I am sure you’ve heard all about the brouhaha over Teri Hatcher’s remark on Desperate Housewives. Apparently, she does not want any doctor who has a medical degree from the Philippines to treat her.

You can imagine the kind of reaction that this thoughtless statement has elicited among the Filipino community. People blogged about their outrage, signed petitions and even called for the government to ask the ABC to “rectify the injustice“. Well, they got their wish. ABC apologized.

Usually, I stick to my guns on certain issues but gone are the days when I would fight about every single thing. I’d rather choose my battles wisely. And on this issue, it’s not what I would call as worth fighting for.

Remember those times when you watched a show which featured Arab terrorists, illegal immigrants from Mexico, mouthwash drinking native Indians (because they cannot afford alcohol), Black muggers, smelly Europeans and stupid Americans? Did you see any of them asking for an apology?

Remember thinking that the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” was actually funny?

I am also against name calling or culture bashing but hey much as we would like for it to be otherwise, WE DO NOT LIVE IN A COLOR-BLIND WORLD. There are bigots all over. Many people are careless with their words, thinking that it would not matter if they insult one race or another.

I just think (again, this is just MY opinion) that there was no need to go ape shit over this issue. There are other great ways to refrain people from stereotyping Pinoys.

After getting a hearty thank you for helping a patient, Philippine Medical degree holder doctors in the US could just say welcome and “I learned a lot in the Philippines” or something to that effect. OA, I know but it does help spread the good word. Besides, do you really think that those who hire doctors in the US even watch shows like Desperate Housewives?!

Someone I know (who is an MD in Chicago) reminded me of the time when med students in Fatima topped the bar exams because the Philippine Medical Boards sold them the test questions. And a similar incident occurred with the nursing exam last year. News about these things spread, you know. And sometimes, it evolves and becomes a stereotype.

I am all for fighting for what is right but learn to prioritize if you want to involve the government. There are tons of issues out there that needs to be taken cared of. There are times when we just should learn to let go and laugh about things.

This issue kinda reminds of that small outrage and yet another online petition to stop people from eating Filipinos, a chocolate biscuit made in Spain because:

“First of all, there is the simple name-association itself. Attaching the name Filipinos to a sweet product with a hole in the middle that is consumed for pleasure and contains little nutritional value is not very charming.

Secondly, there is the problem of the name being used in marketing campaigns and thus becoming depreciatory. One blogger already noticed the food instruction on the package: ‘Try Filipinos after one hour in the fridge.’ Worse yet is the present Dutch campaign to sell Filipinos that asks consumers: ‘Are you as Tasty as a Filipino?’ “

Hello?! There are tons of food out there associated with certain nationalities (the most famous being French fries), do you see them complaining?! What kind of mind do you have to describe it as a “hole in the middle that is consumed for pleasure and contains little nutritional value” and translate it into something dirty? It’s shaped like a donut, of course, it has a hole in the middle. As for the refrigerate for one hour thing, it does taste better after you refrigerate it!

Again… choose your battles wisely!