First and foremost, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that I purposely capitalized the "W" in "We". This represents all of those who are Filipino. Now that I have pointed that out, I will explain my reasoning behind this title.
My apologies for being rude.. Hi again, everyone! :) As I've aforementioned, my class has been reading Filipino American Psychology by Kevin Nadal--wonderful reading. I pointed out some facts from chapter one, but I want to talk about another main issue of this chapter. Invisibility. Before I explore Nadal's ideas of invisibility, here's a poem that we reviewed in class that correlates with the topic:
chamelon brown (excerpt)
change change
like a chamelon do
 |
| Yes, this is the chameleon from the movie Tangled.. Real-life chameleons scare me. |
from white to black
from brown to blue
just as to say;
that clothes are not the skin of a man
just as
skin is not the essence
shed that skin
it ain't a part of you
change change
like a chameleon do
from white to black
from brown to blue
-- Loi Syquia
Okay, now I may begin my rant and diagnosis, if I may. According to Nadal, Filipinos were not always recognized. There was a main focus on the issue of "blacks and whites". What about the other races? Especially Filipinos! The Philippines is it's own island, yet we don't get our own damn "fill-in" on a scantrons and what not? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, there are different tests--SATs, ACTs, AP tests, etc.--even surveys, applications and various other forms that have you indicate what ethnicity you are.) I mean, there's a bubble for "Asian" and "Pacific Islander", but not Filipino...? I don't see why not. Filipinos have been misunderstood, forgotten and invisible. This may force Us in wanting to fit in, and wanting to be like everybody else.
Now this is where the poem comes in. How I interpreted this poem was that the audience are fellow Filipinos (Syquia is a Filipino writer, if you didn't know). So when he states "shed that skin it ain't a part of you" he means that it is unnecessary for Us to acculturate or assimilate. Being Filipino is who We are. It is one of our birth certificate traits. We are, in fact, born with it and cannot change our ethnicity.
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Self-explanatory
Skip to 3:00 for singing
P.S. This song will relate to this whole entire book, basically
I hope you enjoyed this little seminar. Thank you! :)
Nice post - your entry gives me an idea for my post. I like the way you play with typography (capital "W") to make your point. You are making your writing "performative", i.e., not only do you have a message, but the way you write the words actually "perform" the message, too!
ReplyDeleteI try, I try. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteUpon second reading, I'm curious about something. The way you wrote suggested that you, too, feel some of the anger that Nadal expresses. Is that something new? Is that a "fresh" irritation that Nadal's words made you feel, or were did his poem uncover anger that was already there?
ReplyDeleteBased on your personal observations, how angry are Filipinos about being made invisible? How conscious are young Pin@ys of the kind of invisibility Nadal articulates?
This is a "fresh" irritation. I mean, I was aware of discrimination towards, but I never felt so strongly about it until Nadal's poem. It impacted me. Especially when he spoke the actual words himself. I felt his anger and depression.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I didn't know any Filipinos who felt angry or invisible--unless I've been oblivious. It wasn't until recently, in class, that I have noticed the dissatisfaction. I don't think young Pinays are very conscious.. Look at how I reacted. I didn't. I feel as if not very many people are aware.
Remember what you've written as we read the next chapter about ethnic identity development. We'll see how your observations fit into Nadal's schematic.
ReplyDelete