As far as Manila is concerned, the Obama fever and honeymoon period is over. While it is true that most Filipinos are happy for the historic win of the first African American President of the most powerful nation in the world, Pinoys are naturally shoulder shruggers and take the wait-and-see attitude hoping that the Change that came to America will come here as well. In what size, shape, and form? The ridiculously corrupt Congressman's guess is as good as the hilariously smart-ass manong barbero (barber). Wait-and-see.
We have, time and again, been criticized by the world and branded a nation with VERY short memories and attention spans. In my opinion, that is totally untrue, unfounded, and unfair... Hey, did you hear about the possibility of Manny Pacquiao losing his title?! You haven't?!
(from abs-cbnNEWS.com)
CHENG DU, CHINA- Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao must cough up $30,000 within the next 15 days or be stripped of his World Boxing Council lightweight title, the WBC said on Thursday.
The boxing body's governors, meeting in Cheng Du, are demanding the fighter pay sanctioning fees they say he owes, or they will take his belt.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great champion and the pride of the WBC. But he believes he is the ruler of the organization and that is not going to happen," WBC President Jose Sulaiman told Reuters.
"If he doesn't want to do it, he goes his way and we go our way. He has made a fortune with the WBC. He became famous fighting WBC Champions like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and now he's trying to kick us in the back and send us home. We cannot do that.
"I am very disappointed because he's a friend, he is the hero of President Arroyo and of the whole country of the Philippines, and I feel very bad because of the way that we've been treated. But the phone is there and the door is open."
The WBC is also insisting Pacquiao pay $100,000 within 15 days of his anticipated fight against Oscar de la Hoya or face the same punishment. That non-title fight is scheduled for Dec. 6.
It was not clear, however, if the WBC has received request from any party to stop the Pacquaio-de la Hoya bout.
Sanction fees? Great idea, Mr. Sulaiman...found in the rule book or not, that's a brilliant moneymaker while protecting the interests of the WBC. This is showbusiness. They'll understand. Besides, Manny can raise the moolah faster than he can say the word BUKSENG!
Now, what was I writing about?...Forget it! ... Place your bets, hermanos!
There are over 150 dialects in the Philippine Archipelago. Various schools dispute the fact that these are not dialects but languages. So there is an ongoing debate whether it's Language or Dialect...potato, patata...tomato, tomata. I don't want to get into that. Let the linguists battle in that arena.
Anyway, since there are 150 dialects (or languages) in the islands, competition and rivalry is natural and expected. Typical stereotypes would be Ilonggos (Iloilo, Bacolod, etc.) and their aversion for the Ilocanos (Ilocos region), or Cebuanos (Cebu) have natural animosity toward Manileños (Manila)... so on and so forth. That's just how Filipinos are wired when they take pride in their regions of origin. What's funny is, most Filipinos look almost the same with dark brown skin, black hair, bulbous nose, full lips etc. Mestizo and mestizas (half breeds) are, of course, an exception. Even funnier is the fact that in spite of the many dialects (or languages), they can still understand each other by speaking the Tagalog dialect (or language) with relative ease. Their areas of disagreement spring forth from their distrust caused by a number of reasons too many to enumerate.
I hear it's the same in the United States. The differences in race, color, and creed naturally breed animosity as the world's histories time and again predict. Filipino variances in language appear amusing compared to the apparent remnants of racial discrimination in the States. Obviously, this is more serious than our language distinction problems. Certainly not just a tomato-tomata-potato-patata problem.
Mike, my nephew, has a simple wish. Though written from the complex mix of heart (or bleeding heart as commented by his friend on Facebook) and mind, It can't get any simpler than this.
How does this blindfold fit?
(Re-posted with permission from Mike's Facebook Notes)
As Barack Obama takes on this new era of change, many people haven't. Just as the first Presidential debates came, I knew that Obama had something new to bring to Washington. My mind was set and millions upon millions of others too. This race was about who had the best propositions to bring to help us all recover from our financial disasters that plagued us for the past 8 years. Oh how blind we were to let Bush run 4 more years over us..and now the mess is deep and he's ready for the hand-off. Being that I'm now residing in the south...the ol' wonderful south, some things haven't changed much really from the civil rights days of the past. There's alot of "undertones" of racism still impregnated into the minds of those who surround us even today..."closet supremacists" that blurt out only when black people aren't around.
I was born and raised in California till I was 11 and then moved to Hawaii with my father. I was surrounded by lots of different cultures and greatly appreciated the diversity of both California and Hawaii. Yes, I know Hawaii has some forms of racism also...like "f-ing Haole"..when youre mad at the white guy in Hawaii...but not too extreme, still everyone gets along with everyone. Now Im here in the south and moved here in 2001. I chose a job working on trailers here in Jacksonville. I had culture shock when I hear and see how young black men are treated differently around the shop as compared to themselves(white). The white men always referred to me as the Hawaiian but would always tell me "nigger" jokes that always degrades black men or women. I never found a way to laugh at them..just wen't about my work. I also noticed that the shop radio can play country for days on end and being the night shift, I heard country all night also. One night, some of my fellow black guys went over and turned the radio to some R&B and returned to work. I thought hey, I like a little mix in music and something other than country ALL DAY LONG (10 hour shifts). One (white) guy came over to me and asked "i hate this nigger music"...and he rushed off and turned it back to country..that was one example years ago. Another one was recently here in the shop I work at now, I turned my radio to some jazz music to mix it up a bit. And sure enough one of the guys(white) came over and jokingly said "what'cha listening to-that jungle jive crap today?"...its just little undertones of things I hear from time to time.
Now that this election is up, I had my Obama/Biden sticker on my car since the first debate..like two months ago? I have gotten the silent treatment in the shop and nobody likes to talk about the election let alone our newly elected President since they are predominately white.
One of my Co-workers(white) asked last week "did ya vote?"..I told him "yes, early"...he asked "so who'd you vote for?"...I replied "Obama" and he had this shocked face on him, by this time-another co-worker hearing the conversation butts in "you voted for Obinladen?"...and I said "you damn right I voted for Obama!"...I asked him "did you vote?" and he replied "I would have, but I didn't register"...so I said "well you don't have shit to say since you didn't vote"....and I left it at that.
Im proud to have voted for change and that's what we need in this country. It shouldn't have to be about black or white. It should be about who has the most values that can bring great things to the nation and let us strive and recover our lost friends and allies across the world that we left behind. Im proud to have helped our nation in taking the first step in breaking the barrier of white or black...my blindfold doesn't fit....does yours?
Facebook is amazing. You can get instant updates from friends and relatives who are thousands of miles away and in different time zones. It sure is a lot cheaper than calling them on the phone. But you already know that. What I really appreciate is the fact that you could tell everyone how even your mundane activities went. A simple conversation with another person for instance.
My niece Janice has the gift of storytelling. She tells them wonderfully. Janice ought to be telling them stories more often. Upon reading her note on Facebook, I had to write her immediately:
Hi Janice! I totally empathize with your blog. Though I'm thousands of miles away from this, I feel your great hope for Asian Americans. Heck, now I'm dreaming about shaking the hand of a Governor Ikaika Ocampo Lealamanua or a Congressman Cole Ocampo in the future. I know it could be just fantasy now, but only heaven knows really. Hmmm...I think now is the perfect time your tita and I can work on our dual citizenship. hehe...Again, may I request permission to repost this on my blog?
Janice's reply felt like it was straight out of Chicago's historic Grant Park giant speakers: "Of course you can!"
Here goes:
...just a conversation
"I had another patient yesterday, a black woman. She said this.... " I never thought in MY lifetime that I would see this... " Can you think of how many people are alive today, who lived through the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement... who heard Dr. MLK (Martin Luther King) speak ... who sat on the back of the bus... Can say the exact same thing right now -- regardless of the outcome of this election. Open your mind and live in THEIR shoes, for just one moment. You may realize that today is a day like no other. Appreciate this moment in history, that you are a part of."
I bet that day with the African American woman was a day that left an indelible imprint in my niece's memory. It was "just a conversation" but it was loaded with valuable pride and emotion. Would've been great to have joined in, even for a short while.
Yes, I am a Filipino living in the future sin city of the Philippines (Paranaque will make like Vegas very soon) and the victory of Obama will not directly impact my lifestyle and our direct socio-political environment. However, the YES YOU CAN attitude will definitely augur well for my children's future...even here in Pilipinas kong mahal.
This is a historic day for The United States of America. As I write this, it's only been 3 hours since Barack Obama spoke in front of a huge congratulating crowd in Chicago. His speech was as powerful as expected and thousands of folks in the crowd were in tears. Though the crowd was expected to be exhausted from the long day's wait, everyone was in high spirits.
I will not even begin to talk about the nervous energy of white supremacists and ultra-conservative Republicans. Let alone venture into a guess as to how they will cope in the next four years. Thousands of bloggers and journalists will probably write about that. Not this bloke...at least not yet.
While newsmen, political analysts, members of academe and a bevy of naysayers all scurry to broadcast and publish their forecasts for the first African American President of the United States of America, I am anxiously waiting for the news about what breed of dog the Obama daughters will bring to the white house. The new president said out loud that his girls deserve to have the new puppy to play with in Pennsylvania 65000. The girls do deserve it. I hope the press will be nice to them. Dog lover that I am, I guess I just have to heel, stay, sit and wait.
Give the man a break. He worked ridiculously hard for 21 months. Let him have his honeymoon period and get acquainted with all the White House spooks and ghosts.
As far as Manila is concerned, the Obama fever and honeymoon period is over. While it is true that most Filipinos are happy for the historic win of the first African American President of the most powerful nation in the world, Pinoys are naturally shoulder shruggers and take the wait-and-see attitude hoping that the Change that came to America will come here as well. In what size, shape, and form? The ridiculously corrupt Congressman's guess is as good as the hilariously smart-ass manong barbero (barber). Wait-and-see.
