructure’s reminder to distinguish between 1st and 2nd (and further) generation is crucial, I’d add the caveat that this shouldn’t be taken as 1st-generation = racist/2nd-generation = non-racist, towards which the discourse can sometimes slip.

    Yes, you’re right.

    How about saying that on average, second generation POC, like whites, are worried about being perceived as racist, while most first generation POC do not worry about that?

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 8:45 pm ¶

41. theboxman wrote:

    > Does anyone know of novels or short stories or poems or other creative work by Filipino/a Americans or other Asian Americans that deals with and illustrates this issue?

    Not really my area of expertise, but if I’m not mistaken, Carlos Bulosan’s _America is in the Heart_ is the standard text used to illustrate this.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 9:06 pm ¶

42. CJHapaUndercover wrote:

    @ alice waters

    Check out a play called Pulling the Lever by Rising Circle Theater Collective. It’s in an anthology, Plays and Playwrights 2006, edited by Martin Denton and published by The New York Theatre Experience, Inc., website: http://www.nyte.org. There’s a filipina character named Rosie Chen who talks about attitudes toward the U.S. when she was growing up in the Philippines and how her thoughts have changed after having lived in the U.S. for about 10 yrs. as an adult.

    Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 11:42 pm ¶

43. Joseph wrote:

    @Eric
    Relax: I am not attacking you or African Americans in general. (Orlando Patterson?) I am only saying that just as different ethnic groups–including Caribbean and recent African immigrants– sometimes absorb anti-Black attitudes so do African-Americans sometimes adopt Eurocentric prejudices against immigrants. It is a complex dynamic, with white power at the center.

    Posted 13 Dec 2008 at 1:00 am ¶

44. Kendra wrote:

    @ theboxman:

    Yup, I too would recommend Bulosan’s novel as well. It’s a good portrayal of Filipino male experiences during the first wave of Asian migration. It’s a good resource for those that want to explore some of the Filipino labor movements and strikes.

    Favorite quote:

    “America is . . . the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry boy begging for a job and the black body dangling on a tree. America is the illiterate immigrant who is ashamed that the world of books and intellectual opportunities is closed to him. We are all that nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, that hungry boy, that illiterate immigrant and that lynched black body. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native born or alien, educated or illiterate–We are America!”

    Words by Macario, Carlos’ brother.

    There’s also a play based on the book. I haven’t had the chance to see it yet.

    Posted 13 Dec 2008 at 2:54 am ¶

45. Kendra wrote:

    edit: I too would recommend Bulosan’s novel.

    That sentence was a tad redundant.

    Posted 13 Dec 2008 at 2:55 am ¶

46. octogalore wrote:

    Tanglad — that makes sense.

    It would be really instructive along those lines if there were another party that was socially liberal and fiscally conservative — to see what the racial, gender, economic, etc. breakdown of such a party might look like.

    On a selfish level, it would help certain feminists and anti-racists feel less polarized in making candidate choices.

    Posted 13 Dec 2008 at 4:02 pm ¶

47. Lisa wrote:

    Tanglad – beautiful as always. Rich writing, gorgeous insights.

    You open a window for so many who have never heard or learned about Filipinos and/or Filipino culture.

    Salamat.

    Posted 16 Dec 2008 at 12:56 pm ¶

48. tanglad wrote:

    Lisa!

    Octo: I agree abt the need to break from the current two-party system we have now. I’d love to see a major party that really is truly revolutionary, both socially and fiscally.

    Posted 16 Dec 2008 at 1:19 pm ¶

49. Calin wrote:

    There already is a party that is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. The Libertarian Party.

    Posted 22 Dec 2008 at 4:44 am ¶

50. marshall wrote:

    I’m the product of an interracial marriage, my father being African-American and mother being Filipina. As an adult, I’ve lived in Seattle and Los Angeles, both cities having “large” enough communities of both Blacks and Filipinos where I could observe interactions and relations between the two groups. I’ve also spent a few years in the Philippines as well.

    In terms of relations between Filipinos and African-Americans, there is little in the article that I have found to be true. Not in my experience and observations growing up nor in adulthood, inside or outside my family. My parents are in there 60’s now, I’ve known many Filipinos my parents age or older, so I haven’t even observed the author’s allegations in older, first generation Filipino-Americans.

    I know that relations between the two groups aren’t utopic but i’ve always thought that relations between African-Americans and Filipinos are much better than they are with say… Koreans, Chinese or other immigrant groups.

    The author provides NO evidence on his/her suggestion that Filipino’s were apprehensive about voting for Obama. No scientific poll, no scholarly academic study, nothing! Only an anecdotal story of a news report and a few gatherings??? All this proves is that there are a FEW Filipinos who have racist views.

    Posted 01 Jan 2009 at 2:48 am ¶

51. Marshall wrote:

    This is a follow up to my previous comment challenging certain assertions or suggestions that Filipinos were reluctant to vote for Barack Obama as well as their general attitudes towards African-Americans. I did a little research on this specific subject matter and found some statistics on interracial marriages and the recent presential election exit polls specific to Asian-Americans.

    In terms of interracial marriages involving , i found a statistical study for Asian-Americans marrying outside their ethnic groung. This study found while Black/Asian pairing were statistically small, Filipinos were the Asian ethnic group most likely to intermarry with African-Americans. They did so at rates twice that of other Asian groups as well as rates higher than whites. Interestingly, Filipinos were also the Asian ethnic group most likely to intermarry with Latinos and did so at rates much higher than other Asians.

    I couldn’t find statistics for the electoral preference of Filipinos in the most recent presidential elections. There have been suggestions that Filipinos have Republican leanings because the majority of Filipinos are devout Catholics and socially conservative. However, Latinos are also devout Catholics and socially conservative but 69% of them voted for Obama according to exit polls and the majority consistently vote for Democrats.

    I found a few exit polls done for Asian-American showing that they overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama over John McCain. One exit poll showed Asians support for Obama to be as high as 76% while the weakest number I saw was 62% support from Asians.

    Given this level of support from Asian-Americans in general. the fact that Filipinos are the second largest Asian group after the Chinese, and the fact that 80% of Filipinos in the U.S. reside in 7 HEAVILY Democratic states (California, Hawaii, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Illinois), it is easy to conclude that Filipinos voted for Barack Obama in OVERWHELMING numbers somewhere in the range of 65%-75%.

    Despite this, there are a few small minded Pinoys who may make all Pinoys look bad, no doubt! I just couldn’t let the author’s allegations go unanswered!

    Posted 08 Jan 2009 at 1:20 am ¶