Caste System In The Philippines
As you have probably gathered from the amount of recipes, dining experiences, photos and blogs posted on GlobalGranary.Org, that we are very partial to food. So I thought I should watch a lifestyle program with a cooking segment from the Philippines. With my trusted MacBook Pro, I trawled youtube for some cooking programs. I came upon Regine Velasques’s Sarap Diva.
I settled down to watch, contentedly chomping on my breakfast in bed, courtesy of my sweet, darling husband and, hoping to enjoy the show especially as Regine said that it would be a homage to the 80s, a throwback 80s if you like.
There were songs and reminiscence which I thought were really nostalgic of the period but I almost choked on my toast with growing anger, shock and disbelief when some of the guests became ABUSIVE and disparaging towards a black transvestite, who acted as Regine’s sidekick.
The most sickening and abhorrent part was Regine, herself. Instead of chastising her guests, she joined in with the MALTREATMENT AND DEHUMINISING of the sidekick! I think this is what they call comedy.
They made it very clear that the sidekick/maid was just so lucky to be there breathing the same hot air with Regine and guests in the studio.
A prat of a guest, to get a laugh, commented that “Sigurado ka hindi nangangagat yan?” (Are you sure it won’t bite?)
To which Regine replied “Hindi naman at saka may injection! (No, and it has its injections)
By implication, the black maid was reduced to a dog, rabid or otherwise!
They should be laughing with the maid rather than laughing at her.
Regine did make me laugh when she tried to remonstrate her sidekick (not really sure of his name), who came in with some tin-foil wrapped hotdogs. Regine said “Ilagay mo lang dyan, wag mo munang pagtripan yan! (Just put them there, don’t start on them yet), completely ignoring that fact that Regine, herself, looked like she’s been the one eating all the donuts or hotdogs.
hahahahhahhahahhahahahahhahaha
It is so sad that Philippines is not joining in with the rest of the world in ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and rightly. Where is the respect?!!!
It is even sadder to think that there are now more than 100 million Filipinos and most of them live in poverty in the motherland. There is a great chasm between the rich and the poor and programs like SarapDiva are not doing their bit to make sure that the poor, the gay, the black and disable are not dehumanised.
Another show that makes me wince because of latent denigration of others is KrisTV. Kris Aquino comes out as all benevolent, and extremely generous to her minions but she does make them pay or work for it. Time and again, Kris would treat Darla, her ‘assistant’ more of a servant or a favoured pet. Many a time, Darla becomes the butt of Kris’s often cruel jives. Darla, the human waste disposal or vacuüm cleaner gets to eat all the leftovers!!!
This treatment of the less fortunate is very telling of our Filipino ways and traits. This is the very reason, I think, that we do not progress as people. Our colonial mentality, the remnants of which still exists whilst the rest of the civilised world had moved away from it, is alive and kicking, sadly.
We Filipinos seem to love nothing better than kicking or make those who we think have less in life, largely through no fault of their own, to feel small, to convince and make ourselves better and superior and climb a higher echelon in life.
Contrarily we give too much leeway and importance to those who have risen into the elite part of our society through corruption. Yes we are talking about you, Napoles, Enrile, Reyes, Revilla, Ejercito and your likes! Why do these corrupt people continue to get preferential treatment in jail when others are accepting humiliation just to survive?!!!
Caste system is still in place in the Philippines. And we enthusiastically allow it to embrace our future generation.
Filipinos give big business to places like Belos. It seems being Kayumanggi (brown race) is something to be ashamed off. White rocks!
Until we all realised that being different doesn’t make us inferior to anyone, the battle of the downtrodden will live on.