If anybody was a homegrown TV geek like I was while growing up, he or she must remember that show with Dean Cain (Ripley's Believe it or Not! host) playing a bespectacled Clark Kent / Superman ca. 1990s in a suit that was way too tight. This guy suffered over two things: saving the world, and saving his rocky relationship with the ever unappealing Lois Lane (played by Teri Hatcher).
Well, Lois Lane is now Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives and Susan Mayer makes even worse of an impression.
As quoted from a forwarded e-mail:
" I heard through the grapevine about a remark made on an episode of Desperate Housewives last night. The scene entailed Teri Hatcher's character (Susan) at a hospital, being told by her gynecologist that she might be hitting menopause. Susan replied, "Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines." If you go to abc.com, you watch the full episode and witness the scene at about 18:50 minutes into the episode.
This type of derogatory remark is not only unnecessary and hurtful, but is also unfounded, considering the presence of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the health care industry. Filipinos are the second largest immigrant population in the United States, with many entering the U.S. and passing their U.S. licensing boards as doctors, nurses, and medical technicians. In fact, the Philippines produces more U.S. nurses than any other country in the world. So, to belittle the education, experience, or value of Filipino Americans in health care is disrespectful and plain and simply ignorant."
Thanks, ABC, for using racism as a form of comic relief on TV!
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I don't think abc invented racism as comic relief... it goes way back.
To the producer and actress Terry Hatcher,you dont have right and evidence to discriminate Filipino doctors and nurses if you dont mind most Filipino Nurses take care of to those old abandon american people in this case what kind of culture does have american people rude attitude,like what happen to afro american discrimination by richards, you must learn how to respect and be good to other race not all the time your in the top.God will judge to your unfairness critics
explain to me how this is at all racist? fact is, the best medical schools in the world are in America and Europe... these schools have plenty of Filipino students studying to become doctors and nurses, and you can bet that the best Filipino students will be trying to get into an American med school, not University of the Philippines.
This is no more racist than saying than "i hope my rental car isn't a daewoo." talk about an overreaction... when there's lots of REAL racism in the world, you're going to waste your time on some trivial shit like this?
thanks very much for your comment, d, and point taken. i would also choose health care from doctors who have the best medical degree.
on the other hand, dismissing a sensitive issue as "trivial" due to your explanation alone is questionable. to you, this comment is valid, but (clearly) for others (who have been circulating e-mails all over the web) it is not.
this is a more ambiguous form of racism, if not a clear one. the problem lies in that this comment might potentially blossom into more serious, more REAL forms of racism (especially if some, unlike yourself, are not thinking about the med schools in the philippines). i probably ventured too far to deem this comment as blatantly racist; it is sensitive, and sensitive should still be talked about.
as for "when there's lots of REAL racism" going on - don't worry, we're on that too. (but would you agree with us anyway?)