With the brouhaha over the Philippine med school statement in the "Desperate Housewives" script, several bloggers have weighed in on the issue. I particularly enjoyed the post of Abe Olandres (Desperately Funny Friday YouTube Wrap), because he featured an episode on "Speak Out" where Filipinos got together to discuss what is means to be a Filipino, in the context of Fil-Ams versus FOBs.
1. Are you a Filipino if you don't speak Tagalog/Filipino?
Some parents in the US have tried to teach their kids to speak Tagalog, but when their children go to school, their initial interest in Tagalog seems to vaporize. A guest on the "Speak Out" show said that some parents don't teach their children Tagalog because they want their kids to easily get a job in the US.
Hmmm... having an accent will cost you a job? Perhaps.
Double-hmmm.... learning Tagalog will change your accent, even if you grew up in the US? Perhaps for some. But if you can copy the accent of other people, then you will realize that even if you know Tagalog, you can still sound British, American, Singaporean, or even Indian.
I met someone in a resto in the US. She sounded so American. No wonder. She's been living in the US for more than 25 years. Yet when she spoke Tagalog, she sounded like she grew up in Bulacan. No surprises there, because she lived for several years in the Philippines before she immigrated to the US.
2. What makes you Filipino?
If your ancestors are Filipino, then you're a Filipino. Yup, even if you don't speak Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan, and any of the other languages/dialects in the Philippines. Yes, even if you don't act like a Filipino. And yes, even if you don't look like a Filipino.
And inescapably, even if you are not proud to be a Filipino.
I know of people who hate Tagalog, who wish they could be reincarnated as any nationality except as a Filipino, who want to just study in the US so that they can escape Araling Panlipunan here in the Philippines.
What if you don't have a single drop of Filipino blood in you? You're still a Filipino... at heart. Especially if you made the effort to speak Tagalog, if you spent a lot of time living amongst Filipinos in the Philippines, if you've embraced the culture of Filipinos, if you've absorbed some amount of "Filipino-ness" in terms of music and television shows, fashion, behavior, attitudes... Oh, make that "A Filipino in heart and in mind."
It's just like Pinoys who immigrate to the US and then try to assimilate the culture there. They become Americans in heart and in mind. Sometimes, they'll even intentionally speak Tagalog with an American accent. But that doesn't mean they're no longer Filipinos.
So that's what makes you a Filipino: your blood, your heart, and your mind.
