This is an email from a reader of the FilipinaImages.com reader.

Steve Schertzer, esl_steve@excite.com
October 15, 2009

Disclaimer: The following is an opinion piece based on fact.

— “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing; to know in their hearts and see the evils going on around them, but to sit back and let it unfold whether out of fear, apathy or both.”

—Edmund Burke, Irish Political Philosopher. (1730-1797.)

I so want to be wrong about this. I want to be wrong because I feel vindicated and it doesn’t feel good. It’s not because of the Filipino mothers or the foreign fathers. It’s because of the children. I feel vindicated because of the children. In a response to a letter I wrote for www.filipinaimages.com on March 27th, 2009, titled “The Image of the Modern Filipina”, I said this:

“If the Philippines keeps on importing less than stellar foreign men to marry their women, in 10 years this once beautiful country will have tens of thousands of half-breeds running around looking for their foreign fathers, who will have awoken one morning to realize that marrying an uneducated, dirt-poor Filipina was not to their liking after all.”

Yes I did say that, but I was wrong. It’s not “tens of thousands” of children looking for their non-Filipino fathers. It’s hundreds of thousands. And it’s not “in 10 years.” It’s now. And, (if I may correct myself again), it’s not as if these non-Filipinos are marrying any of these “uneducated, dirt-poor Filipinas.” Most are not. So I apologize for my errors. You see, this problem of abandoned half-Filipino half-whatever children is far worse than I originally thought.

Here are three questions that I would like answered by Filipinos, men and women, after you have read and contemplated this well enough to respond intellectually and wisely.

1) Is there a “sperm war” involving foreign men in the Philippines?
2) Is this who Filipinas truly are?
3) Where is the outrage?

There is a seismic shift in Filipino society. It’s been happening for a long time. It’s not an earthquake, although it may feel like one. It’s not a series of typhoons, although millions of lives are being ruined by it. This seismic shift is not geological. Neither is it a product of mother nature’s wrath. This seismic shift in Filipino society is value based. It is a huge shift in personal morality and social ethics. It is a fall from grace. A huge fall from what once was to what is now.

The quotes I use from articles, newspaper columns, and websites will enlighten and inform, but I doubt if it will shock. That’s the real tragedy. Here is the full article from the October 5, 2009 edition of the Korea Times under the headline “Kopinos Search for Korean Dads.”
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Online, is what I mean. There is this advocacy called Reshaping the Filipina Image Online. It is a noble cause to address the current image and reputation of Filipina women in the internet. It can be a Herculean task given the fact that there are many factors we have to consider and one of them is to spread the word (to Filipinas particularly) that we have to do something to abate, if not eliminate totally, the perception in the internet about Filipinas being bound to domestic helping (not that I have anything against this noble work) and prostituting only.

Before posting this, I am glad to know that when you search and type “Filipina”, the advocacy ranks second. The support must be growing placing them at the top. It’s a good thing. It’s good news. Maybe not a gargantuan task at all.

However, I do hubpages and stumbled upon a hub – Nine Inch Nails and Star Trek. I don’t know the band. Of course, I know about Star Trek. What made me uncomfortable is the line in the hub that says “Mariqueen is not Indian. She is Filipino. A very hot Filipino.” Then I started typing Mariqueen Maandig on the search box and clicked go. Then I saw a lot of ‘revealing’ facts parallel to saying she is a very hot Filipino.

Maybe to some that is just a statement. For the hubber, that is simply stating what he thinks of Mariqueen probably because she is a sensual and a straightforward artist (lead vocalist of the band West Indian Girl). But borrowing a line from Wil – music speaks for itself. It can be for me the same as saying, one’s preferences, beliefs and persona speaks for the person himself.

Being hot can be a good thing but can be another thing, too. The implication of the word is varied but there is danger also that Filipinas are stereotyped as hot in a perverted and twisted sense of the word.

(Also posted at Warmstone.)

1. I’m proud to be Filipino because we always rise to the occasion! Hinding hindi ko pagpapalit ang Pilipinas at yung kultura natin. – Sitti Navarro, Singer

2. We are a race of champions. – Dred David, 21, Team Surf Shop & CTC

3. I’m proud to be Filipino because no matter how bad things get we always seem to find something positive or something to smile about to keep themselves going. – Martin Warren, 26, Marketing Maverick

4. Filipinos work hard for their families and value education and success in the profession. – Dr. Marj Evasco, Poet, DLSU Professor and Palanca winner

5. Filipinos are peace loving and talented – Yves, Physician and Graduate Student in Creative Writing

6. Dahil tayong mga Pilipino, pili na, pino pa. The best talaga and you better believe it!” – JM Lim, 20, architecture student

7. I’m proud to be Pinoy because of our partiality towards the extreme, odd and awkward. But all beautiful. – Maite Salazar, 26, writer

8. Filipinos are willing to go the extra mile, even with hardship, to help someone out – Dette Quizon, 27, entrepreneur

9. Because only in Manila can I go through 2-3 extreme emotions within a span of a minute. – Tamtam Lara

10. I love being Filipino because of all the unique cultural diversity you can find in our tiny little archipelago. I think all of our rich backgrounds play a big part in making us Filipino. – Cat Juan, model and writer

1. We are amazingly sympathetic and cariñoso –that’s why Pinoys make such great nurses and caregivers. – Ana Reyes Abano, 28, proud mommy and J&J Brand Manager

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Every now and then I will post emails from FilipinaImages.com. This one is from Lan Tait, an American and married to a Filipina. He has had an amazing life on the cutting edge of computers and the Internet for more than 3 and a half decades

Here is Lan’s story:

To me, when I think of being a Filipina, I think of my deceased wife, Bhabes Gelito Tait.

http://bhabes.t8s.org/

Bhabes was 27 when she married me. The first kiss she ever received from a man was right after the minister said, “You may kiss your bride.” When we dated, we sometimes went as far as to hold hands! (Gosh!) In the presence of her parents, I was allowed to give her a quick hug when I arrived and another when I departed. The reason was that she was saving herself for her “God’s Best” husband! Let’s see, that was me!

Eight years later when Bhabes died in a car crash, she finished the course of her life having only kissed one man… Again, that would be me!

That’s The Filipina!

Bhabes was a real lover, a lover of God, a lover of Country, a lover of People and of course, a lover of me!

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